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Buying a printer is exhausting and soul crushing

Tomo815

Tomo815

Banned
Jul 19, 2019
1,534
Those of you who has ever needed to buy a printer should know this, but out of all the stuff I ever bought, nothing was as complicated as choosing a printer.

PCs you know what they do, its a choice between AMD and Intel, and layers of price. Consoles are even easier, its either Sony or MS, either disk or digital. And Nintendo only offers one console, either portable or hybrid.

But there are 7345 models of printers, by 20 different makers and nobody tell you what difference there is between one model and another. Crazy. This is what my parents must feel like when they look at videogames lol.

So lets use this thread to make things clear. What printer do you have at home? Why would you recommend it?
 
Dr. Zoidberg

Dr. Zoidberg

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,695
Decapod 10
I have a Brother monochrome laser printer. It is reliable and cheap. I rarely print and because it's laser I don't have to worry about ink drying out or other inkjet nonsense. It was also under $100.
 
sfedai0

sfedai0

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,912
I cant really remember when I needed to print anything but if I did I would just got a Kinkos.
 
Pikachu

Pikachu

Traded his Bone Marrow for Pizza
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,402
tenor.gif
 
Dest

Dest

Has seen more 10s than EA ever will
Coward
Jun 4, 2018
15,008
Work
I'd say just buy a laser but then you're going to have network and driver problems. This doesn't even get better with enterprise devices
 
dubc

dubc

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,573
Seattle
I have a Canon inkjet from like 10 years ago because the wife -had- to have color. I would have bought a Brother laser otherwise. Ink isn't super expensive but it's annoying having to constantly buy it. Also F you cyan! I'm printing black and white. Why the F are you needed? What a jerk.
 
mute

mute

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,228
Just buy a b/w laser printer and be done with it. All my experiences with color whatever jet have been awful. Use an online service to print photos if you have to.
 
Mr.Deadshot

Mr.Deadshot

Member
Oct 27, 2017
21,275
Brother DCP-7055 for like 80€ - it's ancient and still has it's first fill of cartridges because I rarely print. Printing is a waste in the digital age.
 
BLEEN

BLEEN

Member
Oct 27, 2017
22,221
Also if you get Brother inkjet you can put tape over the clear holes on the carts. Tricks the printer into thinking the carts are always full. Lasts forever that way. Inkjets are all little liars, even Brother's, but at least one can do that. No issues with it otherwise, takes 3rd party carts fine too. Trick still works on those as well.
 
Wrexis

Wrexis

Member
Nov 4, 2017
25,267
I've had my laser printer for so long that I think it might be cheaper to buy a new printer than to track down original cartridges.

I'd advise against ink jet and photo printers.
 
Teiresias

Teiresias

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,492
InstantN00dles said:
Bought a Brother monochromatic laser printer and it was one of the best decisions ever
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My last monochrome laser from Brother, failed just outside of the warranty period it would sit at "Processing. . ." whenever I sent it anything and no amount of factory resets would fix it, so I just assume all printers are a crapshoot now.

I went with a small HP Laserjet M14 that was on sale this time just to try HP after not having one for like a decade.
 
PeakPointMatrix

PeakPointMatrix

Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,125
No it's not.

Not any more.

Buy a Brother Laser Printer and never ever EVER look back. I made a similarly desperate thread in the old place and was recommended the same and my life has never been the same. I no longer look at what used to be a busted printer wondering to myself, "how will this cursed box fuck with me today?". Instead I look at my Brother printer, and I just... print. And nothing bad happens. No crusty ink or satanic error codes. I can leave it unused for months and wake it up on a whim for a quick print. End your suffering now and get a lil brother in your life.
 
Walter White Walker

Walter White Walker

Member
Oct 27, 2017
22,933
Brother laser printer. I have a HL-L2390DW so it prints, scans and makes copies. I got it over 2 years ago and am on the same toner cartridge it came with. That and it just works, unlike every single other printer I've bought before. It's also got wireless printing, so my kids can print their homework on it from their Chrome laptops.
 
Spanic

Spanic

Member
Oct 31, 2017
403
US
We sell parts for printers where i work. Black and White toner printers are the easiest to maintain and last a long time. If you need color go with ink and make sure the printer allows you to use recycled ink like an Epson. HP is notorious for locking you out if you don't use their brand ink/toner (through firmware updates). If you buy a cheap printer, know that the ink it comes with is not full and buy a new one when it brakes outside of warranty.
 
