Printer Update...

Went with an HP, the C4480. It boiled down primarily to the 4480 having the right combination of three key features:

1. Size. We were looking for an all-in-one printer because we've got limited space available. We abandoned the office as our prime computing space last year when we got the laptop, and wanted something that fit on the end table by the island in the kitchen. A big honkin' scanner/copier wasn't going to do it.

2. Price. We paid $70 and change for this printer, brought down significantly cheaper by having $30 in Best Buy Rewards cards (else we'd have gone with the cheaper HP at WalMart!)

3. Replacement cartridges. We use our printer on an intermittent basis, and quite often wind up shortening the life of the print cartridges by the infrequency of use (drying up, etc.). This printer has standard-size cartridges and large capacity cartridges (finding pre-ban print cartridges is a bitch tho'... *g*), so we can pick up the larger cartridges when doing big print jobs and keep the smaller ones on hand for every day use. Not to mention replacement cartridges aren't $35 for this printer...

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If I remember, I'll post a long(er) term review of performance. Alan had a good point, really, about the printer being a disposable item; however we tend to use the scanner/copier portion just about as much as the printer part. One of the little tricks we've learned with the kids over the years is to scan in their school artwork and set it to rotate as the computer's screensaver. This accomplishes two goals: the kids get to see their artwork on the computer in a totally random pattern (i.e. no "why is *her* picture the background?!?!?!"), and we get to quietly dispose of the artwork once it's done hanging in the art gallery (refrigerator)...

Besides, having a scanner/copier is key for having extra copies of my C&R license to send out... (gotta work the gunnie aspect in somehow!)

That is all.