Budget ink tank printer choice - WiFi or not?

[Pimpom]

In anyone using a Wi-Fi printer? Do you find it useful or do you consider it just a useless gimmick?

Someone with a tight budget has entrusted me with choosing an inexpensive all-in-one ink tank printer. He will be using it mostly in a small personal office with a laptop.
Benefits of Wi-Fi: Reducing cable clutter, possibility of hooking up with a phone, wider choice of a convenient location for the printer
Con: extra cost.

I suppose it depends on personal taste and requirements. Still, your thoughts and experience will be appreciated.

 

[kalph09]

I have 2 wireless printers and I find them super convenient as I can keep them away from my desk.

Am currently using Brother DCPT220 ink tank printer my office gave me. Some cons you need to be mindful of.
1) This model is not Air-Print compatible. Printing from iPhone's can be a challenge, you need an app to accommodate this. While I have no problem printing from laptop and Pixel.
2) Takes away a lot of desk real estate, the printer wide, it needs a dedicated desk.

My second printer is HP Laserjet M126nw am having this since 2011 and working well.
1) Air Print compatible, works superbly well with iOS devices.

If you intend to declutter your desk not just from wires but the printer itself, go for a wireless one. If you intend to print a lot using iOS devices, ensure they are air print compatible.

 

[Pimpom]

Thanks. The user doesn't need Air-print compatibility. But while the Brother DCP-T220 is the cheapest all-in-one on Amazon now and is one of the printers I was considering, isn't it a wired-only model?

The DCP-T420W and DCP-T520W are wireless but are a bit above budget at current inflated prices.

 

[mk76]

Agree with @kalph09 . Have Brother T710W. Wifi is super convenient. No cable clutter. Print from any client. And low ink usage.
The idea is not look at the short term usage.

 

[kalph09]

Thanks. The user doesn't need Air-print compatibility. But while the Brother DCP-T220 is the cheapest all-in-one on Amazon now and is one of the printers I was considering, isn't it a wired-only model?

The DCP-T420W and DCP-T520W are wireless but are a bit above budget at current inflated prices.

My bad, yes I meant the T420W. T220 is a wired model, the price difference is about 3k-ish.

Check the dimensions of the printer before you buy considering it takes quite a bit of space on your desk, the photos on amazon look small.

 

[nithishsabapathi]

Epson Ink tank L3150 is a good option to consider but the prices are heavily inflated now. How are brother printers compared to Epson in terms of print quality and ink availability? Just curious...

 

[Pimpom]

Another question: What is the print quality of these printers like? These are not photo quality printers but what are they like compared to, say simple inkjets costing 2-3k?

 

[kalph09]

Another question: What is the print quality of these printers like? These are not photo quality printers but what are they like compared to, say simple inkjets costing 2-3k?

The Brother T420W am using is pretty good. I print mostly graphs, tables, etc therefore I can not comment on printing photos. In terms of what I print they are way better than entry-level printers costing 3-4k

 

[Pimpom]

Thanks again, all. Your comments are very helpful. I've been considering several different models and it's difficult to make a firm decision. Like nithishsabapathi said, prices are heavily inflated now and there's no big hurry.

I've been going back and forth between low cost and better features at a higher price. I said earlier that Airprint is not important but it will be nice to have it if the price is not much higher with the same set of features. At the moment I have my eye on Brother DCP-T820DW - 16.8k at Amazon, with ADF, auto-duplex, Airprint, nice control panel.

What I do not consider important is the number of prints claimed for the initial set of inks. Each model is said to be good for thousands of prints and refill bottles are relatively cheap. Do you agree?