longest lasting home printer

[brainiac86]

Can anyone suggest a printer that is $200 or less that has the longest rated lifetime for that price range? I'm not really interested in special photo features, I just want a printer that'll last the longest as compared to others in its price range. What really bothers me are those ink pads that collect the waste ink... once they're full BAM! time to buy another printer. Are there printers without such ink pads? or without some other thing that collects waste ink and prevents the printer from working once it's full? A guy at my local electronics store told me, when my waste ink tank was full, that replacing it would cost about the same as getting a new printer. Well... thanks for anything you guys post.

 

[jclw]

Ummm... Maybe it's just my inkjet (HP DeskJet 1220C) but I can just change the pad...

It's more like a sponge that the printer uses to clean the print head.

Do you need colour? If not consider a laser printer. I bought my HP LaserJet 4 in 1994. It hasn't skipped a page.

*Dual PIII-800 @900 i440BX and Tualeron 1.2 @1.74 i815*

 

[geeman9000]

think disposable, cheap printers+cartridges=cost of cartridges alone. when a printer screws up replace the whole thing, and don't give it a second thought. Therefore the best printer is one with cartridges that refill easily. get an epson in the $70-80 range and be satisfied with fast clear output at the cost of ink 1-2 cents/page. vs replacing cartridges at 5-10 cents a page.