For more than a decade I stuck it out with HP because: (1) printing quality is very good; (2) the ink is economical albeit a bit expensive; (3) it WAS durable. After the first inkjet we got an HP Deskjet 895 in 1999 and that piece is still alive to this day, though the ink's very expensive and since George is comatose I can't use it on any other PC/laptop (port not available).
Since the ink cartridge of the HP Deskjet is quite expensive I tried using the HP All-in-One series and in 2006 I got my third one because the first 2 conked out and were irreparable (to think I do not use it everyday). The third one conked out again in the past month and I don't want to bother going to the repair center just to be told that it's irreparable.
Goodbye to the PhP8,000+ investment I made 18 months ago.
So I've decided to say goodbye to HP, my long-time printer friend. IMHO, it seems that the printers being produced today are meant to conk out after a year or two. After my third "all-in-one" I have learned to accept the fact that I should NOT buy an "all-in-one" gadget. Tigas talaga ulo ko eh.
I asked countless of friends about what printer to buy and since it's an unexpected expense I did
not want to spend more than PhP2,500 for a new printer, besides I don't need to print that much stuff anyway. I got quite a lot of suggestions - Epson SC90, the Canon Pixma IP1880, and the Brother DCP-150C. Epson and Canon were in the same price range, Brother was quite expensive at PhP3,950. I got a warning too about Epson conking out after a year too, but I think at the price of PhP2,295 I'll take the risk.
I opted to buy an Epson SC90 because:
1. Original ink is available in most computer shops.
2. If I'm broke I can go and buy ink at CDR King.
3. Unlike HP there are 4 ink cartridges, I think it's more economical that way. I realize now that I probably don't use up the whole colored ink caboodle in my old HP printer.
I just printed a couple of documents and - (1) it's noisy and (2) printing speed is not as fast as my old HP printer. Well, good luck to me. I'm sure glad my Dad donated PhP1,000 for the new printer.
Maganda ang Epson. I've been using Epson printers since 1991...dot matrix pa nun. My printers lasted for around 3-5 years each. Reason I bought newer printers were usually because of upgrading to newer technology than it being busted. I hope you have a good experience as well with Epson printers.
TumugonBurahinNote: this is not a paid testimonal. :D
di ko na naabutan yung wordstar ah. :) may HP printers din naman na ink tanks ang gamit (yung sinasabi mong 4 cartridges). you might want to try lexmark printers. they're the cheapest in the market.
TumugonBurahinsana dumating na rin yung Epson Printer na napanalunan ko sa Batanes. Hello friends from Epson!
TumugonBurahinI still prefer HP.
TumugonBurahinMy father bought an HP Officejet R65 last January 2001. It is an all-in-one inkjet printer that scans and prints. It is still with us and performing fine.
TumugonBurahinPerhaps the reason why it lasted this long could be because of the ink cartridges. The print head is located on the cartridge itself. If the head gets damaged, you just buy a new cartridge.
My problem now is that the catridge is being phased-out. I don't buy new cartridges anymore, I have them refilled with black or colored ink for only P 300 pesos per refill.
Congratulations with your new Epson printer. Printers today have become so cheap, and resolutions so fine. Epson printers are also easy to outfit with continuous ink tanks, saving you more money in the long run. Do convert it to continuous ink when you can.