Need a new home printer

[harllee]

I have a MacBook Pro and an iPad and I want to install the new Catalina operating system. It appears that my old Cannon MG 6800 printer will not be compatible with the Catalina OS. I need advice on buying a new home printer. The features I need:
Wireless Printing
Don't necessarily need color printing, I think I can get by with B&W
Need to be able to scan
Need to be able to copy from books, other documents
Compact size for travel
Budget friendly--would rather have a laser printer if possible
Compatible with Catalina
I don't make a ton of copies at a time but I make some copies almost everyday


I don't do much photo printing. I am the Secretary for a Nonprofit Board and do a lot of word processing, copying minutes, etc. Don't need a fax machine.

What suggestions?

 

[camfused]

Sounds like a Brother laser would do fine for you. I recommend getting one that will do duplex printing/scanning, to save paper. See https://support.brother.com/g/s/id/os/macintosh.html

Interesting, I just checked the Epson website, https://epson.com/Support/wa00897, for my old WorkForce 845 printer, and it apparently is not supported either. It never occurred to me to check that. Mojave was. Epson does say they will roll out support on an on-going basis, whatever that means. I doubt they will for my old printer though.

 

[harllee]

Camfused, there are so many Brother products my head is spinning. Do you have a particular model you could recommend for my needs? Thanks!

 

[Bamaman]

Kim Komando, digital goddess, swears by Epson's new WorkForce WF-2860, Expression Home XP-5100 and Expression Premium XP-6000. All are between $120 and $150. You can read about them on her website.

 

[calmloki]

We have been very pleased with our Brother printers, but I'd hate to carry them around. We just picked up a refurbished laser with duplex and scanner and wireless for my niece. $90:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HB86BKD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[harllee]

calmloki, thanks but in reading the reviews it does not appear this printer will be compatible with the Macs new operating sytem which is the same problem I am having with my exisiting printer.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I have a Brother HL-L2300 and love it. Very cheap and reliable. It doesn't appear to be compatible with the OS you mentioned, but I would guess an updated version would be as good.

 

[mpeirce]

calmloki, thanks but in reading the reviews it does not appear this printer will be compatible with the Macs new operating sytem which is the same problem I am having with my exisiting printer.

The HL-L2390DW is listed as supported here:

"Most Brother models offer support for macOS Catalina (macOS v10.15.x). The charts below indicate that models offer support for macOS v10.15.x including drivers and utilities available for download."

https://support.brother.com/g/s/id/os/macintosh.html

 

[davebarnes]

Brother laser multifunction.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I will add my voice to the choir recommending Brother printers. I replaced a Canon inkjet with a Brother laser several years ago and about a year ago I got Brother inkjet. Generic replacement toner cartridges for Brother's are dirt cheap on Amazon.

 

[harllee]

OP here, thanks for the suggestions of Brother printers, I will look into them. In the meantime I will hold off on the Catalina OS update. My existing Cannon printer is a perfectly good printer, does all that I need and is fairly lightweight and portable. Hopefully Cannon will update their software to work with Catalina. I will contact Cannon to suggest they update.

 

[Bongleur]

My brother laser has always made crappy color copies -- even with the original OEM cartridges. Colors are flat, too much contrast.

 

[Ronstar]

I'm happy with my HP Laserjet MFP M28w (black and white). I print wirelessly from iPads, iPhones, iMac w/ Catalina and MacBook w/ Mojave.

 

[LakeRat1]

Simple,Affordable, Wifi, Black and White Toner Laser ---- Toner lasts a long long time --- Print from any wireless device..... I have purchased two of them for each of my homes ..... Brother HL-L2380DW Series

 

[Fermion]

Is it a sign of the times that when I first saw the title of this thread, just for a second it crossed my mind that maybe the OP was talking about 3D printing a home? Just for a nano second but...

 

[target2019]

If a printer is not supported it does not necessarily mean it won't work.

 

[mountainsoft]

Highly recommend Brother printers. I've had an older Brother HL-5250DN with an extra paper tray for years. It works great, never had a problem with it. It's fast, print quality is good, can print to both sides of a page, and connects to my home network so anybody can print to it.

I also have a Xerox Phaser 6022 color laser for printing color. I don't use it as often, but it's much nicer than my old Samsung color laser. Print quality is good, it connects to my home network, and it's small enough to fit on my desk.

I'm not a big fan of combo printer/scanners. If one part breaks you have to replace everything. I have a ScanSnap IX500 for fast document scanning, and an Epson V500 flatbed scanner for photos, negatives, or delicate items I don't want to feed through the ScanSnap.

 

[Cobra9777]

Everyone on this forum seems to recommend Brother B&W lasers. They get great reviews elsewhere as well. So I bought one about a year ago (DCPL2550DW).

