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[RobG]

At that budget, you are looking at either stuff that won't last, or stuff where the ink is so expensive, you'll be forced to use pattern ink, and thus it won't last.

So buy whatever floats your boat. It won't last. Sorry.

Been using an Epson SX415 + "pattern" ink for 4 years now with no hint of problems

[TheBoy]

I have a deskjet 1050A at work(circa £30 from tesco),does the job ok,use Kodak 5250 series at home and it is cheaper to run with ink cost and yield

I've got a couple of (unopened) Deskjet 1050a's. Paid about a tenner each. Bought for Mrs TB, when she was going through a phase of wanting to print on fabric, and I wasn't letting her use my expensive printers. Still unopened. Sigh.

[TheBoy]

At that budget, you are looking at either stuff that won't last, or stuff where the ink is so expensive, you'll be forced to use pattern ink, and thus it won't last.

So buy whatever floats your boat. It won't last. Sorry.

Been using an Epson SX415 + "pattern" ink for 4 years now with no hint of problems

Despite using Epson myself, I'm not up on their models. Generally the "Photo Stylus" ones (5 or 6 colours) will not tolerate pattern ink for long.  The "Durabrite" based ones seem less prone to clogging from pattern ink, but obviously no good for photo print. The newer Epsons, where the ink remains static, and is tubed to the heads, all of these are prone to clogging from pattern ink.

Clarifies?

[TheBoy]

At that budget, you are looking at either stuff that won't last, or stuff where the ink is so expensive, you'll be forced to use pattern ink, and thus it won't last.

So buy whatever floats your boat. It won't last. Sorry.

my last one lasted just over 2 years which isn't bad for a cheap Kodak printer. And what sort of printer would you suggest TB out of curiosity. 

I do not know your requirements, so cannot make a recommendation without further info.

Irrelevent now, as hopefully your new one will serve you well .  Note pattern ink may invalidate warranty, double check before using it.

[OmegaAnglesey]

At that budget, you are looking at either stuff that won't last, or stuff where the ink is so expensive, you'll be forced to use pattern ink, and thus it won't last.

So buy whatever floats your boat. It won't last. Sorry.

my last one lasted just over 2 years which isn't bad for a cheap Kodak printer. And what sort of printer would you suggest TB out of curiosity. 

I do not know your requirements, so cannot make a recommendation without further info.

Irrelevent now, as hopefully your new one will serve you well .  Note pattern ink may invalidate warranty, double check before using it.

i just need a printer for printing text on plain old A4 paper and rarely printing pictures and use the scanner for documents... Will take the patern ink advice under advisement but I doubt Rob would recommend them If they weren't good 

[STMO123]

At that budget, you are looking at either stuff that won't last, or stuff where the ink is so expensive, you'll be forced to use pattern ink, and thus it won't last.

So buy whatever floats your boat. It won't last. Sorry.

my last one lasted just over 2 years which isn't bad for a cheap Kodak printer. And what sort of printer would you suggest TB out of curiosity. 

I do not know your requirements, so cannot make a recommendation without further info.

Irrelevent now, as hopefully your new one will serve you well .  Note pattern ink may invalidate warranty, double check before using it.

i just need a printer for printing text on plain old A4 paper and rarely printing pictures and use the scanner for documents... Will take the patern ink advice under advisement but I doubt Rob would recommend them If they weren't good 

I've had the hp for three months now, paid thirty quid for it. Still using the ink that came with it, although only occasional use. Got a black+colour replacement for £19.99.

[TheBoy]

At that budget, you are looking at either stuff that won't last, or stuff where the ink is so expensive, you'll be forced to use pattern ink, and thus it won't last.

So buy whatever floats your boat. It won't last. Sorry.

my last one lasted just over 2 years which isn't bad for a cheap Kodak printer. And what sort of printer would you suggest TB out of curiosity. 

I do not know your requirements, so cannot make a recommendation without further info.

Irrelevent now, as hopefully your new one will serve you well .  Note pattern ink may invalidate warranty, double check before using it.

i just need a printer for printing text on plain old A4 paper and rarely printing pictures and use the scanner for documents... Will take the patern ink advice under advisement but I doubt Rob would recommend them If they weren't good 

Indeed.

