printer recommendations

[JCC]

I recommend laser if you don't need color.

I have had a Brother L2700DW for years, and have never yet had to replace the cartridge. (I rarely have to print things, so it's only had extremely light duty.)

[Carpet_pissr]

I would definitely recommend laser even if you need color, just not photos (graphs, office graphics, some web sites, school projects etc).

[hitbyambulance]

my 14 year old Dell color laser (which doesn’t work with Windows 11

there are workarounds. post the model number and we can (probably) get you set up.

Really?! C1660W. Thanks!

before connecting the device, redownload and install the Windows 10 drivers for this model. once they're installed, connect and power on the printer:

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us ... 0w/drivers

if it doesn't work, see if the printer even shows up in the detected hardware devices list.

[Carpet_pissr]

Will try this, thanks again

[Daehawk]

Just wanted to let you know prices are better in some models again. A monochrome laser from brother is $110 and $119 at Walmart and Staples respectively.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Brother-HL-L ... om=/search

https://www.staples.com/Brother-HL-L232 ... ct_1074269

[LordMortis]

Where were those when I needed them?

[stessier]

In case you needed more reasons - don't buy an HP printer.

It's clear that HP's tactics are meant to coax HP printer owners into committing to HP ink, which helps the company drive recurring revenue and makes up for money lost when the printers are sold. Lores confirmed in his interview that HP loses money when it sells a printer and makes money through supplies.

But HP's ambitions don't end there. It envisions a world where all of its printer customers also subscribe to an HP program offering ink and other printer-related services. "Our long-term objective is to make printing a subscription. This is really what we have been driving," Lores said.

HP has been largely focused on pushing its monthly ink subscription program, Instant Ink, over the years. In December, HP CFO Marie Myers noted that subscription models like Instant Ink can bring "20 percent uplift on the value of that customer because you're locking that person" in. In its most recent financial report, HP named Instant Ink one of its "key growth areas."

When asked about concerns that HP is driving up the price of printer ink, Lores told CNBC Television, "This is part of the business model that has been developed over time," noting that HP printer boxes disclose which printers use Dynamic Security. HP's website also notes which printers use Dynamic Security.

[gilraen]

HP deserves to be sued into oblivion for this ink scam.

[Daehawk]

Id never buy a printer where I couldn't put any ink brand other than theirs in it. I use a brother printer but my last toner was a generic $12. Works fine.

[Blackhawk]

I have similar feelings about Epson. When my now nine-year-old Epson dies, I'll never touch the brand (or HP) again. I keep hearing that Brother is the way to go - I'll likely be looking soon, as I'm starting to have issues with mine.

[Max Peck]

I've got a 10-year-old Brother laser printer that is still going strong. I don't often need to print anything, so I'm still using the original "sample" toner cartridge that came with the printer.

[Lassr]

My HP printer is sitting hear with dry ink but I keep it for scanning only. I have a brother laser printer I use for printing. Downside is it is not color. But I rarely need that.
I have an old canon scanner I've been thinking about digging out and replacing the HP printer.

[Blackhawk]

I will absolutely need color when the time comes. It's kept me away from laser printers for years.

[Kraken]

I've got a 10-year-old Brother laser printer that is still going strong. I don't often need to print anything, so I'm still using the original "sample" toner cartridge that came with the printer.

I used to print packing lists and shipping labels daily when I ran Curio City. I always bought generic toner cartridges without any ill effects. The last time I resupplied I bought a two-pack for like $15. That was about five years ago and I'm still on the first cartridge. My wireless Brother is also 10+ years old and still reliable for printing and copying, although the scanning function went wonky long ago. My computers see and communicate with the printer routinely, but the printer can't see my computers.

When Wife's newer Brother developed the same problem, I put a lot of research and effort into troubleshooting, without success. She finally ended up buying a cheap scanner. So the worst thing I can say about Brothers is that they might not be the best choice if you need scanning.

[GreenGoo]

I've got a 10-year-old Brother laser printer that is still going strong. I don't often need to print anything, so I'm still using the original "sample" toner cartridge that came with the printer.

+1 to all of that, although I probably print more often (still not often though).

