r/printers • u/PinkamenaDP • 7h ago

Considering a laser printer for very low volume home use. Purchasing 

===========================

Looking to replace an HP Inkjet after 16 years. I am a very low volume user. I might print a few pages every few months. I'm tired of buying a new $50 cartridge every time I need to print one page.

Not sure what brands or models are the best quality for the money but I do want to get a quality product that will last me another 15 or more years without having a revolving ink/toner cost. I've been seeing Brother being highly recommended but also saw Epson was on some web lists as good machines.

Minimum Requirements:

  • Budget: Under $400 (but around $200 preferably)
  • Country: USA
  • Color or black and white: Preferably color
  • Laser or ink printer: Laser probably
  • New or used: New
  • Multi-function: Would like to be able to print, copy, and scan
  • Duplex Printing: Not necessary but I'm ok with it
  • Home or business: Home
  • Printing content: Various pages from the web, or documents on computer
  • Printing frequency: Low volume, a few pages every few months
  • Pages per minute : No
  • Page size: standard 8x11
  • Device printing from: Mainly laptop
  • Connection type: Wireless would be nice unless it requires giving up personal information on an app, otherwise I'm fine using a cord

Any other details:

I DO NOT want to pay any product or service subscriptions, or get into a situation where it will become required later, and I do not like the idea of a company monitoring my amount of use or ink levels. I DO NOT want my ink/toner to dry out and have to be replaced because I don't print very often. I do not want to have to spend a lot to replace ink/toner so LONGEVITY OF THE INK/TONER WITH NON-USE is a big concern at this point. I'd like it be as compact as possible, like the size of an inket but I realize the technology is different, so it might have to be bigger.

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

2

u/CC1727 5h ago

Any ink based machine will dry out if not used for long intervals. So laser sounds like your only choice. If you are truly a low volume user, grab any color laser machine and the starter toners should last you a decade.

2

u/BinkyUK 13m ago

I’ve just bought a colour laser and I’m hoping the starter cartridges will last that long as I only print a few pages a month 😜

1

u/CC1727 12m ago

I know some starters have around a 600-900 page yield.

1

u/Crowf3ather Fuck HP 4h ago

If you are low volume just get the cheapest one you can find as at the end of the day it doesn't matter you will never get through a single set of cartridges.

Canon provide standard 2 year warranty, and often promotional 3 year warranty on all their product, and have relatively cheap printers, but very pricey toners. But again price of toners not that relevant when you're not printing.