But make sure you buy Brother toner because when you use third party toner the print quality is intentionally degraded. Cheap, but not all that cheerful IMHO.
At home I have a laser Brother from around 2000s that i rescued from the dumpster, the last time I needed it it had spent probably 5 years untouched in the garage, plugged it in and printed away without problems, no clogs, no firmware updates, no 2gb of install packages just a driver, no BS.
Practical, reliable, affordable and just works technology; The amazing Brother HL-L2320D printer. I can't remember the last time I bought toner. The thing just keeps on printing. I think they make a wireless version, but I can't be bothered to change something that just works the way this printer has. We have fancy printers at work that are also Laser based and they are not as reliable the printer sitting next to me.
It's been my situation, I have had my Brother laser printer for... more than 8 years and I still run on the toner that was delivered with the printer ! Yellow ran low a few years ago, and the printer wouldn't print anymore, so I select "print black & white", and the printer happily keeps working using the black toner only :)
Because the VAST majority of people that purchase printers are super casual users, that will maybe print out 10-20 pages a year, and let the printer collect dust rest of the time.
Being the "IT guy" among family/friends/colleagues, 9 out of 10 times that's the case. Someone asks me if I can help them with their printer, they bought it 1-3 years ago, they've barely used it, but need new ink cartridge.
It's always the same printers. They saw one on sale for $40 or whatever at some big box store, a bought it.
In which case you _particularly_ want laser, because laser printers will keep working for that sort of duty cycle, whereas if not used semi-regularly, most ink cartridges will need replacing even if not empty.
The reality of different places are... different. Here (Brazil) the cheapest laser printer costs 3x the price of an ink jet printer, and it only prints monochrome. Doesn't make sense for a printer for personal use in a home that will be used once in a while.
To be honest, nowadays I would prefer ink tank, as their extra cost (here) are smaller than the price of the cartridges that will need to be bought in the next years. And they are cheaper than the cheapest laser printers sold here.
Black and white? Color? Printing documents or photos? How much and how often are you printing?
I bought a B&W brother laser printer in 2015 and loved it. I had a cheap $80 inkjet and while it worked fine I printed so rarely that my ink cartridge would dry out.
The original brother toner cartridge lasted me 4 years so I'm happy just because of that.
I ended up giving that to my parents and got a brother color laser printer. It's nice for documents but inkjets are superior for photo printing.
But for the last 10-15 years I can upload photos to the Walgreens a mile away and get them in less than an hour on real photo paper and don't have to worry about them fading like a lot of inkjets.
Because you can get a basic inkjet printer with included cartridges for $30 vs $350 for a color laser printer + toner. I'm sure the latter makes sense if you are printing at scale, but for occasional use there's really no point spending that much.
I think this shows the problem though.
When I was younger you had to save for a printer for a considerate amount of time, the equivalent of hundreds of dollars was normal.
Now there are customers that think they can buy a printer for the equivalent of a round of beer, and when that doesn't work out as expected it's only the evil companies.
More often than not the consumer goes for the cheapest, and that's what they get and the company has to make the profit elsewhere.
I appreciate that with all the legal wrangling and anti-competitive behaviour the supplier companies don't paint a very attractive picture, but the consumer decisions have made the bed for this market as well.
But if you are only printing occasionally why not go to FedEx and print your document there?
I've chosen to have Black and White only at home, and go to FedEx for my color pages. I do black and white text often enough that it's worth it. But I really don't do color enough to warrant a printer (or upgrading to a more expensive color printer even)
The problem I have with cheap inkjets for occasional use is that they tend to stop working after just 1-3 years. A lot of people say it's because the ink dries up and clogs up the works if you don't print regularly. I'm not sure if that's an accurate explanation, and maybe I'm just unlucky, but reliability is the only real complaint I have about inkjets.
A few reasons. Laser doesn't do well with thicker or textured paper. More durability in commercial situations. And then there is color. The Epson EcoTank line seems to be selling very well.
