Decent Printer to Buy? Also, best way to throw current HP out window?

[rockyct]

I love my $40 Brother 2170W network laser. Generic toner is around $15 and I get about a year and a half out of each toner cartridge. Not sure how well the color models work, but the B&W models are amazing.

 

[cubby1223]

The Hp laserjet pro line is quite good at paper handling, at least the monochrome ones. I'm in the market for a new one as my old laserjet 1100 only lasted about 15 years.

The old laserjets were the most fantastic pieces of hardware ever created.

The new ones are piles of junk.

Don't judge the new based on the performance of the old.




To others suggesting Epson workforce printers, my only advise is to double-check the specs. I bought one for someone about a year ago and it advertised airprint on the box, but it wasn't a full implementation, printing from an ipad or iphone was done through an app and basically was a total PITA to use & was limited on what things on the device could be printed. You want a printer that has full airprint support.

 

[mikeymikec]

To others suggesting Epson workforce printers, my only advise is to double-check the specs. I bought one for someone about a year ago and it advertised airprint on the box, but it wasn't a full implementation, printing from an ipad or iphone was done through an app and basically was a total PITA to use & was limited on what things on the device could be printed. You want a printer that has full airprint support.

In my experience, some Epson printers require an app to be installed on an iDevice but after that, the user can print through standard iDevice apps such as Mail.

 

[mikeford]

So do you laserlovers only print in black?

Mine do greyscale as well, rare that I "need" color, but I do have an ancient Epson C880 that might still work.

Nothing is all that convenient or practical for infrequent small amounts of color printing.

BTW just because something has color in, doesn't mean I need to print color instead of grey.

 

[Raizinman]

We purchased an HP Office Jet many years ago. It required a black and Tri color cartridge. To purchase both cartridges cost about $85. We tried the used cartridges, we tried refilling them ourselves, buying them in quantity, just about everything to get the price down, but no. The price would not come down.

We then found on Craigslist someone selling a commercial Toshiba eStudio 3500 copier/scanner/printer/fax machine. These would sell for near $20,000 when new and now that they are 10 years old, they sell them for $500 with a large collator. It is a big machine, but they are designed for 10,000 copies a month. Even though we don't do 10,000 copies a year, we decided to get one. We have had it about 4 years, we have not yet replaced any toner or developer and put about 40 to 50 thousand copies. We don't worry about color or black & white. We just print what we want. We have it networked to 3 computers and a few laptops. It has been fantastic. Check with your local commercial copier or Craigslist (which is where we purchased). It sure beats buying inkjets all the time.

 

[ViRGE]

99.9% of the time. If I need color I'll take that job to something like Kinkos, Staples, etc., CVS for photos when I absolutely need a paper copy for the old folks.

Ditto. Ditching the inkjet and using a Brother was the smartest printing decision I ever made. I was virtually never printing in color in the first place.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Laser or nothing. Do not fall for Ink trap. Replacement is expensive and quality is sub par, not worth it.

 

[NoTine42]

The old laserjets were the most fantastic pieces of hardware ever created.

The new ones are piles of junk.

Don't judge the new based on the performance of the old.




To others suggesting Epson workforce printers, my only advise is to double-check the specs. I bought one for someone about a year ago and it advertised airprint on the box, but it wasn't a full implementation, printing from an ipad or iphone was done through an app and basically was a total PITA to use & was limited on what things on the device could be printed. You want a printer that has full airprint support.

Why don't you run a computer as a print server? I AirPrint on my ancient LaserJet 4l something that does not even have a USB port.

 

[Rezoke]

If there are no skateboarders hold the unit out and let it drop straight down.

If twerkers are present, try time the fall with a bass drop.

 

[cubby1223]

Why don't you run a computer as a print server? I AirPrint on my ancient LaserJet 4l something that does not even have a USB port.

(1) it requires an extra computer powered on and running in order to print
(2) it's not a setup for individuals who are not geeks
(3) the thread topic is about buying a brand new printer to replace a defective printer - not upgrading to gain new features

When I mentioned I purchased an epson printer for someone a year ago, it too was in replacement of a defective hp officejet that locked up frequently. I didn't want to buy another HP so I went with Epson, and while they didn't request airprint support, I decided to grab an Epson printer that specifically listed that it can print from ipads & iphones. It was a mistake of mine not to check online reviews before buying the printer. I was not aware of half-implementations of airprint.

 

[Via]

I'm not sure what the problem with airprint on Epsons is.

I downloaded the ap, tested it, and everything seemed to work fine.

 

[tamm]

Heck even my samsung laser printer (this one was a steal at $19.99 but was crap when the toner ran out as it had a chip ) has an app, that you can use on any device (iOS or Droid) and it`ll print directly what your viewing. As long as your printer is always on, and network settings dont change one the router or the printer, it was golden. The minute we had it re-cycle (power) or the router was reset.....PITA.

I still prefer a USB connection till this day. As long as their's power, paper, toner, proper driver, and working USB cable I`m golden.

 

[tamm]

We purchased an HP Office Jet many years ago. It required a black and Tri color cartridge. To purchase both cartridges cost about $85. We tried the used cartridges, we tried refilling them ourselves, buying them in quantity, just about everything to get the price down, but no. The price would not come down.

We then found on Craigslist someone selling a commercial Toshiba eStudio 3500 copier/scanner/printer/fax machine. These would sell for near $20,000 when new and now that they are 10 years old, they sell them for $500 with a large collator. It is a big machine, but they are designed for 10,000 copies a month. Even though we don't do 10,000 copies a year, we decided to get one. We have had it about 4 years, we have not yet replaced any toner or developer and put about 40 to 50 thousand copies. We don't worry about color or black & white. We just print what we want. We have it networked to 3 computers and a few laptops. It has been fantastic. Check with your local commercial copier or Craigslist (which is where we purchased). It sure beats buying inkjets all the time.

Im hoping this is a for your biz, and not home use. That would be quite the conversation piece; hey guys look at my printer, its the size of my car lol

 

[Scooby Doo]

Canon tends to put their middle-tier ink printers on rebate sale (the 9000 series and now the Pro-100/10). Ending price is about that of a regular cheap printer. Ink is expensive (~$128 for all 8 cartridges, but can be refilled.

Course they're massive (40lbs) and bulky, but no reasonable laser can do color like they can, plus take A3+ sized paper.

 

[MrChad]

Ditto. Ditching the inkjet and using a Brother was the smartest printing decision I ever made. I was virtually never printing in color in the first place.

We've had a Brother HL-5140 for about 8-9 years now and it's been a workhorse. The toner cartridges last a long time and are so much cheaper than ink. Furthermore, the driver installation is small and simple; I don't need a 500 MB file with a bunch of crappy bundled apps just to get my printer up and running.

 

[midwestfisherman]

Here you go:

 

[NoTine42]

(1) it requires an extra computer powered on and running in order to print
(2) it's not a setup for individuals who are not geeks
(3) the thread topic is about buying a brand new printer to replace a defective printer - not upgrading to gain new features

When I mentioned I purchased an epson printer for someone a year ago, it too was in replacement of a defective hp officejet that locked up frequently. I didn't want to buy another HP so I went with Epson, and while they didn't request airprint support, I decided to grab an Epson printer that specifically listed that it can print from ipads & iphones. It was a mistake of mine not to check online reviews before buying the printer. I was not aware of half-implementations of airprint.

That's true, it did take me several hours before I got AirPrint working on XP... A lot more involved than setting up a network printer in Windows or Server

I already had an old laptop running as my "print server". I decided it was easier than walking the computer down to the printer