# What laser printer should I buy? Suggestions appeciated.



## mkurtes (Aug 27, 2003)

I am sick of inkjet printers and am wondering if colour laser is the way to go? Everytime I run out of ink I end up spending over $100.00 for new ink. Considering the cost of printers these days, I'm probably better off to purchase a new printer each time I need ink. So my questions about laser printers are as follows ...

1. How much better is the print quality compared to inkjet?
2. Do I need special paper?
3. How long *approx* does the tonner last?
4. Which is a good brand to buy at a reasonable price *$300-$500*?

Thanks!


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## Trose (Feb 17, 2005)

mkurtes said:


> I am sick of inkjet printers and am wondering if colour laser is the way to go? Everytime I run out of ink I end up spending over $100.00 for new ink. Considering the cost of printers these days, I'm probably better off to purchase a new printer each time I need ink. So my questions about laser printers are as follows ...
> 
> 1. How much better is the print quality compared to inkjet?
> 2. Do I need special paper?
> ...


I can't answer all your questions, but I can answer the first 3. I like the print quality of laser printers _way_ better than inkjet, however I don't know "officially" how much better it is. Laser printers also do not need any special printing paper. Usually toners last for 1000-5000 pages I believe. How "long" that is depends on how much you print


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## sinjin (Jul 12, 2003)

You have a lot of choices in the affordable B&W laser printer market. Several members here, and I, have Samsung ML-1210's and have been very pleased with them. I get thousands of pages out of a cart. I refill the toner for cheap rather than toss the entire cartridge. 

I don't know a lot about colour laser, but they don't sound cheap and I hear the quality isn't up to photo standards if that is what you are after. I decided to forego photo printing at home for the cheaper and better quality prints I can get at a lab.

Do a search here for printers, the topic comes up often.


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

mkurtes said:


> 1. How much better is the print quality compared to inkjet?


Not photo quality but brochure quality printing. Very detailed resolution.


mkurtes said:


> 2. Do I need special paper?


Nope. Plain paper. 20lb bond.


mkurtes said:


> 3. How long *approx* does the toner last?


Usually comes with a starter toner that's rated for 3000 pages and the regular is about 5000-7500 depending on printer.


mkurtes said:


> 4. Which is a good brand to buy at a reasonable price *$300-$500*?


HP Laserjet 2550L which has been seen for about C$500. It's very Mac-friendly. The major downside is the paper tray is only 125 sheets and is front loading (not a built-in tray).

Macworld review: http://www.macworld.com/2004/09/reviews/hpcolor2550/index.php 

Recent RFD thread:http://forums.redflagdeals.com/showthread.php?t=133279


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## Carl (Jun 7, 2003)

I bought a refurb Brother HL 1440 for about $200 a year ago, and I bought an HP 1012 for $150 last summer. Both seem quite reliable. The Brother can have more RAM (up to 32MB), but seems to need lots of power on startup. For text only, these are very affordable. I decided against the Samsung because of the small toner cartridge included, but that may have improved. There is one at the office that seems to work OK.


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## macsackbut (Dec 15, 2004)

mkurtes

"Which is a good brand to buy..."

Whatever your price range, I have three words: HP, HP, HP. In my humble opinion and experience, no other printer manufacturer stacks up. Don't go for the el-cheapo brand. You'll pay for it later.

I have an HP LaserJet 1012 (my wife also has two at work). Fine relatively small printer with a 200-sheet paper tray plus a single sheet/envelope feeder. You can usually find it on-line for under $200. 

MacS

Edit: oops... sorry, didn't see the "colour" part of "colour laser". Sorry (though my advice re: HP in general still stands).


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## highapostle (Apr 21, 2004)

I second the HP LaserJet 1012 - great printer for home use, especially with it's small footprint.


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## DDKD726 (Feb 21, 2005)

I really like my hp 1012 it's really compact and does a nice job. Best buy has them for $229 right now...


