All in one printer recommendation please

[Cpadave]

I read some of the older discussions on this topic and I still need advice. I currently have an older unit brother MFC-7840W. It is mono laser printer one. I think I have had it for about 10 years now and it has worked fine. I am looking to upgrade the unit with a much better scanning ability and speed. I don't print much and for most part had no need for color. I am not sure as kids gets older, they would need to print more and if we would need a color unit. If printing more would be needed, then cost per page can be important. Not sure if I should stick with laser or switch to ink jet. I would like to connect using wifi. The reason for scanner is to digitize old documents such as tax returns and create more storage room. I like to be able to put a tax return on auto feeder and create a single acrobat file for it. It might be helpful if it has build in ocr software. My budget is under $400. So far I am focusing on Brother MFCL2750DW and Canon imageclass MF424dw. These are both mono laser. But I am open to any advice or recommendations. Thank You.

 

[Spock]

Just installed a Brother HL-L2395 DW, b&w laser.
Got tired of HP inkjet cartridges only lasting 5 pages... had the HP for years printing only 1250 pages (printers own stats), but spent a fortune on ink, including switching to Costco refills... also hated that it would not print b&w if one of the color inks was low when it had a black cartridge.
So... not so much an endorsement of the Brother and I'll never own an HP again.

 

[Another Reader]

I would look for a mid-range Brother that has good reviews at multiple sites. I favor laser if you have a need to print.

I'm done with HP as well. The last HP multifunction inkjet would often refuse to communicate with the computer. Would not print unless I followed the procedure du jour, which often was to go on-line and print from there using their software. The laser before that was a dog as well. Lots of complaints in the reviews of their products.

I bought a $50 Brother all-in-one inkjet a couple of weeks ago. It's the cheapest model. It's ok. Scans are just so so, but I only scan receipts and the like. For what you need, I would go up in price and go laser.

 

[easysurfer]

I suggest sticking to laser. You will thank yourself later.

I have an old Samsung Multi-function type (prints, copies, scans and even faxes) that is a laser.

For awhile, I thought about replacing as paper was jamming frequently. But found out there's an easy way to fix that by using some spray to rejuvenate a rubber roller of the printer.

I do sometimes want a color laser, but in the meantime, the one I have, about 15 years old, still works great.

 

[Brat]

We had a Brother black and white laser printer that listed for more than 15 years. The only reason we replaced the printer is that the cartridge was no longer available.

We replaced it with an HP inkjet and as others have mentioned the cost of ink per page got ridiculous even when using Costco's ink fil service.

Replaced that with a Brother inkjet as we want color printing and laser color printers are very expensive. From time to time we use ledger size paper and changing paper is a bit of a hassle but all in all, it is cost effective. Like buying gas when my ink level drops to the point that I will soon need more I shop prices online. Sometimes Office Depot is cheaper, sometimes Amazon, other times Walmart.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Canon Imageclass Laser.

My older ones were taken out of service only because Win 7 drivers were unavailable. They were built like a battleship. Still keep one as a fax and copy machine backup.

The newer MF 210-217s I now use seem flimsy, but have been 100% reliable

 

[Walt34]

So... not so much an endorsement of the Brother and I'll never own an HP again.

Funny how those experiences work out. A long time ago I swore that I'd never buy another product from Brother as the result of experiences with the unreliability of their product and their poor response in correcting the defect. So far I have kept that promise to myself.

BTW, the product was an electric typewriter that my Mom bought for me when I started Community College in January 1969. Nothin' like holding a grudge, eh?

 

[Bamaman]

I too have the Brother laser B&W printer--the cheapest one. Thankfully the $53 cartridges last a long, long time and remanufactured cartridges are available cheap on Amazon.

I just got tired of having to chase down one color HP cartridge. And the H-P would go into an off line mode all the time.

Just go for the latest model Brother laser printer.

 

[target2019]

So far I am focusing on Brother MFCL2750DW and Canon imageclass MF424dw. These are both mono laser. But I am open to any advice or recommendations. Thank You.

I have a Canon MF4350d which has worked well for at least ten years (I guess).
After hardware reliability, I think software interface is important. Canon MF Toolbox is pretty simple to use.

