What all-in-one should I buy?

Question

I hardly ever print or scan anything any more, but sometimes it's essential (monthly accounts, etc). I'd say I print something once or twice a week.
I need an all-in-one that works perfectly, is cheap, looks nice, doesn't use gallons of ink, has a driver that works with Leopard, and in short presents absolutely no problems of any kind and does the job without letting me down.
Is that asking too much? Aren't we in the 21st. century?
I'd welcome recommendations.

Answer 1

I bought a Cannon MP530 several years ago for my home computer and was so impressed with it I bought another for my office. Like you, I infrequently need to color print, scan, photocopy or fax anything (maybe once per week), but when I need it, it has worked flawlessly. It’s also dirt simple to set up and use. That’s especially good because my memory isn’t as good as it used to be, but this all-in-one interface is so user friendly, I’ve never had a problem, even if it’s been weeks since I last scanned something.
I had my assistant (who is strictly a PC user) make scanned copies with my Cannon using a Mac. Within a half hour, she was back with the several dozen scanned copies. Like that Geico caveman commercial says, ‘It’s so easy, even a PC user can do it.’
A colleague bought a newer version of the Cannon MP series and he really likes it too. I think mine looks pretty good, but the new one looks even better. And I think the newer one is even easier to use than my older ones.
I don’t think there are many cheap inkjet cartridges for any type printer, but I’ve replaced each of my color packs only once and I think I’ve replaced the black cartridges twice in each of my all-in-one devices.
Both my Cannon machines worked flawlessly with Tiger and when I upgraded to Leopard.
This is the only all-in-one I’ve used so I can’t give you comparison information. I selected this one based on a Consumer Reports recommendation.
From what I’ve seen on these forums, a lot of people seem to have problems with HP devices using a Mac. The only glitch I’ve had is that the phone line is shared with my home phone and if someone calls, the fax feature answers it. So I leave the phone line to it disconnected until I need to fax something or I know someone is going to fax something to me. I think the manual tells how to share a phone line with the fax, but I haven’t bothered to read it yet.