New Printer Needed
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New Printer Needed
Greetings To All:
Please accept the Munchkin Man's apologies for the Munchkin Man's absence during the past few weeks.
The Munchkin Man has been very busy and hard at work preparing the Munchkin Man's tutoring students for their final exams.
This is the "busy season" of the tutoring year.
The Munchkin Man comes before you today in search for advice and recommendations on the purchase of a new printer.
The reason for this is that the Munchkin Man's current printer has conked out.
The make and model of this printer was an HP Officejet Wireless 6500A Plus All-In-One printer.
The Munchkin Man would like to get a new printer that is as similar as possible to the one listed above with hopefully a little better quality.
The Munchkin Man would prefer not to spend more than $200 for the Munchkin Man's new printer if possible.
The Munchkin Man has heard that the quality of HP printers has declined during the past few years.
The Munchkin Man has always used HP printers in the past.
They all provided excellent service and longevity for the Munchkin Man............
Except for the most recent model cited above.
This one only lasted about two years before conking out.
All of the Munchkin Man's other HP printers gave the Munchkin Man at least five years of reliable service.
One person recently told the Munchkin Man that the "Brother" brand of printers is now superior to the HP brand in quality and longevity.
Would any of you agree with this?
The bottom line is that the Munchkin Man is looking for a good quality all-in-one inkjet color printer that will not cost the Munchkin Man more than $200.
The Munchkin Man is hoping that the Munchkin Man's next printer will last more than two years.
Any advice and recommendations you can suggest for the Munchkin Man would be very deeply appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Good luck to all.
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
Please accept the Munchkin Man's apologies for the Munchkin Man's absence during the past few weeks.
The Munchkin Man has been very busy and hard at work preparing the Munchkin Man's tutoring students for their final exams.
This is the "busy season" of the tutoring year.
The Munchkin Man comes before you today in search for advice and recommendations on the purchase of a new printer.
The reason for this is that the Munchkin Man's current printer has conked out.
The make and model of this printer was an HP Officejet Wireless 6500A Plus All-In-One printer.
The Munchkin Man would like to get a new printer that is as similar as possible to the one listed above with hopefully a little better quality.
The Munchkin Man would prefer not to spend more than $200 for the Munchkin Man's new printer if possible.
The Munchkin Man has heard that the quality of HP printers has declined during the past few years.
The Munchkin Man has always used HP printers in the past.
They all provided excellent service and longevity for the Munchkin Man............
Except for the most recent model cited above.
This one only lasted about two years before conking out.
All of the Munchkin Man's other HP printers gave the Munchkin Man at least five years of reliable service.
One person recently told the Munchkin Man that the "Brother" brand of printers is now superior to the HP brand in quality and longevity.
Would any of you agree with this?
The bottom line is that the Munchkin Man is looking for a good quality all-in-one inkjet color printer that will not cost the Munchkin Man more than $200.
The Munchkin Man is hoping that the Munchkin Man's next printer will last more than two years.
Any advice and recommendations you can suggest for the Munchkin Man would be very deeply appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Good luck to all.
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
Re: New Printer Needed
I recently switched to a Brother printer and I love it. It has an additional feature that has turned out to be a wonderful advantage for me: a 25 page automatic document feeder that works perfectly. I am moving to a paperless office, and now I run lots of things through the ADF to scan them, and then save the document electronically. This wasn't my priority when I purchased the printer, but it has turned out to be its best feature.
Re: New Printer Needed
Brother Printer MFCJ425W
Nothing is free, someone pays...You can't spend your way to financial freedom.
Re: New Printer Needed
I like HP products.
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Re: New Printer Needed
Greetings Munchkin Man,
Hope all your students did well on their final exams.
When I have questions like yours, my initial stop is Amazon.com. I first review general options to decide what kind of a product I want. Then I look for the most popular items within my product category and read reviews. Sometimes, the reviews cause me to become interested in another category. Occasionally, I have questions that are not covered in product descriptions and reviews, and I take these questions elsewhere, e.g., to the Bogleheads. The more pointed your questions are the more useful responses you will receive.
My own printer is an old Samsung, and I am not considering replacing it yet.
Good luck,
Victoria
Hope all your students did well on their final exams.
When I have questions like yours, my initial stop is Amazon.com. I first review general options to decide what kind of a product I want. Then I look for the most popular items within my product category and read reviews. Sometimes, the reviews cause me to become interested in another category. Occasionally, I have questions that are not covered in product descriptions and reviews, and I take these questions elsewhere, e.g., to the Bogleheads. The more pointed your questions are the more useful responses you will receive.
My own printer is an old Samsung, and I am not considering replacing it yet.
Good luck,
Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake |
Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. |
Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
Re: New Printer Needed
Hi, MM!
Your budget of $200 puts you squarely in the territory where you should think hard about maybe getting a laser instead of an inkjet. Even if you have to put up an extra $100 or $200 to do it. The lasers tend to be a little more expensive, but boy do they a) cost way less to run and b) last longer. Also there is generally less futzing around with nozzle maintenence, they print text way better, and so on and so forth.
