Loudwater School Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I am in the market and not sure what to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meggie Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I have a Brother HL 2240. It is about as basic as you can get-not wireless, one sided, black only. I got it for $60 on sale at Home Depot. If I could do it over again, I'd get one that prints on both sides. The wireless feature would be nice, but it's not a need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesmere Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Brother HL-2280DW. Fairly basic. Duplex b&W printing, also copies in black and white. Color scanning. We wanted to put it in a room away from the computer and it works fine. It seems to be on sale at Newegg for a couple more days but we got it at a store nearby for the same price. We had gift cards so we didn't have to pay much out of pocket. I've only had it for a short time, but I'm pleased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hearts4homeschooling Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I have had four Brother printer / copiers over the last seven years. I will not buy another one. They have programmed their printers so that a cartridge will only print X # of copies even if there is a lot of toner left in the cartridge. There are ways of overriding this, such as putting black electrical tape over the sensor hole and re-positioning the gear on the side of the cartridge, but these do not always work, and sometimes I throw away half-full cartridges because the printer will not accept it and will only take a new one. My friend who has an HP says hers does not do this, but I don't know if she has a newer model or not. The older Brother models did not do this either. I have thrown two away because over time (2+ years) they develop gray/black streaks down the page, and the local repairman said it was cheaper to buy new than repair. That said, I have two Brothers in my office right now: HL5250DN, which is not a copier but is just a printer (pay attention to this if you buy online!), but it prints duplex which I LOVE! DCP-7020 which is a copier, printer, scanner. For sure get a laser, unless you require color. They are so much cheaper to operate and print quickly with no dry time. You can buy toner and drums very reasonably priced on eBay. Look for high-yield cartridges. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnificent_baby Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I have a Lexmark, printer/scanner/fax. I cannot remember the exact model. I chose it because the refills are cheap (black ink anyway). I have had a lot of trouble with it already, and have only owned it for about 6 months. On the plus side, the customer service has been good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy in Indy Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 HP 2035 I have had HP laser printers for years. I highly recommend HP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAPeachie Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Brother HL-2280DW. Fairly basic. Duplex b&W printing, also copies in black and white. Color scanning. We wanted to put it in a room away from the computer and it works fine. It seems to be on sale at Newegg for a couple more days but we got it at a store nearby for the same price. We had gift cards so we didn't have to pay much out of pocket. I've only had it for a short time, but I'm pleased. This is what we have. We went with it for the high number of copies per ink purchase. My Lexmark was eating us ALIVE in ink costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 (edited) Brother HL-2280DW. Fairly basic. Duplex b&W printing, also copies in black and white. Color scanning. We wanted to put it in a room away from the computer and it works fine. It seems to be on sale at Newegg for a couple more days but we got it at a store nearby for the same price. We had gift cards so we didn't have to pay much out of pocket. I've only had it for a short time, but I'm pleased. Does this version allow you to cover the "eyes" so that you can use the full toner cartridge? I am looking for a wireless printer/copier, but I need to get as many pages as possible out of a single toner cartridge in order to make it a worthwhile investment. Also, does it have a "save toner" option that some of the other Brother printers have so that you wind up using less each with each page you print? Thanks! Lisa Edited April 20, 2012 by LisaTheresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesmere Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Does this version allow you to cover the "eyes" so that you can use the full toner cartridge? I am looking for a wireless printer/copier, but I need to get as many pages as possible out of a single toner cartridge in order to make it a worthwhile investment. Also, does it have a "save toner" option that some of the other Brother printers have so that you wind up using less each with each page you print? Thanks! Lisa First question ... not sure yet. I'm sure there's some way to get it done but I'm still on my starter cartridge, which tells you that my long-term experience is lacking. I have this cartridge on hand and one of the reviewers mentioned a way to get the maximum number of prints on a different model printer. It looks like there is a way to do it on the one I have but I haven't crossed that bridge yet. Maybe GAPeachie knows? Second question ... yes, the toner save option works well and the quality is fine for what I need. I am mostly copying reproducible activity sheets and printing as needed from PDFs, such as a geography book, so it doesn't need to look the very best. In save mode, the prints are very nice for what we need. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBS Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I've owned several different brands, but since ink is the highest expense involved in printing, I'd suggest you call the cartridge refill stores and ask for their recommendations. The one I go to, the Richmond Cartridge World always has an up-to-date suggestion and can tell you which printer works best, fastest, easiest, cheapest....and he's not selling them, just the ink refills. Online chat says a swimming pool of ink is worth $900 million or $5.9 billion.....whatev. Its expensive. I love to print, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 First question ... not sure yet. I'm sure there's some way to get it done but I'm still on my starter cartridge, which tells you that my long-term experience is lacking. I have this cartridge on hand and one of the reviewers mentioned a way to get the maximum number of prints on a different model printer. It looks like there is a way to do it on the one I have but I haven't crossed that bridge yet. Maybe GAPeachie knows? Second question ... yes, the toner save option works well and the quality is fine for what I need. I am mostly copying reproducible activity sheets and printing as needed from PDFs, such as a geography book, so it doesn't need to look the very best. In save mode, the prints are very nice for what we need. Hope that helps! Thanks, Ellen! Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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