Anybody recommend a inexpensive to run/buy BnW Laser Printer?

[Metamorphic]

My ink jet is killing me with cartridge costs.

I'm already doing as much pdf printing as I can, but some for some things there's just too much advantage to having hard copy to give it up totally.

I'm thinking of getting a small laser printer to do all my draft prints, black and white only prints, and research prints; reserving the inkjet for just the color pages of the final file copy. Color laser would be great but I think the costs are just too high.

Does anybody have a personal size black and white laser printer they recommend. A lot of time they sell you the printer next to nothing so they can screw you over with overpriced cartridges for the next decade, something I'd like to avoid.

 

[Michigan CG]

I know you said small, black and white and cheap....

I have an HP 2840 which is none of those. It is about $600 and comes with enough ink for 5,000 copies. Scans, faxes, copies, multiple paper sizes including envelopes that I make my mailings look professional.

I work in my home and have networked all of the computers in the house to this one printer. My kids have a computer where all their homework is printed to. My wife uses the printer for her work.

The Black cartridges (5,000 pages) are $85, the three color cartridges cost $100 each and the imaging drum costs $175.

It costs me just under 5.4 cents per copy.

Because most stuff is not color I only have to replace the color cartridges every 15,000 copies. Imaging drum lasts 10,000 copies.

 

[JT1974]

I like my Brother MFC 8820D black and white laser printer/copier/fax/scanner. I've had it for about 5 years and it seems pretty bulletproof and is very inexpensive to operate.

I recently bought a Dell 3110 multi-function color laser printer/fax/copier/scanner and I'm not very impressed with it. The colors are way oversaturated and I'm always having to adjust the brightness so that stuff doesn't come out too dark.

I also have an HP 2600N color laser printer. It prints very slow but the colors are very good. You can pick up an HP color laser printer for around $250 to $300 with full toner. However, the cost to replace all four cartridges is around $350. I've seen remanufactured toner cartridges on the internet for less, but I haven't tried them yet.

CNET.com also has some pretty good reviews for cheap B&W laser printers so poke around on that website and compare the highest rated ones side by side.

Good luck

 

[Charles Knutson]

I use a Brother MFC 7220 -- it makes great copies, generic cartridges can be found for less than $30 on eBay and other internet sites, it's faxes copies and scans, and it can save a copy of every incoming fax on the computer. Toner refill kits are cheap on eBay.

I'm on my second unit -- the first one developed a problem after 12-15k copies, and the quickest fix was buying a new machine. Both were around $160 on sale -- regular prices are around $200.

http://www.google.com/products?num=...hs=z95&q=brother+laser+mfc+7220&um=1&ie=UTF-8

There are many Brother printers and multi function machines that use the TN-350 toner cartridge, some as low as $100. Many of the starter and generic cartridges have a gear driven counter lever on the left side, that tells the machine the cartridge needs to be replaced long before the toner runs out -- it's held in place by three phillips screws, and I generally remove them right out of the box.

http://www.globalimagingsupply.com/product_info.php/products_id/13114

http://www.meritline.com/brother-tn350-black-laser-toner-cartridge.html

It prints 2,000-2500 pages per cartridge, which is a little more than a penny per page with a generic cartridge.

 

[Green Hornet]

I use the Brother HL-5240 for printing and also have a Brother MFC 7220 for scanning, faxing and printing as a back up.

I have been very happy with both. I buy the reconditioned toners at Office Depot for about $54 each, get a 3 $ instore credit when I return the empties. No that I have seen Charles' post, I think I will shop for them on e-bay.

 

[Metamorphic]

There are many Brother printers and multi function machines that use the TN-350 toner cartridge, some as low as $100. Many of the starter and generic cartridges have a gear driven counter lever on the left side, that tells the machine the cartridge needs to be replaced long before the toner runs out -- it's held in place by three phillips screws, and I generally remove them right out of the box.

That HL-5240 that the hornet has looks like about what I'm looking for. Its uses the TN-550 and TN-580. I wonder if those cartridges have the same gear counter on the side?

I also found this one. A HL-6050D that uses the TN670.

Looks like 0.01 per page is the price point to look for. My current is printer is 0.05/page. Which means my break even point on a $200 printer is 5,000 pages. Probably less since my super things bold all caps is more professional looking which I'm sure sucks up more ink than the regular print. That's probably 2,500 legal size.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I use a cheap HP 1012 which uses a very common cartridge. Those cartridges can be bought cheap as recycled ctg. thru Office Depot or other refillers.

I prefer my Samsung color laser. Very reasonable to operate and again I can find a pkg deal on all four cartridges - Find a printer that uses a good common cartridge and you get more miles for the buck.

 

[Cigar]

I can confirm the Brother, I bought a MFC 9600 8 years ago and only use about 2 toner cartridges per year, TN-460, going through reems of paper. I checked at the time and it was rated the best at about 2¢ per page. My color inkjet costs a fortune in cartridges and I hardly ever use it.

 

[CGgonnabee]

I have an HP Laserjet 3055 (black & white) multi-function machine...I bought it refurbished for about $350. It is a workhorse and economical.

Like Jason, I use an HP 2600n for color, good quality but pricey. I rarely have to send color/hard copies, even with commercial appraisals, as most folks prefer pdf's. I think my kids use my color printer the more than I do (arghhhhhhhhhh).

 

[Offshore]

I had to buy a new printer a few months back and went with the HL-5240. I did several searches in here and there were several others who have them and were pleased. I only need Black & White and I'm very satisfied with it so far.