To think that all home printers are a rip off!!!

[Paperdolly]

I've had a few home printers of different makes. My current one is an all singing all dancing with SD card slot BUT ( and this is the rub). if I don't need to print anything for a while, when I do need something it doesn't print or does a crappy copy with the black ink missing!!! Has anyone got a good printer????? Desperate!

Laser rather than inkjet?

Get a laser printer, huge difference in speed/quality/capacity. Mine is just black and white. You have to order special cartridges, but knock-offs/refilled cartridges available on Amazon. The speed/efficiency is definitely worth. Have a look at Brother printers, check it says it's a laser one. There are some cheaper versions and some fancier ones. Got mine for about £60 from Argos You change the ink far less frequently and though up front ink/printer cost is higher, overall it's more economical per page.

LOVED that mirrorball! ❤️😂

All printers are bellends.
DH won’t have one in the house.

Ooops mirivan! Sorry!!!

We've been really pleased with our printer. It's a HP Envy 5640. The best thing about it is the ink subscription (called HP instant ink). We pay £1.99 per month and they send ink cartridges when we need them. For that cost we can print up to 50 pages a month and carry over any we don't use (up to 50). I'm sure we used to spend more than £24 a year on cartridges, so this option is a good deal for us. You can get different levels of subscriptions.

Thanks all who are suggesting lazer. I'll have a look at the Brother one I think.

Another vote for laser. Before I got mine I was spending more on ink for the inkjet cleaning cycle than on my occasional bits of printing. Laser printer is always ready to go and the print quality is better.

The HP instant ink subscription is amazing. It means I’ve always got cartridges ready before I run out. The printer is really good too.

Not long ago we needed to print something fairly urgently and, of course, the printer was out of ink.

I got ratty with DH (the thing we needed to print was really his responsibility and he had known about it for ages but left it to the last minute) so he flounced out to Tesco at 9pm to get a new print cartridge. He came back 20 minutes later with a new printer! Turned out to be cheaper - a new printer was £24 which was less than the cost of a new cartridge.

Sounds like the jets need cleaning. Print a nozzle cleaning sheet.

Buy an endless ink system so you don't destroy the environment and your wallet.

Laser printers are not worth it if you go for such extended periods of not using it.

Yes inkjet printers are a rip off. I realised this years ago when I got into an argument with epsom when I couldn't print black text because the colour cartridge had run out.

I now have a black only laser printer and if I wanted to print photos, get them done at a shop or online, which is probably far cheaper with better results than buying the paper and ink to do it at home.

To add to that, I had never actually printed in colour, it just pissed the ink away every time you switched the printer on.

It's a deliberate ploy. Sell the printers at below cost in the hope of tieing you into their rip off ink. A bit like how drug dealers work when you think about it

I print so infrequently I just go to the library when I need stuff. I used to buy printers but they didn't work after prolonged periods of time not using them.

I've gone to get ink cartridges before and ended up with a new printer for less. I also did a quick research in the shop for the cost of the cartridges, although they do increase with the age of the printer.
As much of a rip off it is, it pales in comparison to the cost of "professional" printing. I could not get my printer to work one day before a job fair, and ended up at printers paying £4 for 15 copies of my CV in black and white...plus the running around, and the humming and harring as to whether same day can be done...
Goodness I couldn't imagine that expense if I had to print like that ALL the time...

I use the instant ink service from HP. I actually don't pay for my cartridges as I print under 15 pages a month so they just send out new ones when I have run out for free. Always good

I use an inkjet with separate individual colour cartridges and use refilled/knock off cartridges. I looked into a Brother B&W laser but as I often print in colour decided it wasn't for me.

When I was choosing a printer I spent some time checking I could use both separate and knock off cartridges, as I learnt before when I had to buy a printer in a rush that if you print in colour you don't use all colours evenly.

Laser. We don't use it regularly but we don't have any problems either. Make sure you don't switch the printer off. The switching off and on makes the ink dry quicker.

A bit like how drug dealers work when you think about it

And sadly, Barbara, HP ink is more expensive weight for weight than drugs!

HP are absolutely gouging people intemtionally- they developed a system whereby if you use non-hp cartridges the printer can essentially render itself unusable permanently. Monopolising at its worst.

Laser all the way - doesn't dry up if you use it infrequently. I bought mine three years ago, and I'm still on the toner that came with it, despite it having fairly heavy use around exams.

I'm still using my HP laserjet 4L from 1992!

Built like a tank, toner cartridges last decades. The only problem was adapting the parallel cable for usb and drivers for modern operating systems, but once round that itsnoept on trucking.

I have a Canon Pixma that prints, scans and copies and it is great. I do use it quite often though so never had an issue with the ink drying out.

Second the mono laser printer.

I've just brought an epsom with ink tanks rather than cartridges. Came with a full 2 years worth of ink. I've just brought it so I can't vouch how good it is but the refills are very cheap.