Right, my darling wife has given me permission to buy a new MFP as we need a new scanner (and I REALLY need a printer than prints square, bl**dy HP... ).

It'll need to have an ethernet connection and obviously print square & print on cardstock...

I'm sort of thinking Canon Pixma MX895 but the running costs seem a little high (and I can't justify a continual feed system... not before I get the robocutter anyway! ).

Anyone got any ideas? Looking at spending no more than £150 (& less than £100 would be good!)

I have a Canon Pixma...not sure of the model number. It does print square and the toner is cheaper than some of the other options. Granted, not super cheap, but...

I got it new for $50US. Really couldn't complain.

Another potential Canon -

Canon PIXMA MX515

This one has better print costs but is slower to print.

I am personally using the Epson Artisan 835 and am enjoying it most of the time. The print quality is wonderful (especially on matte photo paper, which I use exclusively now). It does seem to have the other features you need. I do occasionally have issues with it feeding paper and having to feed one page at a time. I am not really sure why, but it isn't a HUGE or common issue.

HP Officejet Pro 8500 here and love it.
I payed $100 for it new at Staples a while back when the 8600 came out.
Prints square, Scanner, Fax and copier.
Individual color cartridges and can handle card stock 110lb without any problems.

I like it.

I don't trust HP...

Aargh! Too many printers...!:-\

Hmmm, looks like the Artisan is a US product, not a UK one

Epson are good though - my old Style 800 served me well for a long time.

Despite my general loathing at how incompetent Canon tech support is (I have experienced the worst of the worst, with the documentation to prove it!) I have been very happy with the Canon MX870. My wife needed a multi-purpose office printer for printing, faxing, scanning and copying business documents. I needed something that could print square. We both like printing photos of the kids. It's held up well.

I've installed a continuous ink system into mine. It's not without its own problems, but I've gotten my money's worth from it for sure.

Still haven't made a decision (either the Canon PIXMA MX515 or one of the Epson Stylus'), but I've put off buying the new XCom game to pay for it...

OK. 99% Certain it'll be the Canon. Max paperweight is 300g/sm which seems OK (can't be any worse than my HP which struggled with 200!).

Can't find it locally so Amazon it is. Fingers Xs'd it prints square...

Ordered. I'll be the one hiding beneath my desk if anyone wants me (hate ordering this sort of thing sight unseen!)

Printer arrived yesterday.

Slight panic when I printed off a test print, until I realised my ruler wasn't actually accurate (for those in the UK, Wicks metal ruler)

So I printed off 2 6" tiles on normal paper, turned the top one 90 degrees and... they matched. Perfectly...

So I tried some 210gsm card (printing off roll arena, been meaning to build this for a while). It works perfectly! And the difference between this and the 190gsm that was all my old printer could handle was surprising! Suddenly I think I know why my builds look so much less than everyone elses!!

Happy now!

She seems happy enough. Not actually used it yet though...

Glad you found one!

Honestly you can't just throw HP by the side based on one bad printer. Every printer manufacturer has released one, or more, rubbish printers. Just like every auto manufacturer has some bad models in their history.

I love my HP 6000. It's accurate, good print quality, pulls 110lb card stock from the paper tray with no problems, and been fine for many years. It wasn't until 3 years later did I have to replace the print head and now it's good as new.

The HP LaserJet 4 is THE standard that many manufacturers wish they could achieve! Those things are ancient and still work like the first day you bought it. When I was replacing old printers at my previous job people wouldn't let me take them. "From their cold dead hands" was the only way I would get those printers. People would hide them so we couldn't take them. Long after their "new" printers died their HP LJ 4's were still chugging along.

Unfortunately you can't just say "Oh never buy an HP" or "Always buy a Cannon!" because it's just not that simple. You really do have to do your homework and research what model is best for your price range.

For those who click on this link looking for info on a new printer, try Micro Center. I found their online stuff pretty good. Bought my last one from Tiger Direct and my last one from MC. Both are pretty great. Had a bit of trouble with the Samsung CD they included but I was able to d/l the drivers offline.

As for brands to stay away from. Someone above me mentioned that no manufacturer should be ignored. I was skeptical with the Samsung but got a killer price and it has preformed very well. Got a bad cartridge from a replacement suppler and now it is printing like new and it is six or seven years old. The HP, also works awesome, especially for a three year old printer. I always refill the toner myself. At least once seems to be no problem, with that one unexceptional replacement cartridge. Both Cannon Bubble Jets worked flawlessly. My Epson I bought back in 94 didn't last long but I hear plenty of people raving about their Epson's.

http://www.microcenter.com/search/searc ... y=pricelow

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... _2272_2272

Morganm, I agree that I shouldn't dismiss a brand straight away, but to be honest this time, with such a variety of printers to choose from, it did make my life simpler!

Talae and those who use matt photo paper - do you use a 3rd layer of card to thicken your builds? When I was using my 160gsm (not even 190, 160!!), I quite often went 3 layers especially for walls, just to make them less bendy!

I find that it is plenty thick enough. I haven't needed to double up at all. Sunraven has a picture floating around here showcasing the stability of the Photo Paper.