Suggestions for a printer please.

[HappydaysArehere]

Would like to replace ageing printer. Air printing would be useful. The cost of printing is a serious consideration and I would appreciate ease of setting up. I am confused by all the printers on offer as I wander around John Lewis etc. I print some photos, often on A4 as I use them for art work. I don't wish to purchase something cheap which turns out to be costly to run. I would appreciate any help from you knowledgeable people.

There may be sites that do an HONEST comparison of running costs; you'll have to trawl through them all and see what you can find. There are also many magazines - in WHS, etc - that cover all aspects of computers, including printing.

Colour on A4 is never going to be cheap, and you also need to research the most suitable paper, as a good coated paper makes a HUGE difference to colour quality. Using bog-standard paper is just a waste of ink.

We have a Canon printer, with individual ink tanks, but depending on how much printing you do, you might find a laser printer a better bet.

Thirty years ago our first printer was a Canon BJC600, that cost £600, and our Acorn computer was over £2K. Today people just don't realise how the cost of 'tech' has come down, while power and performance has reached heights unimaginable a few decades ago.

We use the following site for inks and have found it reliable; and BEWARE of so-called compatible inks:

www.justinkandpaper.com/

Thank you Ferguson. It was good of you to take the trouble to reply. (I have just seen your post). I had not considered the importance of the paper. I usually look for something with a decent thickness. My dying computer is a Cannon and has been good but the inks are pricey and now I need Apple air printing. I will look out today for a magazine. I had forgotten that I always used to buy one for researching cameras, laptops etc. Also thanks for that justinkandpaper site. That is really helpful as I buy inks from a local shop which cost around seventy pounds for a set. I know nothing about laser printers as I print photos. I tended to ignore them for that reason. and thanks again.