Best Durable Printer

[crashtech]

I keep going through printers. HP, Brother, Epson, mostly inkjets but once tried a laser, none of them last. The laser was too affected by the omnipresent dust here I think. Odlly enough the inkjets rarely have feed problems like you would think from dust, they mainly just have ink, printhead, or software problems. All I want is a printer that is durable, the ability to scan and copy as well would be greatly appreciated but maybe not essential, as my crappy Epson still retains the ability to scan documents and I could keep it for that purpose. It doesn't even need to be color.

Ugh, just sick of crappy printers. It's like I ought to buy them in bulk and have a stack in back to replace them every six months as they die. We're not even printing that much, maybe 20 pages a day on average. We've always used desktop all-in-ones, but at this point I'll try anything. Desktop would be most convenient though.

Price is secondary at this point, but if I spend $1000 on a printer that still only lasts a year, I think I might go postal.

 

[13Gigatons]

My two printers are 15 years old. They don't build them like they use too.

 

[crashtech]

So, maybe my joke about stack'o'printers is actually not a bad way to go?

 

[corkyg]

IMHO, part of the problem is that stand alone printers are becoming a rarity, and the integration of functions into AIO machines creates compromises and complexities that lower the end product reliability and lifespan.

 

[mxnerd]

It's been many years that printers have become disposable, the quality is just not there, what you describe is not a joke, it's a fact.

All printer manufacturers want is to sell more printers and ink cartridges, they don't want the printers to last forever,

just see how many different cartridge models each manufacturer have and how expensive they are!

 

[Mike64]

Which laser died the early death, and just how dusty is your environment? Do you do anything even as minor as throwing a piece of cloth or plastic over it when it's not in active use?

My Brother HL-2140 is still going strong and it's somewhere between 7-10 years old (long enough that I honestly don't remember exactly how long I've had it.) And the prior wireless/networkable version I had only died (prematurely) when I very stupidly pushed the toner cartridge way past its nominal end-of-life using the electric-tape-over-the-sensor trick... I have seen a lot of reviews that collectively imply that Brother's current bottom-of-the-line model (the "new" HL-2140) isn't as durable as the one I have, so I think there's probably some truth to mxnerd's comment, but the reviews I've seen of the next model or two up from the bottom all still seem pretty good.

 

[mxnerd]

Actually I was talking about inkjet printers. Brother laser is durable in my opinion.

 

[Mike64]

Actually I was talking about inkjet printers. Brother laser is durable in my opinion.

Oh, yeah, that, definitely. I have no experience with expensive, "high end" inkjets, but at least the cheaper ones (≤ $50± on sale) have all been complete crap for a while now. One advantage of urban living is that local photo/color printing is readily available nearby at any time of day (or even night, at the cost of short-ish subway ride), so I haven't felt any real desire, much less "need", for an inkjet in a very long time. (I wouldn't mind having one that can handle oddly-shaped cardstock well, but that's the sort of whim that passes quickly enough after an hour of fruitless web-searching for reviews that even touch on that usage, especially since I wouldn't be willing to spend Real Money for one...)

 

[crashtech]

Well, I do appreciate all the replies. I have decided to buy an OEM drum and toner for the Brother HL-L2360DW that's stashed in the closet. Maybe a cover and a routine maintenance schedule will make the Brother into what I'm looking for. I'll just have to use the crappy Epson to scan stuff onto the PC and print from there to make copies, which is probably okay since that function isn't needed often.

 

[mxnerd]

Those crappy inkjet AIO printers still need you have ink in all cartridges to be able to scan, that sucks! If you have any color cartridge dries out, you can't do anything with the printer.!

 

[crashtech]

If that turns out to be the case, I'll have to go back to having a dedicated scanner. Maybe one of those little sheetfed ones to save space.

 

[sdifox]

I got rid of an old HP LaserJet 4Si a year ago. It was still working, but it was too slow.

Been running a Brother MFC-8480DN since 2011. On third 8k page toner, first toner was only 1k pages I think.

You have to look at the monthly duty cycle, the higher the number the better built the printer.

