Laser printers are ridiculous.

Post #441,022 by Another Scott 2/27/22 12:05:43 PM 2/27/22 12:05:43 PM Reply	Laser printers are ridiculous. I'm tired of wasting time fighting with broken/out of supplies/etc group printers at work, so I decided to buy a cheap one as a stop-gap during Covid. In 2014 I got a Lexmark CS410DN for $175 from Amazon. Of course, it costs $400+ to replace all the color cartridges, but that was known going in. It's been a fine, trouble-free printer at home. Now, the color refills are the same price or more, but comparable printers are much, much more money. It doesn't make sense for me to plan on spending $1000 for something like that. :-/ I just ordered a Canon Maxify inkjet for $130 that can do duplex printing and all the XL ink refills are only about $150 total. We'll see how it goes. Cheers, Scott.
Post #441,024 by Andrew Grygus 2/27/22 12:19:08 PM 2/27/22 12:19:08 PM Reply	I have a Xerox Phaser 6510 I use 3rd party toner, which works just as well as the Xerox, but costs a fraction of the price. Some 3rd party toner vendors even warranty the print heads.
Post #441,025 by Another Scott 2/27/22 2:05:37 PM 2/27/22 2:05:37 PM Reply	We had Phasers at work for a while. Started with HP LaserJets, of course, then moved on to Phasers, then Canon, then Ricoh or whatever they are now. They all seemed to work great for a year or 5, and then there were lingering issues that couldn't (or wouldn't) be fixed and then something else appeared. Getting timely service at our place is just about impossible since March 2020... I know toner is a racket, but I've had bad luck with 3rd party inks - ruined a Canon inkjet with some "compatible" ink. I haven't tried too hard with the Lexmark - we don't print a lot and the peace of mind knowing that it will keep working (until some plastic bit breaks) is worth it to me. Thanks. Cheers, Scott.
Post #441,027 by InThane 2/27/22 10:35:43 PM 2/27/22 10:35:43 PM Reply	Brother. Brother makes tanks that have been mislabeled as printers. They take a fucking beating and just. Keep. Going. Ceterum autem censeo pars Republican esse delendam.
Post #441,028 by drook 2/27/22 11:26:49 PM 2/27/22 11:26:49 PM Reply	That used to be the LaserJet description Then they fucked up the software, then the toner business model, then I stopped caring. -- Drew
Post #441,031 by static 2/28/22 3:32:44 AM 2/28/22 3:32:44 AM Reply	I think the LaserJet 5 was the start of the decline. The 2, the 3 and the 4 were all hugely reliable. After the 5 the marketing people got more control. Wade.
Post #441,035 by Andrew Grygus 2/28/22 12:20:43 PM 2/28/22 12:20:43 PM Reply	Decline started to set in . . . as HP learned they had to compete on price, which they weren't that good at. HP used Canon engines with an agreement that Canon would not make an HP compatible printer. HP developed an almost total monopoly on laser printers. All others were avoided by buyers because of need for special drivers, etc. for Canon printers in paticular. Canon came out with a new high resolution engine and demonstrated it to HP. They said, "We will supply this engine to you provided you release us from the no compatible clause - otherwise, you can't have it at all". The "HP Only" aura started to fade, and by the LJ 5 the playing field was almost level.
Post #441,038 by drook 2/28/22 12:32:41 PM 2/28/22 12:32:41 PM Reply	3 was a tank, 4 was a fast tank, 5 was an integrated weapons platform -- Drew
Post #441,039 by pwhysall 2/28/22 3:24:54 PM 2/28/22 3:24:54 PM Reply	I have a cheapo Samsung B&W laser Toner costs about £30 for 2000 pages worth.

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