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[PeakPointMatrix]

Epson.

Canon.

HP.

I don't know how many brands we went through, but the one thing was certain amongst all of them, these printers were trash. An ocean of incompatibility, incomprehensible errors, missing drivers, dried out ink cartridges, paper jams, and print jobs that resembled faded mosiacs.

Since leaving highschool, I've defaulted to printing at college and then work for the last decade. But the time has come for me to enter the world of home printing again.

So I ask; has it gotten better? Are there any recommendations for a printer that just works?

 

[Stinkles]

A couple of laser printers are good and everything else is an elaborate crime.


http://m.thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-laser-printer/

 

[xeroborn55]

The HP Envy we have at home is a fucking travesty. Do not buy HP.

every time i want to print something i have to reboot the printer and reinstall drivers on my computer lol.

 

[Earthbound64]

Here you go:
From 2 weeks ago

 

[Massicot]

In my experience, they are all still garbage on average, but that said, I would recommend a Brother laser printer. At the very least, never an inkjet. Unless you are printing photos.

 

[Technosteve]

I just buy a cheap brother wireless laser printer. You get one for less then 99 dollars

 

[Redd]

Get a laser printer.

 

[The Pet of the Month]

For the last 10 years I've had a Brother printer, funny enough, just died yesterday. It was a JFC-435W.

I personally recommend Brother printers, I've had terrible experiences with every company you mentioned.

 

[WPS]

Unless you REALLY need colour, go for a black and white printer. A good quality black and white printer will likely still be cheaper than an awful colour one.

 

[PhantomHound]

Go for the canon g series refillable ink tanks. Great quality, and cheaper running cost than lazer printers. Plus you can do borderless photos with better quality than drug store prints.

 

[Robot Pants]

The HP Envy we have at home is a fucking travesty. Do not buy HP.

every time i want to print something i have to reboot the printer and reinstall drivers on my computer lol.

Don't buy Epson either. What a scam

 

[Mr.Pig]

black and white laser.
Order your photo prints somewhere else.

 

[BlackRainbowFT]

I bought an HP OfficeJet PRO 8600e 3 years ago and it's absolutely great. Feature-packed (wireless, operation scheduling, etc etc) and uses very little ink.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

It's still a dumpster fire especially with all the DRM ink. Even when you have black and only need to print black half these printers pretty much tell you to go fuck yourself if the color is low or empty.

I went Brother laserjet and didn't look back. Toner cost more upfront than ink but last so much longer it's crazy. I saved well over a $100 in ink for a year. I just use my old inkjet printer as a glorified scanner.

 

[openrob]

The HP Envy we have at home is a fucking travesty. Do not buy HP.

every time i want to print something i have to reboot the printer and reinstall drivers on my computer lol.

It's ironic because the people I know that still require the most home printing are older family members who struggle the midst with tech.

When I get a call to help someone print off a boarding pass I dread it because I spend an hour reaffirming that technology is difficult when I know they can check in with their phone.

 

[human5892]

Fuck ink cartridges. Get a black and white laser printer from Brother. When you need color, just pay for a printout at Staples/Office Depot/etc.

 

[Wafflecakes]

Laser printers are where it is at.

Reliable and affordable. Mine has refills which only cost like $12, or I can refill them myself for $5.... and I get thousands of copies out of each.

 

[Random Human]

I really need a laser printer. The amount of ink I go through on my shitty inkjet is absurd.

 

[BashNasty]

If you're looking to do photo printing, I recommend the Canon PIXMA Pro-100. You can find them for pretty cheap and they print gorgeous pictures.

 

[BWJinxing]

I suggested a cannon from like 5 years ago, and the thing has been pretty reliable.

It's still printing despite needing ink for the past 1 year plus. It mags me but it prints.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

So looking like laser is the way to go, nice.

Fuck ink cartridges. Get a black and white laser printer from Brother. When you need color, just pay for a printout at Staples/Office Depot/etc.

It's still a dumpster fire especially with all the DRM ink. Even when you have black and only need to print black half these printers pretty much tell you to go fuck yourself if the color is low or empty.

