Recommend me a printer

[benz_890]

It's been ages since i bought a printer. Hoping to get a cheap color laser one this time so im not buying inkjet cartridges every few months after they dry out :facepalm:

[ThePenIsMightier]

Cheap laser exists. Brother from Staples.
Cheap colour laser doesn't, iMO

[benz_890]

What are y'all thoughts on this one?

https://www.amazon.ca/Lexmark-C3224dw-Wireless-capabilities-Full-Spectrum/dp/B07T6PGM4J/ref=sr_1_6?crid=2HA63FRYOMGLK&keywords=color+laser+printer&qid=1587650581&refinements=p_85%3A5690392011&rnid=5264023011&rps=1&s=office&sprefix=color+lase%2Caps%2C189&sr=1-6&swrs=5FE259AB1B051CCF09A5F17BE5A94F87

[Ekliptix]

I like color lazer printers. I had a Samsung for a few years, but it recently displayed an error that suggested it needed a new 'drum', which was going to cost hundreds of dollars. Fug that.
I got a new Brother color laser printer on Amazon. It's model HL-L3230CDW. I think it was about $300. It appears unavailable at the moment. I like the wireless function so it only needs a power cable.

Here's a different Brother model for $280 right now: https://www.amazon.ca/Brother-HLL3210CW-Wireless-Color-Printer/dp/B07FMS1DMX/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Brother+HL-L3230CDW&qid=1587650405&s=electronics&sr=1-3

I don't know if you consider this cheap, but it'll last a long ass time without needing new toner.

[The_Rural_Juror]

I have had the best luck with Brother and HP. Samsung and Lexmark did not last as long for me. Also, don't cheap out on generic toners. One brand with hundreds of good reviews on amazon wrecked my printer so much that I had to retire it.

[revelations]

Brother and/or HP. Their software seems to be the best/most functional for most of my clients.

Get LAN capability if you want 99.999% reliability. WIFI only printers are about 88.8888% reliable.

And yes, toners come in all types. I tend to not recommend the cheapest ones.

[ExtraSlow]

Wow that's a lot of significant digits!

[benz_890]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, reason I want a cheap one is that it's just going to be used for the odd print around the house. It won't be heavily used. I don't really care for wifi printing or any other gimmicks, just something that will print when I tell it to.

[msommers]

I used a Samsung wireless colour laser for awhile. I see they don't make that model any more. For casual printing it served its purpose perfectly.

Now I have a multi-function Brother I got onsale awhile ago. Works really well but again not a heavy user so from a printing perspective, they work the same, albeit the tray to retrieve printed documents is really annoying.

[sabad66]

I would recommend an all in one that does printing, scanning, copying, and wireless. If you don't want to dish out the $ for a colour laser, inkjets really aren't too bad. Costco has sales on the cartridges all the time so it's really not that expensive for just occasional printing.

Also, HP has this subscription service called Instant Ink where it basically bills you based on usage regardless if its b/w or full colour. If you just do occasional, the 50 pages/month plan for $4 a month is good. You might even be able to get away with the free plan (15 pages/month):
https://instantink.hpconnected.com/ca/en/l/?jumpid=af_e86c3ah2sz

I will probably switch to this service when my current cartridges run out personally. $48 a year for printing is not bad at all IMO.

One thing i will say is that i wish i had on my HP OfficeJet 6962 was duplex scanning. It only scans one side of the page as it is which is kind of annoying. Their higher models have duplex scanning.

and finally, you might not think you want wireless but it's actually a great feature. You can print docs directly from your phone/tablet, and you can even scan documents directly on the printer without having to touch a phone or laptop (it will email the scan to you).

[cyra1ax]

+1 for Color laser MFP. Yes it's more but you'll end up saving money from not having to buy cartridges basically every time you want to print anything since they dried out.

[Xtrema]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, reason I want a cheap one is that it's just going to be used for the odd print around the house. It won't be heavily used. I don't really care for wifi printing or any other gimmicks, just something that will print when I tell it to.

Unless you tie your printer to a single computer over USB and that's the only place you print from, the connectivity matters.

LAN > Wifi

To me I rather have a B/W MFP than a Color printer. I use the scanner more than the printer.

I have a Canon MFP but the software/driver sucks. Seems to have to be reinstalled or updated every time there is a major windows update. But I'm too cheap to replace it since I really don't use it that often.

[ThePenIsMightier]

Printing in colour is for my employer to worry about.
Leaving ink jet printers behind was the best decision I made in 2013. I have NEVER looked back.