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The Requirements:
This recommendation was written August 7, 2007 for a Finance Director at a not for profit organization who had a need for reliable in office desktop printer principally for things that were of a confidential nature and included standard forms like checks, benefits statements, ...

Our Recommendation and Advice:
Regarding your need for a printer, I suggest these choices from NewEgg.com. I noted the prices I saw. If you find something extensively different, let me know. I am sure the sales are a limited time, I just don't know how limited.

I recommend HP printers almost exclusively. It has been my experience that especially those in the $100-200 range tend to be very good for office application, most of the time they install with ease, and when carefully selected, they will work well for a good long life. There are exceptions, so that's where the reviews at Newegg are very handy.

After your initial investment, laser will be less expensive on a per copy basis. If you need color, inkjet is going to be your best option as a desktop printer. My opinion is mostly based on footprint (Presuming you want to use your desk to work too;-) The Color Lasers too are a bigger bite out of the budget than can be justified in most cases. You have to print a lot of pages to make up for the extra $400 or so. But if you think you might be interested, I can recommend a color laser too.

You mentioned that you almost never print in color, so I have included a couple of nice deals on black and white lasers that are well rated and really a pretty good value right now. We can always network someone else's color printer for the occasional report that you might print.

I also included 1 All-in-one at the bottom. The less expensive all in ones, are usually not as rugged as the Officejets, deskjets, or even the Photosmarts an you can see by the ratings, but if you are feeling exceptionally lazy and don't want to walk down the hall for a copy or to make a quick scan, they are really nice. Think about the footprint on these. They can tend to be a bit of a desk hog too.

I couldn't find a sale price on an Officejetor Deskjet that I thought was well enough rated and suited for your application, but this Deskjet is well rated by buyers. Officejets are advertised by HP as being a little more rugged than the deskjets or photoprinters, but for your volume, I am not sure that matters.

HP Deskjet 6980 InkJet Personal Color Printer HP Deskjet 6980 C8969A Up to 36 ppm Up to 4800 optimized dpi color and 1200 input dpi InkJet Workgroup Color Printer Discontinured Replaced by 6988 The 6988 is new enough that they do not yet show ratings at Newegg.

Update 3/7/2008

HP Deskjet 6988 InkJet Color Printer HP Deskjet 6988 CB055A Up to 36 ppm 4800 x 1200 dpi InkJet Color Printer

Here is a Photosmart All in One that is a good price, check on the ink costs for your kind of printing. Check the footprint too.

HP Photosmart C4180 Thermal Inkjet MFC / All-In-One Color Printer HP Photosmart C4180 Q8110A Up to 30 ppm Up to 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi Thermal Inkjet MFC / All-In-One Color Printer

All in one option... Be sure to read the review as there are some good and bad...

HP Officejet 6310 InkJet MFC / All-In-One Color Printer HP Officejet 6310 Q8061A Up to 30 ppm Up to 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi InkJet MFC / All-In-One Color Printer

3/7/2008 There is an open box for this one too, but I couldn't make a link.

If you really think that a B & W will do the trick, then here are a couple of Laser printers that might meet your needs.

HP LaserJet 1018 Laser Personal Monochrome Printer HP LaserJet 1018 CB419A Up to 12 ppm Laser Personal Monochrome Printer Price i saw $79

or for a little more speed

HP LaserJet 1018 Laser Personal Monochrome Printer HP LaserJet 1018 CB419A Up to 12 ppm Laser Personal Monochrome Printer The price I saw was $109

These lasers are a great price... I am probably going to order one for KBM.

Visit MyGeekShopper.com or call KBM if you would like a personalized recommendation from us.