They aren't very good for printing photos, if you do that. Color lasers are slightly more expensive to run than black and white lasers (but still miles better than inkjets), if color is important.
I've got a LaserJet 1300, from probably ten years ago, it's been a dream. Unfortunately I don't know what the modern equivalent would be, and you want a multifunction.
I would second the other poster's Brother recommendation. Our new printer (well, it's three years old) is a Brother MFC-9560CDW. It's a small "workgroup" size color laser multifunction with duplexer, copier, document feeder, networking, the whole nine yards. This is slightly beyond the upper bound of sensible, up in the $500-1000 range. However smaller Bother laser-based multifunctions might make you happy.
The workgroup Bothers, and undoubtedly other workgroup printers, are designed for service. They count down the mileage on each replacable part: drum, belt, fuser, laser, feeder kits 1 and 2, etc. It actually sends me an email each week with all sorts of information. The shortest lifespan item, besides toner at 5k-10k pages, is the drum at 25,000, followed by a belt at 50,000 and so on. This sort of thing compares very favorably to the usual desktop inkjet, which dies at 10,000 pages or 5 years whichever comes first.
Your budget of $200 puts you squarely in the territory where you should think hard about maybe getting a laser instead of an inkjet. Even if you have to put up an extra $100 or $200 to do it. The lasers tend to be a little more expensive, but boy do they a) cost way less to run and b) last longer. Also there is generally less futzing around with nozzle maintenence, they print text way better, and so on and so forth.
They aren't very good for printing photos, if you do that. Color lasers are slightly more expensive to run than black and white lasers (but still miles better than inkjets), if color is important.
I've got a LaserJet 1300, from probably ten years ago, it's been a dream. Unfortunately I don't know what the modern equivalent would be, and you want a multifunction.
I would second the other poster's Brother recommendation. Our new printer (well, it's three years old) is a Brother MFC-9560CDW. It's a small "workgroup" size color laser multifunction with duplexer, copier, document feeder, networking, the whole nine yards. This is slightly beyond the upper bound of sensible, up in the $500-1000 range. However smaller Bother laser-based multifunctions might make you happy.
The workgroup Bothers, and undoubtedly other workgroup printers, are designed for service. They count down the mileage on each replacable part: drum, belt, fuser, laser, feeder kits 1 and 2, etc. It actually sends me an email each week with all sorts of information. The shortest lifespan item, besides toner at 5k-10k pages, is the drum at 25,000, followed by a belt at 50,000 and so on. This sort of thing compares very favorably to the usual desktop inkjet, which dies at 10,000 pages or 5 years whichever comes first.
Re: New Printer Needed
I gave up on inkjet printers years ago. They are just terrible and disgusting. Unless you do a lot of photo printing, I would recommend a blank & white laser. There are affordable black & white lasers marketed to home use, with prices comparable to color inkjets, with long-term costs being much slower (one toner cartridge good for thousands of pages versus multiple tiny ink cartridges that tend to clog and dry up). If you buy a laser but still need to print photos occasionally, you could upload them to Walmart.com and pick them up at the store, or use one of the many other similar services, for prices similar to what you'd pay for the ink with an inkjet printer.
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Re: New Printer Needed
I use a brother MFC-9970CDW color laser. I especially like the duplex option and also the automatic sheet feeder / scanner. It is network connected so my wife can use it as well or I can print when I am not in my home office.
It is way above your price point though going for about 500$ + tax. Costco sells them so at least you won't have to worry about return hassles. Also it is quite large if this is a consideration for you. Also you do need to consider that a full set of toners sets you back more then 1/2 of the price of the printer.
It is way above your price point though going for about 500$ + tax. Costco sells them so at least you won't have to worry about return hassles. Also it is quite large if this is a consideration for you. Also you do need to consider that a full set of toners sets you back more then 1/2 of the price of the printer.
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Re: New Printer Needed
You can probably find an identical printer on amazon or ebay.
I have also heard that HP quality has gone way down. I have an old HP ALL_IN_ONE Photosmart that has worked for years. I use it a lot of photos, for which it is superb.
I have also heard that HP quality has gone way down. I have an old HP ALL_IN_ONE Photosmart that has worked for years. I use it a lot of photos, for which it is superb.
Re: New Printer Needed
I had a series of HP printers that have all died before their time....the ink gets clogged up if you don't use the thing frequently. I recently switched to a Brother Color Inkjet All in One (print, scan, copy, fax) with wireless. Bought it at Staples. It cleans itself every day or every other day. So far it has not gotten clogged up. I guess I've had it a year.
I also noticed the printer ink lasted a lot longer than in the HP machine. Didn't mind that part at all!
The guy at Staples said that HP does the ink clogging thing because their ink is gravity fed. Brother does it some other way. I don't remember the details. I hated to leave HP because I had been happy with their printers except for the early demise from ink clog. I'm very happy with Brother. Good luck!
I also noticed the printer ink lasted a lot longer than in the HP machine. Didn't mind that part at all!
