Specs needed must work with iPad runing IOS 16+
colour although photo quality isn't needed .

A4, low useage

for someone that just wants the occasional print out from their iPad,
with minimal hassel.

Price I'd think £75 or less should get a decent one.

I don't think an all in one or scanner is required but might be useful.

cheers

On Friday, 29 September 2023 at 13:05:31 UTC+1, whisky-dave wrote:
> Specs needed must work with iPad runing IOS 16+
> colour although photo quality isn't needed .
>
> A4, low useage
>
> for someone that just wants the occasional print out from their iPad,
> with minimal hassel.
>
> Price I'd think £75 or less should get a decent one.
>
> I don't think an all in one or scanner is required but might be useful.
>
> cheers

Been updates and Yes a scanner bit wanted too.
SO I'm guessing a typical all-in-one unit.

whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:
> Specs needed must work with iPad runing IOS 16+
> colour although photo quality isn't needed .
>
> A4, low useage
>
> for someone that just wants the occasional print out from their iPad,
> with minimal hassel.
>
> Price I'd think £75 or less should get a decent one.
>
> I don't think an all in one or scanner is required but might be useful.

I'd have thought any modern printer with wifi would support AirPrint, so it
then comes down to whatever shenanigans they do with cartridges, which is
likely to far outweigh the purchase price over the lifetime of the printer.

(I can recommend Brother lasers for their lack of toner DRM until recently,
but don't have an inkjet recommendation as they're often much more DRMed up).

Not au fait with how the scanning side works with iOS, I suppose you need a
dedicated app for that? Or an SD card slot on the printer and an SD card
reader for the iPad - any device that can scan to SD card should work.

Theo

On 29/09/2023 13:05, whisky-dave wrote:
> Specs needed must work with iPad runing IOS 16+
> colour although photo quality isn't needed .
>
> A4, low useage
>
> for someone that just wants the occasional print out from their iPad,
> with minimal hassel.
>
> Price I'd think £75 or less should get a decent one.
>
> I don't think an all in one or scanner is required but might be useful.
>
> cheers

I can only suggest based on my own experience, having had Epson, HP,
Brother and Canon over the years. All of which suffered with expensive
component failure. The Canons needed heads, which cost more than the
printer, and the Brother needed a waste ink container, which is not
officially user replaceable (nobody mentions that before you buy one).

As a low user myself, I am finding the HP Instant Ink subscription works
very well. You keep genuine cartridges in for a reasonable cost -
£2.99/mnth for 50 pages (anything on a page), with rollover up to 150 pages.

I'm using it with a HP Envy Pro 6430, but that's not the cheapest mode.
It's quite a good all rounder (decent print quality, decent scanner, and
fairly good photos), and does proper double sided. It does Airprint, and
has been working fine with our iPhones, iPads and Macs.

They did nump the subscription price a bit, but it's still actually a
fair cost.

--
Andy H

whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:
> Specs needed must work with iPad runing IOS 16+
> colour although photo quality isn't needed .
>
> A4, low useage
>
> for someone that just wants the occasional print out from their iPad,
> with minimal hassel.
>
> Price I'd think £75 or less should get a decent one.
>
> I don't think an all in one or scanner is required but might be useful.

iOS Notes app does very well scanning to pdf with just the camera. For only
infrequent use I wouldn't get an all-in-one.

whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:

> Specs needed must work with iPad runing IOS 16+
> colour although photo quality isn't needed .
>
> A4, low useage
>
> for someone that just wants the occasional print out from their iPad,
> with minimal hassel.
>
> Price I'd think £75 or less should get a decent one.
>
> I don't think an all in one or scanner is required but might be useful.

I gave up on all those inkjets.
They are always non-functional when you need them.
Those few pages I have actually printed have been very expensive indeed.
Got a cheap laser instead,

Jan

On 29/09/2023 17:24, Andy Hewitt wrote:
> On 29/09/2023 13:05, whisky-dave wrote:
>>   Specs needed must work with iPad runing IOS 16+
>>   colour although  photo quality isn't needed .
>>
>> A4, low useage
>>
>> for someone that just wants the occasional print out from their iPad,
>> with minimal hassel.
>>
>>   Price I'd think £75 or less should get a decent one.
>>
>> I don't think an all in one or scanner is required but might be useful.
>>
>> cheers
>
> I can only suggest based on my own experience, having had Epson, HP,
> Brother and Canon over the years. All of which suffered with expensive
> component failure. The Canons needed heads, which cost more than the
> printer, and the Brother needed a waste ink container, which is not
> officially user replaceable (nobody mentions that before you buy one).
>
> As a low user myself, I am finding the HP Instant Ink subscription works
> very well. You keep genuine cartridges in for a reasonable cost -
> £2.99/mnth for 50 pages (anything on a page), with rollover up to 150
> pages.

