Help to buy a New Printer!

[Bobbers]

I am in the need for a new printer. My current laser printer is a Brother HL-5250DN and it is jamming 90% of the time.
The computer repair shop said it could just need a good cleaning or a part. If it needs parts it is not worth getting it fixed. For them to check it and clean it could take a week. I really can not be with out a printer for a week since I print shipping labels every day or 2.
I use the printer to mostly print shipping labels and probably print about 1000 shipping labels and 500 regular pages per year.
I only need black and white printing. I would like to be able to switch from printing labels to regular paper easily, by either having 2 trays or a front load for the labels. Since I usually only print text I do not need the ability to have a high dpi.
Anyone have any suggestions on a print that would meet the need I have described? What questions should I ask when I go to buy one.
Thank you.

 

[bakerbarber]

They are almost disposable now.

Considering the cost of ink, and your needs, I'd look into how much the black cartridge costs and options relate to the printer.

I've pretty much gone through a printer every two years for the past 10 years.

Right now I have an Epson. It has WiFi so it isn't tied to one PC. It has separate cartridges for black, yellow, blue, and red. They call them different colors, but to me they are yellow, blue, and red...

I've had Brother, Lexmark, and Canon.

I've only used Ink Jet at home. My wife is a teacher. She goes through a lot of black ink. The Epson I have now is pretty good with ink.

The thing is that I've read that most ink jet printers use ink even if you never print. They have a self-cleaning cycle. Supposedly if they set too long inactive the nozzles will dry out and clog.

I've considered buying a laser printer for home, but the toner is much more expensive to replace. For color it's even pricier.

Laser may be a good option for you. Think about it.

In the long run, I just buy a new printer when I can't figure out how to fix mine. Usually they either work 100% or fail totally on me. I've been lucky to have mine die at the same time the office supply store has a sale. They always have a sale though I guess.

If I can buy a new printer for $60 or $70 with ink in it, then that's pretty close to the cost of replacing all the ink in an ink jet printer twice. Refills are a wash. Messy and finicky. Not worth the hassle for me.

The key for my last purchase decision was the ink cost. I buy the cartridges on Amazon every time I replace one. Normally the colors go out at the same time, or near enough that I just replace them at the same time. We seem to use at least double or triple the black ink. Considering the black cartridges are bigger, we probably use way more than that drop for drop.

I have a laser printer in my office at work that is only Black and White. I go through a ream of paper probably once a month. I'm not sure what toner costs for my laser printer now, but I seem to replace it about twice a year over the past five years. I've replaced the drum once. That's just an email away for me at work, and I stretch it a bit when it needs it before I just can't see the print anymore.

It's sad that you can buy a whole new ink jet printer for less than it costs to repair one. It is frustrating and counter-intuitive, but after fighting with a few of them before, I just gave in to saving the time and frustration.

Any new printer is probably going to be networked out of the box with WiFi or ethernet. Most have a free app for smartphones and software for remote access and notifications.

Find one with good reviews and the right tray options and configurations you want. Check for the availability of replacement ink or toner and affordability. Most any printer will have software settings available to dial down the dpi and stuff.

If you don't need or use the scanner or copy function you can most likely spend even less.

I'm going to seriously consider laser next time. Hopefully my wife just learns how to email stuff to people and print a little less.

Sadly printers are like razors and blades. Subsidized hardware for the sake of pricey replacements like ink. That's where what I consider an important factor.

Maybe you would benefit from a little label printer separate from a full size all in one? Everyone has different needs.

 

[Mick]

There's not a lot of difference between most home b&w printers (laser or ink jet) if you are just going to be printing shipping labels.

Just about any major brand will do what you need. It's when you start needing high speed network color printing when you need to look serious at specs.

 

[Toothpick]

I worked in the retail office supply world for 10 years. 4 years at Office Depot 6 years at OfficeMax, 8 years as a manager at both places combined... I know a thing or two about printers.

Sounds like you already know you want laser. For strictly B&W printing I'd recommend laser over inkjet any day. With an inkjet machine there is a lot of moving parts that could break. A print head zips back and forth across the page numerous times with each sheet of paper, with a laser the internals are basically just turning in a circle.

Keep in mind the "monthly duty cycle" of the printer you are interested in. If it's not listed on any store signage or the box ask someone to find out for you. It is on the vendor websites for the specific printers. If you know you print 3,000 pages per month you definitely do not want a printer with a recommended monthly output of only 1,000 pages. Most home consumers wont even come close to the duty cycle per month but you still should be aware of what it is on the printer you are buying. Buying a printer with a duty cycle of 1,000 and printing 3,000 per month is like buying a Kia Rio and running it on the NASCAR circuit......it's going to die.

Laser cartridges do cost more than inkjet but they last a lot longer and they wont ever dry out from not being used regularly. And one thing that everyone seems to either forget or just not know is how manufactures come up with the page yield on the cartridges. They test them in draft mode at 5% coverage rate. So if your cartridge says will print 500 pages but only prints 250 for you, don't get mad, change your printer settings.

For what you are printing i'd recommend always making sure to print in draft mode. It uses a lot less ink/toner thus making the cartridge last longer.

