Inkjet vs. Laser, which one's right for me?

[JDub02]

I'm trying to decide between a color inkjet printer and a B&W laser printer. I'm just looking for basic printing capabilities. I don't print photos. I can't say I need color. It'll basically be used for printing bills for my brother's lawn care service.

I'm looking at the low end (~$150 or less) laser printers and there's a few of them that have good reviews at newegg.

Samsung 2010 Laser - $80 AR
Samsung 2250 Laser - $135
HP 1022 laser - $165


It seems like the Samsung 2010 is the way to go, especially for $80. I'm not too familiar with laser printers as far as maintenance is concerned. Anything that might come back and bite me later? I know with inkjets, you just have to buy new ink.

 

[Excelsior]

I basically have the HP 1022's older brother, the 1012. I love it....seriously love it.

 

[jadinolf]

Go for the Samsung.

I already have a laser printer on my main computer. I'm going to put one on the other two.

 

[Lemon law]

If you don't need color at all, its hard to beat the monochrome laser. Your only problem is deciding between a more expensive new HP or a new but very good Samsung.

But HP is an awesome laser name brand. So look also on ebay for used Hp's also.

 

[vegetation]

A business oriented printer should always be a laser.. Looks are important and a laser will print awesome without any need for special paper. Inkjets have a noticeable bleeding effect with text that will turn some people off.

 

[NightCrawler]

The toner carts are expensive with Laser. Make sure you price them before you buy the printer.

 

[theslickvik]

THe hp is quite cheaply price but it comes with a nasty cost for ink refills. I love my samsung laser printer for two reasons. It is cost effective and it works without me getting down on two knees and begging it to print. Hps are such a hassle that i threw mine out on the freeway a few years ago.

 

[Sunrise089]

Originally posted by: theslickvik
THe hp is quite cheaply price but it comes with a nasty cost for ink refills. I love my samsung laser printer for two reasons. It is cost effective and it works without me getting down on two knees and begging it to print. Hps are such a hassle that i threw mine out on the freeway a few years ago.

:warning: huge generalization :warning:

I'm glad you like your Samsung. I also thing the 50% of the global printer market that HP ownes is probably quite happy with their products.

 

[shortylickens]

I cant believe I havent posted here.

I love my little HP LJ 1000. It only cost me 150 bucks. And the 45 dollar toner cartidge gets me about 4500 prints.

At work we have Lexmark inkjets, (I have no idea why). One of those ink cartidges costs about 30 bucks, and I seriously doubt it gets 3000 prints.

Forget about the initial costs, Laser saves you a TON of money over time. Unless you only plan on using one ink cartidge.

The LJ 1000 isnt available anymore. So go with some of the above recommendations. The 1012 or:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopp...jets_bw&subcat1=entry_level&catLevel=2
Something entry level. I like the new 1020. Cheap and uses cheap toner. Great deal for home or small office.
Actually, at my work one of those little guys would be much better than the crummy inkjets we have now.

EDIT: In the link above, those are MSRP prices. You can get them much cheaper. Also, I believe HP is a much better brand name so far as lasers go.

 

[Excelsior]

Agreed with shortylickens.

 

[you2]

Which *inexpensive* laser printer is good for linux/bsd ?

 

[nweaver]

samsung has laser drivers, as does (iirc) hp. My Samsun ml-4500 doesn't work right in debian (yet, only spent 10 minutes on it). The download driver, from the ML-4500 page, doesn't have the ppd files for the 4500....

that alone would probably drive me from samsung, even though it was reliable (in windows) and cost me very little (display model).

Most lasers you can get toner refills for 10-20 bucks, but you should only refill a cartridge one time, as the waste hopper gets full.