New non-photo quailty printer

My Photo Printer is and Epson.....darn. I'm moving and its packed away and I don't remember what model it is. But its my printer for making prints for framing and sale. My other "problem" printer is a smaller format and only prints 8.5x11 with four ink cartridges. Epson Workforce 60. The printer was inexpensive an has performed well, but the ink is outrageously expensive and you can only buy the black ink separately. You have to buy the others in a set. Four cartridges coast almost as much as I paid for the printer. Well its on its last leg and I don't want to go down that road again. Suggestions for an inexpensive printer that allows me to buy cartridges individually ? Again, this is not my photo printer its for letter, labels, etc.

 

Thanks

If you need only to print in B&W for letters/labels/text, then in my opinion, any low cost B&W desktop laser printer will by far be the most economical choice. Which brand is a personal choice. Some brands join the drum with the toner as a unit, others keep that separate. Many low monthly use printers are pretty dirt cheap. Most go anywhere from 2500-5000 pages per toner cartridge for text printing. In the xerographic industry a page full of single spaced text is usually calculated to be 4-5% of the page covered in toner (or ink), thus toner goes a long way for text documents compared to printing a photo. Just my 2 cents.

Since you didn't mention the type of printing with the Epson Workforce 60 I'ld suggest any current Epson Workforce "All In One" that prints with Durabrite pigment ink (XP series) or any other that uses Claria dye inks (RX series). But those print excellent looking photos for 8x10's. Any Office Depot, Office Max, Target & Walmart sells these models of printers. I'm fixing to get the Workforce XP 434 at Walmart for $55. Of course the cost of the entire ink replacement depending on Moderate to Standard use will cost around the price of the printer but they sell CMYK cartridges individually and in sets. Just face it that you're going to pay for convenience and quality in the inks. There's no way around it so you might buy used.

 

Check local stores off the shelf availability of inks to get the right model. I'm beginning to believe these All In One's are 3-5 year disposable printers. Several months ago I saw two of the same Epson models dating back new 2 years ago at a thrift store going for $15 a piece. They looked brand new.

Inkjet printers are too expensive for routine, non-photo printing. I bought a Brother laser jet for about $100 for that purpose. One toner cartridges prints 5000 pages, and never dries out nor requires periodic cleaning (which wastes a lot of ink). It is also Wi-Fi enabled, and works without a cable from any computer, even smart phones and pads. On a page basis, an inkjet costs 100x as much to run.

Ed, I agree about the laser jet printers, very cheap for B&W prints. But what if the OP needs color for brochures and other advertising needs? Any cheap color laser printers?