Printer issues?

I could really use some help here,

I’m on the hunt for a monochrome laser printer with wireless capabilities. Budget-wise, I'm looking at roughly $333 (maybe give or take $100), provided the replacement toner cartridges don't run me more than $67 per swap. I also need something beefy enough to handle a monthly workload of about 2,000 pages...

Hopefully, I'm not being too unrealistic with these specs...
Thanks in advance

Noah Morris88 said:I really need some help here,

I'm looking for a monochrome laser printer with Wi-Fi. Budget is roughly $333 (give or take $200-$$100). I want replacement toner to be around $67, and I need to be able to print about 2,000 pages a month...

Hopefully, I'm not asking for the moon...
Thanks in advance!

With this adapter, you could basically print on anything that moves.
http://www.markit.eu/hr/hr/tl-wps510u/v2p530336

Now the real question is whether it's better to pay $333 for 14,000 prints versus just 2,000.

Let's be real, most people would rather grab a useless color inkjet box and get 1,000 prints for the same price.

rustysurfer79 said:With this adapter, you could practically print on anything that breathes.
http://www.markit.eu/hr/hr/tl-wps510u/v2p530336

Now the real question is whether to pay $333 for a yield of 14,000 pages or just 2,000.

But I know how people work... they'll grab the useless, flashy box just because it comes with an extra 1,000 prints for the same price. Pure nonsense.

Can anyone give me an example (maybe from Best Buy) of both options?
I need this for a small office, maybe doing 1,000 to 2,000 prints a month. Wi-Fi is a must so I can send jobs from two different computers in separate rooms...

Noah Morris88 said:Can anyone give me an example (maybe from Best Buy) of both types?
I’m looking at something for a small office—probably around 1,000 to 2,000 pages a month. Having Wi-Fi is huge for me so I can print from two different computers in separate rooms...

Brand new, still in the box

With 3 toner cartridges = 14,000 pages

Kimberly Wilson67 said:Is there such a thing as a tiny little printer you can grab for a laptop that actually handles full A4 sheets? And where could I even find one like that?

This article might give you some perspective.

http://www.cnn.com/tech/news/printer_article_link_example

rustysurfer79 said:This article should definitely open your eyes to the reality of things

http://news.com/A_news/example_article_link

Honestly, it just made me laugh.

I actually just pulled an old HP 670c down from the attic the other day.
Luckily, it had been sitting in a sealed bag for about ten years, so it didn't pick up too much dust... 🙂
And honestly? This little thing prints like a dream. These days, the price they charge for original ink—or even the generic stuff—is just ridiculous.
What really pushed me to dig this out was my newer Epson Expression Home; it’s constantly running out of ink, or the driver starts throwing errors claiming the third-party cartridges aren't compatible, and it's just a headache.

The only real expense I ran into was paying $5.25 for a USB-to-Parallel cable that shipped from China and arrived in about ten days.🙂

rustyscout93 said:So, I actually dug an old HP 670c out of my attic the other day.
I got lucky since it sat in a sealed bag for about 10 years, so it didn't suck up too much dust. 🙂
Man, this thing prints like a beast. Honestly, the price of original (or even generic) ink nowadays is just ridiculous.
The only reason I even bothered was because my newer Epson Expression Home constantly runs out of ink or throws those annoying driver errors saying the third-party cartridges aren't compatible. It's such a headache.

My only real expense was a few bucks $5.25 for a USB-to-LPT cable that shipped from China and showed up in about 10 days. 🙂

It’s actually working pretty well. If I could just somehow rotate my life 180 degrees to fix the mess the SX 125 caused, I'd be set.

rustysurfer79 said:Here is one thing that just didn't click for me. If I could somehow flip those six things around by 180 degrees just for the pure joy of it—considering my Honda Rebel—there would be no end to it...

I have to admit, I am completely lost here. What does that even mean?
Anyway, I need to figure out how much space I'll need for printing. Between all the school supplies and kid stuff, plus my own books (reading on a tablet just isn't the same)...

Duracell AA

I don't quite follow regarding the 🙂... I actually have one of those sitting up in my attic, though I don't have the charger for it handy. I suppose I could take a look and see if it's around, assuming I can find it under all that dust since I didn't keep it in a bag...

rustyscout93 said:Duracell AA

I get what you mean about the 🙂 HP LaserJet. I actually have one of those sitting up in my attic somewhere, but I don't have the charger for it. I'll go take a look, maybe I can find it—it wasn't even in a bag, so it's probably super dusty.

You don't even need a charger for that.