Frankly, the print quality has been very disappointing. I'm still on the original toner cartridge and I haven't changed any settings. The edges of letters and numbers are not clear and sharp. They are blurry and pixelated. Any kind of image or gradient is extremely pixelated. This happens on any type of document from any software.

Before retiring, I had a cheap HP B&W laserjet on my desk at work. The print quality was MUCH better than the Brother. Letters were very crisp and sharp. Same for my now-retired HP inkjet... very crisp resolution for text.

Don't get me wrong. The Brother is certainly legible for everyday use and extremely reliable. But I was expecting better print quality based on all the good things I hear about Brother, as well as my prior experience with an HP laserjet in the same basic price range.

 

[target2019]

Laser print drivers have additional settings to enhance the quality by smoothing out the jaggies and pixelation.

 

[davebarnes]

Everyone on this forum seems to recommend Brother B&W lasers. So I bought one about a year ago (DCPL2550DW).

I don't. I say get a Brother printer with a model # that ends in CDW (color, duplex, wireless).
If you want photo quality, then print at your local camera store.

And, don't buy a multi-function machine.
When was the last time you needed to fax?

P.S. I put $200/month into a sinking fund for computer hardware and software. It means that I am relatively impervious (well, no Mac Pro for me) to the price of an individual item.

 

[Jerry1]

I don't. I say get a Brother printer with a model # that ends in CDW (color, duplex, wireless).
If you want photo quality, then print at your local camera store.

And, don't buy a multi-function machine.
When was the last time you needed to fax?

P.S. I put $200/month into a sinking fund for computer hardware and software. It means that I am relatively impervious (well. no Mac Pro for me) to the price of an individual item.

While it may be that faxing is a lost function, the multi function machine is very useful. It’s still a scanner, copier and a printer. Without it, you’d have to use your scanner to scan a document and then print that scan, all just to make a copy. When you primary scanning is of documents (not photos) it’s nice to only have to have one machine in your office. We really like our multi function color printer.

But, DW does use a better scanner for her photography archiving. And, in the very few times we want a printed picture, we take a file to the local drugstore and print there. We got very tired of ink jet printers drying out due to low volume usage.

 

[homestead]

We have color Brother Laser printer HL-3170 CDW, best printer we have owned.
Zero Maintenance. Had it about 1.5 years and it is still running on the original cartridges.

 

[Dd852]

I can second (third?) the recommendation for Brother laser printers. I’m very happy with mine - no maintenance other than changing the cartridges once every year to 18 months depending on how much printing I do. No jams. Quiet.

 

[statsman]

I liked our Brother DCP-7065DN laser printer and scanner until the paper feed broke on it a couple of months ago. Normally, this can be repaired at a cost of $20-30 for parts and a lot of time repairing. Unfortunately, a portion of the printer internal structure broke, making the repair cost much more, if not impossible. I can manually feed one sheet at a time until I get a replacement. Apparently, repairable paper feed failures are common on Brother laser printers. We got 6+ years from the printer, so I can't complain too much.

I have been reading about laser cartridge chip issues with the newer Brother printers. Brother claims the chips are used to optimize print quality, but some users report the chips fail or they indicate rather early in the cartridge's life that it needs to be replaced. Anyone else experiencing this?

 

[mountainsoft]

the multi function machine is very useful. It’s still a scanner, copier and a printer.

While they take up less space, I have never been a fan of all-in-one machines. That includes scanner/printers, TV/VCR's, DVD/VCR's, etc. Either one part breaks and you have to replace everything, or you can't upgrade one without affecting the other. I just prefer individual machines that are best at the function they are designed for.

So I have a monochrome laser printer, a color laser printer, a flatbed scanner, and a document scanner.

Without it, you’d have to use your scanner to scan a document and then print that scan, all just to make a copy.

I think I've only made a printed copy once or twice in 20+years. However, I think my ScanSnap IX500 has a feature to scan directly to my printer. I've never used it though.

the very few times we want a printed picture, we take a file to the local drugstore and print there. We got very tired of ink jet printers drying out due to low volume usage.

Yeah, that's why I originally bought a color laser. My main printer is a monochrome laser with a second tray for business forms. So, I often go weeks or months between color prints. My old inkjet printers would always dry up between prints which was a real hassle when I did need a color print. Never an issue with the color laser.

Ideally I would like a single color laser, with double-sided printing, a second paper tray, and network ability, all within a tiny package like my Brother HL5250DN. But I've never seen one that matched my specs.

If I need to print a 4x6, 5x7, or 8x10 photo, I upload the files to a local stores web site. They print it within the hour, and I pick up the pics later in the day. They look and feel like regular glossy photos, much better quality than I can print at home on the color laser. I probably only print photos once or twice a year at most, so this works well.