The guy at Staples said that HP does the ink clogging thing because their ink is gravity fed. Brother does it some other way. I don't remember the details. I hated to leave HP because I had been happy with their printers except for the early demise from ink clog. I'm very happy with Brother. Good luck!
Link to Asking Portfolio Questions
Re: New Printer Needed
Munchkin Man,
I can only tell you what Calm Man has done. I have used Brothers for quite some time. Amazingly if you have a question even years later after buying, they answer it for free. If you do not need color, and by that I mean REALLY need color, I would strongly advise a black and white LASER printer. The cartridges for the laser printers are good for 2500 pages and retails at about $60 but can be gotten cheaper. Inkjets are far, far more expensive and require more frequent replacements. Color adds a big multiple of costs. I also advise printing as rarely as needed and only if needed. If you have patience you can also save paper in a document of more than 1 page by printing the odd pages, then putting them back in the proper way (it takes a brief experiment to figure this out -- in mine, it is rightside up and backwards) and then printing even. I probably print under 1000 pages a year and am cutting down further. The printer lasts forever and I do suggest shutting it down at night and when not in use.
I can only tell you what Calm Man has done. I have used Brothers for quite some time. Amazingly if you have a question even years later after buying, they answer it for free. If you do not need color, and by that I mean REALLY need color, I would strongly advise a black and white LASER printer. The cartridges for the laser printers are good for 2500 pages and retails at about $60 but can be gotten cheaper. Inkjets are far, far more expensive and require more frequent replacements. Color adds a big multiple of costs. I also advise printing as rarely as needed and only if needed. If you have patience you can also save paper in a document of more than 1 page by printing the odd pages, then putting them back in the proper way (it takes a brief experiment to figure this out -- in mine, it is rightside up and backwards) and then printing even. I probably print under 1000 pages a year and am cutting down further. The printer lasts forever and I do suggest shutting it down at night and when not in use.
Re: New Printer Needed
Brother laser (black & white). If I need something done in color, which is almost never, I go to a UPS store and they will print it (for a small charge). Printer cost about $100.00.
Last edited by wilpat on Sun May 26, 2013 11:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
Contrary to the belief of many, profit is not a four letter word!
Re: New Printer Needed
You can get a very capable black and white laser that does duplexing (double sided printing) for the $200 range, with wifi enabled as well so that you can print wirelessly from all the computers in your house. No need to do any fancy paper shuffling to get double sided.Calm Man wrote:Munchkin Man,
I can only tell you what Calm Man has done. I have used Brothers for quite some time. Amazingly if you have a question even years later after buying, they answer it for free. If you do not need color, and by that I mean REALLY need color, I would strongly advise a black and white LASER printer. The cartridges for the laser printers are good for 2500 pages and retails at about $60 but can be gotten cheaper. Inkjets are far, far more expensive and require more frequent replacements. Color adds a big multiple of costs. I also advise printing as rarely as needed and only if needed. If you have patience you can also save paper in a document of more than 1 page by printing the odd pages, then putting them back in the proper way (it takes a brief experiment to figure this out -- in mine, it is rightside up and backwards) and then printing even. I probably print under 1000 pages a year and am cutting down further. The printer lasts forever and I do suggest shutting it down at night and when not in use.
Spend a bit more and you can get a color for not much more.
I don't think you can lose with printers nowadays - they're so inexpensive.
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Re: New Printer Needed
Another vote for a cheap Brother b&w laser printer. I had two of the little buggers for a few years now (one at work, one at home). Printed 1000's of pages on each of them. No problems at all, just a new cartridge every year or two. If I really need a picture printed in color, I'll order it online. Better quality, and no problems getting ripped off with ink cartridges.
Re: New Printer Needed
Munchkin Man,
I totally agree with all the comments about switching from an inkjet to laserjet printer due to the economics of the replacement ink cartridge costs. I just bought a Brother HL-2280DW Monochrome printer for $150 after a $50 discount. It is still in its box as I wait to use up the last two inkjet cartridges on my five-year old HP wireless printer. I also bought a HP 1102W (wireless) printer for use in doing volunteer tax preparation services in the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program. It can be found easily for $130 after a $30 discount. I only paid $00 for mine two years ago and absolutely love it. It is strictly a printer though. No other features.
I totally agree with all the comments about switching from an inkjet to laserjet printer due to the economics of the replacement ink cartridge costs. I just bought a Brother HL-2280DW Monochrome printer for $150 after a $50 discount. It is still in its box as I wait to use up the last two inkjet cartridges on my five-year old HP wireless printer. I also bought a HP 1102W (wireless) printer for use in doing volunteer tax preparation services in the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program. It can be found easily for $130 after a $30 discount. I only paid $00 for mine two years ago and absolutely love it. It is strictly a printer though. No other features.
Tom D.