[hitbyambulance]

my parents seem to rely on their printer as an absolute necessity. EVERYTHING gets sent to it. buying something on Amazon? receipt gets printed out. need to know how to get to a place? forget the phone, Google Maps directions on 8 1/2 x 11 is where it's at! dad likes a political commentary on Huffington Post? it goes to the HP and then immediately taped to the kitchen cabinet...

i have not owned any printer since 2003, and have sworn inkjets off entirely. if i ever need anything on paper (government related forms, usually) i utilize the 'up to ten pages a week free' option at my local library.

[Kasey Chang]

My Brother J480DW is still working fine... so far. One of the colors have plugged up, but black works fine and that's all I need. It copies and scans, but who really scans nowadays? We just use our smartphone. For a printer first released in 2015, and I probably bought it in 2016, it's held up quite well. (I can't find my receipt, but I know I buy generic ink off Amazon for it,and searching Amazon order archive shows first reorder was December 2016)

I am not sure if it's my own setup or modern Wifi is just better. I know this ancient printer only speaks 2.4 Ghz Wifi, and I used to have to switch Wifi just to print. But I just tried moving the printer to my current Wifi 5 (AC which uses both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band) network. Printer was quickly detected by my Win11 desktop over Wifi and printing is quite painless.

[Rumpy]

Yeah, these days network enabled printers don't really need configuring on the client-side once they're initially set up. They'll just be seen as part of the network, with the drivers built-in.

[hitbyambulance]

I am not sure if it's my own setup or modern Wifi is just better. I know this ancient printer only speaks 2.4 Ghz Wifi, and I used to have to switch Wifi just to print.

fyi... some modern routers (especially Google-Fi ones) will combine 2.4 and 5 Ghz frequencies onto one access point. to get old 2.4Ghz devices to work properly, you have to go into the router settings to separate 2.4 and 5 back into separate access points.

[Kasey Chang]

Maybe I was wrong about the printer only speak 2.4GHz. It's working fine on one of these "combined" Wifi 5 (AC) access points.

[LordMortis]

In case you needed more reasons - don't buy an HP printer.

It's clear that HP's tactics are meant to coax HP printer owners into committing to HP ink, which helps the company drive recurring revenue and makes up for money lost when the printers are sold. Lores confirmed in his interview that HP loses money when it sells a printer and makes money through supplies.

But HP's ambitions don't end there. It envisions a world where all of its printer customers also subscribe to an HP program offering ink and other printer-related services. "Our long-term objective is to make printing a subscription. This is really what we have been driving," Lores said.

HP has been largely focused on pushing its monthly ink subscription program, Instant Ink, over the years. In December, HP CFO Marie Myers noted that subscription models like Instant Ink can bring "20 percent uplift on the value of that customer because you're locking that person" in. In its most recent financial report, HP named Instant Ink one of its "key growth areas."

When asked about concerns that HP is driving up the price of printer ink, Lores told CNBC Television, "This is part of the business model that has been developed over time," noting that HP printer boxes disclose which printers use Dynamic Security. HP's website also notes which printers use Dynamic Security.

And they'll actually brick your printer (or they did in 2021 or 2022) for not registering to try and get you in to a program that's difficult to get out of. They're a step worse than Amazon Prime or Google when it comes to "trial subscriptions", as they didn't clearly inform you of this on the box. I know I won't be getting an HP Printer again, even if they (have) revert(ed). I'm guessing this is what they now call "Dynamic Security."

Now that I have a cheap Cannon that absolutely gorges on expensive ink, I can wait to get a black laser printer at my leisure. I sill print my taxes and often print ongoing legal paperwork from my accident. That is the bulk of my "needs" Even that could all be digital but I am old and I still don't trust personal electronic disaster mitigation plan enough to keep only a small personal redundancy that I do not also trust enough to keep on the Internet.

[Daehawk]

Printer are kinda high right now. I have a b/w Brother laser with copier/scanner and such and I think I paid about $120. I looked back earlier when this thread started or something and they were like $300.

[Dave Allen]

Obviously, a Brothers laser has the highest recommendation here.
I recently bought the one with a scanner, the HLL2395DW for $189 from Amazon
Two-sided copies are incredibly fast and when I need color, Walgreens offers snail-mail-delivered prints.