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August 27, 2008 5:08 AM PDT

Print without wires for $41 shipped

by Rick Broida
(Credit: Circuit City)

Nothing gets my motor running like a good deal on a Wi-Fi printer. Circuit City has the Lexmark Z1480 color inkjet on sale for $40.96 shipped (plus tax in most states). It's a fairly basic printer, but because it's equipped with Wi-Fi, you can stick it anywhere and not have to worry about yet another snaking cable ruining your office aesthetic.

The Z1480 includes both USB and 802.11g interfaces and runs on Windows and Mac systems. It's a dual-cartridge printer that promises color output at resolutions up to 4800x1200 dpi. A set of replacement cartridges will run you $39.99 if purchased at Circuit City, and I didn't find much better prices online. (Hey, don't get mad at me. That's what ink cartridges cost. Take it up with the manufacturers.)

As I've said before, once you've experienced the thrill of printing wirelessly, you'll never go back to those accursed USB cables. See you in hell, cables!

Rick Broida, a technology writer for nearly 20 years, is the author of more than a dozen books. In addition to writing CNET's The Cheapskate blog, he oversees BNET's Business Hacks. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. Disclosure. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers. Follow Rick on Twitter at cheapskateblog.
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by victorj August 27, 2008 10:43 AM PDT
Hey Rick -- when you set up one of these, do you have to do any special setup through your router or home network? Or can you really just put it on your desk and your wifi-enabled laptop should see it and be able to print to it?
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by rickbroida August 27, 2008 12:21 PM PDT
Usually it's a simple matter of installing the printer drivers, which should detect your router/network and configure the printer accordingly.
by 1KC August 27, 2008 11:11 AM PDT
Rick, do you ever see such good deals on decent wifi mono color laser printers?
Reply to this comment
by rickbroida August 27, 2008 12:22 PM PDT
Monochrome lasers, yes. Color lasers, rarely. "Mono color" lasers -- never heard of 'em.
by pixelpusher220 August 27, 2008 2:27 PM PDT
one problem with built-in wifi devices is they sometimes only work with *very* basic/default settings for your wireless network. for instance, does it support WPA (hopefully) or WEP (bad bad bad) etc.

And if you happen to have changed your default networking from 192.168.0.1 to 192.168.2.1, sometimes they won't be able to find the network.
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About The Cheapskate

The best things in tech are cheap. "The Cheapskate" scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets, and all the other tech stuff that makes life worth living. Send your own cheapskate tips to thecheapskate@gmail.com. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers.

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