With a horrific squeaking noise, but without any advance notice, my Epson Stylus Photo R220 printer died only a few days ago. The sound was pretty unambiguous. Something had gone seriously wrong, mechanically. I am sure it will still print just fine, if it could only move the paper…

How come these devices only ever make it to their third anniversary, if that?

Some of the low-cost inkjet printers sell for roughly the price of a set of ink cartridges, so maybe it is true that the printer manufacturers are actually ink makers, who throw in free printers. So anyway, I had to call it a day – and had to spend a good number of hours choosing the new printer.

Device cost. Cartridge cost. Reviews. Expected lifetime. Ability to refill individual colours versus a single multi-colour cartridge. Cost per page in black and white. Cost per page in color. The desire to have a really nice printer. The desire to make a sensible purchase.

Honestly, I am overwhelmed by the task to balance all those factors. There might be more difficult decisions in life, but choosing a replacement printer must rank pretty high on that list.

In the end, I chose a Samsung CLP-315 Colour Laser Printer. The cost comparison might just work out if the device makes it through three years. I am certainly happy to confirm that the print quality is superb.

I am curious regarding the lightfastness of the prints. This was poor with ink; the ink prints change colour pretty quickly when exposed to light. We’ll find out; I have a number of reference prints for comparison.