We gave up Epson years ago because “clean head” was an incorrect label for the “waste ink so you have to buy more” function.
Switched to Canon, the thing clogs up died when it was quite new.
Decided to try HP and got a multi function inkjet including a document scanner, and it is wireless and should theoretically print from anywhere on the house wifi. Of course goat sacrifices and power cycling are ooccasionally neccessary. I do print the occasional photo, so when I tried to print a photo using old Epson or Canon photo paper and it didn’t work, I got some HP photo paper and it wouldn’t print on that either. As well as the HP shenanigans to try to get you to subscribe for ink, a new black + color cartridge set cost $100 which has caused outrage in the household. We don’t print often enough to warrant a subscription.
Requirements - primarily documents, black and white and color, double sided, scanning. I’d add “occasional photos” but have not been able to print a photo for years. Ink in bottles rather than cartridges. No nonsense with bricking or rejection of third party cartridges.
For occasional printing, I prefer laser over inkjet printers. No ink to dry out and clog nozzles. Brother seems to be the choice for folks who don’t like HP’s antics.
You can get color multi function versions that include photocopy/scanning.
Not as good for photo printing though. I rarely do that and probably would just send them to a store for the ones I need printed in better quality. If I did print photos more often, I’d be in a similar boat but just for a dedicated photo printer with 7 or 8 colors rather than just CMYK.
I have a HP color laser - M255dw. Photo quality is just ok but I outsource any quality photo printing I need. It has been rock solid for the 4 years I’ve had it. Only expenses have been for toner and paper. I gave up on inkjets years ago due to ink cartridge issues.
Normally I would recommend a Brother Laser Printer, “whatever model is on sale” according to the Verge. I do very little printing and the one I purchased for around $100, about 10 years ago, has AirPrint and does double sided which is all I need.
If you are in the U.S. and don’t do a lot of color printing your local UPS, FedEx, or Staples might be an option. Most also do scanning. The company where I worked had a couple of high end Xerox Color Lasers, and they did a great job but Walgreens did better photos.
I haven’t used an inkjet in years. Laser all the way not least for the fact that they seem easier to maintain and less wasteful.
I looked this up: “Inkjet printers remain preferable primarily for photo printing or lower volume color work where detail and color fidelity are priorities.”
Aren’t color lasers pretty good too?
Anyways, from experience, I’ve found that Brother printers have been exceptionally durable and reliable. Kind of like the Apple of the printing world. This is based on my experience with their multifunction printers mostly but also in general.
Inkjets are really only for specialist work: photo printing and graphics IMHO or for when you really, really need a cheap printer that you are basically going to throw away within a year, or keep going with cheap compatible ink until it goes wrong.
If you are going to buy a laser printer, you don’t have to stick to the obvious PC-type brands. They are basically photocopiers (with or without the scanner) and you might well get a better deal and better quality if you go to a “proper” office supplies company and see what they have on offer. I love my ancient Xerox colour laser printer, for example, and it’s still going strong.
Yes. I retired just before covid so I’ve not seen output from a color laser in several years. It’s probably better now than what I remember.
We printed our own advertising materials and our graphics team had a color workgroup printer for proofing their work. It was large, heavy, and they had our maintenance man build a table to hold it. As I recall it cost a few hundred dollars to fill it with toner.
I was an avid photographer in my younger days and paid for my hobby with some commercial work from time to time. So my opinion of “color prints” is based on work done by a custom commercial lab. Today I occasionally show people a few of my photographs by handing them an iPad.
Before spending money on a color laser I would want to see samples of everything I planned to print. And know the cost of materials (toner, paper, etc.)
We have very similar requirements to you (small home office-type stuff) and recently bought our first colour laser printer. It also does duplex printing and duplex automatic document feeder scanning. The device wasn’t as big or expensive as I previously recalled that feature set having. For reference, it is a Canon MF752Cdw. As ever, check the cost of consumables relative to your anticipated usage.
I would say that if you want to print the occasional proper photos, that’s almost orthogonal to your primary goal of printing and scanning documents. It may be hard to find a printer that covers both bases well so consider whether that’s what you actually want. We only very occasionally print photos, so my wife has a small photo-specific printer or we go to the local shop to print them off.
It does look like laser is a good option for us, but we are both put off by having used them at work and seen first hand how messy the toner can (or used to) be as well as the potential air pollution as the printer is in the same home office as the person using it.
I was hopeful that an ink tank printer would suit us better, but it seems there’s a risk of nozzles drying up and clogging if not used regularly. The HP printer is fine at the moment apart from cartridge cost and occasional power cycling to fix the wifi connection.
As for photos, I mostly print on glass (at Fracture) which I like apart from the lack of certain aspect ratios. So I’m going to be checking out Bay Photo on metal for those aspect ratios. Acrylic would probably be good and less worry about breaking them.
I’ve had a color Brother laser printer for almost a decade and only needed to replace the ink once (light family use). Definitely recommend for good compatibility and longevity.
Several years ago I was in a store that sold printers and saw a manufacturer’s rep sell a new inkjet printer to a woman who was only looking for a ink cartridge. The printer, which came with a cartridge, was cheaper than the replacement inkjet cartridges.
In 2013, according to Consumer Report, “ Even the cheapest ink in replacement cartridges —at about $13 an ounce—costs more than twice as much as Dom Pérignon Champagne, while the priciest—closer to $95 an ounce—makes gasoline seem like a bargain.”
Be careful though, for quite a few years now most printers come with a “starter” cartridge of ink or toner which doesn’t last long, so the perceived savings of buying a new printer versus just buying a full cartridge isn’t simple math.
I recently went for an Epson ET-4850 inkjet All-in-One. After too many issues with inkjets in the past, I was seriously planning on buying a lasetprinter this time. However, desk space is limited and I prefered a black printer too. That made me look into inkjet alternatives. The Epson Ecotank seemed like a good choice. And so far I’m not disappointed.
I bought a HP OfficeJet 2025e (I wanted two feed trays). The printer works just fine but the software is impossible. After trying everything in the installed “wizard,” it still wouldn’t connect to the internet. I called their help, and after a couple of very basic questions and unhelpful suggestions, HP told me that I would have to pay for support for the internet connection issue. I wouldn’t ever go with HP again because of the software and (awful) support.
