Need a reliable, rarely-used printer

[Ken g6]

I'm somebody who never prints. Until I have to. So I do need to get a printer. But inkjets won't do - they dry up and I have to get a new printer cartridge.

I need to print, at most, about 5 pages per month. Speed doesn't matter much - 1ppm is fine. I also occasionally would really really like to print color. It would be really nice if this printer would work with Linux and/or the next five Windows versions, over the next 10 years or so. (Got any that have very standardized drivers?) And I'd like to get all this for under $200.

So, are there any printers like this out there?

 

[paul878]

Color Laser, but it is beyond you budget.

I have a Canon Mx870, I don't print much either, one set of cartridge last me over a year. I just turn it on once a month and let it doing a cleaning cycle.

 

[Ken g6]

Color Laser, but it is beyond you budget.

Hm. Not on the low end, it seems. The next question is, are any of those cheap printers are going to last, and have drivers simple enough that they'll work on future Windows versions?

 

[Rottie]

Well I don't print that much I just bought unused brand new Canon MX330 AIO printer off Craigslist for 20 buck. In the past I used to print 11 x 8 glossy paper for photo alot off my trusty Canon PIXMA 4000 printer. You said you might print 5 paper a month I think you don't need to buy a printer You can go to FedEX Kinko store to print some papers.

 

[jhansman]

I just turn it on once a month and let it doing a cleaning cycle.

This.

If you go inkjet, do a bit of homework first and find a model that takes third-party carts. You'll save quite a bit of $$.

 

[Ken g6]

You said you might print 5 paper a month I think you don't need to buy a printer You can go to FedEX Kinko store to print some papers.

Yeah, I'll just go over there, log on to a publicly-used computer and print my bank records. No, thanks.

Color Laser, but it is beyond you budget.

I have a Canon Mx870, I don't print much either, one set of cartridge last me over a year. I just turn it on once a month and let it doing a cleaning cycle.

This.

If you go inkjet, do a bit of homework first and find a model that takes third-party carts. You'll save quite a bit of $$.

I've noticed a few other problems with color laser printers. Like they're huge and heavy.

So, any suggestions on an inkjet model that takes third-party carts?

 

[jhansman]

I got the Canon MG 5220 AIO for $85 on sale at Amazon. Wireless, copies and scans great, photo prints are quite good, and text is excellent. It takes 5 carts, all available for about $6 each. I don't print that much either (lasers at work for that), but when I do need to at home, this printer is up to the job. Ink usage is about what you'd expect from today's printers.

 

[tenoc]

Samsung CLP 325 is available from NCIX for 99.99, and I think I saw it at Wallyworld (Canada) for the same price.

Third-party toner carts are available, but if you only need 5 shots a month, the originals will probably last you about 25 years!

 

[pauldun170]

Casually looks over at HP Deskjet 5550 and Epson 925
Struggles to remember purchase year
2002? 2003? on the Epson
Deskjet was a gift in 2003? Maybe 04?
Both have been hooked up to
Windows 98
Windows 2000
Windows XP
Vista 32 bit
Vista 64 bit
Windows 7 32 bit
Windows 7 64 bit
Ubuntu 7x-11.04
I think I had em running on fedora at some point but I haven't touched Fedora in years.

Worse thing about inkjets is discovering that the ink is all dried out when you need to print 2-5 pages...
replacing the cartridges
print 2-5 pages
wait 6 months of printing nothing
repeat the process.

Unfortuneatly the super duper awesomo LaserJet 2100 has been on loan to Mr. Tax man father in law for the past 6 years. That thing still cranks away even though it dates back to the turn of the century.
I stuck an ethernet card on that one when he finally bought a new PC last year (without printer ports on it)


anyway enough about my old relics

Samsung CLP325
HP LJ Pro CP1025

Both Color Laser Jet
both available under $200

 

[wirednuts]

i would research for the best econo color laser printer and be done with it. even if you have to go over budget, it should last forever without headaches.

 

[Fayd]

I'm somebody who never prints. Until I have to. So I do need to get a printer. But inkjets won't do - they dry up and I have to get a new printer cartridge.

I need to print, at most, about 5 pages per month. Speed doesn't matter much - 1ppm is fine. I also occasionally would really really like to print color. It would be really nice if this printer would work with Linux and/or the next five Windows versions, over the next 10 years or so. (Got any that have very standardized drivers?) And I'd like to get all this for under $200.

So, are there any printers like this out there?

my laserjet 4mp was in storage for over 10 years.

i pulled it out a couple years ago, hooked it up, and printed off 500 pages without a hitch or a jam.

newer HP's are shit. the old HP's are great.

 

[Binky]

Don't get an inkjet if you rarely print - they can dry up and clog. You definitely need a laser printer, but color lasers almost always more problematic than black and white (especially the cheap models). There are a couple of low-end Brother B&W laser printers that get recommended a lot but i cant remember their names. I'd look into the sub-$100 Brother and Samsung lasers.

 

[Ken g6]

Well, I finally went with the Samsung CLP-325W. $172 shipped on Amazon was too good to pass up. It's about 10 pounds heavier than I'd like, but it should fit the available space nicely.

When I was initially searching, I had the opportunity to get a (non-refurb) Brother color laser in my price range. But it would have been both too big and about 25 pounds heavier than I'd like.

Thanks for the suggestions, all!