Looking at Color Laser Printers

[Davidhelp]

The printer companies could have include a cartridge of cleaning solvent but they want you to buy more ink and a new printer.

 

[target2019]

When cleaning a laser printer you'd never use a wet towel or solvent. The pros use a vacuum with bag that can catch the micro particles.

Dry Q-tips are pretty good too. Cotton balls, etc.

 

[jimbee]

About 10 years ago I had to replace the backend roller assembly. While doing that repair I also replaced the pickup roller, separation pad, and one other component, can't remember what. I think I spent $30 on parts.

Yep, you can get a lot of service out of laser printers. All I've done with mine is replace the toner cartridge and max out the RAM.

 

[Qs Laptop]

My cheapo Brother MFC-J885DW color inkjet has a clean function that automatically cleans the print heads depending on how long the printer has been inactive. I use this printer at least once a week, but I do see/hear the clean cycle come on a couple times a month.

Came on today. Thinking back I have not used this to print since last Tuesday (7 days.) I have used the scanner a couple of times.

 

[easysurfer]

Came on today. Thinking back I have not used this to print since last Tuesday (7 days.) I have used the scanner a couple of times.

View attachment 43102

Nice!

 

[Davidhelp]

Play this scene in front of the printer to remind it what can happen if it fails to print!


Office Space - Printer Scene

 

[Davidhelp]

At work we had a HP Laserjet 4050 b/w printer that was dated 1999
Only needed to clean it and replace the rubber rollers one time prior to 2010. Still was working when I left in Nov 2021.

 

[Qs Laptop]

At work we had a HP Laserjet 4050 b/w printer that was dated 1999
Only needed to clean it and replace the rubber rollers one time prior to 2010. Still was working when I left in Nov 2021.

This is very cool. I think the fact that you can still buy replacement toner cartridges speaks to the reliability of these units.

 

[Rustic23]

Since we're going down memory lane we use an HP Color LaserJet CP2025dn. It's about 12 years old.

+1

 

[Texas Proud]

So, ecotank printer is now printing just fine...


The normal cleaning did not fix the problem but the power clean did... not sure how much toner that took....


Still cheaper than a laser even though I still use my laser printer..

 

[easysurfer]

So, ecotank printer is now printing just fine...


The normal cleaning did not fix the problem but the power clean did... not sure how much toner that took....


Still cheaper than a laser even though I still use my laser printer..

The time I did a power clean, that cleared the clog also.

I did notice the clean decreased about 1 cm of ink level.

Plus, the Epson Inktanks have this thing called maintenance box where excess ink like for cleaning cycles go to. When the box is full, the box needs replacing. An added cost.

Not sure if the inktanks are really that nice or kind of a pay them now or pay them later gimmick.

 

[Texas Proud]

The time I did a power clean, that cleared the clog also.

I did notice the clean decreased about 1 cm of ink level.

Plus, the Epson Inktanks have this thing called maintenance box where excess ink like for cleaning cycles go to. When the box is full, the box needs replacing. An added cost.

Not sure if the inktanks are really that nice or kind of a pay them now or pay them later gimmick.

I can say that even with changing out the 'tank' (I read it was a sponge) it is still much cheaper than the small ink cartridges that I used to buy... heck, even if I had to buy a new printer I think it is cheaper...


The old printer used a one cartridge for all colors and IIRC it was rated for 100 or so pages... I have printed 3639 pages from this printer.... at $40 per cartridge that is approaching $1500...


BTW, there was no cleaning a clogged head... and I had some clogged right out of the box... I had bought on sale but they were in a drawer but DOA when I tried them...

 

[easysurfer]

I can say that even with changing out the 'tank' (I read it was a sponge) it is still much cheaper than the small ink cartridges that I used to buy... heck, even if I had to buy a new printer I think it is cheaper...


The old printer used a one cartridge for all colors and IIRC it was rated for 100 or so pages... I have printed 3639 pages from this printer.... at $40 per cartridge that is approaching $1500...


BTW, there was no cleaning a clogged head... and I had some clogged right out of the box... I had bought on sale but they were in a drawer but DOA when I tried them...

