Cheapest, reliable home office printer?

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

My HP 6210 gave up the ghost in the middle of copying tax docs. I'll probably have wifey finish it in the office tomorrow, but I need a new printer pretty quickly. What's reliable and cheap, as in under $175? I really hate HP with a passion and want to mail this thing back to them with a bag of dog sheet smashed on it.

MysticLlama · 03-03-2011, 08:49 PM

Try looking for a used HP 4050N, 4100N, or 4200N with a low page count (you can print the details sheet). Low would be <100k.

Super durable and reliable, and parts are really easy and inexpensive to get, mostly they only need rollers, if you abuse it sometimes a tray.

Hm, reread, do you have to have one with a scanner?

That makes them all crap, at least in my experience so far. I have a Brother that I just bought for R&D to see if it's better than the HP all-in-ones.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

I really hate the thought of giving HP another dime of my money. I would like to keep the scanner.

MysticLlama · 03-03-2011, 08:56 PM

I don't know what it is, but until you get to copier size stuff, all-in-ones seem to never hold up.

I'll watch the thread in case I can learn something too, I have several to replace eventually.

porsche4life · porsche4life's Garage

I had one of those HP all in ones... It sucked nuts....

I bought a Samsung B/w laser for 100 last June... It ROCKS for printing off school papers and notes. Plus it has a cat5 port so I networked it in.

rnln · 03-03-2011, 10:54 PM

It's ink jet? I like laser better. If you don't care for color, Laser is cheaper in the long run and more reliable.

zipinitaly · 03-04-2011, 02:14 AM

We have a Brother 2170W laser printer, it has been great for us for the last 3 yrs. And you can configure it wireless. I believe it was only $90ish.

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

Brother printers have been very reliable for me and my clients....

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Rick,

Dell 1355cn $299 (Scanner, Copier, printer, color laser) - I just had my sister get this one.
Dell 1135n $159 (Scanner, Copier, printer, B&W laser)

jyl · jyl's Garage

Brother mfc 7840w

All in one, mono laser, $230

Mine has been dead reliable, my father has a larger Brother that has also been entirely reliable

Halm · 03-04-2011, 05:11 AM

I am starting to think that all the inexpensive home all-in-one units are really designed with planned obsolescence. As a matter of fact even the higher end / more expensive "home office" units seem to time out at 5 years with respect to parts and service.

The thing to watch for now with HP is the scan output. If you want PDF's, make sure you get one with that specific option. Otherwise your scans will be GIF's.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

I guess I should also ask which of the good printer use affordable ink cartridges. I think $22 per is kind of silly for this HP.

EarlyPorsche · 03-04-2011, 05:17 AM

My Brother MFC Laser printer has been amazing. Plus you can easily and cheaply refill laser cartridges. I vote any Brother Laser.

MBAtarga · 03-04-2011, 05:57 AM

Brother ink jet printers offer very inexpensive ink tank refills. You can get generic refills for a few bucks each - and they each hold 18ml of ink. Only downside, is if any of the 4 ink tanks run empty, the printer won't print - not even black/white if it's 1 of the three color tanks. Just make sure to have extra refills handy.
I've got 1 Brother printer (MFC465CN) right beside me, my daughter has 1 at her college apartment and my son has 1 at his. It's an all in one printer, scanner, copier, fax.

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

Laser printers are much cheaper than ink jet if you don't need to print in color. When you factor the cost per page, the laser comes out on top.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

I don't do a lot of printing, but when I need it, I really need it. I probably use it for photocopying as much as for printing. I've had an expense report get lost in the mail, so I started photocopying them before mailing them out. Can't live without that stuff. I don't really need color and I always print in grayscale.

HHI944 · 03-04-2011, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zipinitaly

We have a Brother 2170W laser printer, it has been great for us for the last 3 yrs. And you can configure it wireless. I believe it was only $90ish.

I've got one of those in the office. They usually make it through 50-55k pages before having major issues. Not bad at all for the price.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

I went over to a color laser (HP 1312) a couple of years ago and have never looked back. I hate inkjets. They all suck and WILL eventually give you trouble. Toner doesn't go bad or plug up after a week. Ink does.

VincentVega · 03-04-2011, 06:51 AM

My HP 3100 is old and a tank. I've had it for years, maybe replaced the toner once.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halm

I am starting to think that all the inexpensive home all-in-one units are really designed with planned obsolescence. As a matter of fact even the higher end / more expensive "home office" units seem to time out at 5 years with respect to parts and service.

The thing to watch for now with HP is the scan output. If you want PDF's, make sure you get one with that specific option. Otherwise your scans will be GIF's.

The Dell you can set the thing for PDF,JPG,BMP,GIF, etc

Both of the Dells I listed are Network printers, so everyone can use them out of the box