Need the best Printer (Print + Copy + Scan) for around 4k-5k

[Vyom]

Initially I had a budget for around 3k and made up my mind to buy HP Deskjet 1510 Multifunction Inkjet Printer owing to the brand "HP" and low cost. But I quickly realized that HP earns not from the printer but from the costly Ink cartridges. Also I had a HP deskjet printer. But it got outdated years ago. Hence I am more inclined to buy a Canon printer.

Also these days I also buy quality stuff, rather than cheap ones. Since in the long run, quality pays of.

Here is what is on my mind now: Canon PIXMA - MP 287 Multifunction Inkjet Printer

Price of Rs 4250 seem fair enough for a scanner which scans at 1200 x 2400 dpi, and which would be my primary purpose with this gadget. This also have incredible reviews and rating.

Should I go for it? Is there any other good printer in my budget? Please help. I intend to order it by tomorrow.

 

[icebags]

how frequently do u print stuff?

 

[Vyom]

Not much frequently. Just occasional printing for home usage. But I suppose in coming days usage might increase to on an average 5 prints daily.
Also might want to print occasional color print of photograph.

But need to scan a lot of important legal papers and old camera roll photos to convert them in digital format.

 

[icebags]

that canon printer has good print quality, as it seems from the feedback, but they also say something about refill issues. if u want to buy new cartridges each time, then its ok, but i would recommend refilling each cartridges at least 4-5 times before their printhead goes bad.

if refilling, if u r doing it urself, just remember to top up the cartridge before the ink level reaches bottom (dont wait till the printer starts printing faded prints), this will save print head nozzles from having air bubbles. and remember to print at least one in every 2-3 days to avoid ink getting clotted at the printhead.

if buying hp printers, look for something labelled as "ink advantage", this will have inks . like HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 1515 All-in-One Printer - HP: Flipkart.com

other than that, 1200 dpi is ok for scanning old photos, but u may look for something better if u wish. anyways, a lot of pp can be done on the scan copies of the photos, if needed.

now start researching the web on the basis of the above, and post ur finds.

 

[Vyom]

Alright... so I compared the Ink Cartridges of Canon PIXMA - MP 287 and that of HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 1515. Here's the math:

Canon B/w Cartridge cost: Rs. 911 Link: Canon PG 810 Black Ink cartridge - Canon: Flipkart.com
Page Yield: 220 pages

HP B/w Cartridge cost: Rs. 452 Link: HP 678 Black Ink Cartridge - HP: Flipkart.com
Page Yield : 480 pages

Canon Color Cartridge: Rs. 1410 Link: Canon CL 811 Tricolour Ink cartridge - Canon: Flipkart.com
Page Yield : 244 pages

HP Color Cartridge: Rs 443 Link: HP 678 Tri-color Ink Cartridge - HP: Flipkart.com
Page Yield: 150 pages

Looking at this, it makes perfect sense to buy HP 1515.

 

[icebags]

Canon PIXMA E510 - Canon: Flipkart.com seems uses Canon PG88 Black Ink Catridge - Canon: Flipkart.com 800 pages @Rs.720/-

check out the optical scanning resolution from company sites too.

if u r going to print tons of pages, like they do in office, then Epson - L110 Single Function Inkjet Printer - Epson: Flipkart.com is even economical @ ink cost. but its single function.

for photo printing, i heard canon leads ahead hp, but not sure, check some reviews of those printers.

if u don't need colour prints and print seldom, then laser printer is more convenient.

if u have wireless router, and want to get rid of usb cable, or plare the printer in another room, try something like HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 2545 All-in-One Wireless Printer - HP: Flipkart.com

 

[Vyom]

Canon Pixma E510 does seem to have cartridge that can print 800 B/W pages and 400 Color pages.

No I would not need to print tons of pages and definitely not need a single function printer that too for more than 7k!

Laser printer would be more convenient but alas they cost way too much.

Wireless printer would be awesome, but I wont spend the premium price for only that feature. I don't mind plugging it with PC.

Anyway, so till now I can shortlist two printers, based on cost/review and most important cartridge cost:

HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 1515 All-in-One Printer - HP
and
Canon PIXMA E510 - Canon

 

[icebags]

wireless one costs 700 extra at fk, but specs seem low on it, may be broken.....
there are other E series ink efficient caon printers in their site, they are not listed in fk, check them too.

 

[Vyom]

As I said before, I would be scanning more than printing. So I would want a machine which can scan with good quality.

 

[icebags]

then look for something with faster scan speed, i don't think u will be using max scan resolution all the time, file size produced by them is huge.

 

[Vyom]

Well, just realized I need to do more research.

I realize I can also look for features such as:
wireless support
Pen driver support
Android app support..

And I need to look for these features also keeping in mind that the cartridge cost of the printer is good. Also scanning should be good.

Dang!

- - - Updated - - -

Since I am still confused and I am not getting replies from more members except icebags (thanks), I did further research on some wireless models. Here is the comparison of 4 printers:

Model	HP Deskjet 1510 Multifunction Inkjet Printer	HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 3545 All-in-One Wireless Printer	HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 2545 All-in-One Wireless Printer	Canon PIXMA MG3570 All-in-One Inkjet Printer	Canon PIXMA MG3170 Multifunction Inkjet Printer
Price	3200	6030	5040	5690	5965
Scan Area Size	216 x 297 mm	216 x 297 mm	216 x 297 mm	NA	216 x 297 mm
Scanning Res	1200 dpi	1200 dpi	1200 x 1200 dpi	1200 x 2400 dpi	1200 x 2400 dpi
B/W Cartridge	HP 802 Small Black Ink Cartridge	HP 678 Black Ink Cartridge	HP 662 BW	Canon PG740 Black Ink Catridge	Canon PG-740 Ink Cartridge
B/W Cost	459	452	425	910	910
B/W Pages	120	480		180	180
Color Cartridge	HP 802 Small Tricolor Ink Cartridge	HP 678 Tri-color Ink Cartridge	HP 662 Color	Canon CL741 Tricolor Ink Catridge	Canon CL-741 Ink Cartridge
Color Cost	653	443		1331	1331
Color Pages	100	150		180	180
Comments	Kept this to compare it with HP 3545 (this is non wifi model)	Looks damn good, good ratings	Cartridge Not available on FK or anywhere else online	Low rating, costly cartridge	Deep Red color is good!

