Looking for a decent printer. Scanning would be nice but not necessary. But wireless is a must. Anyone have any recommendations for something under $200? We occasionally print and hopefully the cartridge or toner will last quite a while. We would probably need to print something a couple times a month. Thank you for any suggestions.
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Decent wireless printer
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Zarathustra[H]
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Honestly,
In my 30 years of using printers, I have come to the conclusion that the only decent printers are lasers
The problem with inkjet printers is that if you print regularly you are constantly running out of ink (which they charge unreasonable amounts of money for) and if you don't print regularly your cartridge is going to dry out and you might need a new one almost every time you print.
The downside is that color lasers are somewhat expensive. If you can get away with black and white there are some decent affordable models though.
You know if you plug a wired printer into your router, any device on the network (even wireless ones) can print to it, right?
This is actually more reliable (and secure) than direct to printer wireless printing.
In my 30 years of using printers, I have come to the conclusion that the only decent printers are lasers
The problem with inkjet printers is that if you print regularly you are constantly running out of ink (which they charge unreasonable amounts of money for) and if you don't print regularly your cartridge is going to dry out and you might need a new one almost every time you print.
The downside is that color lasers are somewhat expensive. If you can get away with black and white there are some decent affordable models though.
You know if you plug a wired printer into your router, any device on the network (even wireless ones) can print to it, right?
This is actually more reliable (and secure) than direct to printer wireless printing.
pendragon1
Extremely [H]
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yup
yup
yup
you connect the printer to your wifi and then it acts likes plugged in. direct to printer is for guests.
BlueLineSwinger
[H]ard|Gawd
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Just get a Brother printer.
And ++ on wiring it to the network if at all possible, even if it means paying the ~$20 or whatever for the ethernet version.
And ++ on wiring it to the network if at all possible, even if it means paying the ~$20 or whatever for the ethernet version.
StoleMyOwnCar
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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QBR7JFV?psc=1
I purchased this Canon laser color printer about 3.5 years ago. It's a bit less expensive than the equivalent Brother. I only print somewhat sporadically (usually print out bill payment confirmations, so at least once a month), but it hasn't really let me down. I'm still using the toner that it came included with, so it's very efficient. It's not sold anymore, but they have a newer model of it that I'm pretty sure is roughly the same. While it does have wireless mode, I have it hooked up wired. In my opinion there's not much point in getting a full wireless printer since it's pretty trivial to either just put the printer near the router, or to run an ethernet cable from the router to the printer.
No scanner, but after a certain Dell laser printer stopped printing for me because of a SCANNER ISSUE, I'm sort of ambivalent about scanner/printer combos. Its only fault is sometimes it spends a bit too long doing some realignment after prints. The first one I had took a bit longer than I liked doing that, so I replaced it. New one doesn't spend as long, so I don't really notice it these days.
Either way, highly recommend getting laser. Inkjet is absolute garbage. Laser is more expensive, but it more than pays for itself due to the absolutely stupid replacement costs for ink cartridges.
I purchased this Canon laser color printer about 3.5 years ago. It's a bit less expensive than the equivalent Brother. I only print somewhat sporadically (usually print out bill payment confirmations, so at least once a month), but it hasn't really let me down. I'm still using the toner that it came included with, so it's very efficient. It's not sold anymore, but they have a newer model of it that I'm pretty sure is roughly the same. While it does have wireless mode, I have it hooked up wired. In my opinion there's not much point in getting a full wireless printer since it's pretty trivial to either just put the printer near the router, or to run an ethernet cable from the router to the printer.
No scanner, but after a certain Dell laser printer stopped printing for me because of a SCANNER ISSUE, I'm sort of ambivalent about scanner/printer combos. Its only fault is sometimes it spends a bit too long doing some realignment after prints. The first one I had took a bit longer than I liked doing that, so I replaced it. New one doesn't spend as long, so I don't really notice it these days.
Either way, highly recommend getting laser. Inkjet is absolute garbage. Laser is more expensive, but it more than pays for itself due to the absolutely stupid replacement costs for ink cartridges.
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Zepher
[H]ipster Replacement
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I have been using this tiny HP Laser Printer since 2008, no issues at all with it. It's fast, small, and I have it on a shelf and pull it out when I need it.
