I've gotten a recommendation from Consumer Reports and a few friends,
but I'd  like to have an in-depth, super-objective, ultra-definitive
Google Answers answer: What's the most reliable, longest lasting,
least expensive printer for churing out documents in black and white?
I don't need it for anything other than that.

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Request for Question Clarification by aceresearcher-ga on 11 Dec 2003 18:24 PST

Greetings, mccook!

Do you have a price range, or a preference on type (inkjet/bubblejet/laser)?

Do you require double-sided printing capability?

Regards,

aceresearcher

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Clarification of Question by mccook-ga on 11 Dec 2003 19:26 PST

acecreasercher: Great questions: 

Price: Let's say $150 tops; $100 would be better, for I must buy two.
Type: Inkjet.
Double-sided: not necessary.

Thanks,
McCook

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Request for Question Clarification by googleexpert-ga on 11 Dec 2003 19:31 PST

Is it safe to assume that Cartridge costs are a factor for choosing
the "Best Basic Printer"?

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Clarification of Question by mccook-ga on 11 Dec 2003 19:54 PST

Cartridge costs: Yeah. I've been paying in the neighborhood of $20 or
so per. By way of further clarification, the two printers I've used
for a long time -- but must now give up, sadly, due to compatibility
problems with a new Mac I've had to buy for work -- are a Canon BJC
2010 and BJC 250. Loved 'em for their simplicity and durability. The
moral equivalent therof is what I'm looking for in the modern era.

McCook

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Request for Question Clarification by aceresearcher-ga on 11 Dec 2003 19:57 PST

mccook,

What specific Mac and operating system are you using?

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Clarification of Question by mccook-ga on 12 Dec 2003 05:24 PST

It's a PowerBook that uses both OS 9.2 and OS X (Jaguar, not Panther)

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Request for Question Clarification by googleexpert-ga on 12 Dec 2003 07:42 PST

mccook,
Have you tried the Gimp-Print Drivers?  

Supported Printers Page:
http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/p_Supported_Printers.php3

Download Link:
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/gimp-print/gimp-print-4.2.5-0.ppc.dmg?download

I used these drivers initially because printing out PDF files took too
long with my Epson Drivers and it turns out the Gimp-Print Drivers are
useful for saving ink.

anyway, these drivers work for me under Jaguar(10.2.1-10.2.8) 

Let me know if this helps you.
Thanks.

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Clarification of Question by mccook-ga on 13 Dec 2003 18:41 PST

Googleexpert: Thanks for the suggestion. Speed isn't really an issue
with me. Six pages of black and white document printing per minute is
perfectly acceptable. My computer is running Panther, which I guess
supports Gimp, but the PDF issue is not one I expect to be dealing
with.

McCook-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by googleexpert-ga on 13 Dec 2003 20:47 PST

McCook, 
are you still looking for a new printer and if not, have I answered your question?

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Clarification of Question by mccook-ga on 14 Dec 2003 06:04 PST

Googleexpert: I think I'm going to go Epson. You made a lot of
inquiries, so go ahead and post an official answer and collect your
fee with thanks. Thanks also to everyone who offered counsel. Google
Answers is the greatest.

McCook

McCook,
Thanks.  By the way, since you're going with Epson, I would recommend
the Epson C84.
I'm currently testing a similar model (CX5400) and there doesn't seem
to be any tradeoff between Quality and Quantity.
I have printed 200+ pages (Black and Color) and I have about 70% Ink Left.

For more information on the C84, you can visit the following link:
http://www.epson.com/cmc_upload/0/000/029/281/c16423R1.pdf

Thanks again.
-googleexpert

A great help, thanks.

Hello mccook!

Just in case the research shows that HP is the way to go, there are a
number of printers on sale this week at stores like Kmart and Staples
that you may want to consider. And they are priced significantly lower
than what you've mentioned (and they are also color printers in
addition to printing Black and White). Just a little tidbit!

Sincerely,
Boquinha-ga

I for one would heavily recommend Epson printers, as they give the
best quality value for money in my book. Most of the modern Epson
models have USB connections, so I believe they can connect to your Mac
with little problem.

This might be of interest to you -
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=197997

The most reliable and with lowest print costs is probably the old
workhorse dot-matrix printer. They just go on printing for decades.
The print quality, of course, is poor.

Owain

You state you pay $20 cartridge.  I bought, on the Internet the other
day, 4 black & 4 color (TO19 & TO20) cartridges for around $40 + ship.
 They seem to work fine so far.  Steve