There will be a PC fair in December at my place and Im thinking of getting a new inkjet printer (budget below $100)

Im currently using EPSON C65, which I find it's good. I like it's fade/smudge/water proof ink, and especially it has individual ink catridge (that means I only need to replace a red catridge if red runs out) comparing to my old Lexmark Z52 which requires me to buy the all-in-1 color catridge if only one color runs out. I also like the 'stop' button which can be used to cancel the printing even Im halfway thru it. (sometimes we notice a small mistake only after we pressed the print button, and normally we got to wait till the whole page printed out before we can print again the amended file) and that's a lot of ink wastage. It's CMYK color is also very close to an offset print out.

The only drawback is the text quality, which I find it not sharp enough and a bit 'fat' comparing to my older Lexmark printer which gives almost laser like text effect on black ink.

Does anyone have any good suggestions / models of printer which u have tried and gives superior result? (Sharp text, true CMYK color, saves ink, and of course - affordable)

I will be giving away my Epson printer to my son for his school works, thats why I got to get a new 1 for myself.
Regd my Lexmark printer, it's dead now. ( I killed it by using refill ink. A caution to those who are still using refill ink, be careful if u love your printer...)

Regards,
-veronica yeoh-

It has been 10 days since my 1st post here. Looks like there's no suggestions yet.
Well, I guess I got to stick to Epson for the meantime...

I've used Lexmark, and Epson, and I would have recommended the Epson.
The main reason being, the advantages you mentioned.
I've never had any of the problems with text, that you mentioned.

Hi Verons88.

I don't know how prices are in your part of the world, but I wouldn't go past HP. I had a PSC 1210 (printer, copier, scanner) and it worked fine for about 2 years. It is important to run off a page at least once a week to keep things humming. When I needed new cartridges which would have cost $NZ90, I bought a new HP Deskjet F380 on special which cost only a fraction more than that. Something screwy there!!! These machines are not top of the line, lightning fast, but for general work are just fine.

Never mind, the old ones get passed on to the kids. BTW: Guaranteed refill inks cost me about $NZ60 a pair for black and tricolour, so I can refill my cartridges at least 3 times. This makes it quite economic - easy but messy.

Cheers

Thank you so much for replying, rowal5555 & tg1911.

I've seen HP printers before, it offers superior text quality. Just that the ink cost too much, NZ$60 is close to $150 in my place. The Epson ink I'm currently using only cost around NZ$13. (but if I were to buy all 4 sets CMYK will cost abt the same to $150) but I notice the ink tank is bigger, so last longer. And as I've mentioned before, I only need to replace 1 color at a time, so I don't feel the pinch having to fork out over $100 each time I change ink.

I currently saw a new model here, Epson C79, cost around NZ$100. The ink is even cheaper.
Guess I will stick to Epson though...

You're welcome, Verons88.
I'm using the Epson Stylus Photo RX500 right now.
Text looks good with this printer, but it's probably a little more expensive than what you're looking for ($230.00+ US).

I gave up on inkjets a couple of years back. I got a color laser printer (a Samsung) a year or so ago and it's great. I've seen them on sale for about $300.

If you go with a laser printer in the future - don't forget to price the replacement cartriges. They make the inkjet refills look cheap!