 

[Jerry1]

We have this one:
https://www.staples.com/HP-Color-LaserJet-Pro-M277dw-All-in-One-Laser-Printer/product_1558828

We like the laser, we like the color and it scans very well. Has a document feeder and is wireless. We’ve had it two years and have had no problems. I would not recommend it if the primary goal is pictures, negatives or slide scanning, but it works well for documents.

 

[HI Bill]

I have an inexpensive Brother multi-function monochrome laser printer (scan/print/copy). Bought it at Sam's Club for ~$109, and it's been going strong for 4 years. Had to replace the original 'half' sized toner cartridge. Overall, great. I used to go with HP, but with the cost/performance/size of Brother, it's a no-brainer for me. We only print about 100 pages or so a year...mostly airline tickets and itineraries.

 

[ocean view]

I’d also recommend a Brother black & white laser. Ours is MFC-L2740DW, 3 years old. There’s probably a newer model available now.

The best scanning feature for me is double sided scans in one pass. It’s not super fast, but also not unbearably slow. The included software will also allow you to get that 100 page tax return into one pdf, even though the feeder only holds 30 pages at a time. Not sure if that would work for your needs or not.

As for an occasional need for color printing, we’ve found that our library has an excellent color laser printer for .20 per page. Our son knows that he needs to plan ahead if he needs color.

 

[ERD50]

Funny how those experiences work out. A long time ago I swore that I'd never buy another product from Brother as the result of experiences with the unreliability of their product and their poor response in correcting the defect. So far I have kept that promise to myself.

BTW, the product was an electric typewriter that my Mom bought for me when I started Community College in January 1969. Nothin' like holding a grudge, eh?

You have Sheldon Cooper beat by 20 years! His grudge was against the head of Quality Control at Verbatim Corp in 1989

-ERD50

 

[zinger1457]

I have the same printer as the OP, it's held up well for over 10 years and toner cartridges seem to last forever, main reason I would never buy an inkjet again. It meets my scanning needs but could see where the scanning speed might be inadequate if scanning a lot of documents. Not sure the best way to compare scanning capabilities of the different all in one printers. They always list the printing speed in pages per minute but rarely show a comparable spec for scanning.

 

[Hermit]

I have a large monochrome Brother laser printer that I will resurrect when I move into my house. I will use it for black and white copies. I don't think I will ever run out of ink in my lifetime. I currently use an HP inkjet that has recently quit working for color. I want to replace that with an inkjet that prints on the side so I can print 11" x 17" if desired. My new printer will not be an HP. The ink is way too expensive.

 

[Brat]

Back in the day, HP was the go-to technology business. Now, IMHO, it has lost its mojo.

 

[coveredbridge]

I read some of the older discussions on this topic and I still need advice. I currently have an older unit brother MFC-7840W. It is mono laser printer one. I think I have had it for about 10 years now and it has worked fine. I am looking to upgrade the unit with a much better scanning ability and speed. I don't print much and for most part had no need for color. I am not sure as kids gets older, they would need to print more and if we would need a color unit. If printing more would be needed, then cost per page can be important. Not sure if I should stick with laser or switch to ink jet. I would like to connect using wifi. The reason for scanner is to digitize old documents such as tax returns and create more storage room. I like to be able to put a tax return on auto feeder and create a single acrobat file for it. It might be helpful if it has build in ocr software. My budget is under $400. So far I am focusing on Brother MFCL2750DW and Canon imageclass MF424dw. These are both mono laser. But I am open to any advice or recommendations. Thank You.

I have a Brother MFC-7340 and I can scan multiple pages to one file. Here is a link to the directions.
https://support.brother.com/g/b/faqend.aspx?c=us&lang=en&prod=mfc7340_us_as&faqid=faq00002578_001

Maybe this will work for your MFC also and you won't need to buy a new one. Mine has been a workhorse for years and I've been very happy with it.

 

[Katsmeow]

I have an HP OfficeJet Pro 8730. I have had good experiences with them. They do have color. I find color useful for various things. If I had kids I would certainly want color. For various school things, it was often helpful to my kids to be able to print in color. I like the automatic document feeder on it which is helpful as well. It is an Inkjet and have found that to work fine even when I have to print out long documents.

 

[folivier]

I've had a Xerox WorkCentre 3215 for about 8 months and it has worked flawlessly.
Paid about $100 for it, all-in-one B&W laser. Don't miss color, the older Epson inkjet hasn't been used since I bought this one.
Also bought a HP M15W laser for the motorhome because it's tiny.

