What is a good all-in-one printer/scanner etc that is economical to run? -

1. That is economical with ink cartridges 2. That allows greyscale printing without accessing the colour cartridge(s) 3. That allows you to use the scanner or copier, without needing ink in the cartridges at all 4. Pretty good quality scanning and fast printing

If you re looking for a reliable all-in-one inkjet with good quality output, a solid warranty and inexpensive ink, look at the Epson workforce or NX series. Right now you can get the workforce 500 fax/copier/scanner/printer with document feeder for $69 delivered at http://www.compsource.com/ttechnote.asp?… The best warranty in the industry. For a year, Epson will express-ship a replacement and pick up the old one. I get cartridges for my Epsons from http://ccs-digital.com for under $3 each which hold 66% more ink than standard cartridges. As for not needing ink in the cartridges or printing without accessing the color, there is a very important reason why you need ink in all the cartridges and why some color is used even when you print black. If you try to bypass these features, you will destroy your printer. Read this for more details http://ccs-digital.com/inkjetcare.asp I have an Epson all-in-one which I use mostly to print in black. I have changed the black cartridge numerous times but not the colors. They are going down very slowly, but they are going down, which is to be expected. Better lose a few cents of ink than the whole printer.

Number 2 is going to be the issue, the only printers which will print without colour are select higher end HP printers, however you will not know if that is an option until the driver is installed. Greyscale printing almost always uses color. No printer will copy without ink. I would be most inclined to say a Canon MP160 - they are last years model however still available and cheap. You can print without ink in your color cartridge, however you will have to put up with constant warnings. It will scan without ink cartridges, however again - constant warnings. It isn t the cheapest to run, however what you are looking for does not really exists. All around the cheapest printer to run is a kodak easy share all in one. You do need both cartridges installed and working to print, scan, or copy. However a set of cartridges only costs $25.

There is an excellent list of top all in one printers toward the bottom of this article: http://www.castleink.com/_a-ComparingAll…