Colour laser printers whilst being more expensive, produce better quality output for colour documents than ink does in my opinion. You don't get the horizontal lines that you sometimes get with inkjets where the ink overlaps a bit.
However, inkjets are probably better for printing photos, but I'd recommend just using a photo printing service if that's what you're after (assuming that they're not private photos that you don't want to share).
Regarding Linux and printers, I use Fedora as my daily driver, and I have a cheap HP OfficeJet printer from 2016, and I'm amazed by how well it "just works" with both printing from any application and scanning with the GNOME Document Scanner application. My wife actually has more issues printing from her Windows 10 machine (e.g. we periodically have to go through the Windows settings to "add printer" again) and scanning with the actual HP software.
I've used Linux on and off since 2005, and every time I've come back to Linux I've been impressed with the progress made on things like this.
Depends what your substrate is. Inkjet still works better for things like vinyl, photo paper, and heat-sensitive stuff. I'm not sure you can do borderless printing on a laser printer, either. For everyday office and personal print jobs, it's hard to beat the convenience and relative reliability of a laser printer, but inkjets still have their (niche) place in the world.
Because inkjets print prettier pictures, are more versatile, don't have long start up times, don't generate indoor ozone.
There are professional inkjets available that are more respectful of your right to buy cheap supplies than even brother - specifically I can pour bottled ink into printers of at least two manufacturers.
And (professional) modern inkjets keep up with print speed.
What's the quality of color prints on current lasers? Last time I checked it was quite below inkjets. Not that I would recommend inkjet to anyone, they're unusable in home setting where you have long periods of time without printing.
Colour photos are probably better on inkjets, but colour documents look great from my Brother colour laser. Images come out really well, but they're not glossy like you might want for a photo.
Even though I'm sure someone has created a laser-printed photo exhibition to make an artistic point, photographers (and galleries, and museums) still exist–both hobbyists and professionals.
Aren't ultra-fine particles still a potential health issue with laser printers? Especially in home office or domestic use, where they typically aren't placed in a separate printer room?
I think the biggest exposure would come from handling/replacing the toner cartridges. Make sure that you keep them closed and don't shake them around (e.g. to distribute the toner within).
I think they're also not great for releasing gases and certainly my one does have a chemical smell when printing, so I just make sure that I'm in a different room for doing a large print (it helps that the printer is network connected).
Less than it used to be, but yes. Though it applies to printing and maintenance, and the whole point of buying a laser printer for home is that it can sit still for months at a time.
You know, my biggest problem is not the price per se. I have an inkjet, and use it maybe twice a year. But every time when I use it successfully, it is extremely convenient to be able to print at home. So convenient, that I wouldn't even mind the price.
What I mind is, that because I use it so rarely, that damn expensive cartridge dries up every 2 or so years, after printing maybe like 30 pages. That's what kills me. That's one thing that it's more expensive than gold, but it has awful quality.
"Funny" thing is, I used to have a Xerox laser printer years ago. The toner dried stopped working in it also if it wasn't used for months. The main difference was that the toner cost 3 or 4 times the price of an inkjet cartridge.
criddell|1 year ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/printers/comments/s9b2eg/brother_mf...
ndsipa_pomu|1 year ago
However, I've not had any issue with third party toner in my Brother DCP colour laser printer and haven't heard of any such issues.
gwbas1c|1 year ago
cojo|1 year ago
Took some research and timing but couldn’t be happier with no longer having to worry about ink clogging / going bad if I haven’t printed for a while.
Toner cartridges aren’t exactly cheap, but they will print a ton of pages, and they take way longer to go bad from what I’ve experienced so far…
neuralRiot|1 year ago
pjmlp|1 year ago
Doesn't matter if they happen to print longer, most folks care about the money on the spot.
