I would recommend color laser. With very very few exceptions inkjets, it's cheaper to replace the whole thing than just the ink. Would need to know more about what exactly you're printing to get more specific on recommendations, but here's a list of good general purpose color laser printers.
Specific color lasers I would recommend: Okidata (OKI) C330dn (hands down one of the best for the money - Ethernet rather than wireless. Worth it though.) Brother HL-4570cdw (wireless) Lexmark CS310dn (Ethernet) HP Laserjet M451dn (Ethernet)
Avoid: Samsung CLP-415NW - wireless is known to be broken with no fix offered or available. HP LaserJet Pro 200 series - they're all awful. 300 series isn't nearly as bad.
not worth it to spend that much for the amount of printing we do.
Well, problem is twofold. One, any inkjet in the $100 and under range will be cheaper to replace than to get ink for. (HP is the worst offender here by far.) Two, any laser in the $300 and under range will tend to last 6+ years but won't necessarily have wireless.
To that end, I would say go with a Brother HL-3045CN Color LED Printer at $199 - or a bit more than a quality inkjet, and far less than said inkjet as soon as you need to replace the cartridges. It's got Ethernet, so networking's covered. Full toner sets can be found for <$100 and estimated yield is 15,000 pages per. Because it's toner, you can buy a set and store them for years with no ill effects (unlike ink) and it'll be ages before you need to replace them because they don't expire.
I am going to go out on a limb here, and in a rare feat, agree with Rootwyrm. A cheap color laser will last you FAR longer than an inkjet and has a lower TCO over lifetime.
I am going to go out on a limb here, and in a rare feat, agree with Rootwyrm. A cheap color laser will last you FAR longer than an inkjet and has a lower TCO over lifetime.
Source: I done printing industry for megayears.
Source: I done own me an HP LaserJet 5 C3962A. And a Samsung ML-1740. Both work flawlessly though the HP needed the fans replaced. It is something like 14 years old.
Canon Pixma 6120 has always been great to me. I print a couple full color photos and documents per month. It's way better than my old HP. Not sure if the helps, other than I can say I never had one issue in the near year I've owned it + scanning is a breeze when it comes up. http://www.amazon.com/Canon-MG6120-Wireless-Printer-4503B002/dp/B003YL412U I bought it for over $250 at staples nearly 1 year ago. At under $120 at Amazon I'd call this an extreme steal.
The downside is if you print a lot of color photos the ink will add up. Black and white lasts a long time.
I thought I would never own another inkjet printer. I have thrown away several after printing a few pages, and two weeks later, finding that they don’t print. About a year ago, my wife insisted on an inkjet. We have an ancient HP LaserJet 5p, but she wanted color and a scanner. We got an HP OfficeJet Pro 8500 A910, deeply discounted at Staples. I don’t know if HP still make the exact model. We sometimes go two or three weeks without using it, but usually print something every week. We might go months without using color. It works every time. The print looks great. Fast. Wireless. Double sided. Internet printing for smartphones.
And cheap to reload. I got a full set of brand X “remanufactured” ink cartridges from Amazon for $17. I have only used the black, but the print looks like the original. We are happy with it.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/398343/PIXMA_MG3220_Wireless_Inkjet_Photo_All-In-One - I just picked this one up when I ran out of ink and decided I really wanted something with native wireless. So far so good. Simple setup with WPS, prints fast, color reproduction is good for an inexpensive inkjet. For $69 if it only lasts me a couple years I won't complain.
6220 is $99 at amazon, 6320 is $150. Any disadvantage to grabbing the older model?
The MG6220 has a known design element where it deliberately wastes a great deal of ink to clean the heads frequently. The MG6320 is a step up in quality by comparison (uses a 6 color CMYKpGpK vs. 4 color CMYK) with a lot of other refinements. Given the deliberately wasteful nature of the MG6220 I'd be much more inclined to go with the MG6320, but no idea if it has the same bad behavior. :/
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We have an Epson NX420, which is an all-in-one with WiFi and cheap (3rd party) cartridges.
I can let it sit for 3 months and at most have to run a head-clean routine to get it back up and running fully.
It's not professional-level, it's not ridicufast, but it does what we need.
Specific color lasers I would recommend:
Okidata (OKI) C330dn (hands down one of the best for the money - Ethernet rather than wireless. Worth it though.)
Brother HL-4570cdw (wireless)
Lexmark CS310dn (Ethernet)
HP Laserjet M451dn (Ethernet)
Avoid:
Samsung CLP-415NW - wireless is known to be broken with no fix offered or available.
HP LaserJet Pro 200 series - they're all awful. 300 series isn't nearly as bad.
To that end, I would say go with a Brother HL-3045CN Color LED Printer at $199 - or a bit more than a quality inkjet, and far less than said inkjet as soon as you need to replace the cartridges. It's got Ethernet, so networking's covered. Full toner sets can be found for <$100 and estimated yield is 15,000 pages per. Because it's toner, you can buy a set and store them for years with no ill effects (unlike ink) and it'll be ages before you need to replace them because they don't expire.
Source: I done printing industry for megayears.
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-MG6120-Wireless-Printer-4503B002/dp/B003YL412U
I bought it for over $250 at staples nearly 1 year ago. At under $120 at Amazon I'd call this an extreme steal.
The downside is if you print a lot of color photos the ink will add up. Black and white lasts a long time.
Also: Canon Pixma MG6320 which is the latest and greatest version of the MG6120 as far as I can tell.
And cheap to reload. I got a full set of brand X “remanufactured” ink cartridges from Amazon for $17. I have only used the black, but the print looks like the original. We are happy with it.