Yes, ditto. I can't quite recall all the details but I got my printer
from HP direct, got cashback, and then used a colleague's referral code
to get an Instant Ink subscription which I still haven't paid a bean for.

--
Chris

On 29/09/2023 14:32, Theo wrote:
> whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Specs needed must work with iPad runing IOS 16+
>> colour although photo quality isn't needed .
>>
>> A4, low useage
>>
>> for someone that just wants the occasional print out from their iPad,
>> with minimal hassel.
>>
>> Price I'd think £75 or less should get a decent one.
>>
>> I don't think an all in one or scanner is required but might be useful.
>
> I'd have thought any modern printer with wifi would support AirPrint, so it
> then comes down to whatever shenanigans they do with cartridges, which is
> likely to far outweigh the purchase price over the lifetime of the printer.
>
> (I can recommend Brother lasers for their lack of toner DRM until recently,
> but don't have an inkjet recommendation as they're often much more DRMed up).
>
> Not au fait with how the scanning side works with iOS, I suppose you need a
> dedicated app for that? Or an SD card slot on the printer and an SD card
> reader for the iPad - any device that can scan to SD card should work.
>
> Theo
>
The brother print/scan app seems to do the job on ipad

On 29/09/2023 20:36, J. J. Lodder wrote:
> whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Specs needed must work with iPad runing IOS 16+
>> colour although photo quality isn't needed .
>>
>> A4, low useage
>>
>> for someone that just wants the occasional print out from their iPad,
>> with minimal hassel.
>>
>> Price I'd think £75 or less should get a decent one.
>>
>> I don't think an all in one or scanner is required but might be useful.
>
> I gave up on all those inkjets.
> They are always non-functional when you need them.
> Those few pages I have actually printed have been very expensive indeed.
> Got a cheap laser instead,
>
> Jan
>
Is there such an animal as a cheap colour laser with reasonably priced
consumables?

On 30 Sep 2023 at 11:42:35 BST, David Kennedy wrote:

> On 29/09/2023 20:36, J. J. Lodder wrote:
>> whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Specs needed must work with iPad runing IOS 16+
>>> colour although photo quality isn't needed .
>>>
>>> A4, low useage
>>>
>>> for someone that just wants the occasional print out from their iPad,
>>> with minimal hassel.
>>>
>>> Price I'd think £75 or less should get a decent one.
>>>
>>> I don't think an all in one or scanner is required but might be useful.
>>
>> I gave up on all those inkjets.
>> They are always non-functional when you need them.
>> Those few pages I have actually printed have been very expensive indeed.
>> Got a cheap laser instead,
>>
>> Jan
>>
> Is there such an animal as a cheap colour laser with reasonably priced
> consumables?

Buy s/h? I got an HP 1025nw with about 2/3rds full generic toner for £30.
Admittedly I only do a couple of copies a week - occasional A4 photos and
prints which don't look at all bad. I've had it about 5 years now and it's
still going strong on the same toner.
--
Cheers, Rob, Sheffield UK

On 30/09/2023 12:21, RJH wrote:
> On 30 Sep 2023 at 11:42:35 BST, David Kennedy wrote:
>
>> On 29/09/2023 20:36, J. J. Lodder wrote:
>>> whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Specs needed must work with iPad runing IOS 16+
>>>> colour although photo quality isn't needed .
>>>>
>>>> A4, low useage
>>>>
>>>> for someone that just wants the occasional print out from their iPad,
>>>> with minimal hassel.
>>>>
>>>> Price I'd think £75 or less should get a decent one.
>>>>
>>>> I don't think an all in one or scanner is required but might be useful.
>>>
>>> I gave up on all those inkjets.
>>> They are always non-functional when you need them.
>>> Those few pages I have actually printed have been very expensive indeed.
>>> Got a cheap laser instead,
>>>
>>> Jan
>>>
>> Is there such an animal as a cheap colour laser with reasonably priced
>> consumables?
>
> Buy s/h? I got an HP 1025nw with about 2/3rds full generic toner for £30.
> Admittedly I only do a couple of copies a week - occasional A4 photos and
> prints which don't look at all bad. I've had it about 5 years now and it's
> still going strong on the same toner.
>
That sounds to me like a winner.

