Glad you posted this, Annie--- I LOATHE my printer more than any piece of equipment I have ever owned. Cannon inkjet.... horrible!

I hope someone posts a decent printer. In my past experience the cheapest printer was the most reliable and easiest to use. I tried to go fancy and it backfired in a big way.

I've had my Canon Pixma printer/scanner for a number of years now; it was a bargain & works quite well despite being older & out of date, so the on-screen manual is unavailable on my OS (have a .pdf tho). Ink is still available too & buying it directly from the Canon website is the best deal too - free shipping & lower prices than local stores.

I'm not suggesting you buy an out-of-date printer, but that Canon is pretty good.

Newegg.com is a good site to check reviews of tech products & has some very good deals. I've had nothing but good experiences w/ them.

I just threw my ink jet out and I will never get another one. I have a black and white Brother laser jet and a separate scanner - purchased when my all in one ink jet wouldn't scan with my new computer. I've been looking at a color laser/digital printer. They aren't that expensive these days and I will eventually get one. I haven't decided what to get yet but have been reading reviews on Amazon which I find very helpful.

I like my printer, maybe even love it a bit. It's a Canon MX920 (Pixma) that I bought over a year ago at Staples for $99. Generally I prefer Canon over Epson or HP. I was surprised how long the original ink cartridges lasted. They sell the entire ink package at Costco and then I usually have them refilled at Costco.

It's got wifi and I love how I can print from all my devices, including iPhone and iPad. It's one of those multi-function printers, but all I wanted was a printer. I have an old scanner, but now use this printer to scan. Anyone notice how much less you need a scanner with a good camera?

I first went to Staples because 1) it's close to where I live, and 2) I hate Best Buy. I checked out what they had, focusing mostly on the Canons. Wrote everything down, then went home and researched the top candidates. It sounded like the MX920 was for me so off I went to buy it. The entire printer is only a few dollars more than a set of cartridges. It has multiple paper trays. It's a bit of a large Darth Vader, but I have the room in my office so that's not a factor.

I have a Brother MFC-J4510DW ink jet, and I like it very much. Purchased from Staples. Also wifi-enabled, and I print from my laptops, iPhone and iPad. Cartridges are super easy to install. Has a feeder for copies, but you do have to manually turn the pages for two-sided copies. For the rare times I need to send or receive a fax, it is relatively easy. I don't use it for photos (it has photo print), but I do use it to print on card stock and vellum with no problems.

What kind of HP do you have? I have an HP and both of my boys do -- though one son picked out an Epson POS because it was cheap and he didn't think he needed more than a minimal printer. He was wrong -- that was the worst hing called a printer I've ever encountered.

Anyway, none of our HP printers have expiring cartridges they won't use and two of the three use individual cartridges. From what I have read, Canon gets the lowest overall ratings, but I think the main thing is that you can't buy the least expensive ones in any brand and think you don't need a heavy duty one. They are junk. You need to go to the mid level -- something that probably lists for at least $150-200 and you can get on sale at or near $100-120.

I think mine is a 7540. One son has an Envy and the other an Officejet but I don't know the models offhand.

HP is a company that makes about 85% of its profit from ink these days. I think that's all that needs to be said about that. If you don't need photo quality printing, then a laser printer is a good economical way to go.

If you prefer a photo printer, my preferences (as someone who dealt for years with amateur photographers who do a lot of printing) are Canon or Epson. I think Epson makes the best hardware (their top of the line printers are the best, but way too expensive unless you're a pro), but their drivers are a nightmare, so I tend to opt for Canon. However, the mid-range newer Epson models come with ink bottles rather than cartridges, so you get a supposed 2-year ink supply when you buy them.

EDIT Whatever you get, if you buy an inkjet look for a model with separate cartridges for the different colors, not a model with a tri-color cartridge.

My Canon MX920 has 5 ink cartridges (two are black, one regular size, the other twice as big). I use this printer for routine stuff: letters, lists, budget printouts, airline tickets, etc. It's fast and handles duplex printing very well. For photos I use an old (circa 2005) Canon i9100, which cost about $800 when it was new. It still prints amazing photos! I can go 6 months without using it and then turn it on and it prints beautifully.

I was prepared to pay more than $99 for an everyday printer, up to $250-300. In fact, I'm always skeptical when things don't cost enough. However, I am quite happy with the MX920.

Would like to add that we do not do tons of printing, so an inexpensive, good quality printer like Canon's is just fine for our needs. It does beautiful photos, but when I need more than just a few printed, I use 1 of the many photo services that can be had around here or online.

Are you interested in color or b/w? If the b/w works for you, I can highly recommend the printer we bought from Costco last year. It's all in one, wifi (or blue tooth) and prints beautifully. We bought it when it was on sale and after years of struggling with one printer problem after another, I'm in printer heaven!

HP Laser Printer

If you don't do a lot of printing, ink jet printers are not a good choice. The ink (or jets) may dry out and render your printer inoperable, in addition to the other issues noted. Sometimes it is easier to just buy a new ink printer! There are some good models out there so YMMV. WE have a dedicated photo printer that is ink based and it still works fine for the few times we use it a year.

I also have the printer lukkiirish linked to and it's great! The wi-fi is nice because I can print from my iPod or Kindle without any trouble. I always keep a few toner cartridges handy but rarely use one up in two years. There is a nice selection of color laser printers out there as well but they're a bit pricey. Some are known for photo quality 8x10s (an Epson model, if memory serves me).

My printers are old so no point in recommending them.

I use the cheap generic ink from Amazon. I used the laser cartridges from there for my laser printer. All worked fine; I've been doing it for years. I have a box of cartridges in a box under my desk right now.

I have a Brother color printer, scanner and fax combo. It uses separate color ink cartridges. Cost approx. $99.00, IIRC.

