What is a good low-impact network printer/scanner?

Question

• I want a printer that doesn't require me to install a bunch of custom software of each PC on the network. I want to just Add Network Printer from each Windows PC, and be done.

• I want a scanner that will scan to a network share (on my Windows Home Server). Simple interface required: I want to put a peice of paper in the scanner, hit 1 button, and be done.

Being all-in-one is nice, but not required. I will buy two units if that's what it takes.

Ideally it's Wi-Fi, so I can just plop it down anywhere, but if I have to plug in to my WHS, that is acceptable.

I don't print or scan very often, so it doesn't have to be fast. Ideally the ink cartridges are small, so they don't expire before I use them up. Laser is OK, if it's not too expensive, but not required. Color laser is an acceptable option, since the toner lasts a long time.

Ideally it's a physically small unit.

This is an all-Windows household, so Linux and Mac compatibility isn't required.

What should I get?

Answer 1

Two points:

1. I have had very good luck with HP All-in-ones. I have an oldish HP 2110 that hase been working great for years. It's a USB printer that I hooked up a wireless print server to. A friend has a newer HP C4780 - it's small footprint & easy setup. HP printers typically are at the top of the charts at Consumers Reports. Disclosure: My sister-in-law used to be a firmware programmer for HP - printers & faxes.
2. I never install the printer software that comes with a printer. The benfit of the manufacturer driver is outweighed by all the trash that comes with it. On my linux, connecting up to a wireless printer via ipp is essentially automatic. I would expect that as soon as you configure your wireless printer to join the network, all the PC's on your network will be able to find it & print without installing anything. Worst case scenario, you might have to provide the URI to the printer, for example, my printer is at ipp://192.168.2.110:631/ipp/P1/