Re: New Printer Needed
Canon has very good print quality. They are slow to print the first page.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
Re: New Printer Needed
Wow. That's good to know for the next time.lightheir wrote:You can get a very capable black and white laser that does duplexing (double sided printing) for the $200 range, with wifi enabled as well so that you can print wirelessly from all the computers in your house. No need to do any fancy paper shuffling to get double sided.Calm Man wrote:Munchkin Man,
I can only tell you what Calm Man has done. I have used Brothers for quite some time. Amazingly if you have a question even years later after buying, they answer it for free. If you do not need color, and by that I mean REALLY need color, I would strongly advise a black and white LASER printer. The cartridges for the laser printers are good for 2500 pages and retails at about $60 but can be gotten cheaper. Inkjets are far, far more expensive and require more frequent replacements. Color adds a big multiple of costs. I also advise printing as rarely as needed and only if needed. If you have patience you can also save paper in a document of more than 1 page by printing the odd pages, then putting them back in the proper way (it takes a brief experiment to figure this out -- in mine, it is rightside up and backwards) and then printing even. I probably print under 1000 pages a year and am cutting down further. The printer lasts forever and I do suggest shutting it down at night and when not in use.
Spend a bit more and you can get a color for not much more.
I don't think you can lose with printers nowadays - they're so inexpensive.
Re: New Printer Needed
I use a couple of those at TaxAide sites. They are good value for low-medium volume. Quick set up and you don't need any software - it is all resident in the printer.tomd37 wrote:HP 1102W (wireless)
I rarely print stuff at home. I probably use my Canon 80% for scanning and the rest for printing and copying. Due top low volume, the ink cost is minor and the scan quality is very good for my use.
Most of my "printing" is to PDF files. For longer documents, I load the PDF into my Kindle (Amazon converts the PDF to Kindle format for me)
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
Re: New Printer Needed
The MunchkinMan should purchase a Brother MFC-J430w. Currently about $70 but often can be found for $60.
The MunchkinMan will be pleased with how inexpensive the ink is for this printer.
The MunchkinMan will probably be able to use this printer for a long time. Saving$ just bought this same printer to replace a 10 year old Brother MFC 420. Saving$ expects the new MFC-J430w to last at least as long the old one.
The MunchkinMan will be pleased with how inexpensive the ink is for this printer.
The MunchkinMan will probably be able to use this printer for a long time. Saving$ just bought this same printer to replace a 10 year old Brother MFC 420. Saving$ expects the new MFC-J430w to last at least as long the old one.
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Re: New Printer Needed
I've been pretty happy with every inkjet printer I've ever purchased, with one exception, and I can't say I've noticed any particular issues with relative durability or reliability. Let's see, my first one was the original HP DeskJet for $600. Several Canons, several Epsons. My wife is using an HP All-In-One (and encountering some Windows 8 compatibility glitches). Oh, and I got good service from an Apple StyleWriter, which was an Apple-badged printer from a well-known manufacturer but I've forgotten which.
The only inkjet I've ever disliked was an Epson that used "DuraBrite" cartridges; as advertised, they didn't smudge, but the color print quality was substandard on photos, and after I had it less than two years one day the print head clogged solid and I wasted close to $100 and hours of time running and re-running the head-cleaning utility, buying a full set of new cartridges, following half-dozen online tips for unclogging it, none of which worked--it was evidently the head itself that was clogged, not the cartridges.
The only inkjet I've ever disliked was an Epson that used "DuraBrite" cartridges; as advertised, they didn't smudge, but the color print quality was substandard on photos, and after I had it less than two years one day the print head clogged solid and I wasted close to $100 and hours of time running and re-running the head-cleaning utility, buying a full set of new cartridges, following half-dozen online tips for unclogging it, none of which worked--it was evidently the head itself that was clogged, not the cartridges.
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness; Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
Re: New Printer Needed
If you don't need a ADF: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Network-Rea ... /2877498.p
Nothing is free, someone pays...You can't spend your way to financial freedom.
Re: New Printer Needed
Except this one DOES have an ADF.mike143 wrote:If you don't need a ADF: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Network-Rea ... /2877498.p
Re: New Printer Needed
"20-page document feeder: For unattended faxing, scanning and copying of multiple-page documents."Saving$ wrote:Except this one DOES have an ADF.
You are right, didn't look like it visually, guess its the pop up door.
Nothing is free, someone pays...You can't spend your way to financial freedom.
Re: New Printer Needed
For the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone wants to pay $200 for a printer these days, when the cheapest WallyWorld sells runs perhaps $20-$30.
There is no evidence that spendier ones last any longer than cheap ones, despite the stories herein about how "my xyz printer has worked well for nn years". And cartridge cost bears little relation to printer cost.
And like others, I print less and less to paper and more and more to PDF. So the benefits of a bit cheaper cartridge is minimal.
I'll buy the cheapy, and toss it when it breaks. You can buy the fancy one, and toss it when it breaks. I'll pocket the cash difference.
There is no evidence that spendier ones last any longer than cheap ones, despite the stories herein about how "my xyz printer has worked well for nn years". And cartridge cost bears little relation to printer cost.
And like others, I print less and less to paper and more and more to PDF. So the benefits of a bit cheaper cartridge is minimal.
