new ink cartridge or new printer?

[vistadude]

So I have a 10 year old HP DeskJet 932C inkjet printer. I use it only for printing personal documents at black and white, none of which have to be high quality, such as google maps and boarding passes, and I have access to a laser printer at work if I need.

Well my ink cartridge is getting low. The ink cartridge lasts long, and can easily get through 3-4 reems of paper and costs about $30. However, with all the cheapo printers out there, I wonder if I should just buy a new printer instead of a new cartridge? Do laser toner cartridges go through 1500-2000 pages and costs less than $30 per 2000 pages? And which brands require new drum units?

Specifically I was looking at these laser printers if anyone has any opinions on these:

SAMSUNG ML Series ML-1665 Laser: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=samsung_laser_printer-_-28-112-195-_-Product

HP LaserJet Pro P1102w
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Canon PIXMA MP250 Inkjet
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Canon-Pixma-MP250-Photo-All-In-One-Inkjet-Printer-Copier-Scanner/12534987

Canon PIXMA MP495 Wireless Inkjet
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Canon-Pixma-MP495-All-in-One-Printer/15042566


Thanks in advance!

 

[MisterMe]

Inkjet printers are so cheap and their cartridges so expensive that many buyers discard the printers when the included cartridges run out of ink. In this regard, they treat inkjet printers like disposable razors.

Like inkjet, laser and laser-like printers have also dropped significantly in price. Many of today's laser printers are cheaper than inkjet printers of a few years ago and some are cheaper than more expensive inkjet printers today. No matter the price, laser/laser-like printers are distinct advantages. Among these is generally superior print quality, never a wet page, and much longer cartridge life.

These are reasons that I switched to Xerox Phaser solid ink printers back in 2004. An ink cartridge will last for about a ream of paper. You should expect a much longer life than 2000-3000 impressions from a laser printer. Also unlike ink cartridges, toner cartridges and wax ink cannot clog or dry-out.

As to which brand, I have two Xerox Phasers for home and work purchased with my own money. My next printer will be a Xerox. Many Mac users swear by Brother. As for HP? Let them eat PCL 6. I know nothing about Samsung, but I certainly see no reason to switch from Xerox for Samsung. And inkjet? I purchase inkjet printers only when I need a very cheap lightweight printer--now!

 

[vistadude]

Xerox phaser printers are indeed probably the best out there, but they are expensive for both the printer and toner, and also, I seem to be getting close to the same number of pages out of my inkjet than a phaser. I wonder if I have some rare breed of inkjet that actually performs well? I looked on the HP printer website and my ink cartridge has 40 mL of ink, which is about 2 shots of vodka. What is the typical ink capacity of today's inkjets?

Thanks

 

[CylonGlitch]

If you are just printing black and white, Inkjets are not worth the money. The printing only looks good for a short amount of time, the ink dries out, and then it costs a fortune to replace. Get yourself a cheap B&W laser. I have had several Brother lasers and they all work great with the Mac. I haven't spent more then $50 on any of them either. Toner on Amazon is about $20; and will last around 4000 sheets.

For spot color, same thing, I would never go Inkjet. Buy a decent color laser and you'll be fine. Just added a Brother color laser (approx $225) to our work network and it is a little power house. Works great. At home I have a Dell 3100CN that I purchased over 5 years ago and still does great prints (and I'm still on the original toners -- almost ready to start replacing them though).

At work we just dumped the HP color laser because it was buggy and had no Mac drivers. The windows drivers were horrible, they keep repeating print jobs! I swore off HP a few years ago after they decided to embed chips into their toners and inks to automatically make them "expire".

I haven't used too many Samsungs, but they have been fine when I used them. Check Google and see how their Mac Support is; otherwise you may want to consider Brother.

I don't care too much for Canon, I had several of their printers and, to me, they never lasted well.