I am a Bird

I am a Bird

Member
Oct 31, 2017
7,699
When I moved to Washington my ink printer refused to print properly and I could never get it to work. I went to the store and bought a Brother laser printer. It scans it faxes, and it prints. Ive never had a problem with it. Also Im still on the same toner cartridge. Buy a laser printer scanner its the best.
 
OP
OP
Tomo815

Tomo815

Banned
Jul 19, 2019
1,534
Spanic said:
We sell parts for printers where i work. Black and White toner printers are the easiest to maintain and last a long time. If you need color go with ink and make sure the printer allows you to use recycled ink like an Epson. HP is notorious for locking you out if you don't use their brand ink/toner (through firmware updates). If you buy a cheap printer, know that the ink it comes with is not full and buy a new one when it brakes outside of warranty.
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Could you give a more specific recommendation? In the 2-300 dollars range?
 
Komarkaze

Komarkaze

Member
Oct 27, 2017
592
Last week, I had to buy a printer for our home office. I didn't want to deal with HP anymore because they really scam you on ink. I ended up ordering this on Amazon for $150 and it's turned out pretty good so far, with apparently long-lasting cheap ink:

Epson Workforce Pro WF-3820 Wireless Inkjet All-in-One Color Printer
 
Stencil

Stencil

Mailing Out Their Business
Member
Oct 30, 2017
11,717
USA
I spent like 4 total hours trying to find the printer that was right for me. Ultimately I bought the Canon Pixma TS5320.
pixma-ts5320-design-medium.jpg

Mostly because of it's small form factor, and it's wireless, so I can tuck it away in an unobtrusive spot like a closet shelf and send docs to print in the rare moments I need it.

Set up was o.k. Pretty outdated, but mostly painless. It seemed to be focused on in-browser set-up that looked like it wouldve been mobile friendly in the pre-iOS/Android 2010s. Granted, I've printed four things so far and havent needed to refill ink.
 
RCSI

RCSI

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
1,861
We finally went with a Brother laser printer ourselves as the previous HP inkjet printer failed. So far so good.
 
Joshua

Joshua

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,179
I came in here to recommend a Brother laser printer... and seems I'm not the only one.

Got one last year and it's amazing.

Spend the extra money. It is worth it.
 
Lightning Count

Lightning Count

Member
Jan 27, 2019
16,228
Fuck off
I have owned a Brother HL110 monochrome laser printer for 6 years, so worth it, I get 1000 pages easily per toner cartridge. It's also easy to setup and super reliable.
 
Bii

Bii

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,914
InstantN00dles said:
Bought a Brother monochromatic laser printer and it was one of the best decisions ever
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Same here. I have the Brother HL-L2370DW Wireless Black-and-White Laser Printer. Works well for my needs. Love printing stuff from my phone. I have yet to replace the included toner that it came with but when I need to, there's an off-brand high-yield 2-pack on Amazon for $30!
 
Shadow

Shadow

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,431
Yup, brother laser printer is the way to go. Got a colored one. While the colors aren't the best, it does it's job well.
 
whoodle

whoodle

Member
Jul 17, 2020
63
Maybe I just got lucky but I bought a second hand HP OfficeJet Pro for £50 2 years ago and it's been one of the best technology purchases I've ever made. Absolutely no issues and the Instant Ink subscription I have is super convenient.
 
OP
OP
Tomo815

Tomo815

Banned
Jul 19, 2019
1,534
xxracerxx said:
OP is ignoring all the Brother talk and going ink jet....why?
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Ill be honest here and say that I am not in the states and when I went to the shop I didn't see many Brothers. It may be a good brand but where I live Epson and Canon may be more common I think? I worry that it may become a problem in the long run?
 
Okabe

Okabe

Is Sometimes A Good Bean
Member
Aug 24, 2018
21,096
I just use the Canon Lazer Ink one. Nothing looks better lol
 
Darknight

Darknight

"I'd buy that for a dollar!"
Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,630
I think it depends on what you're printing. If you're only printing documents, then ya go laser. If you're doing a combination of photos and documents, then ink jet is probably better.
 
Lightning Count

Lightning Count

Member
Jan 27, 2019
16,228
Fuck off
Tomo815 said:
Ill be honest here and say that I am not in the states and when I went to the shop I didn't see many Brothers. It may be a good brand but where I live Epson and Canon may be more common I think? I worry that it may become a problem in the long run?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I'm in the UK, I bought my Brother laser printer on Amazon UK, got free delivery with prime. Cartridge refills are easy to find and cheap.
 
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