I'll buy the cheapy, and toss it when it breaks. You can buy the fancy one, and toss it when it breaks. I'll pocket the cash difference.
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Re: New Printer Needed
I've been quite happy with the B&W Brother duplex laser printer I got a few months ago.
I definitely would avoid ink jet printers nowadays.
I would also avoid an all-in-one machine; you have to throw out the whole thing when the printer goes.
And without a landline, faxing is meaningless; I just wish my freestanding Epson scanner would scan directly to a PDF file, but it's too OLD.
I might consider a color laser printer from Brother, but I've not seen the critical need thus far...
I definitely would avoid ink jet printers nowadays.
I would also avoid an all-in-one machine; you have to throw out the whole thing when the printer goes.
And without a landline, faxing is meaningless; I just wish my freestanding Epson scanner would scan directly to a PDF file, but it's too OLD.
I might consider a color laser printer from Brother, but I've not seen the critical need thus far...
Attempted new signature...
Re: New Printer Needed
Its all mathematics/cost benefit analysis, lower cost hardware usually (almost always) equals higher cost supplies/consumables. Its not uncommon now for people to buy color laser printers and throw them away and buy another model instead of buying additional cartridges. Unfortunately its cheaper to do this than replace consumables.obgraham wrote:For the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone wants to pay $200 for a printer these days, when the cheapest WallyWorld sells runs perhaps $20-$30.
Nothing is free, someone pays...You can't spend your way to financial freedom.
Re: New Printer Needed
As said by someone above, the printer manufacturers have quickly learned particularly for the low-end of the market, they will make much more money on the cartriges than the printer itself. If you want to get into the nitty gritty, you'll have to look at your printing habits, and what and home much you print, to decide whether you want something bargin-bin or something that can really handle years of high-volume printing service. (Like it or not, the more expensive printers usually do have higher grade rollers and motorized bits that allow them to last much longer, especially in a hi-use environment."obgraham wrote:For the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone wants to pay $200 for a printer these days, when the cheapest WallyWorld sells runs perhaps $20-$30.
There is no evidence that spendier ones last any longer than cheap ones, despite the stories herein about how "my xyz printer has worked well for nn years". And cartridge cost bears little relation to printer cost.
And like others, I print less and less to paper and more and more to PDF. So the benefits of a bit cheaper cartridge is minimal.
I'll buy the cheapy, and toss it when it breaks. You can buy the fancy one, and toss it when it breaks. I'll pocket the cash difference.
Still, for the vast majority of consumer printers, the costs are so low that you can't go wrong either way. Either pay up front for the good laser printer and one good cartridge that will last 1-3 years beforing needing a change, or spending $10-$30 for the cheap up-front inkjet, but drop $20 every 4-5 months for a new black cartridge (or more for colors.)
Re: New Printer Needed
Where I live you can't just throw away a printer. The trash pickup services (private and public) will not take them (among the many things they will not take). You have a couple choices. Take it to a recycler, take it to the landfill (who will charge you a fee because they will take it to the recycler) or hold it until the annual electronics recycle day where you can take it and leave it "for free". I say "for free" because it is a recycle program which is funded by the county which is funded by property taxes.
I always wanted to be a procrastinator.
Re: New Printer Needed
I think Brother is probably the best price/performance choice these days. I own a more expensive 4570 laser printer that would be outside the $200 price range desired by the Munchkin Man because I liked the speed aspects and the dual paper trays. I would not buy an ink jet printer. It isn't the low cost choice over the life cycle of the printer. I'm also not a fan of an integrated scanner. The added complexity increases the likelihood of failure at which time you have to replace the whole shebang.
Faxing? I try to avoid that altogether. It's a barbaric practice.
Faxing? I try to avoid that altogether. It's a barbaric practice.
Re: New Printer Needed
In reading some of the reviews on the Brothers they say that it will stop printing if just one of the ink cartridges is empty/low, even if you just want to print B/W. Does anyone know if any of the Brothers printers (or any others) will allow continued printing if one of the color cartridges is empty?
Re: New Printer Needed
Don't know about Brother but this is how my Canon works. I am not sure why they do it that way. Probably to sell more inkcherbob85 wrote:In reading some of the reviews on the Brothers they say that it will stop printing if just one of the ink cartridges is empty/low, even if you just want to print B/W. Does anyone know if any of the Brothers printers (or any others) will allow continued printing if one of the color cartridges is empty?
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
Re: New Printer Needed
+1 for choosing a laser instead of an inkjet. I have found lasers to be much more reliable as well as less expensive to operate.
As others have mentioned on those occasions when you really NEED color then taking your files to Kinko or UPS is a good alternative.
And it almost never makes sense to print photographs at home; commercial printing is both cheaper and better quality.
As others have mentioned on those occasions when you really NEED color then taking your files to Kinko or UPS is a good alternative.
And it almost never makes sense to print photographs at home; commercial printing is both cheaper and better quality.
