[SOLVED] Monochrome or color laser printer for home use?

[jm88]

I have an HP inkjet all in one and with the HP ink subscription of $5 per month for 100 pages, it has suited us well and I believe is a good price because you don't have to worry about conserving color or the ink drying out. With two kids home schooled now, they are having to print a lot of pages so we will be going over that 100 pages per month and I think a laser may be more efficient. I do want an all in one again because they will need to do some scanning as well but I am trying to decide whether to just get a monochrome to accompany the inkjet or get a color laser to replace it. If we are printing out a large number of photos, we will get them done at the store, but it is nice to have something to print a few color photos at home if needed. Is a laser capable of that and printing on photo paper? Will it still be cost effective if we are not printing out that much color? What do you guys think is the best way to go?

 

[velocityg4]

Laser isn't great for photo prints. I'd just get some cheap black and white laser printer for the bulk of printing. Buying refilled toner cartridges off Amazon. Don't even bother with an all-in-one. Use your inkjet for scanning and color printing.

 

[geofelt]

Keep it simple, buy a color laser printer.
If you don't use much color, the color cartridges will not run out quickly.

 

[USAFRet]

You'd need to get laser specific photo paper.
And, for photos, lasers aren't nearly as good as inkjets.

However...the price per print is MUCH smaller for a laser.

I recently bought this:
https://www.brother-usa.com/products/mfcl3770cdw

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/brother-mfc-l3770cdw-wireless-color-all-in-one-laser-printer-white/6265826.p?skuId=6265826

Works great.

 

[jm88]

Both good points. I don't mind the idea of having two printers so one can be upstairs and one down. How are the scanning features with that? Is it full duplex with the ADF or do you have to flip it over? Does it scan pretty fast? Do color ones have separate toner for each color? Do they really print 1,000 or more sheets before you need a new toner? Even with that, if the generic ones work, those are super cheap. The amount of actual color photos we print is pretty small, but it is nice to print a few in a pinch if needed.

 

[USAFRet]

Both good points. I don't mind the idea of having two printers so one can be upstairs and one down. How are the scanning features with that? Is it full duplex with the ADF or do you have to flip it over? Does it scan pretty fast? Do color ones have separate toner for each color? Do they really print 1,000 or more sheets before you need a new toner? Even with that, if the generic ones work, those are super cheap. The amount of actual color photos we print is pretty small, but it is nice to print a few in a pinch if needed.

Duplex print and scan.
4 individual carts.

So far, 451 pages printed, this toner remaining from the original starter set. Purchased in June.

When these empty, real carts will print up to a theoretical 18,000 pages.

 

[USAFRet]

The photo print on this is "acceptable", but not as good as a good inkjet.

 

[jm88]

Just to throw something else into this, how would one of those ecotank printers compare? Is that another good option since the ink is cheap? Or are inkjets just not ideal if you are printing a couple hundred pages per month of mostly black and white?

 

[jm88]

Thank you for all the help. After thinking about this some more, I think it might be good for us to have two different printers anyway so they can be in different rooms on different floors, I might just keep the inkjet and buy a monochrome all in one laser. Either the DCPL2550DW, the MFCL2710DW, or the MFCL2750DW. I'll just have to figure out the differences and which one I need. They range from $160 to $250 and I suppose there is less to go wrong with and less consumables with a black and white. If we need color, I'll use the inkjet and just subscribe to the lowest HP instant ink plan of $3 a month. $36 is a small price to pay and not have to worry about clogged print cartridges or running out of ink.