For that price it will be an inkjet which I just can't recommend - every one I've had has been a temporary, disposable POC. When I bought my latest printer I did what I always do - read the reviews on Amazon and other websites. I ended up getting a Brother HL-3140CW. It's a color, wireless laser printer and I've been very happy with it. I don't know that it's idiot proof but I had no problems with setup. It connected with all our iphones and ipads with no problem. It's currently selling for $169 on Amazon, $183 at Best Buy.

ETA: - mine is just a printer, no scanner. I just got a cheap, separate scanner that I now rarely use because I can scan with my phone. I opted not to get the all in one printer again because the reviews were bad and I didn't want another cheap throw away printer. Your needs are probably different.

3katz, how much are the replacement toner cartridges for your new printer?

I bought my Canon inkjet at Staples for $99 at least 3 years ago, maybe 4. Getting cartridges refilled at Costco worked out, until it didn't. Alignment got totally messed up. I thought it was the printer; it was the cartridge. I bought some REALLY inexpensive ones from inkjets.com and they seem to be working out just fine.

Getting a laser appeals to me. I print out a lot of recipes and invariably I get little ink smears from wet hands while I'm cooking.

Printers are a throw-away item. They make their money on the ink refils. Don't assume the low cost refil options like Costco will work - the manufactures have gotten wise to that and many new printers will not operate unless there is a new cartridge. They put some kind of identifier - like a scan code or something on the new ones and once you remove an old one to get it refilled that code will no longer work. One of my biggest consumer pet peeves is printers and how they're designed to be replaced frequently. I am definitely looking into laser for the nest go-round - thanks 3katz.

Bunny - I don't know what the refills cost as I haven't had to buy any yet. I do know from reading the reviews that this printer is set to tell you you're out of ink before you are and then it won't let you print. The review included instructions on how to override this. I made note of the instructions for override but haven't had to do that either.

I spent the extra $ to get a Brother B&W/color laser printer. I am so glad I did. No more constantly running out of cartridges or having perfectly fine cartridges "expire" and the machine would quit working like the old ink jet I had. It makes nice copies and has lots of other features...many I don't need because I don't tend to make a lot of copies at one time, but it reduces and enlarges and scans in photos and such too. The other thing is, I'd print recipes on the ink jet and if the page got wet, the ink would bleed...not an issue with the laser.

Don't laser printers use ink, too? Are they cheaper, or do they just run out less frequently?

Lasers use toner (powder). They're better for text.

They use toner for color, too?

Yes. Lasers don't use ink.

I googled best printer for dummies. The dummy part will always find your answer. lol Here's what I got:

"What is the simplest printer to use?

HP OfficeJet Pro 9015

The HP OfficeJet Pro 9015 is likely to be the easiest printer you've ever had to set up, and that alone is enough to recommend it. But it also prints beautifully (and quickly), scans well, has great apps for PCs and mobile devices, and prints for an affordable 2.2¢ per page in black or 8.9¢ per page in color.Jun 2, 2020

It's kind of pricey, we need to go back to the drawing board. Plus it's too bulky, IMO.

I think Ho Lee is a Necrospammer. It’s been reported.

Whoa, this is spooky--the printer I was asking about in the first place died last week and just yesterday I replaced it....then this pops up!

Actually the $100 price turned out to be unrealistic as was noted. I ended up buying this Epson all-in-one on sale at Office Depot; I think I paid $129. It's worked very well until last week when, after only a couple of years, the print function suddenly failed. VERY frustrating, I keep getting paper jams when trying to print but it will still make copies(!). After a week of trying all kinds of google-driven solutions I gave up yesterday and bought another Epson all in one. Very similar model, they both have flat bed print/scan capability, double paper feeds (nice for keeping envelopes in one, paper in the other) and generally work quite well.

So I conditionally recommend these printers-I suspect the problem was caused by a power failure that knocked everything offline pretty abruptly last week. If not for that issue, the machine works very well and has everything I need for home office use.

Geesh, I was writing down information as I need a laser printer -scanner fax preferably that can do photo's and maybe be able to print from SD and usb, but at least I learned I should probably get a separate fax and scanner? before noticing this was 2 years old.....

We have an Epson ink tank printer and it's the best we have ever had.

You can get a B&W laser printer only for probably just over $100. I have an HP that is small and works great -- I have yet to replace toner on it. We later got a Brother color printer/scanner -- was a little over $300. DH decided he wanted multi-page document feed, so we paid about $100 more for a new one and gave our son the original one. His inkjet had been used so little that the ink had dried up and the heads could not be cleaned to revive them. That's the best thing about lasers -- the toner they use is a powder that the laser essentially melts onto the paper rather than ink that can leak or gum up printer heads. They don't clog. My little B&W printer is in my sewing and craft room and only gets used occasionally, but it prints perfectly every time.