Best budget laser printer for 200 pages per month?

Look, regardless of how you feel about the whole situation, if you haven't completely lost your mind, there’s one thing you need to grasp. If someone is trying to talk you into buying a new MFP, demand they give you a breakdown of what 10 ml of ink actually costs you
. Whether you’re using genuine cartridges or cheap third-party refills, it doesn't matter.

Treat that 10 ml as your baseline for comparison. It keeps things simple so you aren't comparing apples to oranges, and more importantly, it stops people from sweet-talking you out of making a smart financial decision.

So, if someone tells you that for $233 a certain price plus tax, you can get a refurbished MFP with a CISS system featuring four 70 ml tanks,
you should be able to spot the catch immediately. Use that 280 ml total and run it against the math from the example provided.
And of course, some people are going to hate being told to do the math.

Just a heads up: we aren't pushing any specific vendors here. We’re just giving you the logic to figure out what’s actually optimal for your own wallet.

That’s all there is to it.

I just wanted to point out that my question still hasn't actually been answered. I’m ignoring responses from Frank Barnes—in fact, I specifically asked him not to reply—simply because I don't want anyone else reading this thread to get the false impression that the issue is resolved. He tends to jump into conversations whether he's asked for his input or not, which can create a misleading sense that the original poster has received a solution.

Taylor Campbell4 said:So, basically, I was planning on... ... 1000-$400 ...
Can you give me a recommendation for an MFP in that same ballpark? And hey, if you're looking to save a few bucks, there are definitely cheaper compatible cartridges out there—or even those "refilled" originals (you know, the genuine ones that people just swap out once they run dry).

Honestly, for that kind of cash, you aren't exactly spoiled for choice when it comes to multifunction laser printers—the selection is pretty slim. HP has... A few different models...Nah, honestly? They’re way too brand new for those cheap off-brand toners—I mean, just give it some time before you start trying to save a buck like that!

And honestly? The print speed isn't exactly anything to write home about—kind of a snail's pace, really—and don't even get me started on the scanning speed. It’s pretty sluggish. Plus, it's one of those super annoying things where manufacturers sometimes just lock you out of using the scanner entirely if you're running low on toner. Like, seriously? Just because I need to digitize a document doesn't mean my printer needs to throw a tantrum because it's thirsty for some Black or Magenta. Such a headache!

Basically, a device like that is awesome while it’s actually working—but once it finally gives up the ghost? Man, you aren't just losing one thing, you're losing two. Total bummer.

Taylor Campbell4 said:I’m thinking—and don't quote me on this since I'm just guessing here—that you probably really need a laser printer, especially if you're mostly printing out invoices and quotes from accounting software. I feel like inkjets might not be the move for you... you know, like when an invoice or a quote has those big shaded or colored blocks in the layout? You end up burning through ink way too fast that way. Is laser definitely the better way to go in this case?

So, you gotta make a call—are we going color or staying strictly black and white? If you’re leaning toward color, honestly, just stay away from lasers... especially those cheap ones that cost next to nothing. They just aren't it. $433So, here’s the deal—if you've got color plus laser, you're looking at four separate toners—that's your Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow—so basically 4 x... $233 Or maybe just go with 4x? $100 (replacement).

If you're looking for color, then you've gotta go inkjet—it's just the way it works! So, I was just thinking about those new Epson series dropping... man, things are moving fast! It feels like every time I blink, there's some fresh tech hitting the shelves. Honestly, I’m kind of geeking out over what they're putting out lately—it's always something new to tinker with, right? Just one of those things that keeps life interesting! . (cca $500 So, I just snagged this all-in-one MFP—you know, the whole deal: printer, scanner, copier, all that good stuff. It actually came bundled with six 70ml ink bottles! We're talking 3x Black, plus Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. The yield is pretty wild too—supposedly around 4,500 pages in Black and 6,000 pages in color. Honestly, for the price, it feels like a bit of a steal... anyway, just thought I'd share the win!

