LAinVA Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Our inket printer has decided to stop working properly and is going through ink like crazy. Since we will start hsing soon I wanted to invest in a good laser printer. My dh was thinking of using the Brother brand. The color printers are much more expensive; but would it be worth doing? I am getting Math Mammoth that I could print and I have noticed there are quite a few curriculums or extras that could be printed. I know it would be more visually appealing in color; but I have to be realistic too $$$. Any have a good recommendation for a type a printer that won't eat ink? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Jo Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 A Laser Jet. I have a black and white. About 2-4 times a year I go to Staples and have a few things printed in color (maps, chore cards - nothing major). I don' print pictures at home, I've used Walgreens for that in the past. Mine is a Brother B&W, I buy non-brand name toner from Amazon, and have figured out how to get every bit of toner out of a cartridge. What do you plan to print in color? I've printed MM in B&W, only the money pages seemed to lose usefulness. Have you thought of having a B&W laser jet for normal use, then a small inkjet for things that must be in color? Remember, color printers have more complex / multiple toners. A B&W printer has only one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I haven't had a color printer for years and haven't ever really missed it. I had a laser Brother, which was great, but then the drum went out and it would've been $80 to replace it. Instead of replacing it, we bought a Canon with duplexing. The toner cartridges are all in one, meaning there is no drum to eventually replace like on the Brother (and other printers, I think). I get toner cartridges on Amazon (not Canon brand) for $10 or so, and get about the estimated 2000 copies out of each one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I love my color printer. Maybe it's because my children are all still young and the majority of the things that I print are bright and colorful. I wouldn't be able to run out to Kinkos all the time for colored printing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I want a printer that does double-sided copies MUCH more than color. We have a HP B&W laser printer that I love, but I do wish it could print on both sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I have a B&W laser printer that prints on both sides of the paper. I kept an old inkjet color printer to use when I need to print in color. I haven't plugged it in for over a year! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PookieMama Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 We just bought this Brother laser printer about a month ago, and I've been very happy w/ it: http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Printer-Wireless-Monochrome-HL2280DW/dp/B004QM8J8S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1332807891&sr=8-4 We had a Canon color inkjet that started getting really flaky on me. I simply cannot run the risk of being w/o a printer for 3 or 4 days, so I decided to get a b/w laser. They seem much cheaper to operate in the long run. The Canon is still limping along, so I'm just using it for when I have to have color (not very often). The Brother machine is totally wireless and was pretty easy to set up. Duplexing (double-sided printing) was on my must-have list, as well as a copier/scanner. It prints super fast and is not loud. Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAinVA Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Okay...I think I'll go for a B & W laser instead of color. Thanks for suggesting duplex printing too. That will save a lot of paper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I have a Brother that duplexes, photocopies (and automatically duplexes!) and faxes, and is color. Printing costs are only about 1.5 cents per page B&W and 2.5 cents per page color, and the manual says to only replace the drum every 15 cartridge changes. The large b&w cartridge prints 6000 pages, so, that means replacing the drum every what... 90,000 pages? Even if I assume $90 for a drum... that does not exactly increase my per page cost a lot. I'd say you are pretty safe with lw-cost printing with a Brother, even if you splurge on color (color cartridges are rated for fewer pages, but unless you go crazy, most printing will be in black and white). That is using regular brand-name cartridges, not off-brand or toner refills, which would be cheaper still, if you are brave :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAinVA Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 I have a Brother that duplexes, photocopies (and automatically duplexes!) and faxes, and is color. Printing costs are only about 1.5 cents per page B&W and 2.5 cents per page color, and the manual says to only replace the drum every 15 cartridge changes. The large b&w cartridge prints 6000 pages, so, that means replacing the drum every what... 90,000 pages? Even if I assume $90 for a drum... that does not exactly increase my per page cost a lot. I'd say you are pretty safe with lw-cost printing with a Brother, even if you splurge on color (color cartridges are rated for fewer pages, but unless you go crazy, most printing will be in black and white). That is using regular brand-name cartridges, not off-brand or toner refills, which would be cheaper still, if you are brave :) What model do you have? It all comes down to cost for us pretty much. The color ones all seem the be very$$$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 We have a Samsung B&W laser printer that has been great for years now. I have rarely missed color. If I really need something to be color I can send it to Kinkos, but more often I print it grayscale and use pencils to add the color myself. I would not get an inkjet just for rare need, because when they are not used frequently, the jets clog up. That is what happened to our last inkjet. I found out that you either have to print all the colors at least once a week, or run the cleaning routine - either way you have to use up the ink or the jets get clogged, and it was going to cost more to fix it than we paid for the printer. So the consumption of ink is a given if you own an inkjet. We will never have another. If we were going to look at a color printer, a friend of mine has one that uses melted wax and never clogs up - I would get one of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAinVA Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 We have a Samsung B&W laser printer that has been great for years now. I have rarely missed color. If I really need something to be color I can send it to Kinkos, but more often I print it grayscale and use pencils to add