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#1
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new printer
My printer died and I am looking for a new one. It needs to be able to
scan to computer in doc format, print photos in various formats, good print/photo quality. Any suggestions or where to go for info is appreciated. |
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#2
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new printer
From: "Flash"
My printer died and I am looking for a new one. It needs to be able to scan to computer in doc format, print photos in various formats, good print/photo quality. Any suggestions or where to go for info is appreciated. Scan to MS Word format ? All the ones I know scan to PDF format. -- Dave Multi-AV Scanning Tool - http://multi-av.thespykiller.co.uk http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp |
#3
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new printer
On 8/1/2013 12:16 PM, David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Flash" My printer died and I am looking for a new one. It needs to be able to scan to computer in doc format, print photos in various formats, good print/photo quality. Any suggestions or where to go for info is appreciated. Scan to MS Word format ? All the ones I know scan to PDF format. Might be referring to having OCR-capability but this would be through a software application supplied with the all-in-one printer. GR |
#4
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new printer
On Thu, 01 Aug 2013 13:42:57 -0500, Flash
wrote: My printer died and I am looking for a new one. It needs to be able to scan to computer in doc format, print photos in various formats, good print/photo quality. Any suggestions or where to go for info is appreciated. See David Lipman's reply and let me also say the following: 1. All-in-one printer-scanners are very popular, but I recommend against them. If you have a combination unit and one of those functions dies, you have to replace both. I recommend separate units, so if one of them dies, you only have to replace that. Having separate units also lets you choose the ones you like best without their both having to be the same brand. 2. Ink-jet printers are the most popular these days. That's because they are very cheap to buy. Note the last two words in the previous sentence, "to buy." Yes they are cheap to buy, but very expensive to use. That's because the replacement ink-jet cartridges are very expensive. It's like Gillette razors; they are cheap to buy, but the blades are expensive. So I recommend a laser printer, not an ink-jet. Yes, a color laser printer appears to cost much more, but over the life of the printer, when you consider the cost of buying the printer plus replacement cartridges, the cost per page printed is considerably lower than an ink-jet. Another thing I don't like about ink-jet printers is that the jets tend to easily get clogged, especially if you don't use the printer for a few days. That means it's a nuisance trying to clean them (and cleaning is not always successful), and you often end up throwing always cartridges that still have ink left in them. There are lots of good printers and lots of good scanners. I don't know them all, so I can't give you lists of all the good ones and all the bad ones, But I can recommend what I have and I'm very happy with: Color Laser Printer: Samsung CLP315/XAA Scanner: Canon LiDE 60 (Probably no longer available and a newer Canon LiDE model would be required) |
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new printer
On Thu, 01 Aug 2013 13:30:38 -0700, "Ken Blake, MVP"
opined: 2. Ink-jet printers are the most popular these days. That's because they are very cheap to buy. Note the last two words in the previous sentence, "to buy." Yes they are cheap to buy, but very expensive to use. That's because the replacement ink-jet cartridges are very expensive. Canon's ink-jet cartridges seem to be reasonably priced. I bought an Epson years ago that I ended up giving away. It ate up the ink quickly and cartridges were 2-3 times the price of a Canon cartridge. I think I still have an Epson LX-80 dot matrix printer laying around somewhere and a box of new ribbons. The parallel interface is problematic. ;-) -- Dennis |
#6
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new printer
From: "Dennis"
On Thu, 01 Aug 2013 13:30:38 -0700, "Ken Blake, MVP" opined: 2. Ink-jet printers are the most popular these days. That's because they are very cheap to buy. Note the last two words in the previous sentence, "to buy." Yes they are cheap to buy, but very expensive to use. That's because the replacement ink-jet cartridges are very expensive. Canon's ink-jet cartridges seem to be reasonably priced. I bought an Epson years ago that I ended up giving away. It ate up the ink quickly and cartridges were 2-3 times the price of a Canon cartridge. I think I still have an Epson LX-80 dot matrix printer laying around somewhere and a box of new ribbons. The parallel interface is problematic. ;-) I have an LX-800. The last time I used it, I put a Centronics BlueTooth Print Server on it so I could print to it wirelessly. -- Dave Multi-AV Scanning Tool - http://multi-av.thespykiller.co.uk http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp |
#7
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new printer
Dennis wrote:
