something cheap and popular, the most expensive part is the ink... but i'd suggest just getting it done at a printing shop depending on how many you need done, owning a printer is pretty much a waste of time and space
@teemu: First, you can usually communicate electronically to government agencies. There are rare cases like the tax form that you must send on paper. Second, I'm not sure how things are today but some years back ink jets didn't produce archive quality. You want your tax documents, contracts etc. to keep their text over the years. Third, scanner is a great thing for archiving too.
I have an old HP Laserjet with network connectivity hidden in my closet. I've been dreaming of a quality document scanner to get rid of paper archives but those are expensive.
@nvainio, yeah, you reminded me of the fact that finding Jaiku related docs has been pain in the ass, if they haven't been scanned. They are always in wrong country. Sounds wise to scan everything.
However, how you deal with contracts and other things that need to be signed?
If a document really needs to be signed, then there is no alternative to a hard copy. You could scan it for backup and easy access, though. But, like I said, many official documents you can send without signature. Just send a PDF over e-mail. Depends on the document, though. Or you can have a scanned signature which you can insert in your document.
Thank you all for your tips, it was very helpful in my decision process. I ended up buying an All-In-One inkjet color printer - Canon PIXMA MP540.
After putting some though on this, a scanner started to seem a must idea. I don't really want to experience anymore the situation where I'm in London and all my important papers for taxation are in Helsinki. Everything will be digitally archived. All-in-one seemed to be the better and cheaper option than trying to live with a scanner only and trying to do signatures to digital documents with copy paste.
Contrary to @tijs suggestion to have less cartridges, I ended up with 5 cartridge model. I made some calculations and it seems that it might end up cheaper than combined-color cartridges. I was originally planning to take MP190, as it was 49€, but ended up with MP540 because of this. It was 99€. Thus, for 50€ I got a paper cassette, doubled scanning resolution, 5 ink model, a bit faster printing and some fancy display. I pondered a bit about WiFi and Ethernet for extra 50€, but then I think that it's ok to move your laptop next to it and connect it to USB.
By the way, photo printing quality of these things is surprisingly good!
@teemu: the discussion about 2 vs 5 cartridges is old.
and all boils down to manufacture. in some cases 5 is better cause u just replace the color that finished, but in most cases those cartridges are also much smaller (5-9ml) and manufacturers have learned how to make the printer think that more then a single cartridge is empty, making us buy more. in some extreme cases (epson i'm looking at you) even with a single color empty cartridge the printer will refuse to print in black or even scan
not trying to make any PUB (since i dont even own one or have anything to gain from this) but Brother printers seem to be a great choice.
initially i thought it was just a cheap brand, but after talking to a lot of users, i've come to know that their models beside cheap, and with really cheap cartridge, are of great quality (printing and scanning) and tend to last longer then other makers.
16 comments so far
Good price/quality ratio. Or bloody cheap, actually. What things should I look for in a printer? What things to avoid?
11 months, 2 weeks ago by teemu
add a fax machine while you're at it
11 months, 2 weeks ago by ralphm
I don't have a phone line.
11 months, 2 weeks ago by teemu
11 months, 2 weeks ago by tijs
@teemu: avoid refill cartiges
11 months, 2 weeks ago by BUGabundo
remember that the Original cartridges are only half full, so u may wish to buy new ones from the start
11 months, 2 weeks ago by BUGabundo
Thanks for tips. All-in-ones are surprisingly cheap, and as scanner is a great to have, I think I'll settle for all-in-one.
Canon Pixma MP190 seems to be a good lower-end choice, is there something in other Pixma models that I should consider.
11 months, 2 weeks ago by teemu
something cheap and popular, the most expensive part is the ink... but i'd suggest just getting it done at a printing shop depending on how many you need done, owning a printer is pretty much a waste of time and space
11 months, 2 weeks ago by termie
@termie, there are no proper printing shops in Finland.
11 months, 2 weeks ago by janne
@teemu: First, you can usually communicate electronically to government agencies. There are rare cases like the tax form that you must send on paper. Second, I'm not sure how things are today but some years back ink jets didn't produce archive quality. You want your tax documents, contracts etc. to keep their text over the years. Third, scanner is a great thing for archiving too.
I have an old HP Laserjet with network connectivity hidden in my closet. I've been dreaming of a quality document scanner to get rid of paper archives but those are expensive.
11 months, 2 weeks ago by nvainio
@nvainio, yeah, you reminded me of the fact that finding Jaiku related docs has been pain in the ass, if they haven't been scanned. They are always in wrong country. Sounds wise to scan everything.
However, how you deal with contracts and other things that need to be signed?
11 months, 2 weeks ago by teemu
If a document really needs to be signed, then there is no alternative to a hard copy. You could scan it for backup and easy access, though. But, like I said, many official documents you can send without signature. Just send a PDF over e-mail. Depends on the document, though. Or you can have a scanned signature which you can insert in your document.
11 months, 2 weeks ago by nvainio
@teemu: in some cases (Portugal Government administrative offices) already accept Digitally sign documents.
So no need for hard copies for signatures
11 months, 2 weeks ago by BUGabundo
Thank you all for your tips, it was very helpful in my decision process. I ended up buying an All-In-One inkjet color printer - Canon PIXMA MP540.
After putting some though on this, a scanner started to seem a must idea. I don't really want to experience anymore the situation where I'm in London and all my important papers for taxation are in Helsinki. Everything will be digitally archived. All-in-one seemed to be the better and cheaper option than trying to live with a scanner only and trying to do signatures to digital documents with copy paste.
Contrary to @tijs suggestion to have less cartridges, I ended up with 5 cartridge model. I made some calculations and it seems that it might end up cheaper than combined-color cartridges. I was originally planning to take MP190, as it was 49€, but ended up with MP540 because of this. It was 99€. Thus, for 50€ I got a paper cassette, doubled scanning resolution, 5 ink model, a bit faster printing and some fancy display. I pondered a bit about WiFi and Ethernet for extra 50€, but then I think that it's ok to move your laptop next to it and connect it to USB.
By the way, photo printing quality of these things is surprisingly good!
11 months, 2 weeks ago by teemu
@teemu: the discussion about 2 vs 5 cartridges is old.
and all boils down to manufacture. in some cases 5 is better cause u just replace the color that finished, but in most cases those cartridges are also much smaller (5-9ml) and manufacturers have learned how to make the printer think that more then a single cartridge is empty, making us buy more. in some extreme cases (epson i'm looking at you) even with a single color empty cartridge the printer will refuse to print in black or even scan
11 months, 2 weeks ago by BUGabundo
not trying to make any PUB (since i dont even own one or have anything to gain from this) but Brother printers seem to be a great choice.
initially i thought it was just a cheap brand, but after talking to a lot of users, i've come to know that their models beside cheap, and with really cheap cartridge, are of great quality (printing and scanning) and tend to last longer then other makers.
11 months, 2 weeks ago by BUGabundo