Re: New Printer Needed
My Brother determines whether a cartridge is low by the number of prints. This can be reset so it doesn't affect printing.cherbob85 wrote:In reading some of the reviews on the Brothers they say that it will stop printing if just one of the ink cartridges is empty/low, even if you just want to print B/W. Does anyone know if any of the Brothers printers (or any others) will allow continued printing if one of the color cartridges is empty?
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Re: New Printer Needed
Greetings To All:
The Munchkin Man would like to thank each and every one of you who have posted their comments and suggestions in regard to the selection and purchase of the Munchkin Man's next printer.
The Munchkin Man was very impressed with the votes of confidence expressed for the Brother brand printers.
The Munchkin Man is now beginning to research the Brother printers in greater detail.
The Munchkin Man is also now rethinking the Munchkin Man's expressed preference for another "all-in-one" printer.
The Munchkin Man has concluded that the Munchkin Man does not really need the fax option to a printer.
In fact.............
The Munchkin Man has never even used the fax feature on the printer the Munchkin Man owns now.
The Munchkin Man has simply never needed to fax anything during the two years the Munchkin Man has owned this printer.
The Munchkin Man just wanted to have this feature again in the future "just in case."
The Munchkin Man is also now giving some consideration to a laser printer.
However................
The Munchkin Man still prefers and desires a printer with color printing capability.
The primary reason for this is that the Munchkin Man often likes to print out instructional pages from various internet sites on various math topics for the Munchkin Man's students.
There are web sites which explain these topics far better than any textbook the Munchkin Man has ever seen.
The Munchkin Man has found that these pages tend to get their point across better when they are printed in their original color than in black-and-white.
The color pages also look better to the Munchkin Man.
Sometimes the Munchkin Man also likes to print out the latest "SAT Question Of The Day" from the College Board website.
These also look better in color than in black-in-white.
There are also times when the Munchkin Man does like to print out a color photograph.
Maybe the Munchkin Man has just become "spoiled" on the appearance of printed color pages throughout the years.
The Munchkin Man has also noted that the cost of inkjet printing cartridges has been increasing.
Maybe the Munchkin Man will consider a color laser printer at a cost exceeding $200 if the long term costs to maintain it will be cheaper.
The Munchkin Man will research this in greater detail.
The Munchkin Man would like to thank you all once again for your comments and suggestions.
You have helped the Munchkin Man to clarify the Munchkin Man's search and research for the Munchkin Man's next printer with a more sharply defined focus.
You have given the Munchkin Man a lot to think about.
Thanks again to all.
Good luck to all.
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
The Munchkin Man would like to thank each and every one of you who have posted their comments and suggestions in regard to the selection and purchase of the Munchkin Man's next printer.
The Munchkin Man was very impressed with the votes of confidence expressed for the Brother brand printers.
The Munchkin Man is now beginning to research the Brother printers in greater detail.
The Munchkin Man is also now rethinking the Munchkin Man's expressed preference for another "all-in-one" printer.
The Munchkin Man has concluded that the Munchkin Man does not really need the fax option to a printer.
In fact.............
The Munchkin Man has never even used the fax feature on the printer the Munchkin Man owns now.
The Munchkin Man has simply never needed to fax anything during the two years the Munchkin Man has owned this printer.
The Munchkin Man just wanted to have this feature again in the future "just in case."
The Munchkin Man is also now giving some consideration to a laser printer.
However................
The Munchkin Man still prefers and desires a printer with color printing capability.
The primary reason for this is that the Munchkin Man often likes to print out instructional pages from various internet sites on various math topics for the Munchkin Man's students.
There are web sites which explain these topics far better than any textbook the Munchkin Man has ever seen.
The Munchkin Man has found that these pages tend to get their point across better when they are printed in their original color than in black-and-white.
The color pages also look better to the Munchkin Man.
Sometimes the Munchkin Man also likes to print out the latest "SAT Question Of The Day" from the College Board website.
These also look better in color than in black-in-white.
There are also times when the Munchkin Man does like to print out a color photograph.
Maybe the Munchkin Man has just become "spoiled" on the appearance of printed color pages throughout the years.
The Munchkin Man has also noted that the cost of inkjet printing cartridges has been increasing.
Maybe the Munchkin Man will consider a color laser printer at a cost exceeding $200 if the long term costs to maintain it will be cheaper.
The Munchkin Man will research this in greater detail.
The Munchkin Man would like to thank you all once again for your comments and suggestions.
You have helped the Munchkin Man to clarify the Munchkin Man's search and research for the Munchkin Man's next printer with a more sharply defined focus.
You have given the Munchkin Man a lot to think about.
Thanks again to all.
Good luck to all.
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
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- Posts: 930
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Re: New Printer Needed
Greetings chaz:chaz wrote:I like HP products.
The Munchkin Man would like to thank you for your comment.
The Munchkin Man is glad to hear that the HP products have served you well and to your satisfaction.
With the exception of the Munchkin Man's current HP printer..........
The Munchkin Man has also always liked the HP product line.
All of the Munchkin Man's other HP printers have provided the Munchkin Man with excellent service and longevity in the past.
As a result, the Munchkin Man fully expected to be an HP customer for life.
