I work in computer support, so I see a *lot* of printers used and a lot of printer issues.
My opinion is that honestly, all of the "cheap printers" are built shoddily. Gears are thin plastic, where only metal would really last for years of use. Paper sensor levers are thin plastic, attached with small metal springs (where the end of the spring is fed through a tiny hole in the thin plastic lever). Over time, they snap off or the spring comes loose because the plastic cracks right by the hole. Rubber rollers tend to dry out and harden, or get covered with a fine layer of paper dust, reducing their "stickiness" so they stop grabbing the top sheet of a stack of paper in the tray. These are just a few of the common points of failure with most inkjets sold today. In some cases (such as a couple of the Canon "all in ones" I've set up), the firmware and/or driver software is even shoddy, leading to problems where you have to power the printer off and turn it back on occasionally, or it just stops accepting print jobs.
Printers are complex machines, especially when you want to print in full color. Printer manufacturers are primarily in the business of selling you ink and toner (and sometimes even photo paper). As an HP rep once told me, "We view printers as expensive ink-delivery mechanisms." When you combine the general public's buying habits (EG. Not going to spend more than $150 or $200 tops for a new printer!) with the fact that the printer manufacturer wins no matter WHAT you purchase -- you can see why there's no motivation to sell you a better constructed printer.
Truthfully, I bet companies like HP, Epson and Canon make *more* money in the long-haul from all the people who have to discard unused or partially used ink cartridges or toners because a printer breaks down out of warranty. It causes the user to buy a new printer that usually takes a different type of cartridge/toner, so they buy them all over again. For everyone who gets mad and changes brands after one printer breaks, someone else changes back TO that brand when the other manufacturer's printer fails on them. So eventually, they ALL benefit from increased supply sales.
If you actually want a good printer that will last for years, you need to look at what's sold to enterprise business and government customers. These will be priced about 4x higher than what you're probably used to spending, based on what's on display in retail stores. Otherwise? If I have to go with "cheap", I recommend Brother printers. Their supplies usually cost less than the others, and especially for black and white lasers, they tend to work surprisingly well for the money.
