I need a printer.

I don't print often at home, and my inkjet cartridges dry up (the nozzle) long before I use them up.

I am looking for an affordable laser printer that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to replace toner. I am ambivalent re: color/BW. Either would be fine, although I understand color will be more expensive.

I would like a relatively small printer.

Any good ideas?

 

Whatever is on sale at Best Buy..

 

I bought a Brother HL-2140 a few months ago when my inkjet hit the shitter due to similar problem. Didn't use it much, and it caused the ink in the print head to dry up beyond repair. Buying a new print head cost more than what I paid for the entire printer.


Got the 2140 when it was on sale at Best Buy for $60 or $70. Works great for me.
Only thing I wish I would've splurged for now is a laser printer with scanner. I guess I use/used the scanner more than I knew.

 

I have the same - a replacement for a Brother 1140 that needed a new fuser that would cost more than the 2140.

It's pretty crazy that you can replace a whole printer cheaper than one part, but that's the new disposable reality.

Like Whiskers said, get the printer that's on sale (I prefer Staples) and use it until it drops. That way, you always get a faster, better quality printer every few years.

The replacement printer story is kind of funny in a pathetic sort of way. I tried printing onto that special t-shirt iron-on transfer paper, not thinking a laser printer's fuser drum is like a big iron. The sheet got about halfway through and as soon as it froze up it dawned on me what I did.

 

Oh yea....also, I wish I would've gotten the next model up so it could've had networking capability. Kind of that I have to plug it in every time I need to print something. Wouldn't be as big of a deal if I had a desktop, but I don't.



I was kind of a cheap impulse purchase at the time since mine was dead and I was needing a printer. Still a good printer. Just missing a few features I would've liked.

 

soon my work will be buying me a new printer so that I can print my pictures

hope that helped?

 

Have this Sammy at home. Works great and easily added to the network.

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16828112121

The toner is about $35/box from newegg, but it may be cheaper elsewhere.

 

I've had a b/w Brother for a long time. It is good for the price I paid.
The only thing I would nitpick about it is that there is no place for it to put excess toner so it goes back into the main hopper. Eventually the print quality will suffer and the toner cart will need to be replaced. I've had the thing about 6-7 years and have replaced the toner about 3 times. My printer is so old that it has a parallel port on it

BTW, don't buy the toner from "cheap" toner places. I bought one and had to toss it in the trash because the print quality sucked. I don't think they emptied the cart before they refilled it. Spend the extra for a genuine new cart.

If I had to do it again I think I would buy a color laser instead of b/w. I now also have a color inkjet on my desk. I think I should have found a home for the b/w laser and got a color laser instead of the inkjet.

 

Can I buy a color printer and only load black toner in if I don't care about the color?

 

I think that would be like dividing by 0

 

 

It's possible.
I'd make sure though.
My father replaced his inkjet soon after I replaced mine. He got an all in one laser.


One of his frustrations with the inkjet that he had, was that it had color capability, but it required the color cartridges to be in there. Over time, the nozzles dried out despite the reservoir still being full. The printer would then say he needed to replace the color cartridge and it would bar him from printing until it was replaced. Pretty messed up if you ask me.

 

Set the print driver to print in black and white.

Make sure the color output of the printer is similar in speed to the b/w output. If it's much slower with color that means it needs to run the paper through the fuser 3 times to give a color print.

 

Of the color laser printers that I know of (Brother and HP), if you leave any of the color cartridges out, it'll ask for them.

Just leave them in. It's not like they'll dry out or anything. Set the default print settings to black only so you don't use any color.

 

Yes, but not from the standpoint of the companies making $ off us.

That's one thing I hate about the inkjet multi-functions, for instance, from Brother. If you're out of one cartridge and you want to send a fax or something, and ink isn't even needed to perform the function, tough luck.

Better have a spare set of cartridges because even if you don't ever use any of the color ink, you will run out and have to replace it because of the printers built-in nozzle/head cleaning it does (pulls ink from each tank to do the head cleaning).

 

$99 network monochrome laser printer here.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc..._-28112085-L0E

 

Thanks Mike. I think I may go with the similar Brother. Toner costs about 1/2 that of the Samsung, and the Brother only costs $10 more...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16828113290

 

If you don't mind it being refurb'd, Brother EDCP-7040 multifunction (3-in-1) for $129.99 - $30 rebate = $99.99 with free ship @ Staples.

Link. Item: 819922 if link doesn't work.

 

Thanks AZ, I was actually looking for a smaller unit. My larger MFC is the inkjet, although I rarely ever use the scanner....

 

 

:ibyumcha:

 

I can't take my inkjet anymore. Does anybody own either an HP CP1525nw or Brother HL-3070CW? I'm leaning towards the HP because it has lower power consumption and supports AirPrint.

After a $30 online Staples coupon, plus $50 credit to trade in my POS inkjet, it looks like I can get either of them for about $150.

 

Ordered the HP CP1525nw. It comes today. I hope it works out better than my OfficeJet 8000 did or I'll be saying goodbye to HP.

 

Brother laser printers on sale at Costco- $85 B&W, less than $200 for color and less than $300 for several brands/models if you need an all-in-one.

 

ZOMG, I should have bought a color laser instead of that inkjet a year ago. This printer is night and day better. Print quality is way better and it's much quieter than the Officejet.

Setup was a snap. I plugged it into wired ethernet, my imac found it via bonjour, the imac offered to download/install the latest driver, and it was ready to print! I didn't even need to use the Install CD. Next test is airprint!

 

I've been running the HP 2605dn for 5 years. It's been rock solid for me and I really like having a color, duplexing, network laserjet. Don't even know if it's still being made.

It's not exactly small, but it's not huge either. It sits on my desk. The HP color cartridges are not cheap (about $80 each, 2500 pages), but you can get them on sale for around $50 every now and then.

Using other than HP cartridges has been hit and miss for me. I learned my lesson and just stock up on HP cartridges when on sale...