Since we’re talking about business use here—specifically for a small outfit—I honestly think color is just an unnecessary extra expense. I mean, if you're just printing out standard docs to file away in folders, a laser printer is way more practical anyway. Plus, the prints are much more durable, which is always a plus when you're dealing with paperwork!

If I were sitting on your budget and had your specific wishlist—man, if I had your cash and your needs—I’d honestly just grab a cheap HP printer from that 1102 series with a network port built in. It's such a solid move.P1102w cca $267So, I was looking into getting some Orink replacement toner—roughly around... $43And you could just pair it up with a scanner too—maybe something like a Canon Lide series, for instance...The L210... man, what a classic....around what price? $183).

Honestly, you probably don't even need a better scanner right now—unless you really want one! But hey, the door is always open if your current printer starts kicking the bucket or if you just decide it’s finally time to upgrade to something a bit more high-end. Always good to have a plan B, right?

Well, I’m losing out on two features here—but honestly, having a scanner/copier is a rare necessity for me; if anything, I'd use the copier more than the scanner. Since I rarely use those functions, it doesn't make sense to buy a dedicated unit just for that.

I would lean toward a laser device, though it's a shame there isn't a multi-function laser option available.
If I went that route, I'd stick to black and white—color isn't really a priority for me right now, so I don't want to overcomplicate things... although, I do like that Epson you mentioned, so I find myself back at a crossroads.

I'm not entirely sure how much the print quality differs between those two printers, but everyone tells me you can't beat a laser—especially when it comes to accounting work... though, looking at the cost per page, the HP seems more expensive than the Epson (since I'm torn between this HP and the Epson L210, which is the cheapest multi-function from the new series).

The L210 is priced at $373, while the HP is $260.

The ink that comes with the L210 should last me about two years—even if I significantly increase my expected volume (nearly doubling it).

Now, color printing is definitely a plus, and Wi-Fi is a nice advantage, but neither is a dealbreaker. Having a copier is great, too, but again, not essential—I'm just not sure how often I'll actually need it.

So, at the moment, I'm leaning slightly toward getting the HP; it’s just such a pity they don't offer a multi-function version of that model.

The Epson has the edge because compatible inks are cheaper, but the HP wins on being a laser and having a much larger paper tray—it holds 100 sheets compared to the Epson's 50, making it a lot more practical.
That said, I might need to print labels for shipping via USPS or perhaps some declarations, so I suspect the laser might have the upper hand there?

But then I'm drawn to this color laser option—
or even better, this slightly beefier CP1025nw (as I understand it, it has a faster processor and better connectivity than the CP1025).

I'm not quite sure what that means in practice. I don't know if it matters whether I use black toner or color toner, since the replacements cost about the same, right? Each color cartridge costs the same as the black one.
And when I print something in color, it shouldn't use four times the toner—the price per page should stay the same if the individual colors cost the same as the black.

I'd probably forget all about the scanner/copier altogether if there isn't a good bargain on the market...

PS: I've also been reading some US forums suggesting that the P1102w can have firmware issues with its wireless connection; apparently, the function isn't always reliable—it goes into standby and cuts the Wi-Fi.

Ultimately, it's vital to me that there's as little chance as possible for issues with toners or compatible inks...

Your cash - your call.

I mean, if you ask me, I’d never rely solely on an inkjet printer for my work setup—just wouldn't do it.

Taylor Campbell4 said:It seems I am actually leaning toward purchasing an HP printer after all. It is quite a shame they don't offer a multifunction model quite like that one, though.
...

Have a look at these options here:

Thanks, but what about the ink for them?

What are the part numbers and the pricing like?

I'm honestly not sure if everything checks out with this printer— http://www.nabava.net/search.php?tp=0&q=M125a

So, this HP monochrome laser MFP uses this replacement toner that isn't exactly breaking the bank— http://www.nabava.net/search.php?tp=0&q=CF283A
The unit itself looks pretty massive, but it is what it is; I'll give it some thought.