But the Munchkin Man's experience with the Munchkin Man's latest HP printer has caused the Munchkin Man to reconsider.
At first the Munchkin Man thought the Munchkin Man just bought a "lemon."
This was before the Munchkin Man began to read and hear reports of the declining quality of the HP printers during the past few years.
The Munchkin Man is not ruling out the future selection and purchase of another HP printer.
But the Munchkin Man would want to read a lot of positive customer reviews on a particular HP printer model before making a decision to purchase it.
Thanks again for your comment.
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
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- Posts: 930
- Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:55 am
Re: New Printer Needed
Greetings Victoria:VictoriaF wrote:Greetings Munchkin Man,
Hope all your students did well on their final exams.
When I have questions like yours, my initial stop is Amazon.com. I first review general options to decide what kind of a product I want. Then I look for the most popular items within my product category and read reviews. Sometimes, the reviews cause me to become interested in another category. Occasionally, I have questions that are not covered in product descriptions and reviews, and I take these questions elsewhere, e.g., to the Bogleheads. The more pointed your questions are the more useful responses you will receive.
My own printer is an old Samsung, and I am not considering replacing it yet.
Good luck,
Victoria
The Munchkin Man would like to thank you for your message.
The Munchkin Man is happy to hear that your Samsung printer has served you well.
The Munchkin Man's students will be finishing their final exams this week.
The Munchkin Man has a few more tutoring sessions scheduled this week.
The Munchkin Man's tutoring season will then be finished.
The Munchkin Man plans to take the summer off.
The Munchkin Man would like to thank you for your suggestion to check out the reviews on Amazon.com first for any product the Munchkin Man plans to purchase.
The Munchkin Man will be sure to do so while researching the various makes and models of the printers the Munchkin Man will be researching.
As you pointed out, the more pointed questions in regard to a particular product can elicit more useful replies elsewhere, such as the Bogleheads Forums.
With that being said, the Munchkin Man would like to say that the Munchkin Man has always received outstanding advice from the Bogleheads on a wide variety of products in the past.
For this the Munchkin Man shall always be grateful.
Thanks again!
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
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- Posts: 930
- Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:55 am
Re: New Printer Needed
Greetings mike143:mike143 wrote:Brother Printer MFCJ425W
The Munchkin Man would like to thank you for your recommendation of the make and model of the printer listed above.
The Munchkin Man has bookmarked the Brothers web page for this printer:
http://www.brother-usa.com/MFC/ModelDet ... aNEWCbD82x
This just might be what the Munchkin Man is looking for at a very affordable price.
The reviews the Munchkin Man has been reading for this product have been very positive overall.
The Munchkin Man likes the description of the 4-cartridge inkjet system that allows you to change only the cartidge that needs to be replaced instead of all of them at the same time.
The Munchkin Man will continue to research this printer in greater detail.
Thanks again!
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
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- Posts: 2798
- Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2009 1:39 pm
Re: New Printer Needed
As a few others have mentioned, I bought an HP 1102W laserjet back in 2010. It was on sale for $100 at Best Buy. I had become tired of my inkjet printer always needing new cartridges and often having a non-empty one dry out if I did not print anything for a few weeks. The laserjet has neither of those problems and prints much more quickly than the inkjet and with much better quality, making it well worthwhile.
I did have to buy a new toner cartridge last year. Many of the pages I print are "busy" in that they have gridlines and/or shading. The toner cartridge cost me $75 which might be a little pricey but I was able to buy it at a local Staples so it was easy. And one toner cartridge replacement in 2 years beats an inkjet cartridge replacement every 6-9 months, not counting the times CartridgeWorld got my non-empty cartridges working again at no charge.
I did have to buy a new toner cartridge last year. Many of the pages I print are "busy" in that they have gridlines and/or shading. The toner cartridge cost me $75 which might be a little pricey but I was able to buy it at a local Staples so it was easy. And one toner cartridge replacement in 2 years beats an inkjet cartridge replacement every 6-9 months, not counting the times CartridgeWorld got my non-empty cartridges working again at no charge.
Re: New Printer Needed
Keep in mind that laser printers release potentially toxic particulate matter into the air, which could causes costly health issues from emphysema to cancer that would negate any savings.
Re: New Printer Needed
I have used Brother all-in-one inkjet printers for 7 years with very good results. Best of all, you can buy generic ink cartridges (search Amazon) for 10% of the cost of Brother OEM cartridges. Your savings on ink will be substantial. I am currently using the MFC-J825DW. Good luck.
Re: New Printer Needed
Can't wait for that class action lawsuit, with all the toner based machines in offices.beanstock wrote:Keep in mind that laser printers release potentially toxic particulate matter into the air, which could causes costly health issues from emphysema to cancer that would negate any savings.
Nothing is free, someone pays...You can't spend your way to financial freedom.
