Printer as a gift?

I am considering buying my brother a printer as a gift for Christmas. But with so many options, it is hard to choose! He is not a photographer, but would like to print some simple documents for work. Also, he and his wife have a five year old that they take tons of pictures of, as well as a dog that they adore. I'm sure they would love to print out some shots of their son and "daughter" (Dakota the golden retriever). Any recommendations on an easy to use printer that doesn't break the bank but still delivers nice photo quality?

Good luck with that, There are so many to choose from. Last week I thought my printer had died and I spent two days looking on the internet for a replacement without finding one that fitted my requirements. Fortunately I managed to fix the problem. One thing I did learn was that the cost of replacement ink was more important than the specification of the printer itself.

The margin on printers is razor-thin. The joke goes: printer manufacturers aren't in the printer business. They're in the ink cartridge business.

You can buy all-in-one printer/scanner/FAX machine for a little over $100 USD last time I bought one. It uses every-day 8.5x11 paper and produces horrible pictures. That's why I've also got a good photo printer.

Suggestions:

• determine how much you want to spend
  
• determine what quality your brother wants in the printed photos
  

Buy them gift certificates to a photo printing service and get them a cheap black and white laser printer for document printing.

kirk

kirkt wrote in post #19164785
Buy them gift certificates to a photo printing service and get them a cheap black and white laser printer for document printing.

kirk

^^^This^^^

I'll third the gift certificate
Be aware printers these days come with enough ink in their tanks to print something.
You mention 5 year old and The Dog. That might spark a "Can we print this mum "
Pay to have a top up, and yes that's when replacement inks come into cost equation.

kirkt wrote in post #19164785
Buy them gift certificates to a photo printing service and get them a cheap black and white laser printer for document printing.

kirk

I was going to suggest the same thing. I own both a laser printer and a photo printer. The photo printer rarely gets used, as I rarely make small prints of my photos -- only when my wife asks for one to give to someone. I mostly print enlargements to hang on the walls, and use a photo service for that.

A laser printer works so much better for office documents, envelopes, etc. And they are pretty inexpensive these days, too. I have a Brother model, and I can buy third party replacement toner cartridges for it for about $12.