HP Laserjet 4L ... buy new toner or buy new printer?

[udonoogen]

this has been a very reliable printer for me for the past seven or eight years. i've had it since i was in seventh grade and i'm in my third year in college now. however, the toner has been running low again (third time since i've owned the printer).

should i buy a new toner (for $50-$70) or buy a new printer altogether? it's a laserjet and hasnt failed me yet. the ppm count is slow (5 ppm). and the dpi is low (300x300 or 300x600 ... i forget). but i really can't tell the difference between my laserjet prints here and at the computer lab in my school library or work. it is more cost effective in buying a new printer right now ... but it might be worth it in the long run to upgrade? what do you guys think? vote! thanks!

Don

 

[merlocka]

poll?

 

[amdskip]

I'd say save your money and keep using the beast

 

[udonoogen]

oops. LOL ... forgot to add the poll

 

[BuckNaked]

Keep the printer. I have a LaserJet 4, and other than it being a little slow, its a workhorse that is pretty cost effective....

Dave

 

[IgoByte]

Those are good printers. The slowness isn't a huge deal either and the quality difference isn't all that noticeable, even from a 1200dpi laserjet (5000n in my case), so long as you use good paper. I say keep using it till it drops dead. . .

 

[Mavrick007]

Yep, I would keep using it cause they will work a long time and do give pretty decent results.
We have a Laserjet 4 Plus here at work that never fails me when the 4550 laserjet does.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Mavrick007
Yep, I would keep using it cause they will work a long time and do give pretty decent results.
We have a Laserjet 4 Plus here at work that never fails me when the 4550 laserjet does.

The 4+ and the 4550 aren't even comparable. The 4550 is WAY more complex, & is a full color printer while the 4+ is a very simple monochrome. If you want a full explanation of the difference I can give it, but that is not a fair comparison.

That having been said, even for a monochrome the 4+ is extremely reliable, they regularly go 500K+ pages, & there are some out there with 1,000,000+. The 4L, however, is a personal level printer - Again, completely different from the 4+.

To the original question:

If it's been working well for you, though, I would continue using it. 300 dpi is more than sufficient for text, but if you want color or higher resolution a new printer may be in order.

Keep in mind that supplies costs for consumer inkjets are SIGNIFICANTLY higher than what you're used to. Your $70 cartridge is rated at 3,000 pages (5% coverage), have you looked at inkjet cartridge prices/capacities?

Viper GTS

 

[Mavrick007]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: Mavrick007
Yep, I would keep using it cause they will work a long time and do give pretty decent results.
We have a Laserjet 4 Plus here at work that never fails me when the 4550 laserjet does.

The 4+ and the 4550 aren't even comparable. The 4550 is WAY more complex, & is a full color printer while the 4+ is a very simple monochrome. If you want a full explanation of the difference I can give it, but that is not a fair comparison.

That having been said, even for a monochrome the 4+ is extremely reliable, they regularly go 500K+ pages, & there are some out there with 1,000,000+. The 4L, however, is a personal level printer - Again, completely different from the 4+.

To the original question:

If it's been working well for you, though, I would continue using it. 300 dpi is more than sufficient for text, but if you want color or higher resolution a new printer may be in order.

Keep in mind that supplies costs for consumer inkjets are SIGNIFICANTLY higher than what you're used to. Your $70 cartridge is rated at 3,000 pages (5% coverage), have you looked at inkjet cartridge prices/capacities?

Viper GTS

Gees, bust my bubble Viper .. hehe I was just inferring that sometimes new tech isn't as good as the older, trusted and proven stuff that has worked for years. I've had problems with the newer color 4550 laserjet (but it does a pretty nice job when it works), but when I do, I just switch to the 4+ and it always prints right off (albeit no color, but I have lots of non-graphical reports to print off sometimes and I need them yesterday).

 

[techfuzz]

Stick with HPL4 for as long as it lives. I stuck with my HPL3+ until the day it died (power supply failure of some kind). I'm sad because now I'm back to an even older crappy ink jet.

techfuzz

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Mavrick007

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: Mavrick007
Yep, I would keep using it cause they will work a long time and do give pretty decent results.
We have a Laserjet 4 Plus here at work that never fails me when the 4550 laserjet does.

The 4+ and the 4550 aren't even comparable. The 4550 is WAY more complex, & is a full color printer while the 4+ is a very simple monochrome. If you want a full explanation of the difference I can give it, but that is not a fair comparison.

That having been said, even for a monochrome the 4+ is extremely reliable, they regularly go 500K+ pages, & there are some out there with 1,000,000+. The 4L, however, is a personal level printer - Again, completely different from the 4+.

To the original question:

If it's been working well for you, though, I would continue using it. 300 dpi is more than sufficient for text, but if you want color or higher resolution a new printer may be in order.

Keep in mind that supplies costs for consumer inkjets are SIGNIFICANTLY higher than what you're used to. Your $70 cartridge is rated at 3,000 pages (5% coverage), have you looked at inkjet cartridge prices/capacities?

Viper GTS

Gees, bust my bubble Viper .. hehe I was just inferring that sometimes new tech isn't as good as the older, trusted and proven stuff that has worked for years. I've had problems with the newer color 4550 laserjet (but it does a pretty nice job when it works), but when I do, I just switch to the 4+ and it always prints right off (albeit no color, but I have lots of non-graphical reports to print off sometimes and I need them yesterday).

You were right, but not in comparing the 4+ & the 4550. 4+'s are absolute workhorses, they're pushing a decade old & they still work great - And most people have never installed maintenance kits like they should. Truly amazing printers, & easy to work on.

Viper GTS

 

[udonoogen]

are there any maintenance kits for 4L's? i think i'll keep it, guys ... thanks for the advice!

 

[kgraeme]

Since 7th grade? Crap, thanks for making me feel old. But it sounds like you're printer is running better than I am, so I'd agree with the rest and say keep it.

 

[Codewiz]

I got my OLD OLD laserjet III right beside me. It is workhorse and I never plan on replacing it until it dies. It's page count right now is around like 700K pages. I got it from my old university when they replaced it. I have only put probably like 10K pages through it. It is MAD slow but gets the job done and is much cheaper than my HP Desktop 932C for running costs.

If I were you I would just buy an inkjet printer for printing out nice layouts and stuff and use the Laserjet 4 for all your text. I rarely ever use my inkjet except for printing photos.

 

[XMan]

I should have known you'd post in here, Viper.

I want one of THESE!