On Thu, 01 Aug 2013 13:30:38 -0700, "Ken Blake, MVP" opined: 2. Ink-jet printers are the most popular these days. That's because they are very cheap to buy. Note the last two words in the previous sentence, "to buy." Yes they are cheap to buy, but very expensive to use. That's because the replacement ink-jet cartridges are very expensive. Canon's ink-jet cartridges seem to be reasonably priced. I bought an Epson years ago that I ended up giving away. It ate up the ink quickly and cartridges were 2-3 times the price of a Canon cartridge. I think I still have an Epson LX-80 dot matrix printer laying around somewhere and a box of new ribbons. The parallel interface is problematic. ;-) You can get PCI Express to Parallel Port. Would that work ? It would probably be driver issues that would be the problem (whatever functions as a printer driver is likely pretty old). http://www.startech.com/Cards-Adapte...PP-ECP~PEX1PLP That card comes with two faceplates. You take off the low-profile one and put on the full height one, for your regular desktop computer. I had a little trouble getting that installed right on the first try. The difference is, a card like that supports all the operating modes of a parallel port (around four of them). Whereas the USB to parallel port adapters, drivers only exist for one specific "printer" flavor. You need a card like the above, if you want support for little hobbyist circuits and the like (general purpose I/O). So if your printer has some strange I/O option, a card like that is the best option on a modern machine. My desktop motherboard doesn't have a parallel port, but that card works fine as a substitute. And I got the card for less money than the MSRP listed on the Startech site. I think the chip on that, is an Oxsemi, and the chip actually has a number of interfaces on it (which are not equipped in this case). The only downside of the Oxsemi chip, is it may be going out of production. So I wouldn't wait five years to dash out and buy that particular card. One card is all I need, to run my JTAG programmer cable. Paul |
#8
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new printer
In message , Ghostrider
writes: On 8/1/2013 12:16 PM, David H. Lipman wrote: From: "Flash" My printer died and I am looking for a new one. It needs to be able to scan to computer in doc format, print photos in various formats, good So not just a printer, but an all-in-one. _If_ you have the space, I'd second what someone said about having separates. (Because when one dies you have to replace both, or keep something that's only half working, in which case you're using the space anyway.) Also most all-in-ones do a head cleaning cycle (which uses up some ink) each time you turn them on - even if you're only doing so to scan. (Or do such a cycle periodically if you just leave them turned on.) Out of curiosity, which part died - the printer, the scanner, or the lot? In fact, you _might_ be able to get either a scanner or a printer - or both - for free, just for the trouble of collecting it; when all-in-ones first appeared, many people just put their separates away in the attic or whatever, and might be glad to give them away to someone who'd use them. Though that's been the case for long enough now that people may have had clearouts. print/photo quality. Any suggestions or where to go for info is appreciated. Scan to MS Word format ? (That threw me too, but see below.) All the ones I know scan to PDF format. And I wish they didn't, or at least didn't default to it. I don't _think_ I've seen a scanner driver that didn't have the _capability_ to save in one of the standard image formats, at least TIFF, but many - especially those intended for the more professional market (use by less computer-savvy folk) - _default_ to PDF, which their users then use. Thus there are lots of scanned documents about - even single page - that are in PDF, which are a right pain. Might be referring to having OCR-capability but this would be through a software application supplied with the all-in-one printer. Indeed. Such as Omnipage, pixyy (that's not quite right, but there is one common one that ends in two ys), and others. If you have this software installed on your computer, you should be able to use it with any replacement scanner you buy - if you're lucky it will link into a scanner driver, but even if not it will have the capability of importing images (possibly in TIFF or even PDF). So don't let the presence or absence of .doc format output affect your choice of scanner. GR The "print photos in various formats" is also an aspect of the software used to do it, rather than anything particular to the printer; I find good old (free) IrfanView does most things well. You'd (assuming you want to print drafts at lower quality than the printer is capable of, for reasons of speed and ink saving) need to be able to tweak those, but that should be provided as settings in the printer _driver_ - accessible each time you print from any software, and the default settable (should be the same interface) from Settings | Printers. (I usually set the default to be draft, and amend at the actual printing stage on the rare occasions I want final quality.) If by "print ... in various formats" you mean to include direct from memory card, then I suppose that is something you'll have to look for, though I don't think the extra convenience would for me compensate for the severe limitations I'm sure it imposes over being able to do it from the computer (card readers for PCs cost peanuts - I've seen them in poundshops and on ebay - and your PC may have them anyway [I've known people with laptops who didn't _know_ they had one, as it's hidden away underneath or similar]). If you do go for new, I'd endorse what someone said about laser: inkjets are expensive to run and tend to clog if unused for even quite a short time. If I ever buy another new printer to replace my Brother inkjet (for which I get cartridges from UKDVDR), it'll probably be a laser. And you _can_ get all-in-ones that have a laser in them. (The one I use at work is a marvellous machine, but I suspect costs well into four figures - it's floor-standing, and can do A3 double-sided colour, and serves as a photocopier!) -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf Sarcasm: Barbed ire |