I went Brother laserjet and didn't look back. Toner cost more upfront than ink but last so much longer it's crazy. I saved well over a $100 in ink for a year. I just use my old inkjet printer as a glorified scanner.

black and white laser.
Order your photo prints somewhere else.

Unless you REALLY need colour, go for a black and white printer. A good quality black and white printer will likely still be cheaper than an awful colour one.

For the last 10 years I've had a Brother printer, funny enough, just died yesterday. It was a JFC-435W.

I personally recommend Brother printers, I've had terrible experiences with every company you mentioned.

I just buy a cheap brother wireless laser printer. You get one for less then 99 dollars

In my experience, they are all still garbage on average, but that said, I would recommend a Brother laser printer. At the very least, never an inkjet. Unless you are printing photos.

And I see, Brother Black and White seems to be the overwhelming recommendation. I can give up color, but can these B/W printers still do grayscale? I need grayscale at minimum for my line of work.

Thanks for all the input, all of you.

If you're looking to do photo printing, I recommend the Canon PIXMA Pro-100. You can find them for pretty cheap and they print gorgeous pictures.

We actually own a Pixma, and yes it does print beautiful photos and prints. However, usability wise is a nightmare to tune settings. I think I got wireless printing working accidentally once and never again. I also just need a printer for quick easy prints

 

[Swass]

Samsung color laser printers can be had for relatively cheap and even with my wife printing a lot of stuff for school, the toner carts last almost 2 years. The print quality is insane, couldn't recommend them enough.

 

[TheCochese]

Used Lexmark, Canon, HP, all shit.

Get a Brother. This AIO is the best I've ever had, even if I do have to power cycle occasionally.

 

[TechnicPuppet]

I thought it was just me. I've owned 5 or 6 printers that printed once or twice then never again.

 

[Neverfade]

+1 Buy a brother Laser printer and don't look back.

 

[The Greek Freak]

A couple of laser printers are good and everything else is an elaborate crime.


http://m.thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-laser-printer/

DO NOT BY THE RECOMMENDED BROTHER!

It ended with me literally throwing it out of a fucking window, and my wife beating the thing for 5 minutes with a hammer.

Worked flawlessly for 3 months then was a constant headache. Literally would take less time to walk a mile to the library, print something and walk back before someone else could get the brother to print properly.

 

[Gaardus]

I can give up color, but can these B/W printers still do grayscale? I need grayscale at minimum for my line of work.

Gray will be a dot pattern, with the dots more spread out for lighter shades.

 

[PhantomHound]

Brother is the hardest printer to use. Their ui is atrocious. Plus you still need to replace the drum unit on brother lazer printers.

 

[JonnyDBrit]

I have a Brother Printer - MFC J5320DW. Yes, it's ink based, but you can buy cheaper stuff that still works anyway so long as you've got the right slot code. Comes with scanning and photocopying functions too so that's nice.

 

[Timedog]

I have a shitty Canon printer scanner and haven't really had issues. Don't print a ton though.

 

[Fbh]

Has anyone tried those ecotank Epson printers?.

I remember the printers being expensive but the ink being extremely cheap.

 

[Faddy]

My HP Envy is a disaster. It doesn't work with laptops, returning some stupid ink error but it does fine if you print from phones or tablets.

I would feel salty if I didn't get it for a bargain price and with how little I need to print I can live with it.

 

[Raticus79]

My Brother laser printer from the last thread has been holding up fine.

 

[Cipherr]

Man its hard to believe printers are still this bad. Its been a long ass fucking time. I genuinely thought those kinks would work themselves out.

 

[mhayes86]

The HP Envy we have at home is a fucking travesty. Do not buy HP.

every time i want to print something i have to reboot the printer and reinstall drivers on my computer lol.

I have the Envy, and when it works, it works pretty well. I get pissed when it can't find my PC at times for scanning.

 

[Drkirby]

Buy. A. Laser. Printer.

Do not buy an inkjet. They are pure garbage, and always will be.

I have a Brother HL-2270DW, and it has worked without issue for over 6 years now.

 

[DJ_Lae]

black and white laser.
Order your photo prints somewhere else.

