I need a printer

[Radiance]

Starting my home business, need to print documents, forms, invoices, quotes, etc. Some color printing, but doesn't have to be on the same printer unless makes sense.

I also need to scan, does not need to be the same machine

I do not need a fax, using fax service

Needs to be quiet (baby at home)

Does not need to be wireless, I don't mind connecting my laptop via usb each time

Dont print much, really, maybe 20 pages per month if that, I do most things via email, although this can increase as my business grows.

What are good recomendations? Brand/model and where to buy.

P.S. can you corfirm that for ocassional personal photo printing snapfish or similar is a better option than printing at home (mainly my son's pictures)

[disneysteve]

Printing photos is definitely cheaper to do professionally, not at home. Photo printing uses a lot of ink and the paper is pricey. You can get photos done at WalMart or somewhere local for less than you'd spend for paper at home.

As for the printer, if you don't print often and mostly black, I'd look for a cheap laser printer. One problem with inkjet printers which are cheaper upfront is that ink cartridges can dry out if not used regularly. You end up having to replace costly cartridges that aren't really empty but are dry.

[snafu]

you don't necessarily need a new machine, you might check Craig'slist or Kijijji in your community for a gently used machine and offer 1/2 cost of new.

[JohnSaveOn]

I agree with snafu. Printers come with almost any new computer on the market today. Most people, however, do not need a new printer every time they get a new computer. Because of this trend, there are cheap, quality printers to be had on sites like Craigslist or eBay.

[Confetti]

Definitely check the cost of the cartridges at the same time you are shopping for the printer. We made the mistake once of getting the cheapest printer we could find, and it seems the reason it was cheap is that they made up for it in ink cost.

After seeing the performance of the Brother printer I use at work that uses toner instead of ink, we got one of those. The toner seems to last forever, but you can only do black and white, which was fine for our needs.

We also have a printer/scanner at work, a Lexmark, and it goes through a ton of ink very quickly. It performs well, but it's very costly to use.