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Affordable Laser Printers?
paul.h.burns asks: "I'm looking now for an affordable laser printer. The qualifications are that it must be network-able, under $300, and produce decent graphics. Color is not so important because I have an inkjet that I can use if I need color on any presentations. I've looked at Tom's Hardware, CNET, Pricewatch, and just plain googled around. I've found a few printers that meet one or two of the criteria, but not all three. Also, I've found some that look decent, except user comment's say that toner usage on those models is really high. So, now I'll ask everyone here at Slashdot: Are there any laser printers that you can recommend that would meet all three of my criteria?"
... 1000 monkeys. Taking dictation from pirates. Who are working for ninjas.
~/words_by_grainfed.txt
I picked up a brother hl-5170dn. It's network ready, comes with zeroconf (bonjour in the apple world) and includes postscript and PCL emulation. The web configuration interface is quite nice, it's "just worked" with my Mac, Windows and Linux boxes, and is readily available for under $300. And as a bonus, it has a built-in duplexer. It is black-and-white only and has its toner and drum separate. (Which is a good thing, since drums generally outlast toner, and this lets you replace them separately without resorting to dodgy refilled toner).
.ppd files for best results. The postscript emulation, while good, isn't perfect. Using their .ppd files seems to take care of all the rough edges I encountered.
Do be sure to download and use Brother's
I'm admittedly a rather light user in terms of volume. But after going through a ream of paper or so I'm still on the cartridge that shipped with the printer. YMMV of course.
There may be a newer better model than this one, but I haven't tried it and this one is clearly still available. I was initially a little nervous about moving away from canon engines, but I have been quite pleased after about a year.
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I'm not sure how easy it would be to still find one of these, but I've had a LaserJet 4P since I was around grade 6 (about 6 or 7 years ago), and it has never failed me yet. It's a cheap, black-and-white laserjet with all of the features you request. And I can personally attest to it's printing quality. I've had it for so long, and it's never broken down or had any real problems. I also network it just fine -- it's currently connected to my LinkSys wireless printerserver.
I don't really have anything to compare its toner usage with, but I have no complaints in that department either. Overall, a great deal.
How about theDell 1710n? It is $299, networked and does 27 pages per minute.
...USB Ethernet 20PPM Laser Printer ~ $170.
It definately meets the networking and proce requriments. The only one in question is 'decent graphics', but that is subjective! and you know best.
* Up to 20 pages per minute
* HQ1200 resolution (up to 2400x600dpi)
* 250-sheet input capacity and manual by-pass slot for letterhead and envelopes
* USB 2.0 and Parallel interfaces1
* Windows® and Mac® compatible
* One-year limited warranty
* 16MB memory standard
* PCL®6 emulation standard
* Built-in 10/100 BaseT Ethernet
* Network Interface
It's just around your price and prints like a champ...color too. I'm using it at home to print tri-folds for my wife's business and the price per hard copy isn't bad. We print several thousand tri-folds per month and only have to replace the black cartridge on a regular basis. I have it hooked to a Linksys wireless print server so we can print from anywhere in the house. We've already gotten our money out of so if it dies tomorrow I may just buy another instead of having it repaired. Can't beat HP laser printers as far as I'm concerned. The 4000 series is great for just black and white but somewhat more expensive. I've watched them at work, at work, for years.
I reserve the right to think for myself. Others' opinions are optional. Puppy on lap = typos...not illiteracy.
"Good on toner" and "good graphics" are relativly subjective terms. Can you be more specific?
As for networkable mono laser, most of the first page of this link qualifies.
Touch everywhere, even when inappropriate.
I used to do this for a living, but not in the US market.
You haven't mentioned how many pages you expect to produce per week/month/year, which makes this a little tricky.
Ideally you need to look at the expected usable life for the device (for corporate use 5 years, personal use maybe up to 10 years), does the device require a maintenance kit, what is the device lifetime duty cycle and what is the cost/yeild of the toner cartirdge.
Additionally, do you print a lot of postscript or PDFs, and is speed an issue?
The cost per page calcualtion is basically: ((purchase cost of the device / lifetime pages printed)+(cost of tomer cart/yield)+(cost of maintenance kit/yield))
Kyocera make good quality low TCO (total cost of ownership)laser printers - but I haven't found them to be especially durable in high volume applications.