#9
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new printer
In message , Dennis
writes: On Thu, 01 Aug 2013 13:30:38 -0700, "Ken Blake, MVP" opined: 2. Ink-jet printers are the most popular these days. That's because they are very cheap to buy. Note the last two words in the previous sentence, "to buy." Yes they are cheap to buy, but very expensive to use. That's because the replacement ink-jet cartridges are very expensive. Canon's ink-jet cartridges seem to be reasonably priced. I bought an Epson years ago that I ended up giving away. It ate up the ink quickly and cartridges were 2-3 times the price of a Canon cartridge. I've been impressed with the quality/speed of some Canons (i. e. they can produce a good quality without it taking for ever). When comparing cartridge prices, it is indeed worth checking (not easy to do) on their relative sizes too, or rather on how many pages they represent (that's the bit that's hard as you can only rely on the manufacturers, who are reluctant to give those figures anyway, and when they do may not all use the same type of pages. Very occasionally you find a consumer mag. has done a comparative test, but even if you trust them, such tests are rare enough that the models of printer they examine will have gone out of production by the time you are looking. And they tend to miss some makes such as brother). I think I still have an Epson LX-80 dot matrix printer laying around somewhere and a box of new ribbons. The parallel interface is problematic. ;-) I suspect the USB-to-parallel interfaces around will work with most printers. Such old impact printers - provided you can accept the slowness, noise, and (probably most significant these days) lack of colour - are capable of excellent output from XP! Certainly for text. -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf Sarcasm: Barbed ire |
#10
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new printer
On Sat, 3 Aug 2013 10:38:10 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
wrote: In message , Ghostrider writes: Might be referring to having OCR-capability but this would be through a software application supplied with the all-in-one printer. Indeed. Such as Omnipage, pixyy (that's not quite right, but there is one common one that ends in two ys), You mean Abbyy FineReader. Although I've never used it myself (I use OmniPage), I understand from many others whose opinions I trust that it's the best OCR program available. |
#11
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new printer
In message , "Ken Blake,
MVP" writes: On Sat, 3 Aug 2013 10:38:10 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote: In message , Ghostrider writes: Might be referring to having OCR-capability but this would be through a software application supplied with the all-in-one printer. Indeed. Such as Omnipage, pixyy (that's not quite right, but there is one common one that ends in two ys), You mean Abbyy FineReader. Although I've never used it myself (I use OmniPage), I understand from many others whose opinions I trust that it's the best OCR program available. That's the one. Haven't used it enough to say that, but have played with it, and it is good - and considering it is given away with a lot of scanners, excellent. (Omnipage good too, though a little clunky in operation - but as with many such things, what one is used to is an important part of things.) Anyway, if OP still reading - don't limit your choice of scanner to one that mentions import to .doc; you can do that with any scanner, provided you have OCR-to-Word software installed, which you probably have from the one that broke (if indeed it was the scanner part that broke, which is less likely). Omnipage and Abbyy are just two examples. Proceed, on your computer, as if you were going to do a scan-to-.doc as before; when you get to the point where you'd actually start scanning, poke around: ideally you'll find "configure scanner" or similar, or at worst something like "read image". -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf God must love the common man; He made so many of them. |
#12
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new printer
On Sat, 3 Aug 2013 16:27:18 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
wrote: In message , "Ken Blake, MVP" writes: On Sat, 3 Aug 2013 10:38:10 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote: In message , Ghostrider writes: Might be referring to having OCR-capability but this would be through a software application supplied with the all-in-one printer. Indeed. Such as Omnipage, pixyy (that's not quite right, but there is one common one that ends in two ys), You mean Abbyy FineReader. Although I've never used it myself (I use OmniPage), I understand from many others whose opinions I trust that it's the best OCR program available. That's the one. Haven't used it enough to say that, but have played with it, and it is good - and considering it is given away with a lot of scanners, excellent. (Omnipage good too, though a little clunky in operation - but as with many such things, what one is used to is an important part of things.) I don't use OmniPage because I'm used to it, but rather because it came with the scanner. It works well for me, but I don't need to do OCR very often, so I'm not too interested in what might be better. If I were buying something, I'd probably choose Abbyy FineReader. |