If not that one, maybe I'll go with this option for about $367—there's also a version with a touchscreen, though I'm not particularly drawn to that...
But then there's the M127fn, which includes a fax. I haven't quite figured out how much I'll actually need a fax for my business operations yet, so I'll have to look into that...

It looks like they have toners available for roughly $33, making the cost per page about 6.66 cents (based on a 1500-page yield). It’s not exactly cheap, but... I don't plan on doing a massive amount of printing anyway.

That series features a 35-sheet ADF, which would be handy for feeding documents into the scanner/copier.
That was pretty much my budget for a printer, provided I decide I actually need the fax capability.

Yes, you’ve correctly identified that they are laser printers.
Just keep in mind that manufacturers almost always underfill the starter toner (the one included in the box with the printer); it usually only contains about 50-70% of what a standard toner cartridge holds. It really depends on the brand...
In all my years of running a business, I’ve found that the least amount of trouble with budget compatible toners comes from using Orink brands. I haven't tested every single third-party option out there, but of those I have tried, they are certainly the best.
Of course, when you opt for compatible toners, there is always a slight risk of causing more mess inside the machine, particularly affecting the Fusing / Fuser Unit, but given your projected print volume, I don't think you need to worry too much.
How often do you actually need a fax? In my four years of business, I’ve only needed one about ten times. Almost everyone has transitioned to communicating via email these days.
Personally, I much prefer a printer with WiFi capabilities. It frees me from being tethered by a cable, allowing me to move around different rooms with my laptop quite easily.
I wouldn't recommend going with color. Most affordable laser printers come with those poorly filled starter toners I mentioned, and buying standard replacements (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) usually costs more than the printer itself, which sends your cost-per-page skyrocketing. The exception would be high-end color A4 printers where the toner is very cheap, but those are typically purchased by mid-to-large corporations that require high color volumes but find an A3 device too bulky.
So, your choice boils down to either a monochrome laser MFP or a color inkjet MFP.
If you don't have a genuine need for color, stick with a black and white laser. If you ever need to print letterheads in color, it’s easy enough to have them printed professionally elsewhere, leaving you to print only black text at home.
Anyway, I wish you the best of luck!

Need some advice on picking up a laser printer for the house. Just looking for a B&W one to run some scripts for class, docs, stuff like that. Nothing crazy, maybe 20-50 pages a month.

Found a few options:

http://www.office.xerox.com/printers...3040/enus.html
$133 price for the printer with the starter toner (700pgs)
price for a generic toner $43/2300pgs

http://www.office.xerox.com/printers...3020/enil.html
$153 price for the printer with the starter toner (700pgs)
price for original toner $110/1500pgs and $183/3000pgs
No generic option available

http://www.canon.com/for_home/product...nsys_lbp6030b/
$207 price for the printer with the starter toner (700pgs)
price for generic toner: $37/1500pgs

So, one thing I'm wondering about. These two Xerox models have a built-in drum that you can't swap out. Realistically, how many pages am I gonna get out of that drum before it dies? I guess if it goes, the whole printer's trash, based on what I've gathered. Also, does the drum lose functionality just sitting there, or only from printing? Because the printer might sit unused for like 2 or 3 months at a time.

The advantage with this Canon is that the toner actually includes the drum, so swapping the toner replaces everything—no worrying about the drum dying. But, the printer is maybe $20 or so more expensive than the Xerox 3040.

I'd go with the Xerox if I could get at least 5,000 pages out of it before the drum gives up, but I don't want it to burn through the starter toner and then force me to toss the whole unit; that wouldn't make much sense. If it lasts through at least two of those 2200pg generic toners, I'd be pretty happy.

I also checked out this Xerox 3020, and the toner looks huge, so I thought maybe it was an all-in-one cartridge with the drum, but I guess maybe not. Here's the toner:

http://s2emagst.akamaized.net/produc...174dea94d6.jpg

Not sure if that's a combo with the drum or what. Anyone know? The downside here is also that there isn't a generic toner available right now like the other two candidates.