A friend of mine was looking at maybe getting a new printer and I was showing him some Brother Laser Printers like this one,
https://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-L3210CW-Providing-Wireless-Replenishment/dp/B07FMS1DMX
And these ones,
https://www.amazon.com/Brother-HLL3270CDW-Color-Wireless-Printer/dp/B07KGVTMHJ
https://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-L3230CDW-Providing-Wireless-Replenishment/dp/B07FMYYXZD
And the Color ones with a scanner look like they start at $399 and are much larger,
https://www.amazon.com/Brother-MFC-L3710CW-Providing-Wireless-Replenishment/dp/B07FMX1RXT
Black and white starts around $113
https://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-L2300D-Monochrome-Printer-Printing/dp/B00NQ1CLTI
And $174 for an All in One,
https://www.amazon.com/Brother-Monochrome-HLL2390DW-Convenient-Replenishment/dp/B0764NWFP9
A friend of mine was looking at maybe getting a new printer and I was showing him some Brother Laser Printers like this one,
https://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-L3210CW-Providing-Wireless-Replenishment/dp/B07FMS1DMX
And these ones,
https://www.amazon.com/Brother-HLL3270CDW-Color-Wireless-Printer/dp/B07KGVTMHJ
https://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-L3230CDW-Providing-Wireless-Replenishment/dp/B07FMYYXZD
And the Color ones with a scanner look like they start at $399 and are much larger,
https://www.amazon.com/Brother-MFC-L3710CW-Providing-Wireless-Replenishment/dp/B07FMX1RXT
Black and white starts around $113
https://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-L2300D-Monochrome-Printer-Printing/dp/B00NQ1CLTI
And $174 for an All in One,
https://www.amazon.com/Brother-Monochrome-HLL2390DW-Convenient-Replenishment/dp/B0764NWFP9
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Nobu
[H]F Junkie
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HP laser is good, but check before you buy. Some cost less because they require an internet connection (and account) to set up, and they may become inoperable if you have them offline for a long time. You only get 5-10 prints before performing the initial set-up, then it's locked. Basic printing works without their driver, but you may not be able to scale, choose different paper sizes, etc, without it.
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cjcox
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I use HPs. But, you do get (often) what you pay for. If you can step up your budget a bit, you'll probably have a better experience there.
Currently using a M545dw.
HPs still come with starter set toner. Just remember, that with almost any, after a few round of toner or ink replace, you've probably exceeded the price of the printer. So, there's some "economics" involved with regards to printer lifetime.
Currently using a M545dw.
HPs still come with starter set toner. Just remember, that with almost any, after a few round of toner or ink replace, you've probably exceeded the price of the printer. So, there's some "economics" involved with regards to printer lifetime.
grim4593
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I have a Brother HL-L3290CDW and it works great. I'd bet any Brother laser printer would be worth it.
Zarathustra[H]
Extremely [H]
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Those are some pretty surprisingly good prices.
I don't have much personal experience with brother (I've been using nothing but HP lasers for about two decades now).
Do they use the same trick HP does? Ship them with "trial" toners, and then the first time you have to replace all four toners you are hit with $400?
Granted, even the small trial toners usually last typical household printing volumes a rather long time, and once you put four full size toners in them, for typical household printing volumes, you'll probably never need to replace them again
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Zepher
[H]ipster Replacement
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Actually I don't know if they ship with trial or full carts.Those are some pretty surprisingly good prices.
I don't have much personal experience with brother (I've been using nothing but HP lasers for about two decades now).
Do they use the same trick HP does? Ship them with "trial" toners, and then the first time you have to replace all four toners you are hit with $400?
Granted, even the small trial toners usually last typical household printing volumes a rather long time, and once you put four full size toners in them, for typical household printing volumes, you'll probably never need to replace them again
My last color laser printer was this HP Color Laserjet 4500DN we bought new in 1999 to carry to golf tournaments so I could print 8x10 photos on site.
Was a bitch to carry since it was so big and heavy, but I needed the speed and inkjet was too slow to print 200+ 8x10 photos at the time.
I was printing 4 copies of each 8x10 and this printer would do all 4 in less than 90 seconds, around a minute for the first one to spool and process and then the next 3 would come out within 30 seconds or so.
This one used very large toner carts, $125 for the 3 colors and $110 for the black, so almost $500 for a full set.
Oh we did get a Dell Color Laser to replace the HP, it didn't print as nice as the HP but it was smaller and easier to carry and the photos were still of acceptable quality.
It also didn't have a 10-15 minute warmup and calibration from a cold start or sleep like the HP, it was maybe a minute or so.