The HP 4xxx series are generally good entry level workgroup printers, reliable and well supported.
If speed or large PDFs are a requirement, you may want to consider a memory upgrade or postscript kit. Remember that when they quote pages per minute - that is the speed per page for additional copies of the same page (engine speed) once the first instance has been processed (first page out).
Sara
Designer, Gamer, Macgrrl in an XP World
There are many laser printers under $300. Samsung makes a few fairly nice ones. But networkable, that's another story. Probably your best bet is a USB printer supported by linux and then stick CUPs on a Linksys 54GSL or whatever it's called (the wireless router with USB support).
Although toner is very expensive, you can get a decent full-color laser for about $300-600. The HP Laserjet 2600n. See http://www.nextag.com/hp-2600n/search-html . The n designation means it comes with jetdirect too. The only downside is the printer language is not PCL or PS, but there is a CUPS driver for linux available. The extra money for color may be worth the extra couple of hundred.
As for myself, I have an old Okidata 10ex LED printer that is parallel only. I use a USB-Parallel adapter and plug it into my linux box (cups server) with the USB. The linux box shares it to windows and linux clients. I recently upgraded the RAM to 32 MB, so it should be able ot handle anything I throw at it for years to come, even if I have to wait a while for the pages to spit out. Toner is separate from the drum, so it's dirt cheap to fill. I recently bought a new drum for it for $60. This printer has been one of my best computer investments.
You have lots of options, but I must put my vote in for the HP Laserjet 1022n.
All the B&W laser printers in this price range have about the same features. Resolutions, price, peformance... they are all about equal.
But the HP works with everything... Except I must warn you it doesn't work with Mac OS 9 or earlier.
Check out your options... If you're like me, you'll find that a good brand name and support are worth a lot.
--Pathway
But check out the HL-5250DN which is the suggested replacement model.
I'm really not sure what your graphics requirements are on a laser printer as its their weak point. However, there are older laser printers that do a wonderful job and cost nearly nothing - to buy and operate. The HP 5 line is particularly known for being a solid and reliable piece of equipment. Further, they're easy to maintain and buy parts for. Apple's LaserWriter line is based on 3rd party engines that are frequently very reliable and easy to service. Find one locally so you don't have to pay ridiculous shipping fees. Many people get rid of these older machines "upgrading" to a newer, more expensive and less reliable model.
Know what I like about atheists? I've yet to meet one that believes God is on their side.
Spend an extra $100 or so and get a Minolta 2430DL. Networkable with Bonjour/Zeroconf support, photo quality color (i.e. output like a glossy magazine), drivers for Linux, toner is affordable. I love ours.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
My recommendation: find someplace that sells (and services) used printers. There is no need to go with a new printer unless you really want to or are lulled into a false sense of security because of having a sealed box.
I have a friend who deals in government surplus and he can just about repair laser printers with his eyes closed. I got a used LaserJet 5 with duplex unit and additional paper tray from him, and it's never given me a problem even though I've printed thousands upon thousands of pages on it. The LaserJet 5 printers are the pre-Carly printers, when HP actually made quality products. The damn things can take just about any beating you can throw at it.
That and my HP DeskJet 970cxi are on my home network via a Microplex print server (LPR/LPD-based) that can support two parallel and two serial printers. By installing the LPR software that comes with Windows XP (but has to be installed manually) and the drivers from HP's site (because the built-in Windows drivers lack a lot of good features), I have all of the PCs in my house printing to both of these printers. Because the server unit is LPR/LPD based (and uses a lot of UNIX sommands like lpstat), I can print to it from my Sun workstations if I install a PostScript cartridge in my LaserJet, and SimplyMEPIS Linux prints to both of them without any problems.
The only thing that I question is your requirement that it prints "decent graphics". Anything with 600dpi or above can print decent graphics. But since I can't determine what you mean by that or why you have such a requirement, I can't say for certain that something like an LJ5 would be good. Just don't go lower. The LJ4 was good, but everything below was 300dpi. MAJOR difference in graphics quality!
