Budget Laser Printers?

Johnzo asks: "I'm in the market for a new printer, and I've noticed that a lot of sub-$300 laser printers are popping up on the marketplace. I don't need colour, as most of what I print is text -- but I want that text to be crisp and sharp and damp-resistant -- so a cheap laser would seem to be ideal for my needs. So, my question: can one buy a good laser for less than three bills? Does anyone have any input on specific models to look for or to avoid?" Interesting thought. The printer market seems to be chainging from year to year, and now B&W laser printers are becomming affordable for your average computer user. What recommendations do you all have?

Comments

Get a previous-generation high-end printer

[maggard]

Unless you need really-high resolution or speed is a critical issue consider getting a used laser printer. The same as driving a car off a lot cuts some unreasonable value off of it the same is true of a laser printer. You'll get better value going for a well-treated 2 or 3 year old high-end printer then a new low-end budget model.

Things to look for:

• Brand name (easier to find support/toner/drivers for brand names.) Best choices are HP and Apple. Until recently there were only 3 printer engines in the world (most HP & Apple were Canon engines) so the engine should be the important issue. Unfortunately since the support electronics can vary so much it's best to concentrate on the label and all that goes with it.
• PostScript level 2 - accept nothing else. The various HPGL's are nice too but nothing beats PS. It's the standard. Accept no substitutes ("It's just like PostScript" - yeah - right.) Save the worry and get the real thing.
• Built-in network support. Sure you can hang the printer off of a parallel port on a box but it's way nicer and faster to just toss the printer onto your local network. Make sure the device supports TCP-IP and LPR, anything else (SPX/IPX & Netware, Netbios and Windows, AppleTalk & MacOS, etc.) are all nice gravy but can be duplicated with TCP-IP & LPR.
• 16 MB RAM Minimum. Most of the older generation printers will take standard cheapo SIMMS (a use for those old 8 & 16 MB's from your junked PC) and the additional memory can pay off in speed, resolution, and fewer errors. A SCSI port for adding a drive to the printer (think 'local fonts') is nice but generally not a big deal.
• A good return policy. Make sure you can return the printer for 30 days if a problem occurs. When you take it home run it through it's tricks to avoid any surprises. Try some PostScript test files, different grades of paper, etc. Look for smudges, leaks, and slipping rollers.
• Finally, particularly with older laser printers - make sure it's on it's own electrical circuit. Generally these printers go through a reheat cycle every few minutes which can be a significant electrical draw. Other devices on the same circuit will take the hit and after an extended period this abuse can cause marginal equipment to fail. I can't list the number of fileservers I've seen with crashed drives that were on the same circuit as a big ole laser printer. Coincidence - I don't think so.

There are a ton of places to buy an older generation laser printer. First check with your employer to see if there's any they want to clear out of the back room. Have some friends do the same with their employers. Call your local printer-repair shops and see if they've any hanging around. Do the same with any local office liquidators (though they won't offer any guarantee.) Run a check on the online auction sites too though be warned that many folks don't price their equipment reasonably ("...but I paid US$1500 for it 3 years ago! Whaddya you mean it's worth US$250! now?!") An hour or two of looking should buy you a better used printer then you could ever afford new.