Laser Printer

[NooraK]

I've been tossing around the idea of buying a laser printer for the last few months. I haven't been keeping good track, but I feel like I'm constantly buying black ink for my current printer, even though I print almost everything in "draft" mode. And if I'm going to increase my show schedule, my need for printing will only increase.

I saw this at Office Max:

Brother HL-2140 Mono Laser Printer

And there's also this one, which is wireless-capable:

Brother HL-2170W Mono Laser Printer

Those of you who have laser printers, what are the cons you have encountered? Do you have problems printing things like labels? What about unusually sized things like envelopes or note/post cards?

DH isn't too keen on those two, because he doesn't have a good impression of Brother. HP seems to get good reviews often, but the cheapest Office Max had was this:

HP Laserjet P1006 Printer

TIA for any help or insight you can provide!

 

[Nanisu]

I have had several HP printers over the years. They are bullet proof. I have one right now that is probably 10-12 years old and still going strong. I have a Samsun laser that I really like, too. I have way too many printers: an Epson (also a photo printer and I hate it), a Samsung (color laser that my stepmother gave me--love it), and HP all in on that I mentioned above. HP is amazing.

 

[PampChefJoy]

I have a Brother 5040 that I bought when I started my PC Biz and it was totally useful when I was in my heydey. Printed everything easily and without worry for running out of ink or spending too much on ink.

Instead of printing in color, I just got a package of assorted Astrobrights and I'd print my flyers on different colored papers to make it interesting.

 

[Liquid Sky]

I toyed with the idea of getting a laser printer when my HP went kaput. Basically, lasers are great but a super heavy upfront cost! Take for example, ink cartridges. I think you need 5 different ones and they cost, on average, $80 EACH. So, as you are looking at the cost up front, to get a good quality laser printer, you are looking at about $300 (and more if you want wireless and color lasers...&/or AIO's) then about $400 more to get the cartridges.

I also spoke to MANY people who have lasers (and have used inkjets) and also spoke to an extremely knowledgeable guy at Office Max (usually they don't really know what they are talking about...but I got really lucky) and the consensus was that I don't do heavy enough printing to justify the cost of a laser. I avg. 10 shows a month and do a lot of printing (plus print a lot for personal stuff)

I ended up w/ the HP 6500 and I am THRILLED. It was $150, plus I got $50 in Office Max rewards, and got $5 off EACH ink cartridge I bought that day. The ink cartridges are $15-20 each, and if you get the XL cartridges it'll last you thru some large amount in printing (like, 3,000 sheets in one cartridge).

So, for $250 (or $200 when you factor in the $50 Office Max rewards rebate) I got myself loaded w/ a heavy duty printer and lots of ink that will last a long time.

 

[chefann]

If you don't print frequently, and don't care whether you can print in color, then a monochrome laser printer is a great choice! You don't need to worry about ink drying out in the cartridges or on the heads between printing jobs. And while the toner cartridges are more than inkjet cartridges, they last a lot longer. I have an HP that's no longer available, but it's 8 years old and still going strong. I only need 1 cartridge a year, so the $60-80 cost works out to only $5-7 per month. Compare that to the inkjet a clustermate has - she has to get the cartridges changed or refilled every 6 weeks or so, at a total cost of about $40. (And her inkjet won't work if one color is empty, even if she's trying to print using just the black.) I do like Joy does and print flyers in B/W on colored paper. Nobody has ever complained about them.

Find online reviews of the models you're looking at. Amazon and buy.com are good places to read reviews. Some printers don't have updated drivers for some operating systems, so look for that (especially if you're using Windows 7, Vista or Mac OS).

There's a Brother laser that's fairly regularly available for about $50. DH has found very mixed reviews on that model (sorry, I don't remember which one it is). But you should read the reviews and decide what annoyances are or aren't a big deal to you.

 

[NooraK]

Thank you all for your input!

I am most definitley a researcher, and that's one of the reasons I haven't taken the plunge yet. I haven't had time to do all the research I want to do. I'm thinking that $50 isn't a huge price to pay to find out if it suits my needs, and if my needs increase in the future, I will have more personal knowledge to determine what I need to upgrade to.

 

[jbarnhill]

I had a brother laser printer for less than a year before it died. I switched to an HP laser and have had it for 3+ years and it is still running good. I have the HP laser jet 1020. i usually buy the HP ink cartridges for it because i feel they last longer than when I was buying the office depot brand ink for it.

 

[nikked]

Can't really comment on laser vs. other, but as far as brand goes, I have no luck at all with Brother, but have great success with my HPs.

HTH!