Which All-in-One printer is the best?

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I am looking for an all-in-one that can print, copy, and scan. I am trying to be careful in my selection because I have heard about manufacturers purposely making their printers use up more ink so that you have to buy more ink cartridges and it seems like a lot of printers do not work right and malfunction for no reason, and I would love to avoid all of that hassle as much as possible.

My budget is up to $200. Any suggestions?

I would advise saving more money. My HP Color Laser Jet CM1312nfi MFP cost $500 a year ago. It's under $400 now. Networked scanning, printing, faxing, slots for memory cards. The only thing it doesn't do is duplex. My last HP laser jet did not die, I just needed something more, after seven years. I expect this one to last a few years, spending $100 or so on toner cartridges each year. It's cheaper in the long-run.

Going with an inkjet all-in-one is a waste of time usually, unless you buy the cheapest models and replace them every year or so.

I would go Laser, and just buy/use a scanner. The scanner can scan (duh) and copy, if you just print out whatever it is that you scanned. I would never touch the AIO's these days, 95% of them are garbage.

Any suggestions on any color laser printer models under 200 dollars?

My 2 cents.

HP still makes some of the best all-in-one devices. Inkjet still is the best value of quality vs. price (color laser is still too expensive). However, the ink is expensive.

I like HP, but you have to really be careful over the product reviews, because a lot of them got poor ratings and others got good ratings. We have a scan/copy/print HP in the office. It sits not doing color for months and works fine when we give it a job to do. My mom got a newer HP of similar design and function. I have to run a basic color print job once a month (1 page) to ensure the ink doesn't dry in the jets.

I like HP for inkjet purely because the inkjet is incorporated into the ink tub. So, if you get catastrophic inkjet clogging, just replace the ink cartridges. Other printers keep them separate. I had an Epson that did great print jobs, but once the jets clogged, the cost and trouble to get them working again wasn't worth it.

You can search models on Newegg and read the customer reviews. That helps a lot in narrowing your choices to what's better than others.

I would avoid all in one solutions, unless you need small office capacity.

Small modulised design may be able to do the task but it doesn't do very efficiently. They are also very slow as a photocopier, and the ink runs out very quickly and tends to be poor value for money, even with the generics.

Office jets are now competing with laser. Don't automatically assume laser is the best option. It is jets not lasers that are used for photographic prints. Jets can be economical for mid range capacity. Neither is viable for high volume publishing.

If $200 is your budget then you might want to go for resale if you want decent equipment.

If you buy a cheap-ass all-in-one it will often cost more for one cartridge than for a new printer. I read somewhere that for the volume, ink costs more than vintage champagne. I have a Brother HL-5250DN black-and-white laser, which has network and duplex. Second-hand from eBay but in excellent condition. I haven't replaced the cartridge yet but it is economical compared to others in its class. My previous printer was a Lexmark X85 which is twice the size of most all-in-ones now, has no Vista/7 or Linux support even at 32-bit, and the cartridges get clogged before they get empty if you don't use them regularly enough.

I don't think you're going to find a color laserjet under $200, unless it fell off the back of a truck...

(Depends on the technology; you've got 3-4 toners depending. Prices could go from oh...say $800-800,000)

of course, mileage may vary...