 

[rchunter]

I've had pretty good luck with xerox printers. Both solid ink and color lasers. I've had my phaser 8560 for a really long time.

 

[sdifox]

I've had pretty good luck with xerox printers. Both solid ink and color lasers. I've had my phaser 8560 for a really long time.

Solid ink only makes sense on high duty cycle. Otherwise you end up with a lot of wasted energy and ink.

 

[crashtech]

Update, I did get the Brother laser working by changing the drum with an OE unit, and it has a cardboard box over it now to keep the dust at bay. Working on a less ghetto solution, but since it's still in the back, most people don't see it. The Epson got all new ink, I think the knock-off tanks might have been part of the problem. The print quality is still shit, so it probably needs a manual print head cleaning or a new print head, which I found out requires tools on the model I have. WTH, Epson, why can't the print head pop out like every other printer I've had? Anyway, it will still scan, and copy well enough for most internal uses, so I'm in business, for now.

 

[rchunter]

Solid ink only makes sense on high duty cycle. Otherwise you end up with a lot of wasted energy and ink.

Yeah maybe so but I print a lot anyway. I keep it on a ups in sleep mode when i'm not using it. I hardly ever power it off so it doesn't waste a lot of ink. I know you're really not supposed to keep these printers on ups's but I do anyway and it's been fine for a long time.

 

[sdifox]

Yeah maybe so but I print a lot anyway. I keep it on a ups in sleep mode when i'm not using it. I hardly ever power it off so it doesn't waste a lot of ink. I know you're really not supposed to keep these printers on ups's but I do anyway and it's been fine for a long time.

no it is the constant going on off sleep cycle that east power and ink. it has to warm up the fuser every time it awakens from sleep and it goes through print head cleaning as well, which will use up some ink. but if you print batches then it is not a big deal.

 

[rchunter]

no it is the constant going on off sleep cycle that east power and ink. it has to warm up the fuser every time it awakens from sleep and it goes through print head cleaning as well, which will use up some ink. but if you print batches then it is not a big deal.

I haven't noticed that with this. Mainly when I power cycle the printer it eats ink like crazy. That's why i've kept it on a ups.

 

[bruceb]

I have an HP Officejet 7410 and for the most part it is doing fine. I have a spare part for the ADF Feeder and sometimes, I get an error when trying to use the Scanner ... I think something with the scanner lamp motor or belt is causing it. They come up on Ebay now and then and could be changed without too much work. But when it dies (and I run out of existing ink cartridges (have some in the printer and another set) then I would consider the HP Officejet Pro 7740 .. It uses individual ink tanks and can be found for around $200 ... but this thing is huge and weighs a lot. Bonus: It can do 11 x 17 paper

 

[Chaotic42]

I bought my Brother HL-2270DW in 2004 and not only is it still going strong, but I've never changed out its ink. I've printed a whole lot of stuff and it just keeps going. This thing is a beast.

 

[sdifox]

I bought my Brother HL-2270DW in 2004 and not only is it still going strong, but I've never changed out its ink. I've printed a whole lot of stuff and it just keeps going. This thing is a beast.

You don't print enough. My wife is an accountant and she goes through print like crazy.

 

[Chaotic42]

You don't print enough.

I mean, I print a fair amount. I'm just a single guy who prints random crap for school and whatnot. It's black-and-white too, so it's not like it tears through the ink.

 

[sdifox]

I mean, I print a fair amount. I'm just a single guy who prints random crap for school and whatnot. It's black-and-white too, so it's not like it tears through the ink.

We are on high yield toner (8k) number 3 and the printer came with a starter 1k toner.

The printer's recommended duty cycle is 3500 page per month. Max cycle is 30000 pages.

 

[meerza]

Try Samsung Xpress M2020W, it is a monochrome laser printer, should last better as compared to others.

 

[GEOrifle]

Epson Inkjet printers, i got Stylus Color 830 more than 8 years and works perfectly, ink is affordable (buying refills).
Just don't forget : If you want ink to last DON'T SHUT DOWN THE POWER, KEEP IT AT STAND BY MODE EVERY-TIME !!!!