For example, with that first 3040, this is the toner and there's definitely no drum included:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/shopperplus/...entre-3045.jpg

So yeah, if anyone can help. Basically

1. How long would that factory drum actually last if I went with a Xerox that has a fixed drum?
2. Does the Xerox 3202 replace the drum along with the toner, or is it just the toner in the picture? (if it replaces the drum too, maybe I'd grab that one despite the pricier toner, since 22ppm is actually decent enough for me)
3. Is it worth spending the extra $73 to just get the Canon and avoid the whole drum headache? (keep in mind that $67 matters more to my wallet if the Xerox hits at least 5,000 pages, since I won't burn through that quickly)

I'm not too familiar with those specific models, but Xerox and Canon are solid brands when it comes to laser printing.

At my office, we run four Canon MFP units—you know, the whole copier, printer, scanner setup—costing anywhere from $10,000 up to $10. We’ve been really happy with them. Our oldest unit is about six years old and has clocked over 600,000 prints, yet it still only needs routine annual service.

Regarding printers that use dedicated fuser, drum, and other maintenance kits—I'd probably steer clear of those for home use. Replacing those parts gets expensive fast. On our commercial machines, we usually do a regular service once a year after roughly 70,000 to 100,000 prints, and that costs somewhere between $2,000 and $1.75, depending on which components need replacing. We actually have an old HP color laser printer that uses similar easy-swap fuser and drum kits, but we eventually gave up on it because each kit was running $500-$$233.

I suspect replacing the drum kit on those Xerox machines might be pretty pricey, though I did find some third-party replacements on eBay for around $70. There are also certain tricks people use to bypass those kits since they have internal page counters that can cause perfectly good hardware to stop working prematurely (for instance, http://hackaday.com/2011/04/18/xerox...t-another-day/).

Personally, I'd go with the Canon. In my experience, a printer is usually something you buy and then just leave on your desk for years, so I'd suggest avoiding the headache of high drum and fuser replacement costs.

Sorry if this is a bit long-winded—I just wanted to share as much info as I could.

Thanks for the reply.

I was looking into whether that HP LaserJet has the drum built into the cartridge. Local shops here told me it’s all included in the ink and cartridges, so I shouldn't run into any issues there. Plus, unlike the Brother HL series, this one actually has Wi-Fi.

The ink is a bit pricier at $110/1500 pages, but I guess it's fine since I don't print that much. It's still cheaper than hitting up a FedEx Office where they charge me like $0.75 a page. Here, I'm looking at maybe $0.40 plus paper, which is decent for my volume. I calculated the cost per page based on the printer price plus two full cartridges.

The only bummer is there aren't any cheap third-party options. But honestly, I think the starter cartridge—which should do about 700 pages—will last me maybe 10 or 12 months. So I'm deciding between this or the Brother HL series. If I could just figure out the drum life, it would make the choice easy. If it lasts less than 3,000 pages, it's probably not worth it.

The Brother HL series has ink rated for $43/2200 pages, making the cost roughly $0.20 per page plus paper when you factor in the machine and two cartridges. That sounds great. But if the starter cartridge and even one refill don't hit that 3,000-page mark, then it's a bust. And yeah, I know in reality it'll probably be 500 pages less than what's on the box, but I'm going by the official numbers for now.

I took a quick look at the official site—for the HP LaserJet, they only list ink and cartridges under that section, but for the Brother HL series, they’re being pretty cagey about those details. Looking through this document http://www.arbikas.com/view/locator/WC3045.pdf, it seems like the 3040 only lists a fuser, though I guess every laser printer has one—it's just the part that melts the ink onto the page—but there's no mention of a drum kit anywhere.

Having Wi-Fi is a nice little perk, and the cost per page on a laser is definitely worth it—we usually end up paying around $100 for every 10,000 pages we print.

As for the 3040 model, I'm not sure if you guys have seen the user reviews over on the official site http://www.office.xerox.com/printers...iews-enus.html.