Don't know Canon's cartridges seems so costly and not value for money at all. And I think I can go for HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 3545 for the looks alone!

*img6a.flixcart.com/image/printer/z/r/s/hp-3545-400x400-imadzqfumsbzsj3j.jpeg

 

[Vyom]

So I came across this nice article on Printers:
Printer buying guide: How to find the best model for your home or office | PCWorld and Ink-onomics: Can You Save Money By Spending More on Your Printer? | PCWorld


As you already may know that a printer with low cost have high cartridge cost. And the printer of more cost usually have low cartridge cost. So your usage patterns decide whether you will profit with low cost printer or more cost one.
I used the Inkonomics calculator to calculate how the two printers (HP Deskjet 1510 and HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 3545) would cost me in the long run.

Results were this:

*i.minus.com/ibg08kH5AO7ynX.JPG

As can be seen, in the long run, or even after 1 year, the printer which cost more is more profitable. Guess my choice of printer then.

 

[Vyom]

So, I realize I never updated this thread. I did buy HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 3545 printer, on the next weekend of my last post. I bought it from local PC shop at Rs. 5650.

*img6a.flixcart.com/image/printer/z/r/s/hp-3545-400x400-imadzqfumsbzsj3j.jpeg

It's serving me well for about 2 months now. The print quality is good, but I haven't tested (or even attached) the colour cartridge as of now. I decided I will only attach the colour cartridge when I have use of it. The wireless scanning and printing works too. And copier works without the need of a PC. Although the software of the printer doesn't work on Server edition of the Windows for which I felt a bit sad, but it's a minor hiccup.

Anyhow thanks for everyone who helped me in my quest to find the perfect printer for me. The printer does look as elegant and modern as in the pics.

 

[icebags]

there is no everybody there, kid, just one singular entity.

and u forgot to distribute sweets online.

 

[Vyom]

there is no everybody there, kid, just one singular entity.

and u forgot to distribute sweets online.

Oh yea.. Thanks icebags. I wrote everybody out of habit. Forgive me. To my defense, since we had so many conversations, I thought there must be atleast one other "entity".

As for your sweets.. here you go... have as much as you can...

Spoiler

*i.imgur.com/R4zAY0t.gif

 

[AK HIL]

A great post helped me alottt thank you Vyom icebags...expecting other users too....

 

[rdx_halo]

So, I realize I never updated this thread. I did buy HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 3545 printer, on the next weekend of my last post. I bought it from local PC shop at Rs. 5650.

*img6a.flixcart.com/image/printer/z/r/s/hp-3545-400x400-imadzqfumsbzsj3j.jpeg

It's serving me well for about 2 months now. The print quality is good, but I haven't tested (or even attached) the colour cartridge as of now. I decided I will only attach the colour cartridge when I have use of it. The wireless scanning and printing works too. And copier works without the need of a PC. Although the software of the printer doesn't work on Server edition of the Windows for which I felt a bit sad, but it's a minor hiccup.

Anyhow thanks for everyone who helped me in my quest to find the perfect printer for me. The printer does look as elegant and modern as in the pics.

Dear Vyom,
Thanks for your post. Once people buy their product they never care to let us know. I'm also looking forward to buy HP 3545 HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 3545 All-in-One Wireless Printer this printer. Can you please let me know if the black cartridge can be refilled with non HP ink. ?

Thanks

 

[rvlkiran]

Thank you vyom for a very helpful comparison table. I just placed an order for HP 3545 on amazon.in. I got a great price at 4634 Rs + 10% cash back on HDFC card (so an absolutely crazy price of 4170). Anybody else watching the forum, grab yours soon.

 

[Vyom]

That is an incredible price! Do post your views when this printer is in front of you, since it looks as great as in the picture. Also do post your experience after using it.

 

[rvlkiran]

Just received the printer yesterday. The quick start guide simply contains pictures (no text). I had to look carefully & double-check while setting it up. Some text would have made things easier. I put in both the color & B/W cartridges during set-up. The print quality is decent. The test page for alignment printed well & scanned well. But then after set-up completion, when printing the results page, the black ink left a smudge in a few letters of the page. I hope it's a one-off case, and does not indicate a problem with printer/cartridge.

After setting up the Wireless, the printer connected to Internet, downloaded & printed the instructions for HP ePrint account set-up (this has some amount of color). I checked the ink levels after the initial set-up (3 pages - test page with minor colors, results page B/W, ePrint instructions about 30% color), and already the color cartridge level has decreased about 5%, whereas the B/W level is still at 100%. Other reviews online also pointed that the color cartridge may not be as efficient and will not print the 'claimed' figure of 150 pages.

Scanning quality is good. Setting up the Wireless, installing the software on PC, signing up for ePrint account, using ePrint / All-in-one remote Apps on my Android phone were a breeze. I notice that the HP All-In-One remote app has a feature to even use the phone camera for scanning documents (similar to CamScanner App).

Will post my experiences after using the printer for some more weeks.