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Help a poor college student (find good cheap laser printer)

O

oneworld25

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 7, 2006
1
0
Hi all,

So I just got my ibook this September and I love it. When I got the ibook I also got a printer which was pretty much free with rebate. However, the printer I got was a really crappy one, and when you're writing lots of papers, and teachers are asking you to print out lots of handouts, ink gets used up quickly. It seems to me that in the long run a cheap laser printer may be more cost effective. Any suggestions for a good cheap laser printer?

Thanks
 
oneworld25 said:
Hi all,

So I just got my ibook this September and I love it. When I got the ibook I also got a printer which was pretty much free with rebate. However, the printer I got was a really crappy one, and when you're writing lots of papers, and teachers are asking you to print out lots of handouts, ink gets used up quickly. It seems to me that in the long run a cheap laser printer may be more cost effective. Any suggestions for a good cheap laser printer?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Samsung ML2010 search for it. If you need color try HP 2600
 
budugu said:
Samsung ML2010 search for it.
Click to expand...
Yup, I agree. I just got one a few weeks ago for $79.99 - $50MIR. So $29.xx +tax for a decent monochrome laser printer! Keep an eye on 'bargain' hunting sites-- this particular printer keeps popping up for great deals.
 
i was in the same boat before going to college in the fall. i got the ml2010 for 60 from craigslist. this was before all the rebates started popping up and i did not have to deal with any rebates. works fine with my powerbook. it is quick, simple, compact. i dont really see where i would need color, but it would be nice if you can afford it.
 
I got the Brother hl 1250 for like $150. It works great and a 12,000 page toner cartrige is only like $50 (much much cheaper than ink)
 
I got a LaserJet4M that they were throwing away at work....popped a new toner cartridge in it and it works great...even if it is 10 years old. But because it is has a built in ethernet print server it's great for my home network.

Finding a good cheap laser printer is getting easier these days, but finding a good cheap one with an ethernet port is still pretty tough.
 
Check your local "University Surplus"

Check out your larger local universities to see if they have a "university surplus" that sells to the public. Most large universities have them and they generally have lots of older laser printers on-the-cheap.

Once you've located your university surplus, look for old HP 4's and the like. They are workhorses.
 
devilot said:
Yup, I agree. I just got one a few weeks ago for $79.99 - $50MIR. So $29.xx +tax for a decent monochrome laser printer! Keep an eye on 'bargain' hunting sites-- this particular printer keeps popping up for great deals.
Click to expand...


I was looking at that Samsung printer. The printer is $80 and the toner was $75. Each time the toner ran out, wouldn't you just be better off spending the extra 5 bucks on a brand new printer (that comes with toner)?
 
If you have to print out a lot of research articles or long publications consider the Brother HL-5150D. It has been very reliable with my macs and PCs, but its greatest strength is the automatic duplexer. Once you have to print out several 30 plus page articles you'll see the value of double-sided printing. Now I can't be without it. Brother toner is also relatively cheap. A few months back there were mail in rebates for this model bringing the price down to $150. I was lucky and got a refurbished unit from NewEgg that was essentially new aside from the beat up box for $120. Just a suggestion.
 
yg17 said:
I was looking at that Samsung printer. The printer is $80 and the toner was $75. Each time the toner ran out, wouldn't you just be better off spending the extra 5 bucks on a brand new printer (that comes with toner)?
Click to expand...

The toner's they usually give you don't last as long. For instance I believe my Brother is rated at 1500 pages. The toner's you buy are rated at 3500 and 7000 pages.
 
yg17 said:
Each time the toner ran out, wouldn't you just be better off spending the extra 5 bucks on a brand new printer (that comes with toner)?
Click to expand...
That's what some people do. They'll even ebay the old one and turn a 'profit.' And DeSnousa is right as well, usually printers come with 'starter' toners that are only capable of 1/2 or so the # of pages as regular toners. Shrug. This printer is still pretty new so I'm not going to deal w/ toner refills until it comes up. :D
 
I have an HP laserjet 1012 that i reccomend. It is fast and reliable, not to mention small. It costs around $100 I think.
 
yg17 said:
I was looking at that Samsung printer. The printer is $80 and the toner was $75. Each time the toner ran out, wouldn't you just be better off spending the extra 5 bucks on a brand new printer (that comes with toner)?
Click to expand...

The printer ships with a "starter" toner cartridge, rated at 1000 pages.
The replacement toner cartridge is rated at 3000 pages.
 
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