We've been using a fairly inexpensive HP Photosmart printer for several years now. It just died. So we need a new device. Back when we bought it, printing photos was a desired feature. No longer. Now, we just need a good color printer, with the ability to also scan. A bonus would be if it didn't blow through expensive ink cartridges like a drunken sailor does alcohol.
Recommendations?
Laser!!! That way the ink doesn't keep drying up. We just did one of the Brother printer/scanners.
We looked at the printers we liked then went over and shopped the toner and bought the one that had the least expensive toner.
Also following this one. My wife bought a Lexmark ink jet all-in-one a few years ago that's never worked right.
I'm not buying any more HP products. When the ones I have die, I'll replace them with a Brother or Lexmark or something else. The HP "update" software was bad enough, but you could work around that by finding the "network" drivers and not having to install that fiasco, but their "oh, your ink jet is not a HP original, so we just will turn your printer off and not even let you scan, berkeley you" was just too much. No more HP for me. Screw them.
We just bought a Canon 3-in-1 inkjet, but the model number escapes me. It was about a buck and half, but it duplexes automatically, has 2 trays, and a document feeder on the scanner. It also has very reasonably priced ink for an IJ. It prints and scans well.
I tried very hard to get DW to go for a color laser 3-in-1, but she didn't want to lose photoprinting capability, even though we've printed about 2 photos a year on the crappy HP it replaced. I agree with the Good Doctor, anything but HP at this point.
Brother MFC-J480DW. Wireless, fast, cheap ink. Should be $60 on sale. I bought one 2 days ago.
Pros/cons of ink jet vs. laser?
Brother laser.
Laser = more expensive toner but it will outlast ink jet.
dyintorace wrote: Pros/cons of ink jet vs. laser?
Laser cartridges are generally considerably more expensive than ink, but also produce far more pages, and typically won't go bad for years(if stored correctly).
HP used to be the defacto printer company, but their consumer-grade stuff is absolute junk, and has been for about a decade. Brother used to be absolute junk, but now their consumer-grade stuff seems to be pretty decent - at least they offer parts for most of them.
If you're looking for something more office grade, I'd choose Konica Minolta or Canon.
<-- Spent 15-years servicing/selling/training/networking these damn things...
I am also not going with inkjets again. My wife's printer is color inkjet. Note the HP rant. My friend's observation is that inkjet printers cost him about $1 per page, on average, to run. That is, buy $30 worth of ink cartridges and between the time they get used up or dry out, you've printed 30 pages. I have a laser HP 1100. I get a lot of pages from a cartridge and I'm happy with the printer, but when it dies eventually, I'll probably go with something like the Brother MFC8010DW we have at work. That thing is great. When my wife's HP goes, I will really try to convince her to go B/W laser like that Brother, but she really like colors, because, you know, no Y chromosome (Y-chromosome deficiency syndrome.)
Oh, and if you have printed out 3 photographs in the last year and that is driving your printer choice, point out that Walmart or Sam's will do that for like a buck and you can get a monochrome laser for the house.
Yea, after the headache that upgrading my router caused, I'm done with hp as well. Been looking at color laser, and there are some decent sub $200 options on Amazon.
My second biggest problem is ink drying up between uses, so laser fixes that. The biggest problem I currently have is needing to restart whatever computer I'm trying to print from before I print. Every single time. Something with more modern networking would be a big upgrade.
Edited to add that dr hess is right. Cvs is like 75 cents per picture, and monochrome laser printers are cheap.
dyintorace wrote: Pros/cons of ink jet vs. laser?
