mccook-ga:
Thank you for your question regarding a small footprint inkjet printer
for your Mac.
First, to provide the guidance you seek in choosing a printer, I am
copying here the information I provided in the clarification section
above:
-----------------------------------
For a printer that has a footprint of about 14" by 6", you will first
want to look at the category called mobile printers.
Examples of such printers include:
Canon i70
http://www.usa.canon.com/html/conCprProductDetail.jsp?modelid=8720&item=8759§ion=10215
Canon BJC-85
http://www.usa.canon.com/html/conCprProductDetail.jsp?modelid=6620&item=6630§ion=10215
HP Deskjet 450ci
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/ho/WF06b/18972-236251-236267-14438-236267-81913-81915-81916.html
Epson does not appear to have a current model that matches your
maximum dimensions criteria.
Of the units listed above, though, all of them exceed the $150 price
threshold that you mentioned in your previous printer question, "Best
basic printer" ( http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=286161
). For example, the Canon's go for around $250US, the HP between $200
to $250. There are often rebates that come up, but they are still
substantially more than $150.
As for reliability, the BJC-85 has been around longer than the i70,
and has mixed performance reviews:
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Canon_BJC_85/4505-3156_16-1589521.html?tag=dir
The i70 is new for 2003, and therefore has less of a track record.
Those users who have bothered to post their views love it, but to a
person they all feel that this is an extreme expensive printer to
operate:
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Canon_i70/4505-3156_16-20864283.html?tag=pdtl-list
The HP Deskjet 450ci is also relatively new, and also has mixed reviews:
http://www.epinions.com/content_83135401604
Generally, the problem with printers of such a small footprint is that
the manufacturer ends up making compromises in order to keep the size
down. This ends up affecting the reliability of the printer. For
people looking for portability, this trade-off of reliability for size
may be acceptable; however, for you, this is probably a trade-off that
you can live without.
Canon also offers two budget inkjets that are a little bigger than
your footprint requirements. The i250 and i350 bubblejet printers have
a footprint of 15.2" x 6.5". At a street price of under $60US, these
are the ones I would suggest you pick from:
Canon i250
http://www.usa.canon.com/html/conCprProductDetail.jsp?modelid=9208§ion=10213
Canon i350
http://www.usa.canon.com/html/conCprProductDetail.jsp?modelid=9209§ion=10213
You can find reviews of these printers at:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1355889,00.asp
http://www.tomshardware.com/consumer/20030725/
Generally, the i350 appears to be worth the approx. $10 US extra in
street pricing over the i250. Both at Mac OS 9.x and OS X compatible.
-----------------------------------
Next, to address your follow-up question:
The Canon S series bubblejet printers were introduced in 2001 as
Canon's 'budget' line to compete against some of the cut-throat
pricing being offered by Lexmark and Epson at the time. The S series
featured some innovations that were unique for its time, the primary
one being the introduction of a non-replaceable printhead and
individual ink tanks for each of the four ink colors used. As the
budget line, the S series was also designed to be simpler to build,
however build quality was comparable to the BJC series of the time.
The Canon BJC series of Bubble Jet Color printers (hence the
designation) was Canon's only line of consumer inkjet printers up
until the introduction of the S series. Innovations introduced with
the BJC-3000 included the first appearance of ink tanks; in the case
of the BJC-3000, it was possible to buy a replacement print cartridge
that gave the ability to replace each ink tank individually, and to
replace the print cartridge (and it's printhead) when the printhead
wore out. Since that time, pricing trends in the inkjet market have
changed the industry into a close approximation of the original
disposable razor market; give away the razor/printer, make a killing
on replacement razor blades/ink. So, it is no longer worthwhile for
most consumers to bother with replacing the printhead when it wears
out, it is cheaper to just get a whole new printer! (There are even
cases where it is cheaper to get a whole new printer when the ink runs
out, too).
The important point to note here is that both the S-300 and the
BJC-3000 pale in comparison to the new i350 for ease of use, level of
manufacturer support, and Mac OS compatibility. The only thing that
the BJC-3000 has that the other two do not have is a parallel port;
all of them have USB support. If you are looking for OS X support,
then forget about the BJC-3000.
Finally, in case it wasn't already obvious that I'm recommending the
i350 ( :-) ), the price of a new i350 with full manufacturer's
warranty is comparable to the prices I am seeing on some online
retailers for an older S series printer.
------------------------------------
I hope this helps, please let me know if you would like any clarification.
Regards,
aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher |
,
0 Comments
)