OT printer recommendations

[type2sam]

Picked up a LaserJet 5 with JetDirect card for free a few years back. Bridging my home wireless network to it was interesting, but ultimately solved for $10. Toner is pretty inexpensive and lasts nearly forever.

[pbarry]

Has concise reviews on a multitude of items including printers:
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/be...n-one-printer/

[Dino Suegiù]

Originally Posted by tuxbailey

Tip: Make sure you save the latest driver on a separate location. They might not be available online once manufacturer discontinue support. In case you need to reinstall OS, etc.

Can you please explain a bit what this means, to a lay-person? Save the driver where? Is it not on the computer when one downloads it? Do you mean to also copy it to a CD or external hard drive as well, in order to have a duplicate?

[Dino Suegiù]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

after years of futzing with inkjet printers, a few years ago i bought an inexpensive Samsung lazer printer. M2020 to be exact. knock-off toner carts from Amazon keep it running.

Originally Posted by kramnnim

Laser printers are cheap now. Generic toner is also cheap.

We needed a new printer and after some research bought a Xerox 6510/DN (basic wired color laser printer only), which spec fit our needs, has good reviews, and was on a good sale. No report yet, as it will be delivered tomorrow.

My question is:
is it OK to use third-party toner cartridges for these laser printers? There are quite a few on Amazon, etc, but the salesperson was adamant that one must use Xerox toner cartridges (and they do not even sell Xerox cartridges in the store) with Xerox printers, HP with HP, Brother with Brother, etc.

Is that really true? Will third-party cartridges really damage a printer, or do the manufacturers just want us to buy their branded $$$ cartridges? Xerox cartridges are pretty expensive, as are all the branded cartridges.

We do not do a lot of printing, so the supplied Xerox introductory cartridges will last awhile, but it would nice to save money on future cartridges if we will not be risking damaging the printer by using generics.

[fmradio516]

Originally Posted by Dino Suegiù

We needed a new printer and after some research bought a Xerox 6510/DN (basic wired color laser printer only), which spec fit our needs, has good reviews, and was on a good sale. No report yet, as it will be delivered tomorrow.

My question is:
is it OK to use third-party toner cartridges for these laser printers? There are quite a few on Amazon, etc, but the salesperson was adamant that one must use Xerox toner cartridges (and they do not even sell Xerox cartridges in the store) with Xerox printers, HP with HP, Brother with Brother, etc.

Is that really true? Will third-party cartridges really damage a printer, or do the manufacturers just want us to buy their branded $$$ cartridges? Xerox cartridges are pretty expensive, as are all the branded cartridges.

We do not do a lot of printing, so the supplied Xerox introductory cartridges will last awhile, but it would nice to save money on future cartridges if we will not be risking damaging the printer by using generics.

Id say give it a shot. I dont think itll damage anything on the actual printer. Worse case, the cartridge wont be detected as genuine and it wont work until you put a xerox brand in. I think the salesperson is only saying that as its not common practice so they probably dont have any experience with it.

[tuxbailey]

Originally Posted by Dino Suegiù

Can you please explain a bit what this means, to a lay-person? Save the driver where? Is it not on the computer when one downloads it? Do you mean to also copy it to a CD or external hard drive as well, in order to have a duplicate?

Use case:

You buy printer, and you add printer to computer using install disk/download software online to setup.

After a while, software are updated by manufacturer. The way this usually happens is you go to manufacturer's
Website's support section and download a new install program etc. And it is downloaded into your computer's download folder.

For some hardware that is retired the manufacturer could pull it away or not support older OS.

What if you need to reinstall the OS in your PC, or add the printer to a different PC in your house?

Granted, nowadays OS has better support for common hardware but it is still a good practice.

Yes just copy the file to an external flash drive, or network drive. This is important for any older hardware that is functional. Or you may be forced to upgrade if you update your computer.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by Dino Suegiù

We needed a new printer and after some research bought a Xerox 6510/DN (basic wired color laser printer only), which spec fit our needs, has good reviews, and was on a good sale. No report yet, as it will be delivered tomorrow.

My question is:
is it OK to use third-party toner cartridges for these laser printers? There are quite a few on Amazon, etc, but the salesperson was adamant that one must use Xerox toner cartridges (and they do not even sell Xerox cartridges in the store) with Xerox printers, HP with HP, Brother with Brother, etc.

Is that really true? Will third-party cartridges really damage a printer, or do the manufacturers just want us to buy their branded $$$ cartridges? Xerox cartridges are pretty expensive, as are all the branded cartridges.

We do not do a lot of printing, so the supplied Xerox introductory cartridges will last awhile, but it would nice to save money on future cartridges if we will not be risking damaging the printer by using generics.

We've had the same Xerox color printer for a couple of years now, and I've bought generic cartridges from LDProducts.com. Much less expensive than the Xerox branded products, and they work fine.

Note -- do not buy more than you need...they do age out and become unusable.

[C40_guy]

I was an HP only guy for a long time, but their stuff went from being corporate tanks to consumer crap.

So I've switched to Canon for inexpensive laser MFDs. They've been pretty reliable.

Note that different lines within a brand will use different print engines, so do some research (Consumer Reports, Amazon, etc.) for the specific printer you're considering...

[saab2000]

Now that I'm on a keyboard sitting next to my printer I can better express my thoughts. In the past 18 months or so I've sent two toner cartridge printers to the landfill. So I finally ponied up for a laser printer and while my printing needs are minor, I want it to work when I need it to work. It's rarely often or in large quantities but it needs to work without drama.

My HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M281fdw is a delight. It's a bit large on the desk but I could relocated it anywhere in my house as it is wifi enabled. Print quality is superb. More expensive than a junky toner printer but so far worth it to me.

[PCS]

Originally Posted by saab2000

Now that I'm on a keyboard sitting next to my printer I can better express my thoughts. In the past 18 months or so I've sent two toner cartridge printers to the landfill. So I finally ponied up for a laser printer and while my printing needs are minor, I want it to work when I need it to work. It's rarely often or in large quantities but it needs to work without drama.

My HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M281fdw is a delight. It's a bit large on the desk but I could relocated it anywhere in my house as it is wifi enabled. Print quality is superb. More expensive than a junky toner printer but so far worth it to me.

I sent one epson to the landfill because it would not feed/scan correctly. The HP toner is not cheap but your quality is very good. It is nice to have a printer/scanner that just works...hope I did not jinx myself

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by saab2000

Now that I'm on a keyboard sitting next to my printer I can better express my thoughts. In the past 18 months or so I've sent two inkjet printers to the landfill. So I finally ponied up for a laser printer and while my printing needs are minor, I want it to work when I need it to work. It's rarely often or in large quantities but it needs to work without drama.

My HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M281fdw is a delight. It's a bit large on the desk but I could relocated it anywhere in my house as it is wifi enabled. Print quality is superb. More expensive than a junky inkjet printer but so far worth it to me.

Third time's a charm...with some help.

Inkjet printers take ink refills. Laser printers use toner cartridges.

And by the way, inkjet printer consumables may not be less expensive than laser printer consumables. I just paid $70 for a Canon 104 toner cartridge, which lasts about 15 months, on average. Looks like I spent more than that annually on Canon inkjet refills for our old color inkjet...and the replacement Xerox color laser seems to be similarly efficient with color consumables...maybe $75 every 18 months...

[Doug Fattic]

Originally Posted by Dino Suegiù

We needed a new printer and after some research bought a Xerox 6510/DN (basic wired color laser printer only), which spec fit our needs, has good reviews, and was on a good sale. No report yet, as it will be delivered tomorrow.

My question is:
is it OK to use third-party toner cartridges for these laser printers? There are quite a few on Amazon, etc, but the salesperson was adamant that one must use Xerox toner cartridges (and they do not even sell Xerox cartridges in the store) with Xerox printers, HP with HP, Brother with Brother, etc.

Is that really true? Will third-party cartridges really damage a printer, or do the manufacturers just want us to buy their branded $$$ cartridges? Xerox cartridges are pretty expensive, as are all the branded cartridges.

We do not do a lot of printing, so the supplied Xerox introductory cartridges will last awhile, but it would nice to save money on future cartridges if we will not be risking damaging the printer by using generics.

For every one of my framebuildling class students, I print out a 150+ page manual. There is just no way some students will remember all they need to make frame #2 nor does everyone take adequate notes. I need color for some illustrations and to emphasize certain more important text. I got a Dell all-in-one laser printer because that what was on sale at Office Depot. I need the scanner to copy and reduce lug template drawings from 200% back down to life size. This drawing is now printed on sticky back paper and applied to a lug for carving. It was important to me to have a printer that did both sides to reduce my paper count in the manual.

Laser toner marketed by the printer manufacturer is very expensive. Toner from 3rd party companies is cheap by comparison. That is what I have used without any problems. However when I compare the color they produce on paper compared to the manufacturer's color, it is not nearly as bright and has a dull appearance. If you are using black only this probably wouldn't matter.

One other aspect of a color laser printer that drives me crazy is that if one color is out (like yellow) the printer will not work at all until a new color toner cartridge is installed. I don't know if this varies among other printers. On my old Brother laser printer this was also true.

I need and use all the features of my printer (the scanner, size reduction, etc.) but it is also roughly the size of a poll barn. I just live with the monster. I like the bigger cartridges that don't need to be changed so often.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

Third time's a charm...with some help.

Inkjet printers take ink refills. Laser printers use toner cartridges.

And by the way, inkjet printer consumables may not be less expensive than laser printer consumables. I just paid $70 for a Canon 104 toner cartridge, which lasts about 15 months, on average. Looks like I spent more than that annually on Canon inkjet refills for our old color inkjet...and the replacement Xerox color laser seems to be similarly efficient with color consumables...maybe $75 every 18 months...

Thanks for that clarification. You are correct. Nevertheless, I had the ink cartridges cause me trouble.

[benb]

I’d echo what others are saying. Stay away from MFD. for the scanner you can just shoot photos for occasional use. It works fine with a smartphone.

Get a laser if you’re mostly doing documents.

Inkjet is for people who are into photography, and you don’t get one unless you’re going into the $500+ “Pro” range. Once you get into 13” carriage they go from junk to high quality and beat cheap places like Shutterfly on quality. Cost/ml for ink goes down compared to consumer inkjets. At the 17” carriage size the cost/ml for ink goes down again even more dramatically. These printers pay for themselves fast when printing 8x10/8x12 or larger regularly.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by benb

I’d echo what others are saying. Stay away from MFD. for the scanner you can just shoot photos for occasional use. It works fine with a smartphone.

I never scan with my MFD, mostly because it's too easy with my phone, and because network scanning doesn't work on this printer.

I do copy a fair amount, however, and find that's a reasonable use of the MFD versus straight printer. Yea, I know I could scan with phone and then print to make copies...