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Would someone mind recommending a good laser printer?
AndyM:
(when did I become such a curmudgeon??)
-superboyac (September 25, 2010, 10:40 PM)
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This was not a curmudgeonly comment! It was well put, concise and to the point.
Stoic Joker:
Do color graphics come out ok with a laser? I don't know.-cmpm (September 26, 2010, 08:56 AM)
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Graphics? Yes (but I'll come back to this). But if you want photo quality prints, no. Paper used is also critical for a "photo quality" print.
(Color) LaserJet graphics quility is fine (perfect even) 90% of the time. Unless you ask someone that is in a production print shop...Then fine details like exacting color control can (and do) become a problem. If you want truly slick professional quality output...You will not beat a printing press with a laser printer.
I don't do much printing, but when I do it's usually text or a receipt.
So a mono laser would be fine for me.
The convenience of an inkjet color printer for graphics like a Canon, for quality,
and a mono laser is a good combo for my needs.
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You, me, and a large segment of the populace are quite happy with this configuration.
Doing a lot of color graphics is worth the trouble to go to a store and use their printing setup, like a lot of drug stores or Walmart have in the photo department. Just to save ink at home.
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That depends on timing and volume. I know of an engineering firm that used to do that with drawings because there was a Staples right down the street. Problem ended up being that of timing - They frequently had to close the office to go get the prints done. And if the stor was busy, or the machine was down... They finally purchased a plotter which they are much happier with now.
And having a scanner on either a laser or inkjet is cool, or even a separate scanner is nice.
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The price of multi-function devices have come down alot, the thing to keep in mind is that mono multi-function machines do scan in color. The "low cost" color MFP however generally have a horible TCO to to tiny toner cartridges. Okay if you have a low print volume, but wise to keep in mind.
The school I work for uses Brothers similar to what superboyac posted.
And the toner has more pages per cartridge then the Samsung I posted.
Per cartridge is cheaper too. A plus for sure.
I don't know the model we have at work but we have 100's of them.
One for each classroom, and a few super duty monster printers that can do everything.
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Many people are quite happy with Brothers. However, they are a disposable printers. Servicing them is a total PITA. I'll use the fuser (a.k.a fixing unit) as an example. The fuser (in all makes and models of laser printers) is listed as a "Consumable Item" that must be periodically replaced. In most business class HPs the fuser is a simple tool-less user replace-able part. In most Brothers, it requires disassembling the entire machine to get to the thing. Which is a ton of labor in top of the part cost which runs in the $200 - $300 range. 70% of the people that bring a Brother laser in for service scrap the printer when they see the repair cost estimate.
WiFi is a nice addition.
Just rambling on here....
As I consider spending money...
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Sorry if I sound harsh here, but WiFi on a printer is really more of a gimmick. People are lead to believe that they need to spend the extra $100+ to get a WiFi printer if the want/need to print wirelessly ... And this simply is not true. All you actually need is a wireless network with a printer on it. The printer can be shared, connected via ethernet, or attached to a (cheap) wired "printer server" device.
I have seen some situations where a truly wireless connection was actually required for access to a printer...But we're talking about 1 or 2 out of 1,000.
mouser:
Many people are quite happy with Brothers. However, they are a disposable printers.
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this is an important point, and i view many tech purchases through this lens.
i ask myself -- given the price point of the kind of item i am buying, is this something where i need to really worry about how much money and hassle it would cost to get it repaired? if so, i buy one kind of product -- perhaps something on the expensive high end because of its reliability. or is this the kind of thing that if it breaks after a month/year (or if i don't like it, or something better comes along, or technology improves), it's not a huge deal to throw it out and buy something new.
a standard laser or inkjet printer, at this price point, is essentially (for many of us at least), a "disposable" item. better to buy a reasonable low cost one and not worry too much about it (not spend 100 hours researching to find the "best" one, or planning for if it's going to hold up for 10 years and how to repair it). if it lasts a few years and breaks, you don't get it repaired, you trash it and buy a new one.
cmpm:
Thanks Stoic, yes user serviceable is a consideration for sure.
Also the price of the drum and how long it will last.
I saw some packages that included an extra toner cartridge and drum.
So I had to find out what the drum is and it's life expectancy.
And the heads up on the WiFi is appreciated.
Stoic Joker:
Many people are quite happy with Brothers. However, they are a disposable printers.
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this is an important point, and i view many tech purchases through this lens.
i ask myself -- given the price point of the kind of item i am buying, is this something where i need to really worry about how much money and hassle it would cost to get it repaired? if so, i buy one kind of product -- perhaps something on the expensive high end because of its reliability. or is this the kind of thing that if it breaks after a month/year (or if i don't like it, or something better comes along, or technology improves), it's not a huge deal to throw it out and buy something new.-mouser (September 26, 2010, 10:36 AM)
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Quite true, but rationally, when was the last time something really revolutionary was added to a printer?!? Out side of the speed increase - which you may or may not actually need - not much has really changed. They have gotten cheaper in both cost and quality, and that's about it.
Years ago I had an inkjet that I printed to once every 6 months or so. My printing cost was insanely close to $30 a page at that point because the damn cartridge would dry out by the time I decided to print something. But I'm not really a normal user ... come to think of it I'm not really normal period. *shrug* :)
I now have (in my home office) an easily 10+ year old LaserJet 2100 that (I got used) I've been using with the original used cartridge for the last 5 years. While laser toner cartridges do have a shelf life (seals dry out in roughly a year - according to the warranty...) This one has done fine for me so far. It will be interesting to see how well the wife's (Christmas present) inkjet holds up by comparison.
a standard laser or inkjet printer, at this price point, is essentially (for many of us at least), a "disposable" item. better to buy a reasonable low cost one and not worry too much about it (not spend 100 hours researching to find the "best" one, or planning for if it's going to hold up for 10 years and how to repair it). if it lasts a few years and breaks, you don't get it repaired, you trash it and buy a new one.
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True again, but expected usage is a huge factor. If you really need a high volume/speed device then serviceability becomes critical. Example: A local mortgage company had a fleet of hundreds of HP LaserJet 4200/4250s. They poured paper through these things at a rate approaching 50,000 pages per month per printer. Fortunately for them they had chosen wisely because the printers they had will happily take tons of abuse, and are extremely easy to service & maintain (something I've personally done several times when scheduling required).
Here's another example: 2 years ago eBay was flooded with brand new Color LaserJet 2600s. They were all brand new, still in the box, but didn't have any toner, and were selling for between $50 & $100 dollars. Why? Because the printer brand new was $100 less that a set of replacement cartridge. But it was a "cheap" printer...Sold under the same marketing model as the Pezz Dispencers... Actually they were a complete POS using a host based driver that strangely hasn't been updated for Win7 or server 2008. Hint: My 10 year old LaserJet 2100 works perfectly on Server 2008, Win7, Slackware Linux, and any other damn thing I connected it to. HP just wanted/needed to bury that little (failed) experiment... ;)
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