What type of printer for a college student?

[notjustjay]

jeez.. I've never even considered buying a laser printer as a home/student user. IMO, those things are for businesses. I guess I'm lagging behind the curve on this one.

Well, that was true a number of years ago but nowadays laser printers are just as cheap as inkjets (the poster above me said he got his for $20 -- WOW!). They're faster, print better, and cheaper to run, so they're definitely a solid value. Even for starving students on a shoestring budget (what does that MEAN, anyway??!), they're starting to make a lot of sense.

 

[yg17]

I have a Samsung B&W printer and it suits me just fine. I rarely have a need for color while in college, but if I do, I use the fancy and expensive HP Color Laserjet at work

 

[xfiftyfour]

Well, that was true a number of years ago but nowadays laser printers are just as cheap as inkjets (the poster above me said he got his for $20 -- WOW!). They're faster, print better, and cheaper to run, so they're definitely a solid value. Even for starving students on a shoestring budget (what does that MEAN, anyway??!), they're starting to make a lot of sense.

Yeah, I realize that now - mathematically it makes sense. Might have to look into one myself.

 

[joepunk]

I can't read soruces off of a screen either. I need my paper!

Blame the Mac labs for me being here! No lines to print!

Same here, I can't read lots of text on the screen. I have to have a printed copy. I remember a class on Dino's I took where we had no books the teacher only had the lecture notes for us to download. I printed all of the info so I could read w/o straining my eyes.

It was a great class.

Eventhough I rarely used my printer for colour there were times where, as a graphic design student, it did come in handy.

I say get a good scanner. I always had to wait for one at Uni.

 

[Gymnut]

I'd consider taking a look at the Kodak EasyShare all in one printers. They're slightly more expensive but the ink cartridges are a helluva lot cheaper.

Black Cartridge: $9.99 MSRP
5-Ink Color Cartridge: $14.99 MSRP

http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=1441/10580&pq-locale=en_US

 

[wPod]

HP Laserjet 1020 all the way. (you might also look into the Laserjet 1018, pretty much the same, just slightly slower PPM) heh, wow, and right now the 1020 is on a great sale for $100!

but here is why:

the only reason to print in color is for a big project or presentation. these happen once or twice either in the middle or the end of the semester. you can usually go to the school computer lab to print or to kinkos. (which will look many times better than any color printer you could come remotely close to affording) so, the only thing you need to print at home is black and white. powerpoint slides to take notes on in class, practice exams for class, notes you take in class, papers you write. <-- all of these only need b&w. and usually you will print them off like 5 minutes before class and not have time to stop by a lab or go to kinkos.

why not ink-jet, the price is much cheaper, isn't it???

quality sucks. initial price is cheaper, but you have to replace the ink cartridges once or twice a semester. so by the end of your first year of buying an ink-jet and all the ink you will need for it, you could have just bought a laserjet and still had another couple years left in it! i imagine with 4 years of school you will only replace the toner in a laserjet once. unless you are some crazy tree-killer and print all of your books every week! even in that case youd spend less on laser cartridges than ink b/c you would replace the laser cartridges less frequently than the ink-jet!

and for the people who say you can't get the 1020 for OS X, you are somewhat wrong. yes, it is not on HPs site, but all you have to do is install the drivers for the 1022 and they automatically install drivers for the entire '1020' series. this works fine, i used my 1020 for my last year and a half of college. didnt have to replace the toner once and i still use it (much less frequently) and haven't had to replace the toner (almost 2 years now!) but you see my point. i went through 2 ink-jets in my first 2 years of college, it was cheaper to buy the 2nd ink-jet than the replacement ink cartridges for the first!

 

[clevin]

and for the people who say you can't get the 1020 for OS X, you are somewhat wrong. yes, it is not on HPs site, but all you have to do is install the drivers for the 1022 and they automatically install drivers for the entire '1020' series.

this statement is vastly untrue, it might work for you, but it is not guaranteed to work for everybody. for example, it does NOT work for me. How can you guaranteed it will work for OP? just google search for "laserjet 1020 os x", you will find out how many ppl got frustrated with this printer.

