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Dying technologies: do you still use a printer much?

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libeco:
Since I'm a student I'm still often required to print reports. I do this mostly on a Canon MP210. In the past few years I've also started printing my own pictures on a Canon IP4500 with absolutely fantastic results!

I think I will keep printing pictures for a long time. Printing document in the future.... I don't know yet, depends on the type of digital paper they invent, currently there's no good alternative to paper.

Innuendo:
For my color printing I have a Canon i9900 for general color printing and an Epson Stylus 340 for printing printable CDs & DVDs.

I'd like to propose something to those who either print a lot or wish to print a lot of black and white:

Get thee to eBay and snipe yourself an HP LaserJet 5. This model was the last of the business LaserJet models that HP produced before they started cost-cutting on manufacturing and playing the "Let's screw with the amount of toner we'll put in a cartridge" game. What this means is that you are going to get a printer that is:

1. Made out of mostly metal parts rather than totally out of plastic.
2. Has an actual LED status screen and a complete assortment of buttons to control & set up the printer.
3. Is not a host-based printer which means you can print in any OS you have drivers for, even DOS.
4. Has a feature-complete, compact driver that was designed before the trend of shoving a toner and ink cartridge salesman component into the driver.
5. When buying toner you are going to have a printing cost of approximately US$0.02 (two cents) per page.

When I bought my HP LJ 5, it was used with a total page count of approximately 4,000 pages had already printed. I've actually seen other printers of this model in service in business with page counts of over 140,000 so I know this printer will last me the rest of my life I so choose.

I was also able to buy on eBay, a new never-used page duplexing unit, a new never-used add-on printer tray, a PostScript cartridge, expand the RAM to its max 46 MB, a new never-used 10/100 network card (which allows setting up the printer through your web browser!), and a hardcopy service manual if I ever need to service it.

All this stuff cost me less than US$150 delivered to my door. It may not be as fast as some of the newer printers out, but it's a lot more durable and the cost-per-page is a fraction of what newer printers offer.

Handy tip for those thinking this might be a good idea: Don't get anything older than an HP LJ 4 Plus. The HP LJ 4 (no Plus in the name) and older did not offer any power-saving features so they'll really run up your electric bill if left powered on for long periods of time.

cyberdiva:
Get thee to eBay and snipe yourself an HP LaserJet 5. This model was the last of the business LaserJet models that HP produced before they started cost-cutting on manufacturing and playing the "Let's screw with the amount of toner we'll put in a cartridge" game.
-Innuendo (September 28, 2009, 02:44 PM)
--- End quote ---
I don't know whether the HP LaserJet 5P is different from the 5, but I had a 5P for about 12 years.  It was a workhorse, I bought a cartridge for it about once a year, and I loved it.  Earlier this year it finally gave up the ghost.  I thought at first that I would buy a color laser printer to replace it, since color was the only thing I missed on the 5P, but after comparing speed, cost, etc., I decided to buy a Samsung monochrone laser printer, model 2851 ND.  So far, I'm loving it even more than the HP.  It's considerably faster (though the HP was pretty fast) and can do 2-sided printing very easily and quickly.  I'm still using the cartridge that came with it, though it's claiming it wants to be replaced.  I just shake it a bit and it's good to go.  For $194.99, I'm very pleased.

To be honest, I don't think it's made as durably as the HP, but so far that hasn't been an issue.

sazzen:
Back to Printers

Yes. I use my printer as much as ever.

But, let me tell you about my experience with the last HP printer I purchased:  I chose an HP because I have a very old HP laser printer (from 1995) that still chugs away popping out clear beautiful prints for me and has never, in all this time, given me any grief. It's getting hard to find cartridges for it. So - a few years ago, I purchased an HP inkjet color printer.  I have no doubt that it was a fine piece of machinery, but the software I had to load with it bogged my system down to a crawl and constantly irritated me in ways too numerous to mention. I took it back for a refund. I purchased a little Brother that gives me very few problems (though I am horrified at the cost of ink) and I had enough money left over to buy printer paper and fill my gas tank. 

Maybe HP's problems aren't related to people printing less but to people printing less with HP printers. I will never purchase another one.   

Neither will I ever purchase another ink jet. From now on it's lasers all the way.

Innuendo:
I don't know whether the HP LaserJet 5P is different from the 5, but I had a 5P for about 12 years.-cyberdiva (September 28, 2009, 04:58 PM)
--- End quote ---

I typed 5P out of habit...but how the lineup went was:

LaserJet 5 - the basic printer

LaserJet 5P - the printer with the PostScript cartridge installed

LaserJet 5M - the printer with the network card installed (M stands for multi-user)

LaserJet 5MP - the printer with both of the above options

The basic model can be upgraded to the others and is smart enough to identify itself on the network & to Windows as the model it is supposed to be. I bought a vanilla 5, but since I have all the goodies installed Windows does detect it as a 5MP.

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