the color myself. I would not get an inkjet just for rare need, because when they are not used frequently, the jets clog up. That is what happened to our last inkjet. I found out that you either have to print all the colors at least once a week, or run the cleaning routine - either way you have to use up the ink or the jets get clogged, and it was going to cost more to fix it than we paid for the printer. So the consumption of ink is a given if you own an inkjet. We will never have another. If we were going to look at a color printer, a friend of mine has one that uses melted wax and never clogs up - I would get one of those. This is what happened with our inkjet. We just didn't use it enough. I just replaced a cartridge and then did 3 head cleanings trying to get the other ones to work properly. The cartridge that I had just replaced was almost half gone from just the cleaning! I returned the whole set to the store and am officially done with inkjets too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 What model do you have? It all comes down to cost for us pretty much. The color ones all seem the be very$$$ I'm not near my printer right now, but it is in the 9600 series. We scoured the Internet and found it for less than 50% off of its Amazon list price-- printers often go on sale, because they make most of their money on Toner. Btw, I don't know if it is standard on Brother or just the model line we bought or what, but when I unpacked it, a part broke off, and they sent a tech to my house within 24 hours to fix it at no charge. Apparently that service came free with the printer for a couple of years. Even if buying black and white, I would buy a Brothef again; I have been well pleased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAinVA Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 I'm not near my printer right now, but it is in the 9600 series. We scoured the Internet and found it for less than 50% off of its Amazon list price-- printers often go on sale, because they make most of their money on Toner. Btw, I don't know if it is standard on Brother or just the model line we bought or what, but when I unpacked it, a part broke off, and they sent a tech to my house within 24 hours to fix it at no charge. Apparently that service came free with the printer for a couple of years. Even if buying black and white, I would buy a Brothef again; I have been well pleased. I think they may have discontinued this model. I can't seem to find it anywhere.:confused: Drat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 A b/w laser multi-function copier, which also is a printer. (Different than a multi-function printer.) I have this one. http://www.staples.com/Canon-imageCLASS-D420-Laser-Multifunction-Copier/product_887634 It's $199 at Staples.com. A $100 rebate drops it to $99. Hop over to eBay and buy a Staples 20% off coupon (make sure you can use it on printers and internet orders). Get free shipping. Don't forget to use a click-thru site like eBates or FatWallet when you purchase at Staples. Ends up being about $80 after discounts, tax and cost of coupon. I buy toner refills for $10 each from the third-party seller TonerPals on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001EY0A9C/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&storeAttribute=op&submit.see-all-buying-options=see-all-buying-options&condition=all I love, love, love my copier/printer! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenangelcat Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 my samsung colour printer cost $130 on sale. it works great. i'd try and find a cheap colour printer first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I have a Brother B&W laser printer. I've never missed being able to print in color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindsrae Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 We have a heavy duty printer/fax/photocopier for daily B & W use. I got a cheapo color printer (HP1600) on sale before Christmas to use for color. And I made sure the refills didn't cost 100x more than the printer :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_Household Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 I bought this Brother Laser printer this past year and have been very happy with it! http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Printer-MFC7860DW-Wireless-Monochrome/dp/B004QM99JG/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1WJVPR3Y9ZVGL&colid=1XDZ1051O53JA I had an old inkjet that I use for color or I color in on the black & white pages for our math (since there are not that many of them). I have no regrets. Good luck picking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abreakfromlife Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 A b/w laser multi-function copier, which also is a printer. (Different than a multi-function printer.) I have this one. http://www.staples.com/Canon-imageCL...product_887634 I buy toner refills for $10 each from the third-party seller TonerPals on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...&condition=all I love, love, love my copier/printer! :D :iagree::iagree: That's what I have (I think) and I love it.....we just replaced ours and I think we just got a similar model, but it prints on both sides and that is amazing. My dream printer is a laser color, but I also want a copier and that is $$$ to get it all in one. Eventually I'd like to just get a color laser printer and keep the B/W printer/copier, but even that is $$. I don't really print a lot in color, but when I do, it would be so handy. But it's not that big of a deal to go to Kinkos or UPS to print stuff out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAinVA Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 We just bought this Brother laser printer about a month ago, and I've been very happy w/ it: http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Printer-Wireless-Monochrome-HL2280DW/dp/B004QM8J8S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1332807891&sr=8-4 We had a Canon color inkjet that started getting really flaky on me. I simply cannot run the risk of being w/o a printer for 3 or 4 days, so I decided to get a b/w laser. They seem much cheaper to operate in the long run. The Canon is still limping along, so I'm just using it for when I have to have color (not very often). The Brother machine is totally wireless and was pretty easy to set up. Duplexing (double-sided printing) was on my must-have list, as well as a copier/scanner. It prints super fast and is not loud. Love it! After pouring over reviews, we ended up going with this same printer. It seemed to be the best for not having toner issues. Now I just have to get my dh to set it up for wireless. :D Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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