Does anyone have/keep/use a computer printer in their caravan? If so, did you choose it for any particular feature? Space, power consumption etc? A make and model would be useful too.
If no one does, which I suspect is very possible, where do you print documents when travelling?
Pamela G said
12:03 PM Mar 26, 2017
local libraries are a good place to print or fax things very cheap for the small amount we need
villatranquilla said
12:19 PM Mar 26, 2017
we bought a cheap HP - travels in its box under the bed - easy to get refills and has been used quite a bit. Would not have liked to be paying for the amount of pages we have printed - especially centrelink stuff. Has also been good to be able to scan documents and have them stored in the lap top. We were permanently on the road for 6 yrs and even though our trips now will only be for a few mths at a time I'll still be taking the printer
Hendo said
12:45 PM Mar 26, 2017
Yep, have a cheap HP 2050, lives under the seat, has traveled everywhere, still works, takes 2 cartridges, 1 colour 1 b/w, print mostly in black so they last, paid less than $50.00 for the printer, wouldn't leave home without it.
Hendo
patrol03 said
01:12 PM Mar 26, 2017
Yes there are plenty of printers that have scan facility that are under the $60 mark these days. In fact in many cases it is cheaper to buy a new printer than to purchase a new ink set. They are very light and take up minimal room.Certainly a great addition to the van if you are on the road for an extended length of time.
Lyn13 said
01:25 PM Mar 26, 2017
I always use a local library for printing, copying or scanning. The charge is usually about 10c a page and nothing to scan of course. Also it's a good opportunity to update apps on my mobile phone with their free wifi. We have come across some wonderful libraries in our travels.
Dougwe said
07:29 PM Mar 26, 2017
I have my own printer and power it from a 300w inverter when needed. It is Wifi connected but still use it via a cable connected to the Laptop. It also does scanning and a reasonably good photo print if ever needed. It is a Epson XP300. A cheapy but a goody.
Keep Safe on the roads and out there.
Cruising Cruze said
07:51 PM Mar 26, 2017
As Doug told you,an small inverter does the tric
no need this days to get new cartridges the whole printer is most times cheaper
Last Canon we bought was only $15 from Office Works
I can't understand how they can make it for a price like that
Cheers John
Dougwe said
08:58 PM Mar 26, 2017
A disposable world John.
PeterD said
12:18 AM Mar 27, 2017
Cruising Cruze wrote:
Last Canon we bought was only $15 from Office Works I can't understand how they can make it for a price like that
Simple, they supply the printers with cartridges that do not have much ink in them.
Bruce and Bev said
10:37 AM Mar 27, 2017
we also take a printer with us - its a Canon colour printer/scanner and still going strong.
We store it in its original box with the styrene blocks on it and keep it under the bed until needed. Modern, small printers are so light and durable, that they add almost nothing to the overall weight of your caravan and theyre as cheap as chips.
I just buy multi packs of black ink cartridges - Officeworks, Big W and KMart and sometimes Coles and Woolies.
I don't get them re-filled. Tried that twice and both times they leaked and also the print quality was poor (using different printers)
Ozzie_Traveller said
08:13 PM Mar 27, 2017
G'day mate
We have a HP laser printer which gets from 200 to 1000 pages of use each 6-months we're out on the wallaby running our digital photography training workshops in the outback. It lives on a DIY shoe box and under the kitchen table.
The DIY box is about 500w x 400 deep and 150 high, with vertical partitions for shoe/boot separation
Works a treat :)
Phil
Baz421 said
08:21 PM Mar 27, 2017
Hi
I use Epson due to size and cost of their ink cartridges which have been the same for ages.
My model is out of date but the newer ones use the same ink. Saves $
Cheers Baz
Cruising Cruze said
09:22 PM Mar 27, 2017
The ink cartridges is a big problem I think
New printer complete new size cartridge
why can't they keep the same size for a few years
but than for $15 I don't complain, can't even get a new black cartridge for that price
Cheers John
Mike Harding said
09:28 AM Mar 28, 2017
Many thank to all who replied. It seems more people carry printers than I had suspected
Actually I think the scanning capability will be almost as useful as the printer. Very useful for scanning receipts for those three year warranties.