This is what I do and I do not miss having colour - well, I do to the extent that sometimes it's nice to print a page or two in colour, but it's not worth the hassle or cost.

I'd go with a cheap Brother or Samsung, wifi is really handy too.

 

[TheCochese]

DO NOT BY THE RECOMMENDED BROTHER!

It ended with me literally throwing it out of a fucking window, and my wife beating the thing for 5 minutes with a hammer.

Worked flawlessly for 3 months then was a constant headache. Literally would take less time to walk a mile to the library, print something and walk back before someone else could get the brother to print properly.

Thousands upon thousands of people have bought this and not had any trouble.

 

[rjinaz]

Used to use ink. Seemed like I needed a refill every two months or so if the printer even worked.

Bought a Brother on sale during Black Friday a couple of years ago. Still using the same toner it came with and had no problems. Cost around $60 or so at the time.

Thousands upon thousands of people have bought this and not had any trouble.

Yeah really seems like a fluke. It happens. Must have gotten a faulty printer.

 

[Chanser]

Xerox laser?

 

[dpunk3]

I used to sell printers. We'd get HP back far more often than not, and their cartridges are INSANE compared to prices of Brother/Epson. I have an Epson, used it for about a year and it worked fine except for the technical annoyances it gave me. If I had the choice I'd go laser but those cartridges are hella expensive, but you only have to do it once every like 3,000-4,000 pages. The drum lasts for like 12,000.

 

[rjinaz]

I used to sell printers. We'd get HP back far more often than not, and their cartridges are INSANE compared to prices of Brother/Epson. I have an Epson, used it for about a year and it worked fine except for the technical annoyances it gave me. If I had the choice I'd go laser but those cartridges are hella expensive, but you only have to do it once every like 3,000-4,000 pages. The drum lasts for like 12,000.

I think there are some 3rd party options for Brother on Amazon but not sure how that works. Like $12 instead of the $30-$60 that are typical.

But what I might do is just buy another Brother if it goes on sale for Black Friday for $60 or so. I'll have to see but even the $30 toner refill would last me 2 years.

 

[Goo]

Canon inkjet with borderless printing if you are printing photos. Laser printer for everything else; so much better in the long run.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

A B&W Laser printer is the way to go unless you just absolutely need to print in color. Relatively cheap, no ink to dry out, lasts forever.

Here's a trick to avoid headaches and issues with your printer: If you put your printer on your wireless or (preferably) wired network, assign it a static IP and you will avoid major headaches. Out of the box they will be set up to use DHCP which means the printer isn't guaranteed to have the same IP every time. I've had SO MANY calls from users who set up their printers wirelessly with DHCP and six months later the printer stops working mysteriously. Every time, the printer has just changed IPs. I always just change them to static and adjust the port for the printer in Windows.

 

[Rentahamster]

Get a laser printer.

 

[Armoured Priest]

I have a Dell laser printer that I've had for 7 years. I've changed toner maybe 2 or 3 times in total. I also print a good bit less then I did a couple years ago. The printer was $99. I've not had any real complaints.

Laser printers are the way to go.

 

[spock]

I got a cheap dell color laser printer last year that rocks. Cartridges for it are dirt cheap to.

 

[Prez]

How long would a <$100 b&w laser printer last? I print less than 100 pages a year, so it's not worth it even if it lasts 3-5 years.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

How long would a <$100 b&w laser printer last? I print less than 100 pages a year, so it's not worth it even if it lasts 3-5 years.

Unless you are unlucky, laser printers last a long time. Not worth it as opposed to what?

Printing at Kinkos or equivalent? Maybe, there's a convenience factor though.

An el-cheapo inkjet? You'll spend more than $100 on replacement ink-carts. Don't forget your ink will be dried up or clogged with those long periods of non-printing so you'll need to buy new ones.

 

[rjinaz]

How long would a <$100 b&w laser printer last? I print less than 100 pages a year, so it's not worth it even if it lasts 3-5 years.

Get a Brother for $60ish on Amazon right now. USB only, not wifi if that matters. The wifi models start at about $90.