getting a printer, laser > ink?

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Maverick2002

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2000
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My parents need a new printer. We've been struggling with HP inkjets for God knows how long. I officially hate anything made by HP now. Anyway, they're looking to get a new printer and I'm wondering if it's better to just get them a color laser printer. They do a fair amount of printing and always run out of cartridges. Is laser better overall? If so, which should I get? Just something rated good at Newegg? Are Dell laser printers any good/worth it? I was thinking Samsung ...


TIA!
 
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Roguestar

Diamond Member
Aug 29, 2006
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Laser is less prone to leakage and is in my experience more reliable. HOWEVER, colour laser toner costs the earth. The solution is always to cut down on colour printing as much as possible but to be honest an inkjet is still cheaper for the home user. HP is one of the biggest printer sellers for a reason, if you're getting a laser I'd suggest a HP Colour LaserJet but again bear in mind the price is very expensive.
 
RebateMonger

RebateMonger

Elite Member
Dec 24, 2005
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I'd NEVER buy an inkjet printer. I quit using them years ago. If you use them constantly, the ink is a pain, and if you seldom use them, they clog.

If you want photo-quality prints, send them to Walgreens. They last forever, versus inkjet prints which fade in a couple of years even in the dark.

If you need business-quality color grahics, lcolor laser printers are fast and painless. Color laser printers are cheap now, and MUCH easier to maintain than inkjet printers.
 
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DefRef

Diamond Member
Nov 9, 2000
4,041
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I don't know why anyone would rather spend the money feeding an ink jet printer to print photos when you can get them at a drugstore photo lab for about 19 cents each in bulk. My g/f and I recently put together a photo album as a wedding gift with about 70 4x6 prints and an 8x10 and it was well under $20 for the order, printed on Kodak paper, and ready in less than a half-hour. They looked great, you don't need to worry about them getting wet, and they were done fast. No home inkjet could match the price, quality or speed.
 
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Navid

Diamond Member
Jul 26, 2004
5,053
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I believe a laser printer is more expensive than an inkjet printer and a laser cartridge is also more expensive than an inkjet cartridge.

However, an inkjet goes through cartridges much faster than a laser does.
So, on the long run, I believe a laser costs less if you take into account the cost of all the ink cartridges in each case.

Add to that the fact that a laser print is more tolerant of humidity.

As mentioned, a laser cartridge can last a long time versus an inkjet cartridge that clogs if not used rapidly.

Considering all that, there is no excuse for buying an inkjet unless you cannot afford the initial cost of the laser printer and cartridge.
 
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DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
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Drugstore for photo prints, black & white laser or all-in-one laser / fax / copier for home use.

Ink carts last months if you're lucky before the clog or dry, toner carts last for years.

Brother and HP black & white laser printers tend to last many years longer than you want them to. You're looking at shiny new models that do more and cost half as much, but that 5-year-old laser hums along quietly refusing to give you an excuse to replace it. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, ....
 
0roo0roo

0roo0roo

No Lifer
Sep 21, 2002
64,795
84
91
laser is cheap. per page they beat inkjet.
and the quality beats inkjet even on cheap paper. inkjet looks lousy on cheap paper, and not that great even on expensive paper.
for home use/text get laser.

for printing images photos, upload to walgreens/costco/walmart or wheverever. its cheap, and they do it perfect. no having to worry about expensive inks and paper at home.

if you want to cut costs wiht laser, there are refill kits for toner. i've used them, they work. comes with an iron thing that burns a hole though the cart, then you just dump toner in and use their plug.

inkjet got popular because of initial price and because people were excited about finally printing color at home. early days you couldn't upload to get stuff developed. now the novelty has worn off printing color at home, its just a lot of trouble and expense for casual use. and now the price of laser printers are pretty low for entry level.
 
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Ghouler

Senior member
Sep 9, 2005
442
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laser.

If going for a color one try to ensure that it will print B&W when color cartridges are empty.

You normally do not need color as much and if you can't print text only because the printer thinks your magenta is too low (although it still looks perfectly fine) this is very frustrating. Talking from experience with .. HP printers, you guessed it.
 
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Rambel

Junior Member
Sep 14, 2008
14
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I agree that laser is the way to go if you do a lot of black and white printing or even color. Be sure to look at the cost of the replacement cartridge of the Laser printer before you buy one, some of them require a separate drum and this makes the cost go up a lot.
One option though if you cant afford the Laser printer to start is to just buy a real cheap ink jet I see them for sale some times for as low as 25 dollars. When you need to run out of ink just buy another 25 -40 dollar printer.
 
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Zepper

Elite Member
May 1, 2001
18,998
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0
I shouldn't have to remind one with thousands of posts under his belt, but this threads shuold be started in the appropriate section - this belongs in the Peripherals section.