Edit: I did a bit more digging for info on the 3020, but I mostly just found some stuff on European forums. People seem generally happy with it—the only real complaint I saw was about the noise level(?).

hehe, user reviews are pretty great 🤣

A buddy of mine has a Canon Pixma, which is basically the same deal as a Brother HL series—the Brother is just the newer model and prints slightly faster, but I don't really care about that. He burned through the starter ink and cartridges and now he's using generics (which work fine for both models). Didn't have any major issues besides some driver glitches once, but we fixed that in no time. He's happy with it otherwise.

Seems pretty clear: you print until it dies, then toss it because paying for repairs isn't worth it. I guess what'll happen first is the imaging drum wears out, either from paper jams or just from regular use since I won't be printing tons at once—just a few pages here and there throughout the day. And from what I gather, it tracks drum rotations (like you mentioned), and once it hits a certain limit, the printer just quits. That's a fix I wouldn't even know how to handle; I saw on a site that people try to swap out chips and stuff.

I mean, the real question is roughly how many pages will come out of this thing before that service light starts blinking.

Anyway, I've basically overthought this whole cheap "disposable" printer thing too much 🤣
But student money is hard to come by 👍

Thanks for the help regardless, I'll probably make a call on it this week. 👍

edit.

hehe, I was looking for reviews myself and ended up reading stuff from all over the place 😁 😁 😁
It's honestly tough to find decent printer reviews. There's almost nothing out there that actually answers the important stuff, like cost per page, durability, or if you can actually use generic ink and cartridges.

It doesn't matter if you're on a student budget—even for me, working a full-time job, I still want to buy something decent, so your mindset is spot on 👍. Most people don't bother to research nearly even 10% of what you have.

One last thing to consider—every printer, even laser ones, uses rubber rollers to pull the paper through. Since they're made of rubber, they eventually wear down. Or, if you don't print much, they can dry out and lose their grip. That’s usually why you start seeing issues like crooked feeding or the machine grabbing three or four sheets at once. Luckily, the rollers themselves are cheap, but—unfortunately—actually replacing them is almost impossible if you aren't used to taking a printer apart.

Good luck with the purchase, and definitely let us know how it goes.

At the end of the day, I just want my printing costs to be lower than hitting up a FedEx Office. How much I actually save probably depends on whether I get lucky with the printer and if I pick the right one, I guess.

Thanks a ton for the help. 👍

Picked up a Brother HL series for one reason only. It was the cheapest option out there.

When I crunched the numbers, it looked like my cost per page would be dirt cheap, which is basically the whole point.

The generic ink and cartridges are insanely affordable, so yeah, that’s it.

Getting $230 pages per set is a solid deal. I just hope it actually lasts that long—though honestly, even half that would make me happy. Since they claim a monthly duty cycle of 30,000, it really ought to hit at least 30,000 before the warranty runs out.

I'll check back in after a few months to let you guys know how it's holding up. So far, so good: it's fast and the prints look clean.

Kind of bummed it doesn't have Wi-Fi, but the massive savings on printing costs totally outweighed that. Plus, I can probably just share it over my home Wi-Fi so the other PCs can use it anyway.

Hopefully it serves you well for many years to come. 😁

Wait, I just realized I was posting in the laser printer thread. I actually need an inkjet.

My bad, mods. 😉

I honestly don't know the first thing about printers. I'm just looking to pick one up because I'm studying for an exam, and frankly, buying a printer is going to be cheaper than constantly buying textbooks.
I need a total bargain here, preferably something with Wi-Fi.
Having color would be a huge plus.
Right now, I've got an old inkjet 3-in-1—printer, scanner, copier. If I upgrade, I’ll probably just hand that one off to someone else. Roughly how much should I expect to shell out for a decent laser 3-in-1?
The goal is obviously to get the most bang for my buck.
If that's not doable, I'll just grab a basic black-and-white laser printer just to get me through this exam period...