If you want to buy a new printer because of a warranty, that's fine, but I have to recommend that you find a good-condition HP from the days when HP stood for "quality printers", unlike today where it seems to stand for "ink and toner supplier". Linksys and other companies sell network server boxes, too. Hell, even an old PC can do that if you want. You don't have to have a network-ready printer in order to print on a network.
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I just picked up a Samsunb ML-2010 for $60 at Best Buy. It's mono (like you, I also have a color inkjet I can use if I need color), but c'mon, $60! And no rebate forms to fill out - the price is $60 at the register. It's light on features, but it does have a toner saver option, so an $80 toner cartridge gets you 5,000 pages. The toner that comes with it is rated for 1,000 pages with the 40% "Toner Saver" option turned off.
I haven't shopped for a laser printer in 14 years because my LaserJet IIIP refuses to die. And yes, I use it every day.
When you're looking at old HPs, DO NOT go for the 4P, 5P, 6P, or any such models. The 'P' stands for 'Personal,' which translates to 'junk.' The 4P was probably the best of the lot, but the 5P and 6P had serious issues.
Instead, go for a 4+ or better model. The 4+ and 5 series are based off the same engine, a Canon, and they're bloody workhorses. You seriously can't kill these things unless you really try. They're rated for 30,000 pages per month -- 1000 pages per day -- which, while it may be overkill for you (if there were any such thing), just attests to their superior build quality.
I have a 5M here I got for $50 (including local pickup) off EBay, and that included a 500-sheet third tray, duplexer, and crappy off-brand toner cartridge that I need to replace. Which I will when it dies (I am, after all, cheap). Yeah, the lights do dim when it comes on, and I had to replace the network card -- but it's hard to beat getting a tank of a printer for $50.
If you don't need a colour laser printer, don't get one. The black toner for colour laser printers (or at least for the ones I've seen) is terrible for text, because it's made to be just as glossy as the colour toners. The output is actually quite hard to read under ordinary lighting conditions.
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I bought an used HP LaserJet 4000 + ethernet module for EUR 120 a few years ago and it is the best printer I've ever used (much better and faster than the ones @ work). It prints the first paper in about 5 seconds (including warm-up), cardridge lasts forever in home use (years), supports PostScript for easy netcat printing (cups? bah!) and the feeder easily eats a whole pack of copier paper.
Why buy a new sucky one when you can get an slightly used office printer for less?
Search Ebay for 4000TN for prices.
I had a weirdo project where I needed to print 50,000 pages _quickly_. Hit eBay, and found a used Optra S 1855, plus duplexer, extra paper trays, network adapter _and_ toner for something like $300 plus shipping. Postscript, PCL, 1200dpi - it pretty much does it all. No issues printing from Linux. It even took memory that I had sitting in my junk drawer, helped speed things up a bit.
I printed the 50k pages using the crappiest, cheapest Staples brand paper around. It jammed just twice. Oh, and predates Lexmark's evil chipped carts. It thrives on cheapo refills (each of which has gotten like 20k pages). And duplexing is excellent, highly recommend it.
jh
I would highly recommend considering a second hand printer. By that I mean something like a printer that is ex-lease, and may have only been running for a few years. In New Zealand I'd source something like this from TradeMe. I guess in the US you might look somewhere like eBay.
Remember. Reduce - Reuse - Recycle.
One which wasn't on http://www.eff.org/Privacy/printers/list.php would be my choice...
I've replaced many office printers, the 4P (and most of the other 4* series) often are replaced while still functional with over 500k pages. I replaced a 4P a couple of years ago with over a million pages that'd been used as a main printer in a call center. They're generally limited by the feed gear/roller and when people decide not to replace the fusers.
The Si types were intended to be the workhorse versions. The L types, regarless of series, seem to have the most trouble. The 180 degree turn the paper makes just doesn't work as well over time and usage.
One caveat with eBay printers, I've seen more and more ten year old printers being listed with zero page counts. With no explanation, I'd assume they either can't print a self-test page or have been reset.
vi? Who's that?
It's easy to find a B&W laser printer for under $300 if you don't need speed or capacity.
However, if volume is an issue, you may need to spend a little more money.
My partners and I just bought (yesterday) an HP Laserjet 1320 for $299 after $100 instant rebate.
