I didn't order a printer with the new computer, planning to get a new one at a later date. I just went to connect my old one to it to print something out, and there is no place on the new computer to connect a printer. They appear to have felt that if I didn't order a printer, I had no plans to ever print with the new machine.
Wrong!
In fact, although my old computer is seven years old, my printer is about 10; I didn't order a printer with the last machine, and it came with a spot to plug in a printer. And it's a Dell, too. Is this a shift in the computer world I was unaware of: are printers on their way out? I can't imagine it myself. Anyway, I'll have to call them and inquire what gives. I may not print huge amounts, but I really do need the capability. Sigh. Perfection is fleeting, isn't it?
Still, the speed of this thing is joyful. Which makes the prospect of sending it back to be fixed, as I imagine now I may have to, truly pissy.
I mostly knit, sometimes crochet or cross-stitch. I read, a lot. I love cats. I love hockey, especially my no-longer-local team, the Boston Bruins. Want more? Read on.
Before you send it in, check to see what kind of ports are on the back. There has been a major shift from the standard old printer connectors (the wide, fat serial type, called Ieee-1284 or Parallel Printer Port) to USB. Your new machine probably has at least two USB ports, but I highly doubt it has any serial printer ports. You can get a cable that has a USB end for your computer and a serial end for your printer from NewEgg.com.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16812107912
This is the one I bought a while back (18 months? 2 years?) and have never had trouble with it. If there's one thing I've learned, you don't buy the cheapest cable you can--you pay for it in data loss or lousy connections. NewEgg's shipping can be a little higher than other companies', but they take care of their customers. The first cable they sent me was smashed in transit--and they sent out a new one, sight unseen and emailed me a label to put on the old one to send it back. Anyway, I highly recommend this cable from that company. (Although if you can get it locally, even better. I just live in the sticks.)
Good luck, and have fun with your new box!
I love this blogging thing! It didn't occur to me that newer printers would have different connections; I'm so not with the technology stuff. Thanks, annalea!
ReplyDeleteSince I want to get a new printer anyway, I may not get the new cable; have to think about when the budget is going to allow for the printer, to decide if it's worth the bother. But you saved me the call to Dell, and that's a biggie!
Botheration! Annalea beat me to it.
ReplyDeleteColor printers are now around $100-$130 and the biggest thing to pay attention to is how much the ink cartridges cost and how often they need replaced.
Love your walking photos! And the one of Harold, too. He reminds me of our puppies who assume that positon and mentally beam "rub my tummy! rub my tummy!"
Add'l on printers... (LOL, you're gonna know more than you ever wanted to about recent printers!)
ReplyDeletePorts - Dells (and most new desktops now) usually have around 6 USB ports standard; 2 in front somewhere down below the power button, for stuff you change out a lot - mp3 player, camera, etc.; the rest in back for things you plug in permanently. One of those big set-up sheets that came with your machine should ID them all for you. If you can't find 'em on that, the manual should show a layout somewhere. Or go to Dell.com, type in your model #, and you can track down illustrations with everything clearly shown. They're little tiny things, so sometimes a map helps. ;)
To expand on Annalea's excellent advice re cables, when you buy a printer, a cable may be extra - most come with one, but sometimes they don't. Also, some printers now have two ports themselves - the old-style parallel port, and a USB port. (Plus sometimes an extra USB one in front, so you can plug a camera in the printer directly and print straight from the camera. Not a selling point unless you're mad keen on doing your own prints.) A USB to USB cable is a tad more expensive if your printer has that capacity, but has faster data transfer. And depending on printer brand, may be easier to find than serial to USB version. Or the computer might only have a USB port, no serial. Make sure you know what it's got so you don't panic again. ;) If the printer has a USB port and doesn't come with a cable, then obviously you only need to get USB to USB.
I got a great printer for around $50 and free shipping from Tiger Direct. It was a Canon that had *just* gone out of production - the i56 - and still totally covered by warranty, support, online drivers, etc., of course. (Heck, Canon still had updated drivers available for my ancient, pre-1995 BJ-100 when I got my last new computer in 2003! It didn't work with all the newer software on my Dell, like MSWord, but it'd print from WordPad and Netscape, etc. I love Canon. [g]) As it'd been out for a few years, there were plenty of reviews online I could research for any problems, and gauge the reliability. I didn't need a terribly fancy one, it had a solid rep, and it's been a great printer. I didn't need the very latest thing, so one they'd stopped making only a month before I bought it was a good choice for me.
Color - make sure whatever printer you get, it has individual ink tanks for all four colors, not an all-in-one cartridge. The latter are more expensive and waste ink, unless you get into doing your own refills.
Beware of real super-cheapies. For a while printer mfrs. seemed to be trying to make their money from selling you ink rather than the printers. Some companies even had printers as low as $5! And of course they weren't that great, and used up expensive ink like crazy.
And yes, ink prices have gone up. Sometimes a machine will work fine with generic ink, depending on the quality of the generic or its cartridge... Other times, gack. My Canon, although it will take generics, took exception to one brand and started printing everything in magenta. So I had to shell out $55 to replace all 4 cartridges. There are good generic inks and cartridges out there, but unless you can find some recs for brands that work with whatever machine you get, stick with OEM inks for a while, even if they're more expensive. And shop around for best prices on OEM ink. Lots of times places like Office Depot are more expensive than ordering directly from the mfr., even with shipping!
Corollary - watch out for printers that'll *only* let you use their ink. Many now have some sort of sensor that won't let them work with any other cartridges but their own, which personally, I get rather ticked about. OTOH, if you don't buy generic anyway, not really a problem. Just check out ink prices like Kali said. [g]
Unless you plan on printing your own photos on photo paper a lot, forget about buying photo ink. It's even more expensive, and you'd end up swapping photo/regular cartridges in and out, unless you did a bunch of photos in one go. Admittedly I don't go in for printing my photos, since I'm using them online... But if I did print many, I'd just put 'em on disk or upload and have someplace do them. Regular color inks are just fine for things like CD labels and t-shirt transfers.