There are some reasonable pattern inks, and there are some really bad ones (and some really bad "genuine" ones on your beloved Amazon (admittedly Marketplace)). Trouble is, the scammers are now even cloning the "branded" pattern inks, as there is money to be made, and this has infected the entire supply chain.  The seller won't know if its genuine pattern ink, or the cheap scammed stuff pretending to be higher quality pattern. Its a minefield.

Epsons have life heads, unlike others such as HP, where the heads are part of the cartridge. A blocked head means a new printer (not viable to replace head). Both viewpoints have their own pros and cons, neither is better/worse.

For your purposes, I would have considered a low cost mono laser, and a seperate scanner if required, though that might have been over budget.

For info, as well as my Laserjet, I currently use an Epson PX730WD, after the demise of the PX700W I had before (due to clogged tubes, after pattern ink ), which I would recommend if people need a photo all-in-one with CD printing capability.

[TheBoy]

Would add, any of the printers from the likes of HP, Epson and Canon (though I have it in the back of my mind they were pulling out, no idea where I heard that, so might have dreamt it ), you should be fine (excluding problems with poor pattern ink) if it has the featureset you require. Very few of their printing products are duff.

[OmegaAnglesey]

At that budget, you are looking at either stuff that won't last, or stuff where the ink is so expensive, you'll be forced to use pattern ink, and thus it won't last.

So buy whatever floats your boat. It won't last. Sorry.

my last one lasted just over 2 years which isn't bad for a cheap Kodak printer. And what sort of printer would you suggest TB out of curiosity. 

I do not know your requirements, so cannot make a recommendation without further info.

Irrelevent now, as hopefully your new one will serve you well .  Note pattern ink may invalidate warranty, double check before using it.

i just need a printer for printing text on plain old A4 paper and rarely printing pictures and use the scanner for documents... Will take the patern ink advice under advisement but I doubt Rob would recommend them If they weren't good 

Indeed.

There are some reasonable pattern inks, and there are some really bad ones (and some really bad "genuine" ones on your beloved Amazon (admittedly Marketplace)). Trouble is, the scammers are now even cloning the "branded" pattern inks, as there is money to be made, and this has infected the entire supply chain.  The seller won't know if its genuine pattern ink, or the cheap scammed stuff pretending to be higher quality pattern. Its a minefield.

Epsons have life heads, unlike others such as HP, where the heads are part of the cartridge. A blocked head means a new printer (not viable to replace head). Both viewpoints have their own pros and cons, neither is better/worse.

For your purposes, I would have considered a low cost mono laser, and a seperate scanner if required, though that might have been over budget.

For info, as well as my Laserjet, I currently use an Epson PX730WD, after the demise of the PX700W I had before (due to clogged tubes, after pattern ink ), which I would recommend if people need a photo all-in-one with CD printing capability.

I only buy things from amazon if they are from amazon directly. As said market place is dodgy and don't take returns as easy like amazon directly.

Either way i'll update once I receive it which should be tomorrow.

[OmegaAnglesey]

Oh and apparently this printer can wirelessly print from computers, smart phones etc. if that works that could be very handy as I could print the documents/address or anything even pictures from my iphone without the need to turn on the PC unless I've got it wrong 

[STMO123]

Oh and apparently this printer can wirelessly print from computers, smart phones etc. if that works that could be very handy as I could print the documents/address or anything even pictures from my iphone without the need to turn on the PC unless I've got it wrong 

Ours works fine with wifeys gaypad. Not so good on my android.

[TheBoy]

Oh and apparently this printer can wirelessly print from computers, smart phones etc. if that works that could be very handy as I could print the documents/address or anything even pictures from my iphone without the need to turn on the PC unless I've got it wrong 

If you need it to print directly from phone, the printer needs to support Apple's proprietry Airprint. Some Epsons do.

[OmegaAnglesey]

Oh and apparently this printer can wirelessly print from computers, smart phones etc. if that works that could be very handy as I could print the documents/address or anything even pictures from my iphone without the need to turn on the PC unless I've got it wrong 

If you need it to print directly from phone, the printer needs to support Apple's proprietry Airprint. Some Epsons do.

i don't really need it but would be handy for a quick print. It did say on the Amazon page something about iOS 5 and above compatible so I presume it might work.

[TheBoy]

XP305 (if thats the one you bought) looks to have AirPrint.

[OmegaAnglesey]

XP305 (if thats the one you bought) looks to have AirPrint.

yep that's the model I've ordered. this will come in very handy. Just hopes you can chose the size of the text on the print on the phone although I don't know of an app that can do this though.