Electronics

Ah, the 21st century. Needing a home printer. But what to get?

We had a printer/scanner/photo-thingie. Number one: the HP model that we bought (several years ago) didn't produce nice photos. They were grainy and streaky. Not to mention, photos eat up A LOT of color ink. I learned that I was much happier going to a drug store for my photos. Since I have a digital camera, I can pick and choose only the photos I want, the quality turns out better, and I don't waste money on all that color ink on photos that are sub-par. Number two: those little ink cartridges don't hold much ink. We don't make a lot of copies/prints at home, but it seemed like we were ALWAYS running out of ink! And to refill the cartridge costs $12 to $15 dollars, to buy new is more than that. Do that a few times a year. OUCH.

I read on the Internet recently that it is more cost effective to get a laser printer. I was skeptical. But thought I would check it out.

Most new ink jet printers cost under $100 dollars. An inexpensive laser printer costs $170 dollars. Ink jet refills cost around $20 or more. And print off 100 pages (in my experience, it's less than that). The laser printer toner is $40 and runs 3,500 pagers. That means that the upfront cost will save you very quickly in saved toner costs!!

We went with the laser printer. Granted, it's only black and white, but we don't care about color. The model we got has a USB to plug into the computer, and is rated for small offices. It is Energy Star rated and goes into sleep mode after a minute when not in use (very nice!), so I don't have to think about turning it off and on all the time. Plus, it prints out FAST compared to the ink jet (the model we got is for offices---and yes, it was the best deal---so it prints fast).

I am doing a happy, happy, happy dance. Energy star rated, saving money over time on the toner. And I now have a printer at home that works. I can once again start printing coupons off the Internet at home. YES!!! Internet coupons, how I have missed you.....

And I did the leg work. Calls to stores, cruising stores on the 'net. Good times! Still, I love knowing I got a good deal. Love that!! Especially when hubby asks "Are you sure such-and-so store didn't have a better price on that model?" and I can pull up the store and model and show him, yes....we got a better deal! LOVE THAT!!!