Well as I just so happen to work retail, including selling printers, here is what I normally go over when assisting people with a printer purchase.

In terms of brand: Epson, Brother, HP, Lexmark, Canon, all make good printers (I haven't worked with Kodak so can't tell you anything there). The question is which one is best for your needs. There are two types of printers, laser and inkjet.

Laser printers offer clear text and a low operating cost, but in exchange have a higher start up cost, and are typically only black and white. Color lasers are available but due to cost I only recomend them for small/medium office use or rather for higher volume users. Black and white laser printers start at $100 but can be found lower on sale. Something with wireless would be closer to the $150 to $200 retail.

Inkjets are better in terms of color printing and start up cost. Inkjets are the typical home unit and specialize in photo printing, however most of the new model inkjets even rival laser in terms of text clarity. Inkjet printers start as low a $30, for wireless they start at about $100 or so.

Now that out of the way, the real question I should be asking (and normally would start with if you were a real customer of mine) is what are you going to be printing (text, photo's, random stuff from the net, black and white, or color?) and also how much are you going to be printing (10-20 sheets a day, a week, a month, a year?) Also are you looking for a printer or an All-In-One (Print/Copy/Scan). If you are looking at an All-In-One do you need fax capability? Also what price range are you trying to stick with in, and do you have any preference to a particular brand?

Now without knowing the answers to these questions, I just throw out a few random answers...

I like HP I've had good luck with them so I tent to recomend HP...

For a family or for a home office with light to medium print needs (less then 50 pages a week with wireless) I like the HP C4580. Print/Copy/Scan with wireless the unit uses the HP 74 and 75 ink series, but is also compatible withe the 74XL and 75XL high capacity. The 74 and 75 are cheap little cartridges good for low volume users, where as the XL are about twice the price but three times the ink for a better cost per print. The machine is photo capable, and includes a memory card reader as well as a small LCD screen that allows you to preview and print off all your photo's without turning on you PC.

For people with a little higher print needs or if you want to focus more on photo printing the HP C6380 is a good choice. Again Print/Copy/Scan with wireless this unit uses individual ink cartridges so you only have to replace each color as needed. It seems to be using Canon technology in the print head (the print head is the part that take the ink and transfers it to the page) that based on prior models has proven to be quite stable and can withstand abuse far better then Epson print heads*. This machine also includes a memory card reader as well as a larger LCD screen that allows you to preview and print off all your photo's. All in all for a focus on photo's a good choice.

Next on the list is the HP J4680 Print/Copy/Scan and Fax with wireless. Not the best for photo's although it IS photo capable. This is your entry level All-In-One with Fax and wireless by HP.

Well that is three of the more popular entry level models for: Basic Home, Photo, and Home Office. I hope this give you a few ideas. And if you have any questions feel free to ask. Like I said I work retail, I sell each and every one of these models in question, and no I'm not paid on commission

~ Draken


*What do I mean by this? Well Epson printers like Brother as well are machines that like to get used. The print head in these machines are built into the machine, unlike most HP's were the print head is built into the cartridge. As you print it flushes ink through the print head keeping the print head clean and clear. If you don't print the print head will start to dry out and clog up. Epson machines run cleaning cycles to prevent the print head from clogging when not in use, however these cleaning cycles waste ink. If you print on a regular basis, once or twice a week, you should be fine. Less then that however and you run the risk of the print head drying out and turning your printer into a brick. Best example I can give: Teachers. They use their Epsons all year round no problem, but if they leave it in their class over the summer, when they come back in the fall the machine is a paper weight.

HP, Canon, and Lexmark (Dell too since they are Lexmark printers with Dell's name stamped on them) are FAR less likely to clog due to lack of use. Thus I recomend them for the lower volume user.