Best inkjet printer for the boat

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

Ordering from Amazon is easier said than done if you are cruising worldwide! Friends with Canons could not buy cartridges in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives or Turkey. As to the correct article number, that is what I tried to explain. As my friend learned, Canon makes cartridges for the same model machine but has different article numbers for cartridges to be sold in the USA and cartridges to be sold internationally for the same model machine. The international numbered cartridges will not work on a machine sold in the USA, only the cartridges with the USA article number will work.

This stuff is simple if one cruises only one geographic region. It gets more complicated when farther afield. As my friend found, international Canon cartridges would not work in her USA purchased Canon machine, even though Canon originally said they would. After higher levels of tech support at Canon the advice was that they would have to buy cartridges only in the USA for a machine purchased in the USA. Other models of Canon machines might have different requirements. But more than one cruising friend with Canon machines has discussed this cartridge problem with us. Making us very thankful that we chanced to buy a multi-function machine that uses the most commonly sold ink cartridge sold everywhere.

(Now....watch the darn think die just because I publicly stated how much we like it.)

Judy

Judy, That is why I started this thread... to advice on the best printer for aboard a boat and that is the Canon iP100 imo. It is not any other consumer line Canon model. All consumer line model inkjet printers, regardless of brand, are all about selling ink cartridges for optimum profit. Not so with the professional line of printers. You can buy the Canon iP100 cartridges in every country that Canon is represented in.

[Gelfling]

Thanks for the info Jedi. As a home school teacher....and someone that needs a new printer anyway....I will be looking into this one. When we do go live-aboard I want to have the right printer to take with! The cannon I currently have is about 15 years old...but I am sure it wouldn't last long in a marine environment.

[neelie]

Why not a laser printer with scanner? The 2 downsides were high power consumption and size (but newer ones are smaller). The upside was 3000 page capacity per cartridge and great for making photo copies. Our previous boat was a cat and no shortage of space. We loved our laser.

[LJH]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

Ordering from Amazon is easier said than done if you are cruising worldwide! Friends with Canons could not buy cartridges in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives or Turkey. As to the correct article number, that is what I tried to explain. As my friend learned, Canon makes cartridges for the same model machine but has different article numbers for cartridges to be sold in the USA and cartridges to be sold internationally for the same model machine. The international numbered cartridges will not work on a machine sold in the USA, only the cartridges with the USA article number will work.

This stuff is simple if one cruises only one geographic region. It gets more complicated when farther afield. As my friend found, international Canon cartridges would not work in her USA purchased Canon machine, even though Canon originally said they would. After higher levels of tech support at Canon the advice was that they would have to buy cartridges only in the USA for a machine purchased in the USA. Other models of Canon machines might have different requirements. But more than one cruising friend with Canon machines has discussed this cartridge problem with us. Making us very thankful that we chanced to buy a multi-function machine that uses the most commonly sold ink cartridge sold everywhere.

(Now....watch the darn think die just because I publicly stated how much we like it.)

Judy

I have had great success with this printer. Never had an issue with cartridges drying up. You can get a 12v power supply for it, so little need to use the inverter.

If you buy in bulk, there is no issue. Plan ahead. Amazon sells an 8 pack with 3 colour and 5 black and white cartridges. I bought two packages 18 months ago and just finished the first package.

(Amazon.com: LD © Canon Pixma iP100 Compatible Set of 8 Ink Cartridges: 5 Black PGI35, 3 Color CLI36: Electronics)

[LJH]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

That scanner is really slow, and big. If you don't need a flatbed I'd get the Fujitsu Scansnap 300 series. Blazing fast and compact, good trouble free paper handling.

If you don't need a flatbed Snapscan is the way to go. Compact sheet feeder that is USB powered. Outstanding performance.
Fujitsu ScanSnap Scanners | Small Business and Home Office Scanners : Fujitsu United States

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by LJH

If you don't need a flatbed Snapscan is the way to go. Compact sheet feeder that is USB powered. Outstanding performance.
Fujitsu ScanSnap Scanners | Small Business and Home Office Scanners : Fujitsu United States

On a boat that is out cruising you need a flatbed scanner. Or go to a copy service that you don't know where to fnd every time.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by LJH

I have had great success with this printer. Never had an issue with cartridges drying up. You can get a 12v power supply for it, so little need to use the inverter.

If you buy in bulk, there is no issue. Plan ahead. Amazon sells an 8 pack with 3 colour and 5 black and white cartridges. I bought two packages 18 months ago and just finished the first package.

(Amazon.com: LD © Canon Pixma iP100 Compatible Set of 8 Ink Cartridges: 5 Black PGI35, 3 Color CLI36: Electronics)

Good to hear I'm not he only one who values quality

[gettinthere]

Be aware that there are two types of printers. One has the ink jets in the printer and the other has the ink jet in the cartridge.

The cartridges with jets are more expensive than the cartridges without jets. So buying a printer that has internal jets will save you money on cartridges.

BUT! There's always a but. Ink jets WILL clog. When they do you can try to clean them, but that is often a frustrating effort that eventually ends in failure. This is especially prevalent with a printer that does not get used regularly. So which would you rather pitch in the trash? A clogged cartridge or a clogged printer?

We have a combo HP unit; printer/scanner/copier. Works well. We have used all three features as we cruise. Footprint is about 14" X 20". Wish it was smaller but it is what it is.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

On a boat that is out cruising you need a flatbed scanner.

