• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Looking to buy a printer

N

Nye553

Gawd
Joined
Aug 28, 2004
Messages
874
I'm looking into buying a new printer... I would like to spend under 80... I've looked at many sites already and I want to get some real input from people who have had good printer experiences with their printers.
 
Well, you could spend under $80 now on a printer and have to pay $30/ink cartridge for the rest of the printer's lifetime, or you could get a decent laser printer for about $120 and have to pay $80 per toner cartridge for rest of the printer's (much longer) lifetime.

I guess I should mention that a single toner cartridge can last you three or four semesters of school, where an inkjet cartridge might last one if you're lucky.
 
Seriously, while an Ink-jet may look like a good deal now you're just gonna end up getting boned in the end. My HP Laserjet 1100 has been on the same toner cartridge for TWO AND A HALF YEARS! and still prints like the day the cartridge was new (bought the printer second hand for $50) In that same amount of time with an ink jet I reckon I would have spent about $500 on ink. Back when I used ink jet printers I'd be lucky if I got more than a ream's worth of pages out of a single batch of cartridges. This one laser cartridge has gone through about 6 reams. Usually you can find a good deal on one of those small Samsung lasers for like $150.
 
Mr_Evil and Stiletto One pose very good points. I wish I would have gone with a laser printer. Being a college student, I print off reports and papers all the time. Being that I have a Lexmark, which I hear are the costliest of all printers when it comes to ink, I spend a pretty penny every semester stocking up. Primarily because anytime I lose 1 color, I have to buy a whole new friggin cartridge. A black cartridge can bring you a long way, but color... forget about it. If you do go with inkjet, I'd suggest that you stay away from Lexmark. Mine's a X75 Printer/Scanner combo. I've had it for about 2 years and it already sounds as if a gear or motor is wearing out. Throw in the ink dilema, and it sucks. I'd recommend going with an Epson. A friend of mine has one and it's pretty nice. Has separate ink tanks, so when 1 goes out, you just go and buy that 1 color. Seems logical, right?

Just remember. That printer which only costs you $50 or so is cheap. Just gotta keep in mind that they get you with ink. Last time I bought a black and color cartridge for this printer, I spent roughly $70. That was in Aug. I'm now faced with having to buy a new color cart because everything prints out pink... It sucks.
 
See if you can find a used HP Laserjet 3. They're old, a bit slow, but they're work horses. Easy to fix and maintain as well.

I'd say on average, a LJ3 cart will put out over 5,000 pages before needing to be replaced.

Avoid Lexmark, especially their color laser printers (not that you can get one for $80.) the Optracolor 1200 in particular. What a raging piece of junk.
 
Ashtaka said:
See if you can find a used HP Laserjet 3. They're old, a bit slow, but they're work horses. Easy to fix and maintain as well.

I'd say on average, a LJ3 cart will put out over 5,000 pages before needing to be replaced.
Click to expand...
Think it was an HP LJ4 I had where I used to work. Rarely ever jammed and a toner cartrodge lasted forever. :) Plus, if they start to fade, you can take the cartridge out and kinda rock it back and forth to get the remaining toner happening. With ink jets, once it's out, it's out completely. And yes, the cost overall for ink is going to be more.

I have an HP inkjet right now but plan to get a laser printer again soon. It says 220 pages for 5% density, that's not a lot. If you use your printer for school (mostly B&W stuff) I'd definitely say a laser printer is worthwhile. Maybe keep an inkjet as a secondary for color printing.
 
$145 and not even on sale...but it has a $30 MIR.

The only bitch I have with most consumer (like, <$300) laser printers is that manufacturers seem to ship them with not-full toner cartridges to force you to buy another one.

Oh well, it still evens out over time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top