Is this a good printer/deal?

I stopped by slickdeals.net and today's deal is the HP Officejet 6500 for $50 shipped from Staples. I know next-to-nothing about what's out there when it comes to printers, but have been meaning to get a new one for some time now so figured this would be a good place to start.

Any recommendations for better options for under $150? I'm a casual user, printing mostly text documents and maybe the occasional photo. It needs to be able to scan and copy as well. I rarely fax so that's not a necessity, but might still be nice to have in case that ever changes. Wireless isn't needed, but would be nice. Same with use over a network.

Thanks for the help

edit: That price range isn't set in stone. Like I said, I don't know much about printers so could probably be convinced to spend more if it's a worthy investment.

 

Not a bad deal for what it is. Check ink prices for that before you buy, though. For $50, it's almost disposable. The main problem with HP printers are that the Windows drivers suck. Like, black-hole type suck.

If you want just a printer, I've had great luck with my Samsung laser printer. Got a color laser for $80 a couple months back, and it just keeps trucking. A monochrome all-in-one is about $130 at Newegg.com, but a color all-in-one starts at around $400. If you want good photo printing though you pretty much need to stick with inkjet.

 

I would kill a men for this printer with this price!

 

My husband has this printer and it is OK- especially for that price. It is NOT wireless so you will need to use a cable. He said the scan feature was much better than the HP7200 series that we have at home. The paper tray is a little weird sometimes, and says it is out of paper when it is not. He has to tap the paper in a little tighter when that happens. Overall he is very happy with it and for that price, I would recommend that you get it.

 

Oh... so that's what they did with all of those old 6500's.... clearance them out warehouses

The 6500's are pretty good, and the print head and ink cartridges are separate units, 4 total cartridges though; they still last a while.

 

The more I think about it, the more I prefer something wireless. What would you guys say are some of the best all-in-one wireless printers?

 

OfficeJet 4500 Wireless Starting from 100$

 

I have the Epson Artisan 810...it's has been fantastic. It does nearly everything duplexing, scanning (front & back), automatic document feeder. It's been retired and replaced now with the Epson Artisan 835.

It has not failed on me once since over a year of ownership. The Wireless set-up was fairly easy, and the Ink Cartridges last a long time (depending on your usage).

 

If you don't need color, the Brother 7840 is a great all in one. The laser printing looks great, the copying looks good as well and it supports connections over USB, Ethernet, and wireless. One of the nice things about it is how long the toner lasts. That is one of the problems with really cheap printers. After a years worth of printing the toner can end up costing double or triple what the printer costs. If you get the high capacity toner with this printer it will last for over 2500 pages. It's a little more expensive than what you have looked at so far, as Amazon has it for $238, but with the life of the toner it may end up saving you money in the long run.

 

I don't know how about in USA but in our country toners can be recharged in any repair or else store. It is way smarter than buy new toner every time it ends. Of course after 3 or 4 recharges you will need to buy another toner but only if toner's heads will start print badly. Also you can buy Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) for printer which uses cartridges

PS If I'm right OfficeJet uses both and cartridges and toner.

 

I ended up getting the Officejet 6500 for $60 from Staples and used a $25 off $75 coupon I got off ebay for a buck to throw in some paper and pencils and bring the total back down to about $50 shipped. I figured at that price I may as well get it since I need a printer. Then when I find a wireless one that I want I'll just give this to my mom who has had the same printer since she first got a computer back in like '04.

Note to self - check ebay for coupons more often... $1 for $25 = good deal