I have a Brother b/w laser printer for just everyday printing that was a gift and a Lexmark for photos. I highly recommend Brother, I have had that printer for 3 years with not one issue and just replaced the toner for the first time a few months ago. Cost was $70 so not so bad over almost 3 years. When the Lexmark dies, I will definitely get a Brother color laser printer. The Lexmark is adequate but has had issues waking up when I need to print to it. Both are wifi enabled.

I also have a brother MFC laser printer/scanner. We are on a budget and nobody paid attention to the printer settings and would often use the color ink for stupid things. The laser toner lasts a long time. My only complaint is at the time we bought it, it was right before printers were WiFi enabled which I would love to have.

I got sick to death of ink jet printers and the crazy ink prices and the cruddy results. I bought a Brother color laser printer and I absolutely love it. It does everything. It's easy to use, easy to replace the cartridge which last me years, not kidding I have had it several years now and only changed the cartridge once because the ones that come with it are not full like the ones you buy they are demo type but did last quite a while. I am delighted with the quality of the prints beautiful colors and crisp. The cost of the printer was very reasonable for what you are getting. I highly recommend the Brother color laser printer, and it's also a scanner and fax and copier plus networking so I can use it from my tablet or phone etc from anywhere, it really does do everything.

MFC-9120CN

We HATE our HP PRINTER. It is supposed to be wireless, and it is a pain to operate, when it decides to operate. I think that it has a mind of its own. You cannot refill the cartiges. You must buy new cartiges every time they are empty, and they are expensive to replace. My husband, who is really good with computers,electronics, etc curses under his breath every time we have to print something from it. We all wish it would die so that we could buy another better printer.

Does anyone have a photo scanner that they love? I am trying to scan all of our old photo albums. The one that did the best job was not compatible with our Mac computer.

Wow, thanks for all the recommendations and commiseration. DH pointed out an article in the WSJ awhile back about how many people hate their printers, so I'm surely not alone.

Sounds to me like my best bet would be to spring for a color laser printer that scans. And at this point, anything but HP.

Frankginakay,

Any AirPrint capable printer should work pretty easily with the Mac.

We have an Epson XP610 AirPrint that is about a year old. It is fine for our needs at home and does great as a wireless printer. It does seem to go through black cartridges fairly quickly. We replaced an old HP, and I hated that thing. It did exactly what you describe Annie. Chugged away for several minutes before deciding it was ready to print. Then we went with iPads and Mac and needed AirPrint.

Just for the benefit of people who might find a printer that suits them exactly but doesn't have AirPrint, or for those who have older printers and get new i-gadgets, there are other ways to do this, although of course AirPrint is the easiest.

I still use Printopia for mac and there are a couple of equivalent programs for windows. They let you print wirelessly to any printer that's connected to a device on your wifi network. So my Phaser, for instance, which is way too old for wireless, prints just fine from my ipad by going through the mac to do it. Of course, you need to have your computer turned on for this to work.

Annie, I'm so glad you posted this request as I have the same problem. I've never been able to rely on my Canon printer for just the reasons you mentioned. I'm in dire need of a new one, can you let me know which one you choose? I can wait lol.

Just found this geek guide to printers

My brother color laser prints color extremely well in fact I have several people ask me if they are pictures or printed. I have some I have framed, they look great. The new color lasers are much much better. Price seems high till you factor in how long the toner lasts and how much you would have spent on ink jet ink. Mine has easily paid for itself. I am so happy I made the decision to go laser. Several of my friends after seeing the results bought the same printer.

Please tell me what brand you bought, I think I'll go laser too.

I guess I'm one of the few that likes their printer! It is a HP Photosmart C7180 All-in-One that I've had for at least 8 years, maybe more, not exactly sure when I bought it. It has 1 black and 4 color cartridges, and the printer will still use them even when it gives you the expired ink warning. It works as a printer, copier, fax and scanner. I am hoping it never dies, as I hate shopping for new stuff when I've had something that works well for many years ... the new stuff is never of equal or better quality.

Well, I need scanning too...don't need duplexing or fax capability. If I look at the brother that has both, the msrp is $350. It uses LED technology vs. laser.

Annie, most printers offer duplex printing. I use it quite a bit to save paper. I also print lots of things in draft mode where I need a hard copy but not necessarily super crisp.

Looks like a lot of people hate their printers. I'm going to upgrade my opinion of mine to super-like/sorta-love.

My brother is mfc 9120 cn it was around $300 when I bought it, I got it on a good sale. Very worth the money.

I just now saw an ad for a new kind of printer it has a refillable tank. Here's a link. I know nothing about them.

http://m.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Landing/ecotank-super-tank-printers.do?utm_referrer=direct%2Fnot%20provided

I was just talking to a printer technician about those new Epsons today. They are definitely designed for folks who value cheaper printing costs above photo quality, according to him.

I think this might be the new brother color model that replaced my version. They come out with new versions regularly. This one has a bigger touch screen mine is not a touch screen, just an information screen. But this is a great price. It looks almost exactly like mine except for the touch screen, mine has a regular screen there. It uses led light source instead of the laser light source. From what I've read it's very similar, both use toner cartridges.

http://www.adorama.com/BRMFC9130CW.html?hotlink=t&svfor=5m&gclid=CNDfnpa1jMoCFQaJaQod74QB-A

I'm unclear - I, too, have a Mac; what is airprint? When I bought my laptop about 5 1/2 years ago, it came with a discount for a printer - I used it at the Apple store toward an upgraded model, also an Epson, I believe, which I've never used. I've been too many years without a printer, was looking forward to hooking it up next week, but now it looks like I'll need a better one anyway.

Gramarows: AirPrint

I'm not sure how it differs from printing to a wifi-enabled printer. I think most printers now have wifi. I love it.