 

[Cobra9777]

...So far I am focusing on Brother MFCL2750DW and Canon imageclass MF424dw...

I've been very happy with the Brother DCPL2550DW (monochrome laser all-in-one). It's a slightly cheaper version of the model you're looking at. No fax and no color touch screen. Otherwise identical. I picked it up for $100 on Amazon over the holidays. It's nice to quickly scan a multi-page document to a single PDF file. Printing is fast and reliable as well.

Previously, we had an HP ink jet/scanner combo that served us well for 15 years. The kids used it a lot when they were in high school, including lots of color prints. But the scanner was very slow and cumbersome to use with no auto-feeder. And ink was ridiculously expensive. Nowadays, we very seldom have a need for color prints. But I keep the HP around for those rare occasions. It still works fine. But the Brother is much faster and cheaper to use for our day-to-day needs.

 

[zinger1457]

I have a Brother MFC-7340 and I can scan multiple pages to one file. Here is a link to the directions.
https://support.brother.com/g/b/faqend.aspx?c=us&lang=en&prod=mfc7340_us_as&faqid=faq00002578_001

Maybe this will work for your MFC also and you won't need to buy a new one. Mine has been a workhorse for years and I've been very happy with it.

I have the MFC-7840W and it does have the ability to auto scan multiple pages into one PDF document. I took the OP's comment as being one of the requirements for a new printer, not what the current printer is lacking.

 

[BigMoneyJim]

Does it have to be multi-function? If the old printer works fine, and you rarely print....

Search for "document scanner" and consider a standalone sheetfed scanner. The Fujitsu ScanSnap in the $400 range was really good for me about 10 years ago. (I still have it; I just don't need to scan things anymore.) There seem to be a lot more choices now, so I'm not familiar with the current options, but 10 years ago there was Fujitsu, Kodak, and worthless crap in the document scanner category.

I've mentioned it here before, and I found the mention (although the link doesn't work anymore):

I sorta kinda hoarded documents, specifically paycheck stubs, bank statements and investment account statements (but not credit card statements...those went into a 12-month rotating file). I bought this document scanner largely to declutter work documents, but used it to great effect on my files. I went from 3 crates of files to one, and I figure I can reduce that by half with some more effort. The linked scanner is expensive at $400-$450 relative to most home scanners, but it takes all the hassle out of document scanning. I can stack letter-sized paper and receipts, and it handles them quite well. It scans both sides of the document in one pass, no flipping it over. The included software (full version of Acrobat, too, by the way) can do many things with the scans, but I put everything in searchable PDF. When I get a new piece of paper I want to image, I just open the top, press the button, and zip it's scanned, the paper goes in the trash. Now the challenge is to maintain a backup system, although copies on two hard drives in the same house is more robust than one paper copy in a file.

I also found it handled many sizes and conditions of paper like unfolded receipts and such, unlike most other sheetfed scanners of the day.

 

[T-Minus]

I bought the HP M281CDW Laser Jet Color Printer (and scanner, fax machine, copier, etc.) at Costco about a year ago on sale for $299.99. I’ve used it regularly for wireless scanning, frequently for B&W printing, rarely for color printing and direct printing from our Apple iOS devices, and never for copying or faxing. For my uses, it’s been reliable and efficient and, despite a few negative reviews, has met my needs perfectly. I am also still running on the initial supplies of toner. Be warned however, the replacement toner is NOT sold at Costco and appears to be fairly expensive.

https://www.google.com/search?q=hp+m281cdw+printer+review

Also, for scanning, I have used VueScan software for several years now because it gives me tremendous flexiblity to create PDF’s and/or JPG’s, allows me to modify my scans easily and, IMHO, is considerably better than any software that was provided by the scanner manufacturers. Here’s where it’s located:

https://www.hamrick.com/

 

[Cpadave]

So I ended up buying brother mfc-l2750dw from amazon for $185. It was an upgrade for my previous brother all in one from 10 years ago. So far I am very impressed by how fast and well it function. What took almost 1min a page to scan take few short seconds. I ma glad I upgraded it to a newer device. Plan to scan old documents in to digital format for saving and getting rid old papers.

On another note, if you are looking to buy a laptop and desktop. Look to have SSD drive for running windows or other programs. It is much faster and less likely to get damaged as it no mechanical parts. You can add a HD for data so you don't run out of memory storage.