Decisions, decisions...

[1971Chevelle]

I am in the market for an all in one color laser printer. I have a line on an HP MFP M281fdw for $80. It gets decent reviews and I can get aftermarket toner for $116 per set. I am also considering a Canon MF8350Cdn. The toner for that one is $112. I have experience with a Brother MFC-L3770CDW. The toner for that one is $96 per set. The Brother isn't the fastest and the print quality isn't as good as the others. I am going to be replacing a Brother MFC-J985DW inkjet, along with an HP LaserJet 4050 (that thing just keeps on going, so I really don't want to give it up - but I am tired of buying ink cartridges to print in color and having tons of ink wasted cleaning the print head).

So, which of you have used any of those three? What do you like and dislike about it? Let me know.

 

[Chevelle_Nut]

I like HP printers, I have a color laser all in one, networkable and I can use non HP Amazon cartridges.

 

[kmakar]

HP printers have always been solid. I had a minolta color laser printer and it was great, but the price not so much....$1k.

 

[1971Chevelle]

HP printers have always been solid. I had a minolta color laser printer and it was great, but the price not so much....$1k.

The issue is that the modern HP printers are hit or miss. Some models get good reviesz and others get bad reviews. We have a couple of HPs at the warehouse (same basic
model, just different features between the two) and I personally would not own either one. I just wish the guy with the $80 printer would get back to me - it's worth trying at
that price.

 

[kmakar]

The issue is that the modern HP printers are hit or miss. Some models get good reviesz and others get bad reviews. We have a couple of HPs at the warehouse (same basic
model, just different features between the two) and I personally would not own either one. I just wish the guy with the $80 printer would get back to me - it's worth trying at
that price.

I guess I should say that I don't usually deal with little homeowner printers all that much, but mostly HP workgroup or production printers. I've had a few production printers (100,000 pages a week duty) and they have been rock solid. I don't buy anything other than laser printers or MFC devices.

 

[77cruiser]

I had an Ink jet HP it was crap, it was 90% of the time offline when trying to use it. It was no 1K$ printer though.

 

[Nashville Cat]

I guess I should say that I don't usually deal with little homeowner printers all that much, but mostly HP workgroup or production printers. I've had a few production printers (100,000 pages a week duty) and they have been rock solid. I don't buy anything other than laser printers or MFC devices.

If you were buying a laser printer for home use and you only print stuff occasionally, is there one you have in mind ?
This looks good ($329) , but I was hoping to find one that can do 11 X 17 prints ?

HP Color LaserJet Pro M183fw Wireless All-in-One Laser Printer - Sam's Club

Buy HP Color LaserJet Pro M183fw Wireless All-in-One Laser Printer : Laser Printers at SamsClub.com

www.samsclub.com

 

[kmakar]

If you were buying a laser printer for home use and you only print stuff occasionally, is there one you have in mind ?
This looks good ($329) , but I was hoping to find one that can do 11 X 17 prints ?

HP Color LaserJet Pro M183fw Wireless All-in-One Laser Printer - Sam's Club

Buy HP Color LaserJet Pro M183fw Wireless All-in-One Laser Printer : Laser Printers at SamsClub.com

www.samsclub.com

11 x 17 format is pretty big and not readily sold on a consumer retail market. Most are larger office printers costing in the $8k to $15k range (for a good one).

I don't have the color laser anymore (gave it to my brother), but I only used it to print marketing materials for the companies I owned.

I could run small batches tailored to the client because getting printing done at a print shop gets quite expensive especially for small runs.

 

[Shovelrick]

This Samsung has never let me down but I don’t do anything in color anymore since it’s not needed in what I do for a living, I’ve had it probably 10+ yrs, the office Kathy worked at had the same model and why she told me to buy this one, I’ve never tried the original 3 you posted so I can’t comment on those

 

[1971Chevelle]

I found a Lexmark color laser all in one that I think will work. Here is my dilemma. I found a used one that I can get for $600 + shipping. I can purchase a one year warranty on it for around $55. The problem is that is has printed over 500,000 pages. It is a high volume printer (the imaging kit is good for 125,000 pages, as is the maintenance kit, which contains the fuser and rollers). But, I don't know if those parts have been changed. The printout shows that the maintenance kit has 38% remaining.

I can also get a brand new one (open box) for $931 shipped (a two year warranty will cost about another $100). With that one, I should be good to go for a long time, as the high capacity toners print something like 10,000 pages.

So, which way do I go? This printer brand new is $1,250.

 

[kmakar]

Buy it new (open box) and you don't have to wonder.

 

[Shovelrick]

I wouldn’t want the anxiety of wondering how long the $600+$55+$100 with 38% Maint. Left would last, buy the new open box and sleep good

 

[1971Chevelle]

My printer search is over. I got this bad boy delivered today by FedEx (it was the new one and they took my offer on it). It is the Lexmark CX625ade. Is it pricey? Yes. But, it should last a very, very long time. The wear items in the printer (maintenance kit & imaging kit) are both good for 125,000 pages.

Once the 'starter' toner (it seriously irks me that printer companies do this) is gone, I can get toner cartridges that are good for 10,500 pages on the black, and 7,000 pages on the color.
The print quality on this one is outstanding and it even does very well with graphics/photos. Hopefully this one will do the job.

 

[1971Chevelle]

There is on small annoyance with this one. If you want to scan to a Windows computer, you have to go to the printer and set up a scan profile. Then find that profile in the scan software on the computer. Totally stupid. On my Mac, I can simply open up preview, and select Import directly from the printer. This is a huge fail on the part of Lexmark. I have to search around and see if Windows 10 has any scan software built in that can see the printer.

 

[kmakar]

If it has twain drivers installed on the pc for the scanner function, then it'll work with no problem. I use NAPS2 (free) which scans and saves to PDF (as long as windows can see the twain drivers).