Right now the Canon iP4500 inkjet printer is at under $100. - it beats anything I'm aware of for photo print quality and rivals laser for text (assuming decent paper). And finally there are clone ink tanks with cloned chips from Pelikan (IDK if available in the States yet) instead of reset chips, so the costs can be kept reasonable. I can make 4x6 prints for considerably less than drugstore or Walmart prices, but that requires careful paper shopping (taking advantage of clearance bins, etc. - thus far I've been able to keep my 4x6 glossy paper costs to under 10 cents each) and ink costs vary by what you are willing to do, but my final costs have been around 10 cents. OEM ink is most expensive, but Canon is still competitive with other OEM ink, the new clone tanks with chips are next (but be sure the black text tanks have pigmented ink), thanks w/ reset chips land here, clone tanks w/o chips are next (requires transplanting the chips from the original set of OEM tanks - and assuring the pigmented ink as above), and lowest cost of all is doing your own refills.
. Granted, they aren't as stable as the store prints, but do you really need that stability (if one goes bad, just print another)? I don't know anyone that looks at prints that are sent to them more than a few times, then they are eventually tossed or "filed" away. The other thing about doing your own prints is savings of gas and the ease of tweaking your originals at your computer, but you can do that and then take your final edits to store. Nothing like instant gratification... In the end, it's up to you.

.bh.
 
Zap

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
7
81
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
that 5-year-old laser hums along quietly refusing to give you an excuse to replace it. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, ....
Click to expand...

I know, almost makes me hate that old Samsung I have. :( I love upgrading and absolutely cannot find an excuse to upgrade that printer.

Grrr, guess it's time to refill the toner again, using that $10 ebay kit.

Originally posted by: Zepper
I shouldn't have to remind one with thousands of posts under his belt, but this threads shuold be started in the appropriate section - this belongs in the Peripherals section.
Click to expand...

GH is the dumping grounds for the forums. :roll:

You guys want it moved?
 
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Dravic

Senior member
May 18, 2000
892
0
76
Originally posted by: RebateMonger
I'd NEVER buy an inkjet printer. I quit using them years ago. If you use them constantly, the ink is a pain, and if you seldom use them, they clog.

If you want photo-quality prints, send them to Walgreens. They last forever, versus inkjet prints which fade in a couple of years even in the dark.

If you need business-quality color grahics, lcolor laser printers are fast and painless. Color laser printers are cheap now, and MUCH easier to maintain than inkjet printers.
Click to expand...

This?

I?ve given up on inkjet printers; the hassle is just not worth it. Staples regularly sells the brother 2040 laser printers for ~$50 or less. The last deal on a laser printer they sold was a Samsung for ~$39.

They come with 3000 page start kits and by the time you run out of that first toner you could just buy another $50 printer or buy the 8000 page replacement toner for ~$70.

I send my prints to walmart if I need them in a hurry, and in the past have used sites like shuttery fly and ofoto for any bigger order or larger size prints. The occasional $4 trip to walmart or $20 order from shutter fly is still much cheaper and less of a headache then constantly buying, cleaning, and priming of inket cartridges and print heads.

I will never again buy an inkjet printer.. the novelty wore off when my HP all in one refused to even print black and white until I replaced my color carts (nice money grab HP), even though by black was still full. Now it?s a glorified fax machine.
 
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gus6464

Golden Member
Nov 10, 2005
1,848
32
91
I agree that laser is the way to go. I have a B&W Samsung ML-2010 that is almost 3 years old now and it just keeps on going (paid $50 for it on newegg). I have replaced the starter toner on it almost 2 years after I bought it and one I walked into a best buy and they had the ML-2010D3 toner on clearance for $15 each. I ended up getting 3 packs so needless to say I have enough toner for at least a decade for $45.

For pictures I have an Epson Picturemate Dash that does only 4x6 but the printing speed is very fast, good quality, and very economical. I also have an HP color inkjet but it is absolute garbage so we never use it.
 
secretanchitman

secretanchitman

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2001
9,353
23
91
laser FTW.

i refuse to use any inkjet. for color, ill just go to jewel/cvs/walmart, wherever and get them printed out there.
 
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jdkick

Senior member
Feb 8, 2006
601
1
81
Don't know what it's going for in the US, but the Samsung CLP-310N Colour Laser Printer on sale for $149CDN at the moment...

I did some very limited searching but didn't come up with much in the way of reviews. I'm thinking of grabbing on tho as I don't have a printer and network connectivity is desirable.
 
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Maverick2002

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2000
4,694
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I may have to go for that. Another question though: can anyone recommend a good all-in-one. The copy functionality is really key, which might influence my decision to go for that instead of just a color laser printer. Is the Samsung I listed any good?
 
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