Inexpensive Laser Printer wanted, Ideas?

[kbaasit]

Hi I am looking buya good inexpensive laset printer. One that is not going to cost me in consumables each time I have to replace the toner.

I have heard that where some printers are cheap, U end up by spending a lot each time U have to replace the cartridge.

Your suggestions?

thks in advance

[glc]

HP Laserjet 1020.

[kbaasit]

Monthly Duty Cycle:
5,000 pages/month

What does this mean?? Also, will I have to change ONLY the ink cartridge when it runs out? Or is there such a thing as a pprinter head, ro some other thing that may have to be changed?

[alfie2]

duty cycle is the numbers of pages you can print without overworking your printer.
you can print more than that number without any problems.
laser printers uses "toner" instead of ink. it is a powder; you just take out the
old one and replace it with a new one, very simple really.
you can refill it, cheap. (toner might cost more than the printer and refilling is not recommended by the manufacturer.)
laser printer uses "image drum" instead of "print head". all laser printers
nowadays have "page counters" on the the image drum, once that # is reached
you will either replace it or reset it.
resetting image drum can only be done a few times before the printout looks
no so good.( image drum might cost more the printer itself)
toner and image drum are the two most costly parts for laser printers; fuser/ belts
only costs a few dollars(Canadian).

[glc]

The HP uses an integrated cartridge. When it runs out of toner, you replace the whole cartridge which also contains the image drum. The only other maintenance item is the fuser assembly, which is generally good for 80,000 to 100,000 pages. You can expect to get between 2000 and 3000 pages from a cartridge. Rebuilt cartridges are widely available at a considerable savings and HP's generally work fine using them.

[z3frog]

the ink carts on HP inkjet printers have expiry dates. even if a brand new cart is unopened it will be rendered unsuable after the expiry date.

[gary_hendricks]

I had been tipped off by a professional friend of mine that he has 5 of these HP 1020s in use in his accounting business. He claims other printers have failed him but this model has withstood heavy use. That was sufficient recommendation for me - but you know what? He is correct! I'm quite happy with mine and rate it high for quality and value!

[glc]

Gary, that is HP's strongest selling point on their lasers. They were the pioneer, and have always built them to last and have made field replaceable parts widely available. Sure, you can get cheaper lasers that work very well, but they are throwaway printers. Brother/Samsung has some really nice cheapos, but when they do croak (when, not if), you can't get parts.

I have a customer with an old Laserjet 4 Plus that he's been using in his accounting business for over 10 years. It's his network printer - it's on a Jet Direct. It has over a MILLION pages on the counter. He uses cheap rebuilt cartridges, and gets a tech in once a year to clean it out professionally and replace the fuser. It has had NO major parts failures, just fusers and the usual rollers and belts.

The only BAD lasers that HP has made were the toploaders - the 5L/6L/1100's. They had feed separator pad problems. To their credit, they went back to a frontloader.

[mystvearn]

Brother laser printers? Quite cheap

[glc]

Yes, quite cheap - but read my advice about them. They are throwaways.

[mairving]

Brother laser printers? Quite cheap
As are Samsungs.

[glc]

That's because Samsungs are made by Brother.

[gary_hendricks]

Careful about the Brother HL-1440 Laser Printer. Here are the problems I've heard of:

1. There is always a line on the paper you print - it doesn't matter how many times you clean it - it will go away for a few days and reappear. I could literally not get 10 pages to print without at least 3 of them having lines - this after cleaning the printer completely many MANY times.

2. Alarm buttons blink for no reason.

3. Manual feeder doesn't always pick up labels/paper. When you are printing postage this is one huge nightmare.

[Mr N8]

I just got a Samsung ML-2010 from buy.com for $99 - $50 MIR. It works well, so far. I'll refill the toner 3 times before I buy a new one, so the printing cost will be very low, as well.

[sgtspector]

I've got a Lexmark E232 laser printer. It was around $200 at Staples when I bought it and it's even ;ess than that now. I got it for my wife to do homework and print her school papers because she was killing me with the HP inkjet. Ive had it for two years and I went throught he included toner cartridge pretty fast but the full size cartridge seem to be lasting a long time. I have had no problems with it. I have to agree though, if you can get an HP get it.