Is HP still the benchmark or are there others worth considering?

David Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 30/09/2023 12:21, RJH wrote:
> >
> > Buy s/h? I got an HP 1025nw with about 2/3rds full generic toner for £30.
> > Admittedly I only do a couple of copies a week - occasional A4 photos and
> > prints which don't look at all bad. I've had it about 5 years now and it's
> > still going strong on the same toner.
> >
> That sounds to me like a winner.
>
> Is HP still the benchmark or are there others worth considering?

HP is full-on cartridge-DRM shenanigans these days. Forget about their
previous reputation, they've trashed it.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/03/customers-fume-as-hp-blocks-third-party-ink-from-more-of-its-printers/

I have a Brother HL-L8260CDW. A full set of aftermarket replacement colour
toners is £30-35. I've done 20K pages, mostly colour, and paid about £130
in toner overall.

Some of the new Brothers have chips in their toners now, but the older
ones don't, which means cheap-as-chips replacement carts.

Theo

On 30/09/2023 12:59, Theo wrote:
>
> Some of the new Brothers have chips in their toners now, but the older
> ones don't, which means cheap-as-chips replacement carts.
>
> Theo
>

is it obvious which are which?

David Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:

> On 30/09/2023 12:21, RJH wrote:
[...]
> > Buy s/h? I got an HP 1025nw with about 2/3rds full generic toner for £30.
> > Admittedly I only do a couple of copies a week - occasional A4 photos and
> > prints which don't look at all bad. I've had it about 5 years now and it's
> > still going strong on the same toner.
> >
> That sounds to me like a winner.
>
> Is HP still the benchmark or are there others worth considering?

It may not be relevant now, but some years ago I came across an odd type
of Canon printer (CLPB 460) which appeared to be as good as the
then-current top-of-the range HP (4500); it was cheaper than the HP and
had all the bells and whistles included for no extra cost.

I looked up which toner cartridges it took and was surprised to find
they were the same as those for the HP 4500. It appears to have been
the prototype whioch was later bought by HP and re-badged as the 4500.
It was an absolute bargain and (with one minor repair) has lasted 20+
years, to the point where the life-expired plastic casing has begun to
self-destruct.

It runs PostScript on Ethernet, so it will still give basic
functionality with much more recent computers.

Perhaps there is something like that lurking in the Canon range that is
worth seeking out?

--
~ Liz Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk

On 30/09/2023 10:22, Chris Ridd wrote:
> On 29/09/2023 17:24, Andy Hewitt wrote:

>> As a low user myself, I am finding the HP Instant Ink subscription
>> works very well. You keep genuine cartridges in for a reasonable cost
>> - £2.99/mnth for 50 pages (anything on a page), with rollover up to
>> 150 pages.
>
> Yes, ditto. I can't quite recall all the details but I got my printer
> from HP direct, got cashback, and then used a colleague's referral code
> to get an Instant Ink subscription which I still haven't paid a bean for.

I've had mine since the printer shortage at the beginning of the Covid
madness, and ended up with this one simply because of lack of choice. It
was, IIRC, about £90, the model I wanted was about £60, but not
available anywhere.

To be fair, it's been one of the best printers I've ever owned, and I
haven't had to do a single head clean in three years, despite never
hitting the page count limit. Most of the others were causing problems
by two years, with more printing being done back then.

As much as some here bang on about the Brothers, I wasn't all that
enthusiastic about it. It was OK, but once the waste ink container was
full, it was screwed (the hacks to bypass it didn't work here, and the
replacement containers were only available from Brother).

I believe the low end inkjets are no longer available from them.

But, as with all things, YMMV :-/.

--
Andy H

David Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 30/09/2023 12:59, Theo wrote:
> >
> > Some of the new Brothers have chips in their toners now, but the older
> > ones don't, which means cheap-as-chips replacement carts.
>
> is it obvious which are which?

Brother have a helpful list:
http://update.brother.co.jp/pbj/pdf/en/Brother_White_Paper_Genuine_Authentication_Inkjet_EN.pdf

You can also search for aftermarket carts on ebay. If they're cheap, it
suggests they're either not chipped or the chips are easily forged. If not
cheap, they a probably locked down.