 

[vistadude]

If anyone's interested, I got the Canon Pixma 250 for $30. I was suspicious of that the cartridges were "starter" cartridges because they are so tiny. The print quality is very good, but it's slow and noisy, and the printer takes a long time to turn on and turn off. After reading some more about the specifications, I found out that the printer came with the full size cartridges. This printer is going back.

I read a little more about my 10 year old HP deskjet 932C and apparently lots of people have this printer going for 10 years or more. I think i'm keeping this longer since the ink capacity per cartridge is about 6 times more than new printers!

http://www.amazon.com/HP-Deskjet-93...dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

 

[confux]

What do you think about new Epson Work Force 7015 - 7515 -7525 (A3+) or WF 4015 DN , 4025DW (A4)?

 

[imahawki]

Be careful if you upgrade to a newer inkjet. Manufacturers have started pulling even more BS like printers with ink that expires (even if its still full and working fine) or printers which won't print even in black, if ONE color is out.

 

[nutmac]

Many low-end inkjet printers come with half capacity (sometimes less) ink cartridge, so they aren't that great value either.

Since you are printing mostly black and white, I would get a B&W laser with AirPrint, such as HP P1102w (about $100). Color costs about $80 more (HP CP1025nw).

 

[Jhones]

laser printer is the best option for your case

I think it's really a best laser printer for the type of use you have. A good option is the input of the HP models that easily find supplies for it, both toner original and compatible.

 

[jwm2]

The real cost is in the toner. If you cannot find a compatible source for them they will run you between $200-300 per color and a typical color laser printer uses 4 (cyan, magenta, yellow and black). Not to mention the imaging drum and fuser need to be changed periodically as well. I've run about 75k sheets through my xerox 6360dn in the past year or so and have had to replace the imaging drum once. Thats an additional cost of $100 (for compatible unit) on top of the $60/per color for extended capacity toner. All in all a good laser printer will pay for itself. On the other hand before buying the xerox we had a lexmark which had no compatible toner and it was $200 per color. The printer itself cost $150 and when the toner ran out we ended up just throwing it away. Spend the money and buy a rock solid unit, it will last you for years to come and the consumables will be much cheaper. I paid $1799 for my unit 2 years ago, they are actually much cheaper now. Theres also a dell equivalent available that can be had for even less, though its not quite as nice of a unit.

 

[jamesollor]

Better would be find a replacement of ink cartridges not of printer. But as you said you use your HP printer for black and white prints only then i dont think you need to work with the same for long. For black and white printing replacing the cartridges doesn't make much sense. Your printer have black print resolution up to 600 dpi with black pigmented ink. How long you are using the same. if its too long and have used already much then its better to replace your printer.

 

[MCAsan]

Just purchased a Brother HL-L5380CDW laser to replace an old HP-2025N. The Brother toner cartridges do not contain drums. So the replacement cost for new toner cartridges is lower. The drums should last for around 25,000 pages. By the time that happens, I will purchase a newer/faster laser rather than $150 for a new drum assembly.

From everything I have read before making the laser replacement decision...stick with Brother or Samsung. If AirPrint is important, go Brother.

If I wanted an inkjet, I would go Canon as we have a couple of the Pixma photo printers and they are excellent.

 

[Altemose]

If anyone's interested, I got the Canon Pixma 250 for $30. I was suspicious of that the cartridges were "starter" cartridges because they are so tiny. The print quality is very good, but it's slow and noisy, and the printer takes a long time to turn on and turn off. After reading some more about the specifications, I found out that the printer came with the full size cartridges. This printer is going back.

I read a little more about my 10 year old HP deskjet 932C and apparently lots of people have this printer going for 10 years or more. I think i'm keeping this longer since the ink capacity per cartridge is about 6 times more than new printers!

http://www.amazon.com/HP-Deskjet-93...dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Perhaps you can pick up one of these Brother HL2320s for $59.99 this week. Amazon has 3rd party toner and drums available for under $15.00. The toner lasts 1,200 pages and a drum lasts 12,000 pages so I would say it is pretty cheap to operate. I would pick one up and save it for when this new Canon goes.