Howver, if you need networking suport, it will cost more money (over $100+ I think).
In my business, time is money (more than money is money), and we bought this printer because for
under $300 we get 22 Pages per minute, and up to 500 sheets capacity.
We typically print 300 - 1000 pages at a time, so this is sufficient for us.
Also, there are cost-per-page statistics out there that show most HP printers cost about $0.015 per page,
which is about 1/10 of what an inkjet costs.
The bottom line: make sure you consider capacity and speed in making your decision. It may be worth the extra money.
You need to think carefully before using an 'old' old computer, three years old or older.
-- can you connect to it? Really old systems won't have USB and may not even have PCI for a network card. You can work around this, but is it worth the effort?
-- full PCs consume a lot of power compared to a networked printer or a non-network printer and a liberated Linksys router or NSLU2. I could easily believe that half of my power bill comes from idle and even "powered off" electronics, and my place looks like the bridge of the Enterprise when I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
-- old PCs may be fire hazards due to aging components.
The last point can't be overemphasized. Systems collect dust in places where it can't be easily blown out, insulation plasticizers dry out, etc. They can be safe to run when you're around, but I wouldn't trust them running when I'm asleep or away.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
You should be looking at older, used, well-made laser printers. I've been fairly content with a succession of Apple LaserWriter II's and 16/600PS's, both of which use the same Canon engines that were used in the same-era hp printers (LJ3=LWII, LJ4=Apple LWPro 630 & 16/600PS). I think the 16/600PS is a fantastic printer, because it has Real PostScript, Ethernet (though this requires an AAUI adapter), a parallel port, a serial port, a SCSI port and supports AppleTalk and LPR (though this requires that you load the "UNIX printing" software for Windows (or whatever MS calls it, I forget) for it to work properly with Windows machines. Plus, those older engines were built like tanks the LaserWriter II engine (only 300 dpi) is rated for 250,000 pages before major service is required.
Also look for HP LJ4's and LJ5's, especially if you can manage it, an HP LJ5SiMx or Nx series (though these are probably still out of your price range, they are a good investment).
All of these printers have easily available parts and will probably last longer than anything you could buy new for even two or three times the price.
DO NOT buy samsung printers. Every high volume (1 cartridge per month or more) samsung ML series printer i have used has developed weird problems after a year or so. Little plastic and metal bits which are aparently essential to their operation fall off randomly. I have had to crazy glue so many little parts back on these printers.. Not to mention that even a small model number change nessecitates a different type of cartridge (ML-1410 takes a different cart than ML 1510 when they could have easily made them the same(same size printer etc)). They also have some toner cartridges that LOOK EXACTLY THE SAME but! they added a little piece of plastic to make the toner a different shape so that they arent interchangable! The cheap lexmarks do this as well (e240 and e232) and even go so far as to have a chip on the cart so that it will fit in the other printer but it just doesnt print!
The best printers are HP laserjets 5P 6p etc.. also the laserjet 2100N is a really fine network printer. The other printers that are absolute workhorses and do _not_ die are the HP laserjet 1000s. These things have very few moving parts and they are built so that basically the only thing that will stop it is a bad fuser. Some of the people in my office print on the order of 1000s of pages a week on those laserjet 1000s.
Old hp's are the best printers no question.
I'll just use my special getting high powers one more time...
I picked up my 6p used for $100.00. I added a refilled toner cartridge for another $70.00. That was about 3 years ago and I still haven't run out of toner. I later added extra RAM and the Postscript SIMMs. Not too long back I picked up a 5mp (with RAM and PS SIMM!) at Goodwill for $15.00! It works perfectly, and had a good toner cartridge and even a bit of paper loaded. Not bad for a Goodwill find.
You can find these printers surplus on Ebay. As I have noted, I have also found them at Goodwill. There are many resources on the Net detailing how to refurbish/repair these beasts if needed. Add on a networkable print buffer (I have found these surplus for $5.00 before), and you are set. You will never need another printer again (as long as you are doing black and white) - these things run seemingly forever. Best of all, you will spend well under $300.00 - if you do it right, you might spend under $100.00.
Believe me, it is worth it. If you are frustrated with your ink jet printer for any reason - take this route, and buy an older used Laserjet...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon