What a good printer for around $50

[bball1523]

I am wondering if you all can please recommend me a printer that costs around $50 and is:

1) reliable
2) fast
3) cheap price ink cartridges
4) used for basic needs

OPTIONAL:

1) all-in-one: scan, copy, and print

I'd appreciate input. There are many printers and brands, but I don't know which to spend money on. I don't want to get a printer that's cheap priced and have it be too slow and break down on me. I might be willing to spend a little more, maybe up to $100, but less the better.

 

[Maverick2002]

Do you need BW only or color? Generally speaking a $50 inkjet printer is going to cost you a good deal in the long run.

I print/copy an "ok" amount of BW documents (maybe 5 pages/week) so I dropped $200 on a Brother all-in-one printer that was on sale at Newegg. Prints, faxes, copies, scans ... everything fast as s***. REALLY awesome resolution scanner. You can make out details in a human hair with the resolution maxed out. Best of all, it comes with a huge toner. Toners are expensive, but if you print about the amount I do, it'll last you for years.

Inkjet cartridges dry up, the heads get all jacked up, you never use all the ink, and in general they're a nuisance IMO. If I need a color print bad (which I haven't for the past few years), I just go to Kinkos. Photos at Walgreens (but I don't really print those either).

If you can swing it, get a laser printer. More expensive up front, but way more reliable and will pay for itself several times over.

 

[rudder]

I bought one of the kodak all in ones. It was a little more than $50 ($80)... but it costs $9 for black ink and $14 for color. Which was about half of my old HP and that thing sucked ink.

I use an old Laserjet 1020 that I got used for $20 for most of my printing. Wife is a school teacher and getting copies at her school takes weeks. So it is very economical.

So far I am liking the kodak.

 

[DesiPower]

IMO Brother has the cheapest Ink

IF b/w is OK for you, you can check out some Laser printer for around $90 - $100. Their cartridges will go on for ever and never dry coz of no activity

 

[DaveSimmons]

If you need color, I'm happy with the Canon ip4600 I got last November for $80.

If B&W is fine then a Brother or Samsung laser for around $100. No worries about ink drying out and cost per page is much lower.

 

[M0RPH]

I haven't bought a printer in years but Epson has always had some of the cheapest generic inks available.

The Epson NX100 all-in-one is now $28 at Target and generic inks at Megatoners runs about $16 for black + 3 colors ($4 per cartridge).

I've been running an Epson with generic ink for years now and haven't had a problem. Might pick up a NX100 this week.

Brother also has cheap generic inks available, even cheaper than Epson it seems.

 

[mmntech]

Brother laser printer on sale this week at the Egg for $90.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16828113290

I really recommend going with a laser printer for basic B&W document printing. The cartridges are initially more expensive but they last a heck of a long time. I think I only replaced the one on my HP LaserJet once in the last four or so years and I do more printing than average. Ink jets are too slow and expensive to operate unless you absolutely need colour printing.

 

[M0RPH]

You know a low-end laser like that is actually slower than most inkjets at b/w text printing. Go look at specs for say $50-100 inkjets at Newegg. I'll choose 5 at random:

up to 33
up to 26
up to 26
up to 28
up to 27

That Brother laser is up to 23. Let's check a few more low cost lasers:

up to 17
up to 17
up to 23

So, the whole idea that lasers are much faster than inkjets really isn't accurate, at least when talking about low end lasers.

And I don't think there would be much cost savings either if you compare a laser to an inkjet using generic inks.

Now the downside to a (low-cost b/w) laser of never being able to print anything in color... well that's pretty big.

I don't think lasers are such a slam dunk against inkjets.

 

[Smitty308]

If you just need b&w, I would recommend a laser. I have a Brother that I bought 3 years ago and all I have spent on toner is $24. I previously had an Epson inkjet and about every 6 months, I would have to spend $50 or more for cartridges. The first toner cartridge for my Brother lasted 2 1/2 years. In that time, I would have spent $200 or more on inkjet cartridges for the Epson.

As far as speed, I think the laser is as fast as I ever need, it will spew out the pages as fast as I can catch them.

Smitty

 

[GrumpyMan]

I also am looking for a new printer. I would really like color printing, how are color lasers like HPs? Worth the money in the long run?

