Wireless printing

[MoneyGuy]

I'm looking for options for setting up a wireless printer. I have an iPhone, a Dell laptop and will soon have the new iPad. I found this HP wireless printer and like that I can print wirelessly from my iPhone and iPad. HP Envy D410a:

http://www.amazon.com/HP-All-Printer.../dp/B0043D2O7C

I welcome any suggestions and ideas. I will be printing documents mostly, but maybe photos. I'd like something that will allow me to print from all of the above devices. I don't want a printer that will cost a fortune in materials as that is sometimes a problem. I don't expect to be doing a lot of printing, maybe three or four documents a week (but I'm unsure as I don't currently have a printer at home, preferring to do all my printing from the office).

Thank you.

[Rathji]

If you have a wireless network, you can connect any printer to the router to print, which might give you a lot more options as far as features and prices go. To go one step further, if your router has a print server, then it can take any printer, which will open up even more.

[Hack&Lube]

Every now and then you can find wireless printers at Wal-Mart and the Source for ridiculously cheap.

Got a nice discontinued Lexmark model that usually sells for $200 for $30. It works perfectly. No need to setup a router or anything. It has it's own WiFi built in. I don't see the need to spend over $100 on one of these unless it's software and drivers don't support the devices you want like iphone, ipad, etc.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Every now and then you can find wireless printers at Wal-Mart and the Source for ridiculously cheap.

Got a nice discontinued Lexmark model that usually sells for $200 for $30. It works perfectly. No need to setup a router or anything. It has it's own WiFi built in. I don't see the need to spend over $100 on one of these unless it's software and drivers don't support the devices you want like iphone, ipad, etc.

When buying a printer you should factor in the cost of toner/ink far more than the cost of the printer, because that is where your real expense will lie.

The problem with the $30 colour inkjet printer is than toner can often cost you up to $150 for a full set of ink that doesn't last that long (500 prints), or will dry out long before you get those 500. Spend a couple hundred bucks on a low duty cycle laser printer and you can easily get 3000-6000 prints for $200-300 and it won't dry out as fast (I have never had toner dry out before it was gone).

[Russic]

If you're on a mac there is a great little application called Printopia (link) that will let you print from you iPhone/iPod/iPad to your wireless printer (and not just the designated few that do it out of the box). It's $10 and I found very little setup.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Rathji

When buying a printer you should factor in the cost of toner/ink far more than the cost of the printer, because that is where your real expense will lie.

The problem with the $30 colour inkjet printer is than toner can often cost you up to $150 for a full set of ink that doesn't last that long (500 prints), or will dry out long before you get those 500. Spend a couple hundred bucks on a low duty cycle laser printer and you can easily get 3000-6000 prints for $200-300 and it won't dry out as fast (I have never had toner dry out before it was gone).

I do ink refills myself. The printer is cheap enough that I don't worry about home refills damaging it. Might as well recycle the whole thing if it breaks.

I agree that if you do a lot of printing, go for a laser.