One thing I have discovered which is not so good is that it appears the cheap printers will not print, even in black only, if one of the three colour cartridges is empty.
These printers routinely mix in a little colour ink when printing black so you *will* use colour ink even if you don't think you are.
The manufacturers maintain they need to mix in colour either to; "cool the print nozzles" or "produce a deeper black" depending on who you talk to - I think they do it to force us to buy colour cartridges.
It looks like Canon, Epson and HP all do this but it's unclear on which models they do it. Certainly my rather more expensive Epson A3 printer doesn't do it but that's much too large for a caravan. Caveat emptor.
Having said the above: replacement cartridges for the Epson XP-235 printer which sells for $60 from Officeworks are $16 each so it's not too expensive to replace them.
Of course you could throw the printer out and buy a new one but, as PeterD pointed out, the cartridges supplied with the cheap new printers are specials with low ink levels - it may still be cheaper though especially for that Officeworks Canon MP230 printer at $15!
Another option is to buy a cheap laser and a separate scanner but that's more of a hassle especially for just doing a photocopy.
I think I'll go with the Epson and live with having to buy new colour cartridges occasionally.
Does anyone have/keep/use a computer printer in their caravan? If so, did you choose it for any particular feature? Space, power consumption etc? A make and model would be useful too.
If no one does, which I suspect is very possible, where do you print documents when travelling?
Hendo
I always use a local library for printing, copying or scanning. The charge is usually about 10c a page and nothing to scan of course. Also it's a good opportunity to update apps on my mobile phone with their free wifi. We have come across some wonderful libraries in our travels.
Keep Safe on the roads and out there.
no need this days to get new cartridges the whole printer is most times cheaper
Last Canon we bought was only $15 from Office Works
I can't understand how they can make it for a price like that
Cheers John
Simple, they supply the printers with cartridges that do not have much ink in them.
We store it in its original box with the styrene blocks on it and keep it under the bed until needed. Modern, small printers are so light and durable, that they add almost nothing to the overall weight of your caravan and theyre as cheap as chips.
I just buy multi packs of black ink cartridges - Officeworks, Big W and KMart and sometimes Coles and Woolies.
I don't get them re-filled. Tried that twice and both times they leaked and also the print quality was poor (using different printers)
We have a HP laser printer which gets from 200 to 1000 pages of use each 6-months we're out on the wallaby running our digital photography training workshops in the outback. It lives on a DIY shoe box and under the kitchen table.
The DIY box is about 500w x 400 deep and 150 high, with vertical partitions for shoe/boot separation
Works a treat :)
Phil
New printer complete new size cartridge
why can't they keep the same size for a few years
but than for $15 I don't complain, can't even get a new black cartridge for that price
Cheers John
Many thank to all who replied. It seems more people carry printers
than I had suspected
Actually I think the scanning capability will be almost as useful as
the printer. Very useful for scanning receipts for those three year
warranties.
One thing I have discovered which is not so good is that it appears
the cheap printers will not print, even in black only, if one of the
three colour cartridges is empty.
These printers routinely mix in a little colour ink when printing
black so you *will* use colour ink even if you don't think you are.
The manufacturers maintain they need to mix in colour either to;
"cool the print nozzles" or "produce a deeper black" depending on
who you talk to - I think they do it to force us to buy colour
cartridges.
It looks like Canon, Epson and HP all do this but it's unclear on
which models they do it. Certainly my rather more expensive Epson A3
printer doesn't do it but that's much too large for a caravan. Caveat
emptor.
Having said the above: replacement cartridges for the Epson XP-235
printer which sells for $60 from Officeworks are $16 each so it's
not too expensive to replace them.
Of course you could throw the printer out and buy a new one but, as
PeterD pointed out, the cartridges supplied with the cheap new
printers are specials with low ink levels - it may still be cheaper
though especially for that Officeworks Canon MP230 printer at $15!
Another option is to buy a cheap laser and a separate scanner but
that's more of a hassle especially for just doing a photocopy.
I think I'll go with the Epson and live with having to buy new colour
cartridges occasionally.