Best wireless all in one home office printers for my Mac

[pm-r]

I now strongly recommend *against* HP’s products. It's not that their hardware isn't good, it mostly is; even their consumer class stuff. It's that their support for Macintosh users is too often terrible.

Unfortunately that seems to have been the case for several years now, as a lot of local Mac members have discovered and would agree.




- Patrick
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[MacInWin]

For the OP, as you can see from Randy and Patrick's posts, printers are a religion, as I said. They both put HP in the "never buy" category because of their experiences, and I put Canon in there for exactly the same reason. They put Canon in the prime position for support, I put HP there for the same reason. I've never had a driver problem with an HP, never had outrageous ink usage with HP, but have had BOTH with Canon.

That's not to say that Randy and Patrick are WRONG, but you have to take opinions on printers with some skepticism. One person's beloved printer is another's boat anchor.

Go to any forum, not just Mac forums, mention any printer and you'll find folks who love it and rush to its praise and defense, and those who, in Randy's words, "elicit a chorus of folks spitting on the ground at the mention of the name." It's religion.

All of which is to say that I would get the printer that has the features I need, not spend a lot, learn what I like and don't and then retire that printer to get the one I should have gotten in the first place. And for me, I'll start with HP, with Canon NOT on the list anywhere. (But it's religion, remember?)

 

[pigoo3]

Yes I too would pretty much agree that HP printers are not my first choice any more. Over the past 30 years of Apple computer ownership...I've had three phases to my printer choices.

- First 10 years I only used Apple printers (dot matrix, ink jet, and laser printers).
- Second 10 years...pretty much only used HP printers (ink jets & laser printers).
- Third 10 years (up to present day)...have been pretty much using anything other than HP.

Tried Samsung during these last 10 years...they were crap (bad compatability & difficult setup). Have had the most luck with Brother printers (have a Brother WiFi multi-function laser printer at the moment...and it's been great). Easy setup...easy to use.

- Nick

p.s. One additional reason I now forever dislike HP printers. Back approx. 5-6 years ago or so...when they put expiration dates (or best if used by dates) on ink jet cartridges. Wife & I had stocked up on HP ink jet cartridges when we saw them on sale (because of course they are expensive & you can go thru them quickly sometimes). When you exceed the expiration date...the printer would no longer print (would give some sort of "out of ink" error). No more...bye bye HP!

 

[pigoo3]

Agree with Jake (MacInWin). "Best" threads on an internet forum really are not very useful:

- Best Printer
- Best Hard Drive
- Best WiFi Router
- Best Application for xyz purpose.
- Etc. Etc.

What an internet forum is great for (when a "Best" thread...or a "What should I buy" thread is started). Is a discussion of the pro's & con's of different products....and actual user experience's.

Almost never is a consensus reached on what is actually "best".

- Nick

 

[pm-r]

All some interesting comments on printers here but as another option for the OP to consider and what quite a few clients and associates have done is not even own a printer but have any print jobs done at a print service place.

Most of them have separate folders setup somehow so that whatever they want printed gets saved to whatever folder, i.e.: staples, london drugs, costco etc. that gets sent to that service automatically I think and they just pickup the print jobs when convenient. No printer hassles or costs. But not for everyone and a completely different religion!!!

Just thought I'd mention the option…

Almost never is a consensus reached on what is actually "best".

Yup!! Too many variables but user comments and experiences sure help.







- Patrick
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[Randy B. Singer]

Unfortunately that seems to have been the case for several years now, as a lot of local Mac members have discovered and would agree.

Actually, I think that it started to do downhill all the way back when Steve Jobs arranged for HP to be the supplier for Apple-branded printers, and then the deal fell through with much acrimony. Ever since HP has been lukewarm with regard to supporting the Macintosh.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

For the OP, as you can see from Randy and Patrick's posts, printers are a religion...

I agree that folks either fall in love with what they own, often irrationally, or they learn to "hate" a product that they have had even a single bad experience with.

I don't wish to get into an argument, but you miss-characterize where *I'm* coming from. You're the one who had one bad example of a printer and now are angry with them.

I've never had a bad experience personally with an HP product, and my recommendations aren't based on a single data point, they are based on hundreds of them. For me, it's not a religion. I keep on top of these things because I have thousands of users who look to me for advice backed up with lots of examples. These same users provide a huge source of information on which to form these recommendations.

 

[chscag]

I've never had a bad experience personally with an HP product, and my recommendations aren't based on a single data point, they are based on hundreds of them. For me, it's not a religion. I keep on top of these things because I have thousands of users who look to me for advice backed up with lots of examples. These same users provide a huge source of information on which to form these recommendations.

And.. we appreciate your objectivity when you post Randy even if we don't always agree. Thanks for all the info you provide.

 

[Slydude]

I was not thrilled with that decision. The StyleWriter series printers in use at that time were based on Canon mechanisms IIRC. They were nearly indestructible and I one for years before finally replacing it with something else. It was still working and I gave it away with the LCII I was using it with.

It's was one of the few printers I've owned that I actually liked. Of course, Cannon was not providing support for it. That was being handled by Apple. Our Canon has been indestructible but it does seem to waste ink and the wireless set up procedure can be a real pain. We also go through periods of time where it loses connection with the network for no apparent reason.

 

[pm-r]

Actually, I think that it started to do downhill all the way back when Steve Jobs arranged for HP to be the supplier for Apple-branded printers, and then the deal fell through with much acrimony. Ever since HP has been lukewarm with regard to supporting the Macintosh.

I seem to recall such animosities if they actually were during my first acquaintance with Macs and Apple in the early '90s but I think Canon was right in there as well, but I didn't care as long as my various Stylewriter models kept on working and I could keep refilling the cartridges.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Apple_printers

Then I was given an old HP Laserjet 4ML Mac DIN serial Appletalk printer which believe it or not we are still able to use with all our Macs and iDevices via our network. Not exactly a normal situation I will admit!!!




- Patrick
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