Finding That Perfect Printer

After A Month of Research What Printer Did I Buy?

In today’s rapidly growing tech landscape, selecting the right printer can be a bit of a daunting task.

With countless models, features, and price points to consider, making an informed decision requires thorough research. After an exhaustive month-long investigation, I finally made my choice.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of my journey and the printer I ultimately selected.

Understanding Your Needs

Before diving into the vast ocean of printer options, it was crucial for me to outline my specific needs.

Was I looking for a printer for high-quality photo printing, or did I need something more suited for office documents? Did I prioritize speed over print quality, or was it the other way around? By understanding my requirements, I could narrow down our choices considerably.

You will need to do the same. If it is only spreadsheets and document printing, then you will not need a high-quality photo printer.

Inkjet vs. Laser: The Eternal Debate

One of the first decisions I grappled with was choosing between an inkjet and a laser printer. Both have their merits:

Inkjet Printers are typically better for color printing, especially photos. They work by spraying tiny droplets of ink onto paper. This method can produce rich, detailed images. However, ink cartridges can be expensive to replace—or they used to be, as NOW we have ‘MegaTank’ or ‘EcoTank’ systems that are way way cheaper!

Laser Printers, on the other hand, use toner (a powder) and are faster, especially for high-volume printing. They’re often more cost-effective in the long run for large-scale document printing.

For my small business, I needed an Inkjet for its superior color printing, and they are super economical these days with their new inking technology – in other words, say goodbye to cartridges and hello to the new ‘EcoTank’ tech.

That narrowed down my choice even more!

The Importance of Connectivity

In this digital age, the ability of a printer to connect seamlessly with various devices is paramount. I wanted a printer that could easily connect to my smartphone (iPhone), tablet (iPadPro), and computer (Mac Studio).

Features like Wi-Fi Direct, Apple AirPrint, and Google Cloud Print stood out as essential for my need.

Diving Deep into Reviews and User Feedback

While technical specifications provide a solid foundation, real-world user feedback is invaluable. I scoured online forums, read countless Amazon reviews, watched a bundle of YouTube videos, and even reached out to some users directly to get their insights.

Trawling through user feedback is like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle.

This step helped to understand potential long-term issues or benefits that aren’t immediately obvious from a product description.

Amidst the glowing praises, there will always be a chorus of dissent, often magnifying even the smallest of issues. However, it’s crucial to remember that no product is immune to criticism. So, despite some negative reviews, even on the printer I purchased, I persevered through all the opinions and arrived at a choice that I am thrilled with.

My Top Contenders

After weeks of research, I narrowed my list down to three top-contender brands. Each with their own version of ink-saving technology: Canon (MegaTank), Epson (EcoTank), and Brother (InkVestment):

The Canon Pixma MegaTank Series: Known for its exceptional photo printing quality and robust connectivity options. Canon’s MegaTank printers have refillable ink tanks that last WAY longer, offering cost-effective printing.

The Epson EcoTank Series: A versatile all-in-one solution with impressive print speeds and cost-effective ink replacement options. With big ink tanks, cheap refills and 1,000s of pages worth of ink included, I won’t have to worry about running out of ink at the worst imaginable times.

The Brother InkVestment Series: The INKvestment cartridges that come in the box could last as long as a year, according to Brother—they stood out for its brand reliability and high-volume printing capabilities. Only drawback is it is still a cartridge.

I reduced these major brands down to three models:

Canon Pixma Inkjet G7020 (G7065 in Australia)

Designed for serious print productivity with a high page yield of up to 6,000 pages of black text or up to 7,700 vivid color pages per full ink bottle set from the reliable refillable ink system. It may not be super fast, with printing speeds of approximately 13 A4 black prints and 6.8 A4 color prints per minute, but it is certainly fine for my small business use (and probably most use cases)!

Epson EcoTank ET-3850 Wireless Color All-in-One

High-capacity refillable ink tanks! Two years of ink in the box! Yep, now you can print without worrying about running out of ink. But so do these shortlisted printers! I know a few businesses that use this machine. Hmm, is this the one to get?

Epson WorkForce ET-4750 EcoTank

If I had a few more dollars, I would have purchased this excellent machine, but we need to operate within our budgets! The ET-4750 all-in-one again offers that revolutionary cartridge-free printing with easy-to-fill, super-sized ink tanks. It includes up to 2 years of ink in the box.

And the Winner Is…

After weighing all the pros and cons, I finally settled on the Canon Pixma Inkjet G7020. Its blend of speed, print quality, and cost-effectiveness made it the perfect fit for my business needs.

The added bonus of its all-in-one capabilities, allowing for scanning and copying, affordability without sacrificing quality, sealed the deal.

I think what also sold me is the brand name. Canon is renowned for its camera and photography reproduction—after all, they have had decades in the arena of digital and print imaging, so they know a thing or two!

The Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) on the PIXMA G7020 uses integrated ink tanks and genuine Canon GI-20 black, cyan, magenta, and yellow ink bottles. These GI-20 ink bottles are squeeze-free – allowing for easy, mess-free ink filling for printing lots of pages in black and white or color.

A genuine Canon ink cartridge ensures optimal printer performance, while counterfeits can cause blocked printer heads, ink leakage, poor printer performance, and inferior image quality. Having said that, I have never heard of any issues with quality third-party inks yet.

Oh, and a little bit of trivia:

You may hear the unofficial tagline “PIXels MAtter” (PIXMA) being thrown around on the internet; cute but not the official meaning – LOL.

According to Canon themselves, they define the acronym of PIXMA as: 

• PI = “pursuing the highest image quality.”
• X = “the link between input and output.”
• MA = “producing an image at the greatest speed.”

I also liked the fact that the refillable ink tank printer had two extra black inks in the box. One set of inks can deliver up to 6,000 pages in black (18,000 pages with all the black in the box) or 7,700 pages in color.

Choosing the right printer is more than just picking a device that puts ink or toner on paper. It’s about understanding your unique needs, doing thorough research, and making an informed decision. I hope my journey provides a small roadmap for others in their quest for the perfect printer.

After a month of research what printer did I buy? The Canon Pixma Inkjet G7020, and it has performed well so far!

Happy printer hunting!