Theo

Liz Tuddenham <liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid> wrote:
> It may not be relevant now, but some years ago I came across an odd type
> of Canon printer (CLPB 460) which appeared to be as good as the
> then-current top-of-the range HP (4500); it was cheaper than the HP and
> had all the bells and whistles included for no extra cost.
>
> I looked up which toner cartridges it took and was surprised to find
> they were the same as those for the HP 4500. It appears to have been
> the prototype whioch was later bought by HP and re-badged as the 4500.
> It was an absolute bargain and (with one minor repair) has lasted 20+
> years, to the point where the life-expired plastic casing has begun to
> self-destruct.

HP, Canon and Xerox used to share printer engines. I think the Laserjet 4
was also a Canon LPB something and also a Xerox - I've cross-bought
cartridges and they worked. I think the engine was developed by Canon
originally and cross-licenced.

That printer was released 30 years ago, though - not sure if they still do
that. I think some manufacturers are trading purely on their reputations
from long ago.

THeo

David Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:

> On 29/09/2023 20:36, J. J. Lodder wrote:
> > whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Specs needed must work with iPad runing IOS 16+
> >> colour although photo quality isn't needed .
> >>
> >> A4, low useage
> >>
> >> for someone that just wants the occasional print out from their iPad,
> >> with minimal hassel.
> >>
> >> Price I'd think £75 or less should get a decent one.
> >>
> >> I don't think an all in one or scanner is required but might be useful.
> >
> > I gave up on all those inkjets.
> > They are always non-functional when you need them.
> > Those few pages I have actually printed have been very expensive indeed.
> > Got a cheap laser instead,
> >
> > Jan
> >
> Is there such an animal as a cheap colour laser with reasonably priced
> consumables?

Don't know. I have an old wired Canon that just works.
(also wireless from an iPad on the same network)
Third party toners are readily available.

Jan

On 30/09/2023 17:37, Theo wrote:
> David Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 30/09/2023 12:59, Theo wrote:
>>>
>>> Some of the new Brothers have chips in their toners now, but the older
>>> ones don't, which means cheap-as-chips replacement carts.
>>
>> is it obvious which are which?
>
> Brother have a helpful list:
> http://update.brother.co.jp/pbj/pdf/en/Brother_White_Paper_Genuine_Authentication_Inkjet_EN.pdf
>
> You can also search for aftermarket carts on ebay. If they're cheap, it
> suggests they're either not chipped or the chips are easily forged. If not
> cheap, they a probably locked down.
>
> Theo
>
Thanks

On 29 Sep 2023 at 20:36:40 BST, "J. J. Lodder" <J. J. Lodder> wrote:

> whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Specs needed must work with iPad runing IOS 16+
>> colour although photo quality isn't needed .
>>
>> A4, low useage
>>
>> for someone that just wants the occasional print out from their iPad,
>> with minimal hassel.
>>
>> Price I'd think £75 or less should get a decent one.
>>
>> I don't think an all in one or scanner is required but might be useful.
>
> I gave up on all those inkjets.
> They are always non-functional when you need them.
> Those few pages I have actually printed have been very expensive indeed.
> Got a cheap laser instead,

Agreed, but can I branch the thread to ask a slightly different question?

I'm currently being asked to recommend a cheapish colour printer for an older
person (also an iPad-only user) who won't want to make space (or spend the
money) for a laser printer.

Usage will probably be low. Any suggestions for an inkjet with
non-extortionate ink costs? I suspect she'll be reluctant to consider
something like the HP subscription.

--
TimH
pull tooth to reply by email

On 04/10/2023 18:53, TimH wrote:
> On 29 Sep 2023 at 20:36:40 BST, "J. J. Lodder" <J. J. Lodder> wrote:
>
>> whisky-dave <whisky.dave@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Specs needed must work with iPad runing IOS 16+
>>> colour although photo quality isn't needed .
>>>
>>> A4, low useage
>>>
>>> for someone that just wants the occasional print out from their iPad,
>>> with minimal hassel.
>>>
>>> Price I'd think £75 or less should get a decent one.
>>>
>>> I don't think an all in one or scanner is required but might be useful.
>>
>> I gave up on all those inkjets.
>> They are always non-functional when you need them.
>> Those few pages I have actually printed have been very expensive indeed.
>> Got a cheap laser instead,
>
> Agreed, but can I branch the thread to ask a slightly different question?
>
> I'm currently being asked to recommend a cheapish colour printer for an older
> person (also an iPad-only user) who won't want to make space (or spend the
> money) for a laser printer.
>
> Usage will probably be low. Any suggestions for an inkjet with
> non-extortionate ink costs? I suspect she'll be reluctant to consider
> something like the HP subscription.