PS. HP officially stated, 1022 drivers might work for 1020 printer, but it is not supported, and future OSX update may just break it even if it works for you now.

 

[Clarence]

Havent read the whole thread but here's my .02

I just bought a Brother hl-2040 BW laser, and it is SO nice.

$69 from amazon, after mail in.

Check check it out. Well reviewed and DIRT CHEAP.

 

[Cameront9]

Now wait a minute...something that hasn't been mentioned. The OP says he is a marketing major. I was an English major, so I may be wrong, but it seems to me that part of being a marketing major would be creating things that...well..market something. I.E. media rich color documents that look really slick. So color might be something you might want to look at.

I have a Business Inkjet 2200 by HP that served me well through 5 years of college. I probably printed at least 10 reams of paper on the thing in that time. You might see if you can pick up one of these older printers for cheap...You'll have to use the drivers from linuxprinting.org, though.

 

[brop52]

How much more expensive are color toners over black and white toners? I'm not very familiar with the structure of color laserprinters. Do they have a single toner that prints black and color? If they do and they are not that much more epensive wouldn't it make sense to get the color for quick printing, good quality, and cheaper in the long run than bleeding inkjets if you have a need for printing both color photos and black and white documents.

 

[matperk]

I got a cheap Brother Laser printer w/ network capabilities (HR2070N). I think a laser printer is definitely the way to go for college. I used one toner cartridge the whole year and I never once needed color printing. I printed out my readings and papers.

I would definitely go with a laser printer over an inkjet. My roommate had an inkjet and hardly ever used it because we worked out a deal where he provides paper and i buy the toner.

 

[Mr.Texor]

network capabilities might not be a good idea if you are going to be living in a dorm.. unless you want other people to print porn on it

I know they can be "secured," but it's just asking for trouble imo

 

[Father Jack]

Thats not strictly true most universities in Scotland seem to charge per sheet around 0.5p to 2p b/w and 5p - 25p for colour

Sorry, I should have said "Many universities / F.E. colleges in the UK and Ireland give students a set number of free copies per year (or term / semester)"

FJ

 

[curiosa863]

Thanks for the wealth of feedback everyone. I think the answer for right now is to wait, but most likely i'll be getting a b/w laser.
Does anyone make a multi-function laser? I really like the idea of having a scanner/copier.

 

[jng]

Thanks for the wealth of feedback everyone. I think the answer for right now is to wait, but most likely i'll be getting a b/w laser.
Does anyone make a multi-function laser? I really like the idea of having a scanner/copier.

Yes. You took my advice.

I don't think they make a multifunction laser that will be practical for a college student. I never needed a scanner in college. And if I did, there are some in the labs. As for a copier. I just used the library copiers. I later TA'd for a department, so I could use theirs for free.

Just buy a B&W laser if you find you'll need one. I don't think many people really need a scanner and copier multifunction. Some of my friends have them, but rarely use the non-printing functions.

 

[notjustjay]

How much more expensive are color toners over black and white toners? I'm not very familiar with the structure of color laserprinters. Do they have a single toner that prints black and color? If they do and they are not that much more epensive wouldn't it make sense to get the color for quick printing, good quality, and cheaper in the long run than bleeding inkjets if you have a need for printing both color photos and black and white documents.

Most color laser printers have FOUR toners. A black, a cyan, magenta, and yellow. Each toner costs roughly the same (expect $100-150 each). At least in my Lexmark, if any one color goes empty, you have to replace it or the whole printer refuses to print (e.g. it's not possible to have 3 empty color toners and just tell the printer "it's ok, just print it all in black and white".)

So, for months at a time you'll print great color and you'll be happy. But then one day a toner goes, and you shell out $150. Then another, and another, and it's another $150 and another $150. Yeah, you're saving money in the long run, but you don't really feel like it on the particular day that you find yourself buying four new toners.