I think that is subject to debate depending on what your specific needs are. The last thing I want on a boat is a non-essential piece of equipment that is expensive, takes up valuable space, and requires care and feeding of any sort, particularly if it is used only very sporadically. I'm not arguing that no one needs one, only that for many it bears consideration if there are other options that meet their needs.

As mentioned there are a ton of smartphone apps that now do remarkable things. I use JotNot on my iphone that takes a picture and then performs a number of post-processing procedures (flattening, squaring, contrast adjustment, etc.) based on options you set, then saves it to selectable formats, then can email, fax, save to Google docs, etc. The quality of the resulting document rivals what you could expect out of a dedicated scanner less than a decade ago. If you already have a printer on your boat, you can share the file to your laptop and print it from there.

And Jedi is right about cheap inkjets. They are produced as cheaply as possible in pursuit of the "razor blade" business model; give out the handle for free and overcharge for the new blades. Hell, it's not at all uncommon for them to give you a free inkjet when you buy a new computer these days.

All I'm suggesting is that those with a smart phone, check out one of the scanning apps before you buy a scanner. The features of it will surprise you and may well meet your needs if you don't actually need a super high-resolution, perfect copy.

[LJH]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

On a boat that is out cruising you need a flatbed scanner. Or go to a copy service that you don't know where to fnd every time.

So far I haven't needed to scan more than a sheets of paper, or receipts. Nothing bound. If needed I can always use a digital camera.

[s/v Jedi]

My statement was a reaction to the sheet-feeding scanner so I agree that these apps might well be okay; I don't understand I didn't check them out yet

What you must be able to scan when you go out cruising: official documents like your passport, drivers license, credit cards, ships papers etc. Then you have documents from the authorities like zarpe's, cruising permits etc. You get all of those in many forms incl. booklets, thick plastic cards like in passports or odd sized documents like the Panama cruising permit.
We also often make scans from books, Fedex forms, old pictures, film negatives & positives, equipment manuals if not available on the Internet etc. etc.

Originally Posted by Suijin

I think that is subject to debate depending on what your specific needs are. The last thing I want on a boat is a non-essential piece of equipment that is expensive, takes up valuable space, and requires care and feeding of any sort, particularly if it is used only very sporadically. I'm not arguing that no one needs one, only that for many it bears consideration if there are other options that meet their needs.

As mentioned there are a ton of smartphone apps that now do remarkable things. I use JotNot on my iphone that takes a picture and then performs a number of post-processing procedures (flattening, squaring, contrast adjustment, etc.) based on options you set, then saves it to selectable formats, then can email, fax, save to Google docs, etc. The quality of the resulting document rivals what you could expect out of a dedicated scanner less than a decade ago. If you already have a printer on your boat, you can share the file to your laptop and print it from there.

And Jedi is right about cheap inkjets. They are produced as cheaply as possible in pursuit of the "razor blade" business model; give out the handle for free and overcharge for the new blades. Hell, it's not at all uncommon for them to give you a free inkjet when you buy a new computer these days.

All I'm suggesting is that those with a smart phone, check out one of the scanning apps before you buy a scanner. The features of it will surprise you and may well meet your needs if you don't actually need a super high-resolution, perfect copy.

[tbodine88]

When I lived in Antigua, had a friend who had Canon and complained that he couldn't find cartridges, and the printers failed quickly. He was an artist and I suppose used a lot of color and printed large quantities. I have a HP all in one that just works but then I live in hot dry Texas and it ain't on the boat.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by tbodine88

When I lived in Antigua, had a friend who had Canon and complained that he couldn't find cartridges, and the printers failed quickly. He was an artist and I suppose used a lot of color and printed large quantities. I have a HP all in one that just works but then I live in hot dry Texas and it ain't on the boat.

Again, brand doesn't matter; all the cheap inkjets are low quality junk, made to eat up cartridges. Read some reviews as to how much ink each one uses because the cheapest ones (think below $50) can use up to 3x as much ink as the more expensive ones.

So, in Antigua they sell the printers but not the cartridges?

[hellosailor]

Laser printers may not enjoy being on a boat. In high humidity conditions, the electrostatic charge is weakened and they tend to print gray with a gray background.

HP explains that some "ink" is dye based while others are pigment based, using finely ground pigments. The pigments supposedly offer better color accuracy and longevity, but they will always clot and clump and solidify over time, which is why most of the HP carts have something like a two year life from manufacturing, and a one year life from date of opening. They are consumable and perishable, just like fresh produce.

Maybe Nick's Canon is dye based, that would help.

If you do buy a scanner, Canon also told me mine was no longer supported under Win7. They lied. It is a "TWAIN" compliant scanner, and while Canon no longer makes software for it, any application (like Office) that supports standard TWAIN system drivers can and will use it. With less fuss than older systems had with the Canon routines. The Fujitsu's are great machines, they can chew through a stack of papers (or a book with the binding cut off) and give you a PDF from it, but the are NOT TWAIN compliant, so you are at the peril of their drivers. I think Canon is making a similar machine now that is again TWAIN compliant, or the NeatScanner is.

Inkjet ink runs around $4500 per gallon, no matter what brand it is, when it is in cartridges. And HP just "improved" a number of their XL cartridges by reducing the capacity to 2/3 of what it was. Thanks, HP, didn't ask you for "new low price", I wanted "fewer ink changes!"

[Quintessa]

If you want to print black and white only buy a laserjet and seperate scanner if required. We got HP 2040 which is wireless and so so so much cheaper in the cartridge area.