 

[0roo0roo]

laser
fast
quiet
and print quality even on the sh*ttiest paper.
price per page is very low. toner carts can be refilled with kits you can buy online..or even at frys. theres a tool that melts a hole
inkjets nothing but problems. you need nice paper or the printout looks sh*t.
speeds always slower than laser.
color is a waste of money and time, just send to costco or walmart or whereever to get prints developed for cheap.
laser printer ~ 60-100bucks, check hotdeals sites etc.
laser all in one.. 130-150...they've been on sale in frys ads every week or so esp the canons.


and grumpyman, unless you really NEED color its a waste of money. you'll be raped on special inks and paper to achieve any quality at all and your regular black and white everyday prints will only be marginal, even on fancy paper. unless you are a photographer or your business needs it, stick to using photodevelopment services or kinkos for color prints.

 

[Maverick2002]

The $90 Brother looks great, especially since it comes with a toner. You're basically getting the printer free. If you don't need an all-in-one (I do for scanning/copying, but not everyone does), this seems like a great deal.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: M0RPH
You know a low-end laser like that is actually slower than most inkjets at b/w text printing. Go look at specs for say $50-100 inkjets at Newegg. I'll choose 5 at random:

That Brother laser is up to 23. Let's check a few more low cost lasers:

So, the whole idea that lasers are much faster than inkjets really isn't accurate, at least when talking about low end lasers.

And I don't think there would be much cost savings either if you compare a laser to an inkjet using generic inks.

Now the downside to a (low-cost b/w) laser of never being able to print anything in color... well that's pretty big.

I don't think lasers are such a slam dunk against inkjets.

Black text quality is higher with lasers, startup time is often faster (my Canon inkjet spends a minute fiddling about), time to first page is often faster, and toner cartridges stay good for years without drying out.

Also, that first toner cart that comes with the printer is usually good for at least a thousand pages, so no extra cost for a long time.

 

[bball1523]

wow laser sounds good.

I need black/white not color. I will most likely print basic things such as documents, coupons, schoolwork, etc.

 

[brshoemak]

Try this Brother B&W Laser Printer:

Brother HL Series HL-2140 (Newegg)

Price: $89 (onsale from $109)
Shipping: FREE
Pages per Minute: 23

Check the link for more info.

For a laser in that price range I would suggest either a Brother or a Samsung. They are often on sale, they are reliable and the quality is there. Talking about the cost of consumables, even the starter toner will get you through more prints than 2-3 replacement ink cartridges in my experience. When you have to replace the toner it might be cheaper at the time to just by another laser printer and sell the old one to a friend for a small price. It will help offset the cost of a new one, if only slightly.

 

[JTsyo]

Originally posted by: brshoemak
Try this Brother B&W Laser Printer:

Brother HL Series HL-2140 (Newegg)

Price: $89 (onsale from $109)
Shipping: FREE
Pages per Minute: 23

Check the link for more info.

For a laser in that price range I would suggest either a Brother or a Samsung. They are often on sale, they are reliable and the quality is there. Talking about the cost of consumables, even the starter toner will get you through more prints than 2-3 replacement ink cartridges in my experience. When you have to replace the toner it might be cheaper at the time to just by another laser printer and sell the old one to a friend for a small price. It will help offset the cost of a new one, if only slightly.

A step up from that has network options.

 

[bball1523]

do any of you know how long the starter toner will last?

 

[M0RPH]

Just got back from Staples and the Brother HL-2170 is on sale for $90. This one is wireless.

And I will admit I was wrong about the speeds, lasers are definately faster... those numbers they quote for inkjets are bs.

Still I need a scanner so I'll probably end up with an inkjet AIO.

 

[jamesbond007]

Originally posted by: M0RPH
And I will admit I was wrong about the speeds, lasers are definately faster... those numbers they quote for inkjets are bs.

Yes, I was going to say those numbers for inkjets are crap and heavily inflated. Typically, they are measured using minimal text on a page with wide margins in economode, so they lay next to no ink down.

Lasers have always been (since I can remember) the fastest type of printer and the ~$100 laser printer offerings from Brother and HP are awesome.

 

[ecom]

Originally posted by: bball1523
do any of you know how long the starter toner will last?

The starter toner on my Samsung laser lasted about 1300 pages. Normal cartridges are rated for 3000.

 

[bloodugly]

I've had good luck with Canon Pixma inkjets and getting ink from Swiftink at great prices. My home ip4000 Pixma has been going strong for 3 years now, and for alot of that it was in a really dusty and 100+ F degree environment.

 

[0roo0roo]

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=1520669
canons are about 120~ at frys...
which is better i dunno.

 

[bball1523]

I think there's a Samsung ML-2150 for $59.99 on sale at Fry's. Is this printer any good?

 

[alkemyst]

epson.com refurbs.

My boss picked up a 4 or 5 tank for $37 shipped. Prints great. Carts are like $10 a pop