buying a printer in Paris

I%26#39;m going to be in Paris for five months, and I%26#39;m bringing along my laptop. I%26#39;d like to buy a cheap printer in Paris for use while I%26#39;m there. Is there an area of the city that I should look in for computer stores? Are they as cheap as they are here at home in the USA? (Basic printers are about $100 USA.) As an addition, should I be worried about any problems with the laptop? It has a convertor built into the power pack.

Thanks.

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I guess it depends on what you want this printer to do.

Docs or photos for example ?

www.surcouf.com is the website for the Surcouf chain of stores. There are 2 of them in Paris (I think), one by Nation and the other by Opera. Consider them computer supermarkets.

The branch by Nation is in the heart of the Parisian computer area. The streets around it including Rue Montgallet and the Rue de Charenton. It%26#39;s about a block of 100% computer stores and it%26#39;s heere that you%26#39;ll get the best price in town.

There%26#39;s a website with a lot of the stores listed where you can search prices...

http://www.rue-montgallet.com

The cheapest printer that you can get is about 50€ (Epson Stylus C44+)

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There%26#39;s %26quot;cheap%26quot; and there%26#39;s %26quot;CheapButNotReally%26quot;.

I sought the exact same thing in April 2004, bought a cheap (50 Euro) Lexmark printer and thought I was set. Then, after just a few days of 10 pages here, 5 pages there, I needed a new 22 Euro ink cartridge. In 6 months I spent more than 350 Euro on ink. I printed black and white almost exclusively but the color ink cartridge still was tapped and I went through 3 of those (29 Euro each) even though I only printed a handful of color pages (beware of cheap Lexmark printers!).

That%26#39;s exactly the business model HP, Lexmark, Canon et al, have. It%26#39;s the free razor and the dollar-a-piece razor blades.

Soon after I tore all my hair out, I bought a cheap (220 Euro) HP LaserJet, a LASER printer that uses toner, not ink and I%26#39;m still on my original cartridge.

Surcouf is good because they have the selection but the sales staff is a little %26quot;Aloof%26quot; (pun totally intended. Surcouf-Aloof....nevermind). They are also more expensive unless the item you want is on sale.

ptegan%26#39;s recommendation about the little shops around the Surcouf in the 12th is golden. Also, FNAC Digitale in the 5th (on Bvd St. Germaine between Bvd St. Michel and Odeon) will supposedly %26quot;match any price%26quot; and they have a lot less attitude and better customer support. Good selection too.

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By its very nature inkjet printers are loss leaders. They practically give them away so you can buy their ink cartridges. This is same for any brand.

There is Office Depot www.officedepot.fr

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O/T: These days a cheap laser printer typically comes with a reduced-capacity cartridge. A replacement could cost 70 Euro. However, b/w laser printer has much lower operating cost in the long run.

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Thanks. Invaluable help!

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If your going to Paris by Eurostar from London then buy one there. Bit of a pain to carry with you, but cheaper (and if I%26#39;m on Eurostar at the time I will be moaning about you!!)

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Good advice from Paris fanatic - but if you do buy printer in UK, make sure you buy a UK to Europe adaptor plug for it (they sell these in the WH Smith in the Waterloo Eurostar terminal, they%26#39;re about £3 each) before you go. In fact, you%26#39;ll also want to make sure that you have US to Europe adaptor plugs with you as well.

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As some otherposters said :

- Cheap and no service nor advice : go to rue Montgallet (close to Gare de Lyon). It%26#39;s a kind of technoChinatown. Tons of small shops, low price, low service (and don%26#39;t complain about rude parisiansafter that!!)

- Easier, more central but a little bit more expensive : FNAC stores,mainly theFnacdigitale, boulevard Saint Germain, and the FnacEtoile, avenue des ternes (www.fnac.com)

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Capo - a lot of printers sold in the UK come with European stype power lead, so check the box first. If you do have to buy an adaptor go to one of those shops that sells everything cheap or a branch of QD, Poundland and pick one up for £1 or less.