Inkjet Pro:
Cheap to buy
Very high quality image prints on glossy / photo paper
Full bleed printing below 8.5x11
Ink cartridges are cheaper in absolute cost than toner cartridges
Inkjet Con:
Slower printing
Lower quality image and text printing on regular paper
Ink cartridges dry up / clog when used infrequently
Lower page count before replacement
Higher per page printing cost
Laser Pro:
Faster printing, particularly in multi-page documents
Higher quality text printing on regular paper
Toner cartridges do not dry up when used infrequently
Higher page count before replacement
Lower per page printing cost
Laser Con:
More expensive to buy
Modest quality image prints on glossy / photo paper
Full bleed printing not common
Toner cartridges are more expensive in absolute cost
We don't care about printing photos. Too easy to do that elsewhere for the 3x's per year we do that (as others have pointed out). We do have need to print in color though, for school projects, etc. It sounds like a color laser might be the way to go.
Dr. Hess wrote: Oh, and if you have printed out 3 photographs in the last year and that is driving your printer choice, point out that Walmart or Sam's will do that for like a buck and you can get a laser for the house.
I'm the choir. Pleased to meet you.
I have an HP laserjet pro400 for printing in B&W and a Brother MFC-J67710DW for color prints, scanning and printing on 11x17 paper. The Bother is giant and not one I would recommend for regular home use unless you need to print on 11x17 paper because it is so big.
I've been happy with both for the past almost 3 1/2 years. My company pays for the ink and toner cartridges. I would go for a laser printer of some type if I was paying for it.
This one seems highly rated. Thoughts?
My last printers were HPs and they are the last HP products I will ever buy. What junk.
I now have two of these at the office. Brother MFCJ4420DW
They have both seen fairly hard use as printers and scanners over the last year and a half, and have both been outstanding.
I strongly recommend.
Dr. Hess wrote: I have a laser HP 1100. I get a lot of pages from a cartridge and I'm happy with the printer,
I have an HP 1200, so I'm 100 better than you! 
I literally found it in a dumpster 10 years ago, with a brand-new-in-box spare toner cartridge right next to it.
10 years later, and the spare toner is still in the box because I haven't used up the toner that was in it when I found it.
I also have a $65 Canon flatbed scanner.
SWMBO has some HP Envy 4500 all-in-one inkjet. It never really worked right, and she usually comes to me for printing and scanning.
I have a samsung scanner/copier/laser color printer, and though it works pretty well, it has one feature that absolutely drives me insane.
print 'cartridges' last for a fixed page count, not toner use. When the toner has done its page limit, it literally WILL NOT EVEN TRY to print.
Incredibly frustrating when you have only a few pages left to print and the thing stops mid job. The pages also generally look fine, indicating there is probably plenty of toner left.
One other point for those of you considering laser printers. Do not be tempted by the "refurbished" cartridges - yes, everyone has anecdotal stories from friends/relatives/co-workers who love the refilled laser cartridges, but having dealt with them extensively unless the time you spend berkeleying around with junk cartridges, sending them back, waiting on replacements & refunds to your card, etc. is worthless, just buy the oem cartridges for whatever brand laser printer you buy.
If you do buy a Brother, when the machine tells you to change the toner that comes with it (after about 750 pages), just reset the page count. It will last for another 700 pages ...
You can find the instructions on how to reset the page count on youtube.
Toyman01 wrote: My last printers were HPs and they are the last HP products I will ever buy. What junk. I now have two of these at the office. Brother MFCJ4420DW They have both seen fairly hard use as printers and scanners over the last year and a half, and have both been outstanding. I strongly recommend.
Do you feel like you get good ink life with this machine? My concern with an inkjet is that we have one now and spend a fortune on replacement cartridges. 
Go to Costco get the cheapest ink jet I can get. Usually around $80 but sometimes on sale you can get them for around $60. When ink runs out toss the whole thing in the trash. Go back to Costco.
If you price the ink it I cheaper per print this way than purchasing replacement ink.
Purchasing a new cheep printer you are really purchasing a ink delivery devise designed to get you to purchase more ink. Might as well get a new delivery devise with each ink purchase.
In reply to dyintorace:
I looked at that one but it's 19 inches wide. That was too wide for my cabinet so I bought the one I recommended above. At 13 wide it doesn't take up much room.
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