[IKNOWNOTHING]

I have an NEC 860 laser that I've use constantly for over 8 years and it works perfectly...have replaced fuser once and toner about every 8-10k pages...I print at least 50 pages per day, 5 days a week.

IK

[KCD]

My Brother HL-2040 "low Toner" led came on, & OffixceMax was kind enough to send me a $20 coupon, so I paid them a visit. :)

The HL 2040 toner price $65, but a new 2040 was marked down from $160 to $120 with an additional $40 rebate making my cost $60. :D

Like some say, it was a "no brainer". I now have 2 working HL 2040's. ;)

If OfficeMax decides to play that game again I will be delighted to participate. :cool:

KCD

[sdkfz]

I have a used HP laserJet 4M which is missing the JetDirect network card, this was the reason that my company tossed it. I am sure it had heavy use before I got it, I have replaced the cartridge once and replaced some rollers buying the parts from a parts place reccomened by GLC. The fix took me about 45 minutes mainly cause I had never been in one of these machines before. The printer just keeps on going. Total cost so far was

25.00 for a check up by the HP rep that serviced the building - done in the parking lot on the tailgate of my truck - so I am sure that got into the companies books.
50.00 for the rollers (est)
85.00 for the replacement cartridge.

It is like the battery bunny, it just keeps going.....

[sdkfz]

I know I just talked about HP but as far as cheap lasers go....Office Max has the Konica Minolta 1400w for 60.00 after a 20 instant and 40 mail in rebate in this weeks circular advertisment

I could only get to it using the advert link and my zip code- it was not on the main site???


http://officemax.shoplocal.com/officemax/default.aspx?action=browsepagedetail&storeid=2419889&rapid=253357&pagenumber=4&listingid=-2095421272&pretailerid=-99861&ref=%2fofficemax%2fdefault.aspx%3faction%3dbrowsepagesingle%26storeid%3d2419889%26rapid%3d253357%26p agenumber%3d4

[doctorgonzo]

That was sufficient recommendation for me - but you know what? He is correct! I'm quite happy with mine and rate it high for quality and value!

We have a ton of 6Ps around here that have been in use for close to ten years. Most are going strong. I'd like for them to break down so we can replace them with something new, but even after 70,000, 80,000, 90,000 pages, they still work.

[kbaasit]

Well, I had a HPIII laser jet printer... worked great then I moved out here to the west coast (BC, Canada) that thing was too heavy to haul here so it got left back. It was a great printer! I think I will get another used HP printer. I have one on my desk problem is getting a printer cable 4 it. it is a laserjet 1100. and has a small port to the back of the printer.... about 1" in width... 3/16" high.. not usb not the reg serial. cable (IEEE 1284 Mini Centronics Parallel Printer Cable.) Just have to try n find a cheap place to buyt this cable up here in BC.
So, I think I will try this printer out.... if it don't work go for another used HP 4 , 5 or 6.

These newer laser printers with their replace the drum kinda deal is somewhat reminicent of injet printers.

reg ards

[glc]

The problem with the 1100 is the toploader. These have problems with the separator pads. The 5L and 6L have the same problem.

[HAL9000]

I have an 1100 that I obtained as it was being thrown in the garbage... it had the separator pad prob that GLC is mentioning... get an aftermarket pad and if you are mechanically inclined enough to tear down your printer enough to change it, it's not too big of a deal and works much better than the original pad.

Actually G, you gave me the link to a place a few years ago now for that replacement pad and a local printer rebuilder here has been using them now... they're not cheap for what you get, but to date, he says he has yet to replace a replacement pad.

[glc]

www.fixyourownprinter.com

[HAL9000]

Yup.. that was the place... and I've been quite happy with the replacement and my 1100 has been going strong ever since.

[RayH]

If you are planning to do a lot of printing, get an HP. It's worth the money. If you do just a little bit of printing, a Samsung will work just fine. Catch the basic Samsung at $79 or so on sale and it's a fine value. I print maybe 2500-3000 pages a year. $50-60 for toner. If the thing breaks down, just toss it.