They do a really low use cheap option at about 99p IIRC.

I've had these cartridges in for 18 months now, using less than 50 pages
per month, and never had a single blockage.

The subscription cartridges are definitely different to the standard
purchased ones.

--
Andy H

TimH wrote:

[snip]

>
> Agreed, but can I branch the thread to ask a slightly different question?
>
> I'm currently being asked to recommend a cheapish colour printer for an older
> person (also an iPad-only user) who won't want to make space (or spend the
> money) for a laser printer.
>
> Usage will probably be low. Any suggestions for an inkjet with
> non-extortionate ink costs? I suspect she'll be reluctant to consider
> something like the HP subscription.

Inkjet printers block up unless you pring something daily - or at least
weekly.

So if her usage is less than that it's probably better to take a memory
stick with the images on it to Tesco and pay them to print the photos.

--
Graham J

Graham J <nobody@nowhere.co.uk> wrote:
> TimH wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
>>
>> Agreed, but can I branch the thread to ask a slightly different question?
>>
>> I'm currently being asked to recommend a cheapish colour printer for an older
>> person (also an iPad-only user) who won't want to make space (or spend the
>> money) for a laser printer.
>>
>> Usage will probably be low. Any suggestions for an inkjet with
>> non-extortionate ink costs? I suspect she'll be reluctant to consider
>> something like the HP subscription.
>
> Inkjet printers block up unless you pring something daily - or at least
> weekly.
>
> So if her usage is less than that it's probably better to take a memory
> stick with the images on it to Tesco and pay them to print the photos.

This is regularly repeated and isn't universally true. Inkjets *can* block
up if unused not necessarily *will*. Certainly much less likely with newer
printers.

I am and have always been a low user - a ream of paper usually lasts more
than a year- but my printers have never blocked up.

On 30 Sep 2023 at 12:59:50 BST, Theo wrote:

> David Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 30/09/2023 12:21, RJH wrote:
>>>
>>> Buy s/h? I got an HP 1025nw with about 2/3rds full generic toner for £30.
>>> Admittedly I only do a couple of copies a week - occasional A4 photos and
>>> prints which don't look at all bad. I've had it about 5 years now and it's
>>> still going strong on the same toner.
>>>
>> That sounds to me like a winner.
>>
>> Is HP still the benchmark or are there others worth considering?
>
> HP is full-on cartridge-DRM shenanigans these days. Forget about their
> previous reputation, they've trashed it.
> https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/03/customers-fume-as-hp-blocks-third-party-ink-from-more-of-its-printers/
>
>

If true, that's atrocious - suggesting by using 3rd party toner my printer can
be bricked at any time.

I did have a couple of nag screens a few years ago, but just cancelled them
and nothing since. It's still on 2013 (latest 2020) firmware, so maybe it's
out of reach. Even so . . .

--
Cheers, Rob, Sheffield UK

On 5 Oct 2023 at 07:42:55 BST, "Graham J" <nobody@nowhere.co.uk> wrote:

> TimH wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
>>
>> Agreed, but can I branch the thread to ask a slightly different question?
>>
>> I'm currently being asked to recommend a cheapish colour printer for an older
>> person (also an iPad-only user) who won't want to make space (or spend the
>> money) for a laser printer.
>>
>> Usage will probably be low. Any suggestions for an inkjet with
>> non-extortionate ink costs? I suspect she'll be reluctant to consider
>> something like the HP subscription.
>
> Inkjet printers block up unless you pring something daily - or at least
> weekly.
>
> So if her usage is less than that it's probably better to take a memory
> stick with the images on it to Tesco and pay them to print the photos.

I have two Canon printers, mainly for historical reasons. Both use AirPrint,
so I can use them with the iMac, the iPad and the iPhone. One is a 3-in-1, the
other can print double sided and since it has both front and rear feed I can
put scrap in the rear tray.

But let's face it, I don't really do enough printing to justify two. Neither
is anything like fully utilised. and the 3-in-1 which was Anne's was barely
used at all in the last year of her life.

Neither has ever blocked.

John.

--
An infinitely complex system can fail in an infinite number of ways.