With the cost of color lasers dropping (I see them for $200-300 easily nowadays) it might make sense to get one even if the bulk of your time is spent printing black and white. You might even just toss it and buy another one when the toners go empty -- it may be cheaper that way! Such is the disposable culture we live in...

 

[brop52]

Most color laser printers have FOUR toners. A black, a cyan, magenta, and yellow. Each toner costs roughly the same (expect $100-150 each). At least in my Lexmark, if any one color goes empty, you have to replace it or the whole printer refuses to print (e.g. it's not possible to have 3 empty color toners and just tell the printer "it's ok, just print it all in black and white".)

So, for months at a time you'll print great color and you'll be happy. But then one day a toner goes, and you shell out $150. Then another, and another, and it's another $150 and another $150. Yeah, you're saving money in the long run, but you don't really feel like it on the particular day that you find yourself buying four new toners.

With the cost of color lasers dropping (I see them for $200-300 easily nowadays) it might make sense to get one even if the bulk of your time is spent printing black and white. You might even just toss it and buy another one when the toners go empty -- it may be cheaper that way! Such is the disposable culture we live in...

That's what I was thinking. I was looking at toner prices on newegg and I think I may buy a decent but cheap monochrome laser down here with my soon to be new iMac while the HP PSC is going upstairs with the old computer.

Kind of off topic, but what's the best way to share printers between a G3 iMac and a new iMac? Is there much networking capability due to the huge difference in age of the computers?

 

[BigPrince]

I print everything using school ink and paper.

 

[EricNau]

My $100 hp inkjet can match (if not beat) any laser of the same price range in terms of both speed and quality, plus, it can print color.

...Just something to consider.

 

[jng]

My $100 hp inkjet can match (if not beat) any laser of the same price range in terms of both speed and quality, plus, it can print color.

...Just something to consider.

Agreed. I bought an HP last Christmas for my dad and because HP screwed up shipping and it arrived after Christmas they sent me a free $50 printer. Granted, it's a cheap little thing but it prints the 1-2 pages of color I need a month just fine and I haven't replaced the cartridge yet.

 

[diehldun]

I've had relatively poor experience with lasers in our house (our HPs paper-rolling mechanism always "sucked" in too many pieces of paper), so we've all switched to those OfficeJet all-in-one printers. I have to say, they're very impressive and useful. Color+copy+scan+fax in one machine.

However, I too will be going to college in the fall, and was wondering if they (OfficeJets) were too "big/much" to bring in a dorm? I'm thinking about getting the HP OfficeJet 6310, but that thing is HUGE.

 

[RedTomato]

I banned all inkjets from my house a couple of years ago, and never looked back.

Brought a cheap Samsung B+W laser for home use about £70 from amazon.com (ML-1610) and I love it. Gone through two drums, and need to buy a third soon, but it just keeps on going.

Died a couple of times when printing 300page scripts, but unplug it and let it cool down for a few minutes, and it happily carried on with the job.

At work, we brought a rather expensive HP Colour LaserJet 2550N (top of the range from the Apple Regent Street store) and to be honest, it hasn't been very good.

It's loud, noisy, eats toner like there's no tomorrow. Has an annoying habit of ignoring requests to print in B+W, and using colour instead. Stops working if one toner colour is empty. Constantly jams and misfeeds from the paper feed drawer, so we now use it with paper on the flip-open input tray (so it takes up twice as much space in our small office, and looks untidy).

Embarrassing for me as buying it was my suggestion oops. And we hardly ever print in real colour. It does however handle 500page jobs with ease now that we use the flip-open tray.

Ideally a decent B+W laser would be better, plus a colour inkjet for the rare colour jobs, but the problem is inkjets cartridges freeze if you don't use them for a while (or the printer decides they're past their 'expiry dates') so that is out too.

Grr. Printers. Can't live with them, can't live without them.