Are laser printers as problematic as the inkjet?

[no--name]

Hi,

I have had a terrible experience with inkjet printers, in short, every time I stopped using them for a few days, I started having problem with the cartridges.

One thing is for sure, I will not buy a inkjet ever again.

Now my doubt is if worth to buy a laser printer, or I'll be facing the same problem, but with some different component.
I know that besides the toner there are other things you will eventually need to replace, but I don't know how often, and how expensive they are.

Would you guys mind to share your experiences?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

No, I've got lasers that haven't been touched for a year or two with the exception of new paper, and the last thing they were touched for was toner.

However, when things do go wrong it can be expensive. A fuser or drum can cost a few hundred. However, those are usually good for tens of thousands of pages.

You could probably buy a whole new printer on the ink savings after a year or two, though.

 

[USAFRet]

I have a 7(?) year old Dell color laser. 3100cn. $330 when I bought it.

Coming up on 5,000 pages through it. Except for paper, I've spent $45 on one toner cart, the black one. The other 3 color carts are reporting around 50-60% full.
Sometimes it sits for a week or so without use. And then 50 pages all at once (Christmas cards).

2 years ago, I bought my daughter a smaller Dell laser for their kids schoolwork. So far, they've not needed to touch it at all.

 

[leeb2013]

no, inkjects are a PITA, particularly if you try to refill the cartridges. They are also slow and run out quickly. I never went back once getting a cheap colour laser. Lasts for months, very fast, better quality photos and very easy to refill and doesn't fade.

 

[anti-painkilla]

Printers will have issues, (added) whether it is yours or someone elses is the luck of the draw.

We had 12 HP officejet pros, 1 that died within the first 2 months, 2 that died 2 years later and the rest working fine.

These have gotten cheap enough that the replacement cost is minimal.

We also have a heap of laserjets that have problems. This however is a known issue with the particular model. So far the models after have been solid. Read reviews on the printers, newegg does not count, and be willing to pay for quality. You should be able to get something decent for what you want to pay, but spend $50 on a printer and be thankful for everyday it still works.

 

[smorizio]

on the market there are two types of laser printers. the hp units that have the toner and laser drum in one unit. then there the brother printers that the laser drum is one part and the toner is another. look at both printers and look at the cost of each. also google the model and brand your looking to buy see if they have any qa issue or high failure rates. most laser printer failures that i seen as a tech is using the wrong labels and having them melt to the drum. someone forgetting to take a staple or paper clip off and tried to print on second side of a page and scratched the drum. (finger print oil on the drum). most time it people getting paper jam and pulling so hard they break the plastic gears in a printer. the best one was an older hp printer that jammed and they pulled out the orange fuser roller in strips. with a laser printer make sure it on an outlet by itself the heating of a fuser can cause a large quick power drop in some older homes. with it on the same outlet as a pc the pc can sometime reboot if the load is a lot.

 

[no--name]

Wooho, I love this forum.

Thank you guys, my options are:

1- Hp P1102w
2- Samsung Ml-2165w
3- Hp Cp1025nw (color)

I'm still unsure about buying a color or monochromatic.

Any reference on these models? Will they work with alternative toners?

Thanks a million.

 

[USAFRet]

Just as with inkjets, I'd stay away from alternative or off-brand toners. Some work, some don't. Some will screw up the printer.

 

[no--name]

Originals are damn expensive here, abut 75% the cost of the printer 🙁
Alternative toners 12-14%.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

I'd try to avoid them, still. Depends on how reputable the aftermarket people are.

Remember that those toner cartridges last for a bloody long time, often 1000 pages plus.

I'm trying to get the info out of my Brother HL-6050DN. It says that we've printed ~6700 pages in one area, and ~11,100 pages elsewhere. Might be duplex screwing with the numbers. Supposedly we're on the 6th toner cartridge (in about 9 years of very heavy use).