What B&W Laser Printer do you use with your Mac?

[ryanflucas]

I've run into a bit of an issue finding a decent B&W laser printer.

I had a Brother HL-2170W. It works great but is extremely noisy. While at a Goodwill store last year I saw a HP LaserJet P2015 for $5.99. I bought it, connected it, and everything has been fine.

Earlier this week when I print I notice I can take my finger and rub the paper and the toner falls off/smudges. I figure the fuser is failing since it's not reaching a high enough temperature to fuse the toner to the paper properly. I disconnected it and went back to my Brother. The noise was annoying enough that I shopped around and bought a new unit.

The new unit was an HP LaserJet P1102w. It's fast, prints clear, but has a problem with creasing whatever I print. Each page has a crease from the top of the page to the bottom, two of them 3/4ths of the way toward the center from the left and the right. Not a big deal, but I can't print anything such as a resume or business proposal on this. I checked the paper path and it's clear of any debris. It also makes a huge clunking noise anytime it picks up the paper. I'm taking it back to Best Buy in the morning.

So here is my dilemma. I love Brother, but the noise really is an issue. I have the latest drivers, the latest firmware. When I print something, it gets loud and prints. Then it stops, but the fan stays on for about 30-40min before going silent. It almost seems as if it cannot enter sleep mode very fast.

I tried opening the official Brother printer utility in Parallels (Windows 7 Home Premium) and setting the sleep mode to start quicker, but it doesn't help.

What printer do you guys use with your Mac? Any suggestions for me?

My price point is $150 and below. OfficeMax has the Brother 2240 on sale for $69.99 this week, but I don't want to repeat the problem I already have.

 

[drambuie]

Before giving up on the HP P2015, try it with HP laser paper. I have read user complaints stating that the P2015's printing can smudge with some paper types. I have a P2015dn that I bought 4 years ago, and have never had a printing problem with it, but I've only used HP laser paper with it.

 

[ancient]

OKI 14i

I have an Oki 14in, in use since about 2001 or so.

It is supported by Gutenprint, and seems to work well. About five years ago we needed to replace the drum motor (apparently a fairly common fault), but that cost about £40 (~$70), so wasn't a major deal. Unfortunately consumables for it are now getting ridiculously expensive - it will probably be better to switch to a newer printer soon.

A relative has used a colour Oki led printer for a few years, and he is fairly pleased with it (except with the cost when he needs to replace all four drums at the same time).

 

[cadillac1234]

I bought a Brother MFC-7430 for $120 at Staples right before Christmas.

Works like a charm although it was a little confusing at first trying to configure the settings. The only control options for it shows up in the top bar and the instructions didn't make that very obvious.

Snow Leopard was able to d/l and install the driver on it's own.

It is noisy while printing but goes to sleep after 5 minutes and is silent

 

[TEG]

HP LaserJet 4000. It is a workhorse. 3 years in college, and 2 years since, after being in an office environment for 8 years. Aside from a minor squeak, it works great. I installed the JetDirect (network) card myself when I bought it. It will likely last many more years, and I still have the extra toner I got with it when I bought it for $65.

TEG

 

[davidlv]

I have a Canon - model # Satera MF4010, which is a Japanese model, using up to A4 size paper. I believe the same model is sold in the USA but under a different name. It is completely silent when not in use, minimal noise while printing. The machine also has a scanner on the top, which I have found to be very good. The software is available on the company's web site, and it is very good, especially the scanner unit. Cheap, quite and handy.

 

[pastrychef]

I have a Samsung CLX-3175Fn. It's a color multifunction, not B&W. I got it almost two years ago on sale for $200 and couldn't be happier. It has never given me any problems and has just worked from day one. After 22 months of ownership, I'm still on the original toners albeit I don't do any heavy printing.

I had very limited space on my desk for a printer and this model had one of the smallest footprints. It's footprint is approximately the same as the HP inkjet it replaced but taller. The trade-offs to having a multifunction color laser with such a small footprint is that there's no duplex option and just a single paper tray. One paper tray is not a problem for me but can be an annoyance for someone who deals with different paper sizes and/or envelopes regularly.