I received an email from a reader over the weekend, asking if I had any suggestions for a color printer. I bought a new printer about a year ago, so I told her all about that.
I bought an Epson WorkForce 645
about a year ago. I chose the Epson brand based on the reviews I read on Amazon and elsewhere. I looked at the technical specs of Epson’s whole line of printers, and ended up choosing the Workforce 645 because it was cheapest printer in their line-up that was designed to be able to print on cardstock (which I like to use when printing flashcards, games, etc.) and can automatically print double-sided (I get confused when I try to do it manually!) It also has a built-in scanner, which I have found to be very convenient.
I’ve been pretty happy with my printer overall — I’d give it a 4 stars out of 5. Sometimes, the printer claims there is a paper jam for no reason when it is trying to print double-sided. And sometimes, when printing a full page of color, there are some patchy, un-even areas. But overall, it has performed pretty well for me. The ink is a little pricey IMO, but it is probably no worse than any other brand’s ink.
Do you have a color printer to recommend (or not recommend)? Please share about it in the comments!
Published by Joy Morin
Joy Morin, MM, is a teacher, pianist, composer, speaker, and writer of a blog at ColorInMyPiano.com. A devoted teacher and lifelong learner, she teaches students of all ages at her independent piano studio near Ann Arbor, Michigan. Joy is a frequent attendee and presenter at conferences and workshops, and enjoys connecting with fellow piano teachers through her blog and beyond.
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I received an email from a reader over the weekend, asking if I had any suggestions for a color printer. I bought a new printer about a year ago, so I told her all about that.
I love my Canon printers…….reliable and those I have, use individual ink cartridges so I only have to replace the colour I need. I can set one for automatic 2-sided printing if I want, the other one is manual. The one I like and use the most is an MX860 and has been going since November 2009 and I’ve never had a problem.
I also have an Epson – mine is the Workforce Pro WP-4530. I really love it! It has been awesome for all my studio needs, including printing lots of graphics and things in color for my preschool music classes, including on cardstock and iron-ons. It is awesome for copying something quick or scanning. I love that you can set it up wirelessly, and also print wirelessly – I can print from my desktop, my laptop, or my iPod touch (this has been super helpful during lessons when I think of something I need to print quickly for my student, and I can do it right there from my iPod). I have had similar issues with it reporting nonexistent paper jams (but if you follow the directions it gives you it clears it up right away). The ink is a little spendy but you really get a LOT of use out of the cartridges, so I think it’s a great deal. This is one of those that has a black cartridge and 3 color cartridges (which costs about $100 total – but they last a LONG time). Anyway, hope that helps!
Thanks for providing another printer suggestion, Jenny!
You made a good choice.
I don’t know why ,but all of my friends in the music industry know nothing about computers although they use them all day. Sometimes i wonder why they are so afraid of learning these things.
How tech-savvy are you Joy?