MrBuddyCasino|1 year ago
monkmartinez|1 year ago
Practical, reliable, affordable and just works technology; The amazing Brother HL-L2320D printer. I can't remember the last time I bought toner. The thing just keeps on printing. I think they make a wireless version, but I can't be bothered to change something that just works the way this printer has. We have fancy printers at work that are also Laser based and they are not as reliable the printer sitting next to me.
TuringNYC|1 year ago
mlok|1 year ago
TrackerFF|1 year ago
Being the "IT guy" among family/friends/colleagues, 9 out of 10 times that's the case. Someone asks me if I can help them with their printer, they bought it 1-3 years ago, they've barely used it, but need new ink cartridge.
It's always the same printers. They saw one on sale for $40 or whatever at some big box store, a bought it.
rsynnott|1 year ago
lucasoshiro|1 year ago
To be honest, nowadays I would prefer ink tank, as their extra cost (here) are smaller than the price of the cartridges that will need to be bought in the next years. And they are cheaper than the cheapest laser printers sold here.
lizknope|1 year ago
I bought a B&W brother laser printer in 2015 and loved it. I had a cheap $80 inkjet and while it worked fine I printed so rarely that my ink cartridge would dry out.
The original brother toner cartridge lasted me 4 years so I'm happy just because of that.
I ended up giving that to my parents and got a brother color laser printer. It's nice for documents but inkjets are superior for photo printing.
But for the last 10-15 years I can upload photos to the Walgreens a mile away and get them in less than an hour on real photo paper and don't have to worry about them fading like a lot of inkjets.
paxys|1 year ago
MarcusE1W|1 year ago
Now there are customers that think they can buy a printer for the equivalent of a round of beer, and when that doesn't work out as expected it's only the evil companies.
More often than not the consumer goes for the cheapest, and that's what they get and the company has to make the profit elsewhere.
I appreciate that with all the legal wrangling and anti-competitive behaviour the supplier companies don't paint a very attractive picture, but the consumer decisions have made the bed for this market as well.
dragontamer|1 year ago
I've chosen to have Black and White only at home, and go to FedEx for my color pages. I do black and white text often enough that it's worth it. But I really don't do color enough to warrant a printer (or upgrading to a more expensive color printer even)
tshaddox|1 year ago
wrp|1 year ago
ndsipa_pomu|1 year ago
However, inkjets are probably better for printing photos, but I'd recommend just using a photo printing service if that's what you're after (assuming that they're not private photos that you don't want to share).
amelius|1 year ago
warner25|1 year ago
I've used Linux on and off since 2005, and every time I've come back to Linux I've been impressed with the progress made on things like this.
RogueToaster|1 year ago
xgyvvfb|1 year ago
Because inkjets print prettier pictures, are more versatile, don't have long start up times, don't generate indoor ozone.
There are professional inkjets available that are more respectful of your right to buy cheap supplies than even brother - specifically I can pour bottled ink into printers of at least two manufacturers.
And (professional) modern inkjets keep up with print speed.
VoodooJuJu|1 year ago
- laser toner is bad for your health
- laser has a larger upfront cost
grujicd|1 year ago
ndsipa_pomu|1 year ago
smnrg|1 year ago
edb_123|1 year ago
ndsipa_pomu|1 year ago
I think they're also not great for releasing gases and certainly my one does have a chemical smell when printing, so I just make sure that I'm in a different room for doing a large print (it helps that the printer is network connected).
Filligree|1 year ago
arethuza|1 year ago
not_your_vase|1 year ago
What I mind is, that because I use it so rarely, that damn expensive cartridge dries up every 2 or so years, after printing maybe like 30 pages. That's what kills me. That's one thing that it's more expensive than gold, but it has awful quality.
"Funny" thing is, I used to have a Xerox laser printer years ago. The toner dried stopped working in it also if it wasn't used for months. The main difference was that the toner cost 3 or 4 times the price of an inkjet cartridge.
Fuck printers.
BenjiWiebe|1 year ago
pandemic_region|1 year ago