I'm thinking along the same line too. Even with the overhead cost of running clog cleaning cycles and replacing the maintenance box, there's also the convenience of not running out of ink.

Though I must admit knowing a cleaning cycle uses up ink still gets to me some.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I bought an HP Color LaserJet MFP M281fdw just before covid. So far it has been 100% reliable after 2.5 years. I'm not a heavy user though and am still only about halfway through the starter cartridges. I was hesitant about HP based on prior experiences post Compaq aquisition but so far I am happy. Part of my decision had to do with compatibility with my home automation. I only paid a little under $300 after Office Depot gave me for my destroyed Dell laser printer I had had for over a decade so I'm not complaining. The only annoying thing is that it does not seem to stay connected to my network after a few days but I'm willing to assume that is because it is in a weak network area.

 

[easysurfer]

Today, I'm getting my money's worth on my Epson Inktank printer.

Bought a used camera and am printing the manuals. One about 50 pages. The other about 300 . Print baby print ... .

 

[teej1985]

How much printing do you all do? I honestly just go to FedExOffice in the rare event i need to print something and pay the $0.10 per page or whatever it is.

 

[camfused]

466 pages in the last 2.5 months.

 

[Jerry1]

How much printing do you all do? I honestly just go to FedExOffice in the rare event i need to print something and pay the $0.10 per page or whatever it is.

I don’t print a lot, but enough that it’s worth having a printer in the house. If cost was the main issue, I’d get a simple black and white laser printer. I’m sure that would handle 90%+ of my needs. But, I do like the color printer and I do like the multi function aspect for making copies and scanning documents. The automatic page feeder is something I’d not want to give up.

As for printing, I do about 5 tax returns every year, I like to print out recipes so I can write notes as I try them, I have occasional correspondence where I need to provide a copy, . . . Things like that. Not a lot, but enough for one in the house.

 

[easysurfer]

I recently printed out a 300 page camera manual. Printed on my Epson Inktank printer, not laser. So instead of taking about 20 minutes, took about 3 hrs. But I had time to burn and didn't use that much ink .

 

[Aerides]

How much printing do you all do? I honestly just go to FedExOffice in the rare event i need to print something and pay the $0.10 per page or whatever it is.

Amazon return labels, the occasional medical test result thing I want to have on hand to discuss w/doc, printable gift cards sometimes (make them into a card, better than just "giving" a code), and the other day I had to turn in a change form to the HOA. Was a non-editable pdf so I had to print it, sign it and scan it back in with the attachments.

I have a Canon Inkjet all in one (print, scan, copy, wireless) paid $90 in 2017, no issues. I buy full oem cartridges off amazon for $20 when I need them, never an issue with compatibility. 5 years going strong to never have to think about printing something for <$100? easy decision and I'll replace with the same the moment it twitches.

 

[target2019]

How much printing do you all do? I honestly just go to FedExOffice in the rare event i need to print something and pay the $0.10 per page or whatever it is.

2nd floor, we print more b/w on a Brother Laser. Maybe 50 pages per month.
In my office is a b/w Canon Laser. Maybe 10 pages a month.
Color HP laser, maybe 1 or 2 per month.

These have been purchased over 10-15 year period. Might as well use them instead of going out for prints.

 

[Texas Proud]

How much printing do you all do? I honestly just go to FedExOffice in the rare event i need to print something and pay the $0.10 per page or whatever it is.

On my big tank epson, 3638 pages in 2 1/2 years... almost 1500 per year...


And that does not include my laser which I print on a bunch...

 

[steelyman]

I replaced an HP inkjet with a Brother LED MFC-L3710CW last year. It’s more suited to small business rather than home use but it’s solid and I’m glad to have it. I can’t recommend it for one reason: no double-sided (duplex) printing.

However, the home HPs that preceded it failed in the paper handling mechanism during double-sided printing (always at the worst time) so maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.

The Brother software is far superior to HP’s in my opinion.

 

[camfused]

^^^ When it comes to "office equipment", I always recommend buying small business models (over home models). They just seem to be made a little better, and perhaps last a little longer.