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

I thought his question was about colour lasers... Anyway, I have a Brother HL-1435 monochrome laser that I got for C$80 after rebate from Staples. It works like a charm.


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## howing (Nov 14, 2003)

i second the HP 1010 series laserjet printer.


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## kent (Oct 18, 2003)

OK - here are a few points:

Laser printers DO NOT have better image quality than Ink Jet printers [decent ones] - laser printers typically print at 300 or 600 dpi. At school we have a brand new, $10K HP Laserjet 9500 - nice printer, but the image quality doesn't compare to my EPSON 2200 ink jet ... not even close and that's a high-end laser printer. Two definite advantages that laser printers have over ink jets are: 1) cheaper to operate (at least b/w is) because you can use standard paper and the cartridges last longer (but the cartridges are pricey). At home I have a B/W HP Laserjet 1012 ~$300 and an EPSON 2200 ~$1000. The laser printer is a total workhorse and cheap to operate [a cartridge is about $130 or nearby] and then I save the EPSON for high-end reproduction. Keep your ink jet, use it occasionally for colour and get a B/W HP Laser for everything else. If you get a laser printer go HP - they are definitely the leaders in laser printing technology.

Cheap ink jet printers are no blessing, fact is the manufacturers will get their cash one way or another. Cheap printers often have super-expensive cartridge prices. More expensive ink jet printers like my EPSON use several cartridges [7 in this case] so you only replace the one that's empty. Cheap ink jets combine several colours in one cartridge - so, if you use a lot of cyan you have to replace the entire cartridge - what a waste. Don't get side tracked by good printer prices - check the operating costs - carefully.

BTW - I have my laser printer connected to my airport extreme base station and it has NEVER given me any problems - what a sweet set-up. Looks like other people like their HP 1012s as well....

One more thing: while I don't know what a colour laser cartridge retails for I can't imagine them to be cheap - especially if you print mostly B/W ... get the B/W laser and keep the colour ink jet...


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## SomeNSome (Sep 24, 2002)

I agree with Kent. I use an HP 8550N Color Laserjet at work all day. The photo quality image isn’t as good as Inkjets but not horrible or anything. One thing I don’t like about HP is the PS and PCL drivers. We are constantly fighting with them on minor issues. But HP is way better then the Techtronics we use to have, that thing mad me so angry.

If your just doing photographs (and can’t spend $10,000), stay with an Inkjet. But if not Kent’s suggestion of a B&W laser for text and Inkjet for color prints is a good suggestion.


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## jason101 (Oct 11, 2008)

*I have a laser printer - but only have clear labels*

Well people, I have a laser printer - but only have clear labels for an ink jet printer. Will it work? I can't find the right size of labels for a laser printer - so I bought the ones for an ink jet. I know that if I did it the other way around (used laser printer labels on an ink jet printer - that they wouldn't dry).Can I use ink jet labels on a laser printer. Please advice me positively. Thanks a lot.


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## satchmo (May 26, 2005)

Others are correct, that lower end colour lasers are no match for a good inkjet printer. However, the key advantage really is not worrying about ink cartridges drying up if you don't use them.

My set up is two fold. I have a B&W HP 1022 Laserjet. It's superfast and haven't had to replace the starter toner yet. It's has about 500 pages I'm guessing.

I also purchased an HP CP1518ni colour laser printer for about $250. It's got ethernet, but not wireless. Not the fastest nor the best quality. It's mid range...better than Samsungs but not as good as the higher end HP's.

More vibrant colour than the Brother lasers. But most important for me, and why I tolerate with HP drivers, is that they are absolutely silent standby mode.


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## Jarooda (Jul 18, 2006)

Somebody get a cross and a bottle of holy water....this thread has come back from the dead!!!


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## satchmo (May 26, 2005)

Jarooda said:


> Somebody get a cross and a bottle of holy water....this thread has come back from the dead!!!


LOL...sh*t I hate it when that happens.


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