Looking at new printers generally at the moment. I see some of the Canon printers are bubble type. What is the difference between bubble and inkjet and do these differences affect quality? I shall certainly go for separate inks this time. My old Epson Photo 750 is still going strong, but its software is so outdated now, having to collect drivers from all over the place and support vanishing. Was it only six years ago? That must be a long time in computerland! Anyway I have decided to be generous and let it go along with the old computer to a relative who is just starting into the territory....

I have an old Oki black and white laser text printer that just keeps chugging along. I replace the $30 toner cartridge once a year or so.

If you are looking for a color printer, the best thing to consider is the cost of color cartridges, not necessarily the initial cost of the machine. The manufacturer makes more money on the replacement cartridges so check the number of documents/photos you can print before replacing a cartridge.

Someone else will have to address the "bubble or ink jet" question.

Bubblejet is just the term Canon use for their range of inkjet printers.

I can recommend getting a printer that uses seperate ink cartidges. It saves throwing the colour cartridge out when one of the colours runs out.

I got a Canon i850 after owning two troublesome Epson printers. The print heads kept clogging on the first one if it wasn't used regularly. The print heads also kept clogging on the second one. I put up with this until it went mechanically wrong just after the guarantee ran out.

The Canon has been good. It's only a 4 colour printer (all seperate) but the print quality is very good. The print heads never clog up and it's about the quietest printer you can get as well.