Nyarlathotep
Explorer
Yeah it really peeves me. Especially since the toner cartridges cost much more than the printer did. I'd ditch it but it duplexes which I'm a huge fan of.
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Laser or Inkjet Printer?
- Thread starter Arnwyn
- Start date
Yeah it really peeves me. Especially since the toner cartridges cost much more than the printer did. I'd ditch it but it duplexes which I'm a huge fan of.
BluWolf
Explorer
Definately B&W laser, as others have mentioned on here. I bought a Brother HL-5140 like 3 years ago and it is still going on its original toner cartridge. I think replacements are like $70-$80 a piece.
When I need color I just go to kinkos. Paying to maintain something I rarely use is just absurd. Not to mention the quality you can get when you need it from a print service is pretty expensive to keep at home.
When I need color I just go to kinkos. Paying to maintain something I rarely use is just absurd. Not to mention the quality you can get when you need it from a print service is pretty expensive to keep at home.
I recently needed a new printer, and it seems the mono-laser advice here - which I used to swear by - might be out of date, at least for some users. The cost per page on at least some colour inkjets has really dropped, to a point that's competitive with mono lasers. My HP Officejet has over two thirds of its black ink left after about 200 pages. That's about $20 to replace, or $40 if I want the XL cartridge with three times as much ink. Three cents a page if I don't go with the XL and run out of ink somewhat sooner than projected; less than two cents a page under more optimal conditions. Darned if this sucker isn't faster than my old Samsung laser, too.
The colour cartridges, at the rate I'm using them, are more likely to need replacement due to drying than being emptied, and I do semiregularly print in colour.
This particular piece of hardware is about $200 right now straight from the manufacturer, and I managed to get the same price at BestBuy.
However, due to the drying issue the OP is probably better off with a laser. At that low a rate of printing, drying will drive his TCO up to a point where a laser is probably cheaper. But notice that even that's a reversal from a few years ago; you used to want to go with a laser because you were doing high volumes of printing, not low ones.
The colour cartridges, at the rate I'm using them, are more likely to need replacement due to drying than being emptied, and I do semiregularly print in colour.
This particular piece of hardware is about $200 right now straight from the manufacturer, and I managed to get the same price at BestBuy.
However, due to the drying issue the OP is probably better off with a laser. At that low a rate of printing, drying will drive his TCO up to a point where a laser is probably cheaper. But notice that even that's a reversal from a few years ago; you used to want to go with a laser because you were doing high volumes of printing, not low ones.
Fallen Seraph
First Post
Not really any advice here, but wow the price of laser printers certainly have dropped a fair bit.
Eh ... me won't complain ... went by computer recycling place a last month and picked up a refurb Kyocera B&W laser printer for $15 with a toner cartridge that is almost completely full. Just in case ... went out on eBay and picked up an extra toner cartridge for $35. Should take care of quick printing needs for some time to come ...
XCorvis
First Post
Inkjet printers are wretched, wretched crap. They're a trick to get you to keep buying more ink. Inkjet printers are a razor, ink is the blade. They give the printers away cheap because it gets you to buy more ink. If you buy a new inkjet every time your old one runs out of ink, you won't spend too much more than if you just bought new ink.
I bought a Xerox Phaser 6120 (color laser, networked) for $250 about 3 years ago and never looked back. I'm still on my original toner.
We have an Epson professional wide format printer in our office. It uses inkjet style ink, but it is catridge is much wider and last much longer, too.
I always wonder why they can't use a similar technology for inkjet printers. Since lasers are so cheap now the point is moot, however.
I always wonder why they can't use a similar technology for inkjet printers. Since lasers are so cheap now the point is moot, however.
Inkjet printers are wretched, wretched crap. They're a trick to get you to keep buying more ink. Inkjet printers are a razor, ink is the blade. They give the printers away cheap because it gets you to buy more ink. If you buy a new inkjet every time your old one runs out of ink, you won't spend too much more than if you just bought new ink.
I bought a Xerox Phaser 6120 (color laser, networked) for $250 about 3 years ago and never looked back. I'm still on my original toner.
This used to be true, but your rant, as I pointed out in my post weeks before yours was written, seems to be a year or two out of date. This really doesn't seem to be true anymore of (at least) some of the professional-level inkjets. Less than 20 bucks gets me about 800 pages of black [<2.5 cents per page]; that's actually better than some lasers ($80 for a toner cartridge that gets you perhaps 3000 pages on the mono laser I had before my current printer [about 2.6666... cents per page]). And that's the less cost-effective of my two ink cartridge options.
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XCorvis
First Post
Yah, I just skimmed the thread, so I missed your analysis. And like I said, I never looked back.
Lasers have another benefit - they're usually repairable. Most inkjets can't be repaired if something breaks.
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