Mark, the thing is that "today", the cost of consumer laser printers is way down and IMHO, pretty competitive with the "better" inkjets, especially when you consider disposables cost. Back in the day, lasers were quite expensive, but no longer.
Moderator
Mark, the thing is that "today", the cost of consumer laser printers is way down and IMHO, pretty competitive with the "better" inkjets, especially when you consider disposables cost. Back in the day, lasers were quite expensive, but no longer.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
I bought an HP DeskJet 1010 in 2014 or 2015 for $20 on eBay. I mostly use it to print shipping labels or occasionally for things like tax returns,etc. Because I ship stuff very often (more than 100 packages a year for sure) the ink does not dry out. I go through a couple of ink tanks a year, and only buy HP genuine ink. The color side dried up years ago, but I don't care. It's been a great machine, very reliable. It only has one button, on top, so it doesn't get too stuck on itself and require me to go through menus and things like some multi function printers I've been around.
Contributor
Brother black only laser printer. It's on the first or second full size toner cartridge after years of use.
No more of that ****ing ink cartridge racket.
Member
I got a Pantum laser from Micro center that they had bundled with a laptop that I was buying It has been running for about 4 years now on the same cartridge prints every time
Contributor
I have used HP laser jets since the mid 80's and have never had problems with any of them. Currently I'm using a 15 year old 2035 that I bought from FleaBay. Net-workable and since I don't do wireless anything, other than my phone, there's no issue with the lack of it in a printer. If need color I can go to Staples.
A cartridge that lasts me 5 years or more is $20; so about 8 cents a week for toner. I can live with that.
You only need 2 tools in life. If it's supposed to move and doesn't... use WD40. If it moves and shouldn't... use duct tape.
Contributor
I've had three Brother lasers over the years. Current one is duplex, multifunction with doc feeder, WIFI: $140 in 2020. I think I'm on maybe the third cartridge now.
Just FYI, never had one fail. Bought the second one because I wanted duplex, bought the current one when my ancient scanner died. Gave away the first two, as far as I know, they're still running.
Yoga class makes me feel like a total stud, mostly because I'm about as flexible as a 2x4.
"Design"? Possibly. "Intelligent"? Sure doesn't look like it from this angle.
We used to be hunter gatherers. Now we're shopper borrowers.
The three most important words in the English language: "Front Towards Enemy".
The world makes a lot more sense when you remember that Butthead was the smart one.
You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too much ammo.
Contributor
Yet another happy Brother laser owner. Color, wifi. The wifi is very handy. Love printing from the phone. Would have preferred to have a copy/scan feature but I was lucky to get any Brother printer during the covid shutdown.
Brian
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher
Contributor
Happy with our Brother HL-2270 B&W laser printer. It was passed down to us several years ago when wife's son upgraded. We're now on about our third no-name-brand cartridge from Amazon at a small fraction of the cost of genuine Brother and no complaints there either.
Contributor
Ditto and you can purchase toner cartridges at Amazon cheap and they are very good.Originally Posted by Larry Frank
Retired Guy- Central Iowa.HVAC/R , Cloudray Galvo Fiber , -Windows 10
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I am also very happy with my Brother duplex monochrome laser printer/color scanner, after years of frustration with inkjet printers. I recommend avoiding HP, due to their anti-owner tendencies: https://boingboing.net/2024/03/04/hp...never-own.html
Ken
Contributor
I am on my second brother b/w laser printer after 20 years. I've replaced the toner 3-4 times in that span. I have the kind with scanner/copier. It does not have wifi but when hardwired into the router can be shared with everything on the network. I'm pretty sure newer ones come with wifi. For printing color pictures or artwork I upload pictures and print to CVS/walgreens/walmart and pickup in a day or so. I just learned my local library will print large pictures for similar prices but haven't tried them yet.
Inkjet printing was a scam 20 years ago and it's frustrating that it's still going on.
https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/18/i...ches/#hache-pe
Member
A laser printer can sit for a year (or longer, a lot longer) covered (to keep the dust out!) and be ready to print in under 30 seconds. The only place they fall short of inkjet printers is in printing photographs.
I would NEVER go back to an inkjet. I just print my photos at Costco.
I have a Canon all in one laser (printer, scanner, copier, fax [haha]) that has been running for over a decade with no issues. I stay away from the very cheapest laser printers from any manufacture. In my experience they generally don't last as long and are more problematic. Moving up to a small business class laser printer will have a much longer life span with a lot less problems. $300 - $400 ($250 if you are a good shopper) can buy a tank of a printer that will last for a decade or longer.
The toner used as ink in laser printers is thermally bonded to the paper. You can put a laser printed page print side down on a surface (like a piece of wood), go over it with a clothes iron and transfer the image to the surface (piece of wood). This is really handy for transferring intricate patterns to the wood for scroll sawing or similar. To remove the toner from your project you have to sand it off.
P.S. HP makes some decent laser printers but their driver and control software leave a lot to be desired... as in the software is so bad and buggy I hate their printers.
Last edited by Michael Schuch; 03-05-2024 at 12:07 PM.
Contributor
Um, tried that lately? Costco removed the physical printers from the stores and outsourced all their photo printing to Shutterfly a year or so back. Going through the Costco photo site gets you a hefty discount over Shutterfly's normal prices, but there's now a multi-day delay in getting the prints.
Yoga class makes me feel like a total stud, mostly because I'm about as flexible as a 2x4.
"Design"? Possibly. "Intelligent"? Sure doesn't look like it from this angle.
We used to be hunter gatherers. Now we're shopper borrowers.
The three most important words in the English language: "Front Towards Enemy".
The world makes a lot more sense when you remember that Butthead was the smart one.
You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too much ammo.
Contributor
https://www.costco.com/hp-laserjet-p...100652793.html
Color Laserjet also scans. I know you say you don't need color but once you have it you will find applications for it. I have also found the scanning capability to come in handy. My version is 8+ years old (M277) and still going strong
Moderator
Jim, lots of printers are multifunction and provide scanning. But what a lot of us are saying is that inkjet printers have gotten to be a pain when it comes to ink cost and life and we've found a preference for current generation laser printers that have come down significantly in price. They can also be had with the multifunction design with scanning and copying. In fact, I'd personally want/need that, while for Professor Dr. SWMBO, the basic print only box was perfect for her needs now that she no longer is teaching.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
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