Hey everyone,

Do you think is actually a decent little printer? I'm just looking for something for home use to handle maybe two or three pages every now and then.
Or is there something better out there that won't break the bank, specifically when it comes to finding affordable third-party ink cartridges (where each color costs $8.00)?
If anyone has used this specific model or just has some general advice, I’d really appreciate it! 👍

Android / TT

Carl Sanchez40 said:Hey guys,

Is this a decent little printer? Just looking for something for home to print maybe 2 or 3 pages every once in a while.
Or is there something better or cheaper out there, especially regarding cheap third-party ink? Right now, every color is $8.00.
If anyone has direct experience or just some general advice—thanks! 👍

Android / TT

The printer is fine. Just watch out for the 5 * 25 == $42.

But there's one thing nobody's gonna tell you: Chinese companies make knock-off cartridges with about 5% defect rates. That's how they hit the market.

And out of that 5%, about 1% are defective microchips. So, if this printer goes through 100 third-party cartridges over its life, you're basically dealing with 100 bad microchips.

Here’s where it gets messy.

The catch is that we constantly get calls or service visits from customers having power supply issues.

Here's the deal. The customer used some off-brand cartridges. They hit one of those 1% microchips that had a short circuit. That shorted the print head. Then the head shorted the motherboard. And boom—power supply's gone. You swap in a new power supply? It's dead before you can even finish your coffee. You try putting that head into another identical printer? Now you've fried the motherboard on that one too.

And so on.

Last week, someone totally trashed a Canon Pixma.

So what's the fix? The fix is sticking to original cartridges. Why? Because at least you know what you're getting. But even Canon isn't stupid. They don't make the original cartridges transparent anymore. If you can't see how much ink you have left, you'll burn out the heaters in the print head pretty fast.

Bottom line: that printer isn't quite as great as it looks at first glance.

Carl Sanchez40 said:Hey everyone,

Is this http://www.bestbuy.com/printer-canon-pixma-ip7250 actually any good? I just need something for home to print maybe two or three pages every once in a while.
Or is there something better or cheaper out there, specifically regarding the cost of replacement ink where each color is $8.00$?
If anyone has direct experience or even just some general advice—thanks! 👍

Android / TT

Does it really have to be a color printer? Honestly, none of those dirt-cheap inkjet printers are a smart move. If you want a laser, check out this one. A toner cartridge (like an HP LaserJet 85A) that lasts for 1,600 pages is pretty cheap—under $33$—and at your usage rate, you won't go through the starter ones anytime soon. It'll definitely outlast an inkjet, and you'll deal with way fewer headaches.

Alright, thanks to you both!
I get what you mean—it doesn't necessarily have to be a color printer. If we're just looking at black and white, a laser printer actually makes a lot more sense. I see your point...

Android / TT

Jeffrey Chavez6 said:Does it really have to be color? Honestly, any super cheap inkjet is going to be a headache. If you go the laser route, you could grab something like this. A toner cartridge (like an HP 85A) handles about 1,600 pages for pretty cheap—well under $33—and at that rate, you won't even touch your initial supply for a while. It’ll definitely outlast any inkjet, plus way fewer technical glitches to deal with.

Just don't go thinking Canon is being stupid here. An HP 85 holds 35g of toner == $33
just for perspective

An HP LaserJet 13, 15, or 49 holds 135g of toner == $67

The HP LaserJet 12 holds 80g of toner == more than 100> $67

Look, it's obvious—every newer (and cheaper) series comes with less toner. But for his printing volume, it doesn't even matter. Whether he burned through 100 cartridges over 5 to 10 years or $67, it’s all the same in the end.

My HP LaserJet is dead. I turn it on, hear a weird noise, and that's it. Is it worth taking to a repair shop, and if so, who should I go to in Chicago?

So, here’s the deal: I need a printer that can handle maybe 20 pages a month. Honestly, I don't care if it's black and white, laser, or one of those inkjet things—whatever works. My needs are pretty low-key, so I'm really just looking for something where the replacement ink or toner won't absolutely wreck my bank account. Just looking for something budget-friendly.
I'm all ears for any suggestions you guys have.
Thanks!

Just grab a cheap Apple printer, something like:

I’ve got a similar setup—an older model I've been running for two years now—and I haven't even burned through the starter toner that was rated for 1,500 pages, so our printing habits are pretty much identical. 🙂

Look, I don't know much about third-party toner, but a brand new original cartridge runs you about $300—$117—which isn't exactly a massive hit to the wallet if you're only swapping it out once every three years.