Re: New Printer Needed
Health hazards from laser printers are no more than those from cooking or making toast.beanstock wrote:Keep in mind that laser printers release potentially toxic particulate matter into the air, which could causes costly health issues from emphysema to cancer that would negate any savings.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 115330.htm
Re: New Printer Needed
Does anyone have experience with a laser multi-functional printer. Seems that will serve Munchkin Man's needs. I have not searched for a colour multi-functional laster pinter but here is B&W one which also does copy and scan.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... QgodkyUADQ
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... QgodkyUADQ
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Re: New Printer Needed
Greetings To All:
The Munchkin Man just thought of something.
The Munchkin Man's very first inkjet color printer only contained one single color cartridge.
That was back in 1996.
The Munchkin Man's second inkjet color printer also only contained one single color cartridge.
These single color cartridges accommodated all of the colors the Munchkin Man wanted for the color pages the Munchkin Man printed.
These cartridges worked just fine.
The Munchkin Man was satisfied with the quality of the color pages they printed.
Why was there a switch to the four cartridge system for inkjet color printers?
The Munchkin Man found it a lot easier to deal with only one inkjet color cartridge than with four of them.
Managing four inkjet color cartridges all at the same time is a lot more hassle.
Was it a ploy to make more money on injet color cartridges?
Just curious.
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
The Munchkin Man just thought of something.
The Munchkin Man's very first inkjet color printer only contained one single color cartridge.
That was back in 1996.
The Munchkin Man's second inkjet color printer also only contained one single color cartridge.
These single color cartridges accommodated all of the colors the Munchkin Man wanted for the color pages the Munchkin Man printed.
These cartridges worked just fine.
The Munchkin Man was satisfied with the quality of the color pages they printed.
Why was there a switch to the four cartridge system for inkjet color printers?
The Munchkin Man found it a lot easier to deal with only one inkjet color cartridge than with four of them.
Managing four inkjet color cartridges all at the same time is a lot more hassle.
Was it a ploy to make more money on injet color cartridges?
Just curious.
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
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- Posts: 930
- Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:55 am
Re: New Printer Needed
Greetings To The Wizard:The Wizard wrote:I've been quite happy with the B&W Brother duplex laser printer I got a few months ago.
I definitely would avoid ink jet printers nowadays.
I would also avoid an all-in-one machine; you have to throw out the whole thing when the printer goes.
And without a landline, faxing is meaningless; I just wish my freestanding Epson scanner would scan directly to a PDF file, but it's too OLD.
I might consider a color laser printer from Brother, but I've not seen the critical need thus far...
Thank you very much for your comments.
The Munchkin Man is still researching printers and trying to decide which type of printer to buy.
The Munchkin Man agrees with you that "faxing is meaningless."
The Munchkin Man hasn't had the need to fax anything in recent memory.
The Munchkin Man can always go to the Munchkin Man's local Pak Mail store if the Munchkin Man needs to fax something.
This factor definitely makes the argument on behalf of all-in-one printers less compelling.
Thanks again for your comments.
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
- frugaltype
- Posts: 1952
- Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2013 9:07 am
Re: New Printer Needed
faxing: no need for a fax capability or landline. use maxemail.com which takes uploaded files and faxes them and incoming faxes go to your inbox.
Re: New Printer Needed
See this article:Munchkin Man wrote:Greetings To All:
Why was there a switch to the four cartridge system for inkjet color printers?
Munchkin Man
http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/print ... -9701.html
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- Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2009 7:05 pm
Re: New Printer Needed
I'm kind of anxious to hear what Munchkin Man decides
I am looking for one myself and noticed this one comes highly recommended and seems to meet criteria
discussed here:
thoughts?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6828113690
seriously, I overheard a guy at Best Buy yesterday say..."nobody buys ink anymore! printers are cheap now, when it runs out of ink, you just buy another printer"
BFG
I am looking for one myself and noticed this one comes highly recommended and seems to meet criteria
discussed here:
thoughts?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6828113690
seriously, I overheard a guy at Best Buy yesterday say..."nobody buys ink anymore! printers are cheap now, when it runs out of ink, you just buy another printer"
BFG
How many retired people does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Only one, but he takes all day.
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- Posts: 13356
- Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2010 1:45 pm
- Location: Reading, MA
Re: New Printer Needed
MM needs color for tutoring, so that Brother printer doesn't meet his needs.Barefootgirl wrote:I'm kind of anxious to hear what Munchkin Man decides
I am looking for one myself and noticed this one comes highly recommended and seems to meet criteria
discussed here:
thoughts?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6828113690
seriously, I overheard a guy at Best Buy yesterday say..."nobody buys ink anymore! printers are cheap now, when it runs out of ink, you just buy another printer"
BFG
I got the duplex version of that printer for a few bucks more and have been pleased with it thus far...
Attempted new signature...
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- Posts: 2519
- Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2009 7:05 pm
Re: New Printer Needed
I just bought this printer and now realize I should have gotten some kind of wireless set up.
Is there any kind of device I can add to revert to using this as a wireless printer? (maybe this is a stupid question...lol)
Thanks, BFG
Is there any kind of device I can add to revert to using this as a wireless printer? (maybe this is a stupid question...lol)
Thanks, BFG
How many retired people does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Only one, but he takes all day.