#13
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new printer
Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
On Sat, 3 Aug 2013 16:27:18 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote: In message , "Ken Blake, MVP" writes: On Sat, 3 Aug 2013 10:38:10 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote: In message , Ghostrider writes: Might be referring to having OCR-capability but this would be through a software application supplied with the all-in-one printer. Indeed. Such as Omnipage, pixyy (that's not quite right, but there is one common one that ends in two ys), You mean Abbyy FineReader. Although I've never used it myself (I use OmniPage), I understand from many others whose opinions I trust that it's the best OCR program available. That's the one. Haven't used it enough to say that, but have played with it, and it is good - and considering it is given away with a lot of scanners, excellent. (Omnipage good too, though a little clunky in operation - but as with many such things, what one is used to is an important part of things.) I don't use OmniPage because I'm used to it, but rather because it came with the scanner. It works well for me, but I don't need to do OCR very often, so I'm not too interested in what might be better. If I were buying something, I'd probably choose Abbyy FineReader. I haven't tested OCR in a long time, but the sad state of OCR years ago was, they couldn't make a single algorithm work with high accuracy, so they would run three different code implementations of OCR (three times the runtime), then "vote" amongst them on what the right answer might be. Which tells you, they kinda gave up on just writing a single approach in the first place. The only conversion I've ever done, which was "perfect", was to take the test page that came, printed, in the software box, scan that, and the tool got the conversion right :-) They could have cheated... (Recognized their own test document, and barfed up a verbatim conversion.) For me, OCR requires too much proofreading later, to catch recognition errors. If the OCR mistakes "0" for "O", you're going to need a "bionic eye" to catch all of those. I think that's why I'm just opposed to using it now, it can never be "perfect". I can't walk away while it is running, and "trust" the answer it comes up with. Paul |
#14
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new printer
On Sat, 03 Aug 2013 14:20:35 -0400, Paul wrote:
I haven't tested OCR in a long time, but the sad state of OCR years ago was, they couldn't make a single algorithm work with high accuracy, so they would run three different code implementations of OCR (three times the runtime), then "vote" amongst them on what the right answer might be. Which tells you, they kinda gave up on just writing a single approach in the first place. The only conversion I've ever done, which was "perfect", was to take the test page that came, printed, in the software box, scan that, and the tool got the conversion right :-) They could have cheated... (Recognized their own test document, and barfed up a verbatim conversion.) For me, OCR requires too much proofreading later, to catch recognition errors. If the OCR mistakes "0" for "O", you're going to need a "bionic eye" to catch all of those. I think that's why I'm just opposed to using it now, it can never be "perfect". I can't walk away while it is running, and "trust" the answer it comes up with. My experience with OmniPage (only the second best OCR program, as far as I know) has been that if the page being scanned is clean and has a good type-face, it is close to perfect. Never 100% perfect, but I can't imagine anything like that being 100% perfect. If you need perfection, yes you need to proofread the results. But proofreading is a lot faster than if you were to type the text instead of OCRing it. And not everyone needs perfection all the time. |
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new printer
In message , "Ken Blake,
MVP" writes: [] My experience with OmniPage (only the second best OCR program, as far as I know) has been that if the page being scanned is clean and has a good type-face, it is close to perfect. Never 100% perfect, but I can't imagine anything like that being 100% perfect. That's my experience with OCR too - not that I use it much, but I have an interest in the subject, as I have blind friends who obviously use it a lot. (Smartphone apps are coming on very well too.) If you need perfection, yes you need to proofread the results. But proofreading is a lot faster than if you were to type the text instead of OCRing it. For most of us mere mortals, yes. My brother taught himself to touch-type, and says that for him it's quicker to retype. Of course, even for touch-typists, it depends on the layout (if that matters to you) And not everyone needs perfection all the time. Indeed. It's a subject occasionally hotly debated in the genealogy sphere, too. -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf "Who came first? Adam or Eve?" "Adam of course; men always do." Victoria Wood (via Peter Hesketh) |
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