The only thing good about them is vintage now, they used to be all that was affordable by a normal person who isn't a big company. If you want to be vintage, buy one! If you want a device that is affordable (to operate, not just up front) and reliable, get laser! On Thu, Jun 11, 2020 at 6:56 PM Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
On Thu, Jun 11, 2020 at 5:31 PM Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
about OT: Color Laser Printer Recommendation
Dave McGuire posts:
Very nearly universally, ink jet printers are garbage.
I concur, conditionally. I'd call them disposable. I buy one every few years, half price when that model is superceeded. I use them to scan 11 X 17 documents. Not for printing, the heads clog up!
Yes. I have seen that the consensus is that ink jet printers are not good long term. I haven't gotten anyone to say anything positive about them yet.
They die, plastic parts break. I replace it, long after it stops printing. I haven't replaced ANY inkcarts, which cost HALF the sale price of the printer. And the new printer has more features than the old. Thus: disposable printers. I have an Epson WF-7520 to dispose of now; it's busted and clogged of course but still scans.
My average inkjet-printer+ink costs as a result: about $50/year. New strategy: print once/twice a week, see if I can stretch out the printing. This will cost me a set of $70 inkcarts to continue; I'm several months in.
I know someone else that did the same thing. The cost of ink was so much that they would just buy a new printer when the ink ran out and this was about 13 years ago!
my main color printer is an HP Color Laserjet 5550DTN, > Either way,
I
would not recommend buying one new.
HP supplies abound on eBay. HP printers work for DECADES. I've used HP Laserjet II's and III's until the scanner motors die; that's 1990's tech, last used in *2018*. Those, I can fix. Hey: vintage tech! We are back on topic! ;)
I've gotten a few recommendations for HP, so I'm leaning towards the highest rated HP printer by Consumer Reports: HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M281fdw
My daily B&W laser printer (and my wife's) are both HP LJ 4300's. I bought a new old stock toner cart on ebay for $18 *delivered*. My funny story: my winning bid on a cheaper toner-cart was canceled, when the seller realized their shipping cost was more than their selling price.
I originally was going to get just Black and White printer, but we decided that sometimes we want color.
Regards, Herb Johnson
Thanks for your 2 cents Herb!
-- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey@vcfed.org