When you go the the store i'd recommend any of the 3 (soon to be 2) office supply stores, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples. They will have the best selection and you are guaranteed to find one on sale. they are always on sale.
A good salesman at any of these stores is going to try to sell you their "replacement plan" or "performance guarantee".....extended warrantee. You don't need it unless you are the type that just buys them. You have the standard store return policy (most likely 14 days) and 1 year with the manufacture. If your product is going to fail it's likely going to fail within the 1 year. If you take care of it then it will last you a long time. They will also likely try to sell you "extras" like ink/toner, paper, printer cable, or their "kit" that comes with the cable, and warrantee. It's part of their job...just a heads up.

If you want a printer with 2 paper trays then you will likely have to shell out $50-100 more just for the extra tray and paper capacity. You're printer was a duplexer and networked. (DN after the model number). The Brother 5450DN Is the newer model of what you have I believe.

If you wanted to go with a different brand I'd recommend HP. Specifically the HP LaserJet Pro P1606dn. It has 2 paper trays like you want and still does the duplex and networking.

 

[xillion]

If you need to print shipping labels, then how about a shipping label printer?

They use thermal printing so there is no ink/toner required, but they require thermal paper rolls.

4x6 Printer:

http://www.amazon.com/DYMO-LabelWri...560037&sr=8-3&keywords=shipping+label+printer

Paper:

http://www.amazon.com/DYMO-4XL-SHIP...id=1363560359&sr=1-2&keywords=LabelWriter+4XL

http://www.amazon.com/Rolls-Shippin...id=1363560359&sr=1-5&keywords=LabelWriter+4XL

smaller printer:

http://www.amazon.com/DYMO-LABELWRI...560037&sr=8-2&keywords=shipping+label+printer

 

[DonN]

we have an HP Officejet Pro 8500A Plus and love it - print,copy,scan, & fax - we're not high volume but it's been very reliable .

 

[CB1]

I worked in the retail office supply world for 10 years. 4 years at Office Depot 6 years at OfficeMax, 8 years as a manager at both places combined... I know a thing or two about printers.

Sounds like you already know you want laser. For strictly B&W printing I'd recommend laser over inkjet any day. With an inkjet machine there is a lot of moving parts that could break. A print head zips back and forth across the page numerous times with each sheet of paper, with a laser the internals are basically just turning in a circle.

Keep in mind the "monthly duty cycle" of the printer you are interested in. If it's not listed on any store signage or the box ask someone to find out for you. It is on the vendor websites for the specific printers. If you know you print 3,000 pages per month you definitely do not want a printer with a recommended monthly output of only 1,000 pages. Most home consumers wont even come close to the duty cycle per month but you still should be aware of what it is on the printer you are buying. Buying a printer with a duty cycle of 1,000 and printing 3,000 per month is like buying a Kia Rio and running it on the NASCAR circuit......it's going to die.

Laser cartridges do cost more than inkjet but they last a lot longer and they wont ever dry out from not being used regularly. And one thing that everyone seems to either forget or just not know is how manufactures come up with the page yield on the cartridges. They test them in draft mode at 5% coverage rate. So if your cartridge says will print 500 pages but only prints 250 for you, don't get mad, change your printer settings.

For what you are printing i'd recommend always making sure to print in draft mode. It uses a lot less ink/toner thus making the cartridge last longer.

When you go the the store i'd recommend any of the 3 (soon to be 2) office supply stores, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples. They will have the best selection and you are guaranteed to find one on sale. they are always on sale.
A good salesman at any of these stores is going to try to sell you their "replacement plan" or "performance guarantee".....extended warrantee. You don't need it unless you are the type that just buys them. You have the standard store return policy (most likely 14 days) and 1 year with the manufacture. If your product is going to fail it's likely going to fail within the 1 year. If you take care of it then it will last you a long time. They will also likely try to sell you "extras" like ink/toner, paper, printer cable, or their "kit" that comes with the cable, and warrantee. It's part of their job...just a heads up.

If you want a printer with 2 paper trays then you will likely have to shell out $50-100 more just for the extra tray and paper capacity. You're printer was a duplexer and networked. (DN after the model number). The Brother 5450DN Is the newer model of what you have I believe.

If you wanted to go with a different brand I'd recommend HP. Specifically the HP LaserJet Pro P1606dn. It has 2 paper trays like you want and still does the duplex and networking.

I'm in the IT field and agree with Jason. Lasers are a bit more up front but are more dependable, less messy and easier to maintain IMO. I remember when you couldn't touch a laser printer for less than 400 dollars. Now they are quite reasonable in the scheme of things.

 

[Bobbers]

Thank you for the info. food for thought.

 

[Kinja]

This is a VERY good option:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004A16L2Q/=ATVPDKIKX0DER?tag=dealnewscom

Laser, duplex, compact and dependable. And it's on sale!

 

[DEAddict]

I worked in the office supply sales field for a little while and absolutely fell in LOVE with the HP 8600. It's an inkjet so the upfront costs aren't too terrible but the output of the cartridges is quite in line with a laser jet. Off the top of my head, I believe that it prints somewhere near 1500 ppc.