Recommend a decent inexpensive printer

jaxxx

Need a new home printer, pretty much exclusively for printing documents. Have had a HP all-in-one for the last few years and it eats through ink even with single page prints. I couldn't care less about losing the photo printing, the scanner not so much but I'd rather buy a decent printer that churns out a good few pages before needing its next feeding, and maybe get a scanner separate down the line. Any recommendations? Given our previous two were HP and I've developed a pure raw hatred for HP because of them, I'd rather stay away from anything HP unless someone really recommended one.



Looking at max around €100 for it, as printing isn't done too often but still want a printer that has a decent print quality for documents while being not too heavy on the refill side. Checking out reviews online and checking the stocks at Harvey Norman and PC World but nothing jumps out at me. Any recommendations welcomed. Cheers.

colm_mcm

Do you need colour printing?

Johnboy1951

I would keep the HP for scanning purposes .... scan to PC.

For printing I would look to a small cheap laser printer.

Might be something to suit here

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/laser-printers/printers-scanners-and-ink/printers/319_3065_30087_xx_ba00010766-bv00308682/xx_xx-criteria.html

Be sure to compare cost of toner between models ...... number of pronts per fill Vs cost.

colm_mcm

The brother one in that link would be a good choice, I use a similar one every day.

smuggler.ie

LIDL doing one this week, WiFi connectivity


Not that i recommend, but you ask for cheep.

ED E

Spend 100e on a device that costs 200+ to manufacture, get screwed for ink.

Penny wise pound foolish.

Alun

I agree, I switched from my last in a long line of inkjet printers with their stupidly expensive ink to a colour laser recently. Best decision I ever made. Mine is a brother printer too, 123ink.ie have a good selection, and their toner cartridges are perfect too.

colm_mcm

smuggler.ie wrote: »

LIDL doing one this week, WiFi connectivity


Not that i recommend, but you ask for cheep.

Doesn’t do what the OP wants.

Nutser

B&W laser printer will do the trick and be cheap to run. Rather than having a separate scanner you cam use an app such as camscanner which can do great quality scanning for a cost of about €4.
I know you said not HP but I have a HP1102W for 7 years now and it's a great job.

fritzelly

Buy any decent printer and get a CISS - something like this (quite expensive this one tho)
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Ciss-Empty-Non-Oem-For-EPSON-T2991-XP345-XP245-XP342-XP332-XP435-ink-cart-sytem/223080715503?hash=item33f0a594ef:g:dn0AAOSwzlZaR78P

Perfect if you are not doing photo quality printouts

jaxxx

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Laser was something I was considering alright, do they really actually deliver? Some of the ones I've looked at say 1400 pages before refill.

Never actually occured to me to keep the current one just for scanning. Toss it in the attic and drag it out for that one time a year I'd need to scan, no point buying one separate!

Alun

You're far more likely to achieve the quoted page count with a laser than an inkjet especially if you use it infrequently. Print heads drying up and the resulting cleaning cycles are what kills inkjet cartridge usage. Also 3rd party toner cartridges often have more toner and thus higher page counts than the official ones as well as being cheaper. Beware though that even laser printers are supplied with low capacity cartridges when you buy them.

ED E

fritzelly wrote: »

Buy any decent printer and get a CISS - something like this (quite expensive this one tho)
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Ciss-Empty-Non-Oem-For-EPSON-T2991-XP345-XP245-XP342-XP332-XP435-ink-cart-sytem/223080715503?hash=item33f0a594ef:g:dn0AAOSwzlZaR78P

Perfect if you are not doing photo quality printouts

This, but don't need a kit nowadays.

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing-accessories/printers-scanners-and-ink/printers/epson-ecotank-et-4500-all-in-one-wireless-inkjet-printer-with-fax-10138676-pdt.html

Xterminator

Laser does deliver saving, only if you print more than the average household. Its dearer upfront, but cheaper per page printed & when it breaks you have to repair/replace.

so there is a little math to be done.

Personally my printer is used for airline tickets, and homework for the kids. Cheap inkjet is fine, and the cost of a new printer is less than a set of replacement inks.

So look at your usage pattern. Be sensible about how long you expect the printer to last. IMO you would need to be printing 100s of pages a month to even consider laser printing.

here is article on costs

https://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/354659/laser_vs_inkjet_printers_which_better_/

Generally inkjet printers have a price per page of around 20 cents, although this includes both black and colour cartridges — if you intend to print only black, ongoing print costs are generally 7-8 cents per page.

Cheap black-and-white laser printers have a price of around 6c per page on average. If you spend more on a laser printer, the cost per page generally drops quickly.

ZENER

Nutser wrote: »

B&W laser printer will do the trick and be cheap to run. Rather than having a separate scanner you cam use an app such as camscanner which can do great quality scanning for a cost of about €4.
I know you said not HP but I have a HP1102W for 7 years now and it's a great job.

+1 best 99 euro I’ve spent. Have one going on 5 years, used for printing letters, the odd boarding pass or concert ticket. Replaced toner about 8 months ago for 26 euro. Simple no frills quick wireless printer.

Most people don’t need color but the shops sell them cheap so people bite without thinking.

Ken

Johnboy1951

Xterminator wrote: »

Laser does deliver saving, only if you print more than the average household. Its dearer upfront, but cheaper per page printed & when it breaks you have to repair/replace.

so there is a little math to be done.

Personally my printer is used for airline tickets, and homework for the kids. Cheap inkjet is fine, and the cost of a new printer is less than a set of replacement inks.

So look at your usage pattern. Be sensible about how long you expect the printer to last. IMO you would need to be printing 100s of pages a month to even consider laser printing.

here is article on costs

https://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/354659/laser_vs_inkjet_printers_which_better_/

Generally inkjet printers have a price per page of around 20 cents, although this includes both black and colour cartridges — if you intend to print only black, ongoing print costs are generally 7-8 cents per page.

Cheap black-and-white laser printers have a price of around 6c per page on average. If you spend more on a laser printer, the cost per page generally drops quickly.

The cost comparison is about 4 years old I think ..... and prices have changed somewhat.
The cheapest laser printer at the time was 3 x the cost of an inkjet ..... now they are about the same!
https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing-accessories/printers-scanners-and-ink/printers/samsung-xpress-m2026-monochrome-laser-printer-10132965-pdt.html

For €50 I reckon it is worth a punt.

I have spent that on ink cartridges in a year even though the old ones were still half full ..... but blocked due to lack of use.

Alun

I agree. I'll refer back to my post about drying ink cartridges / printheads. My old HP inkjet printer was probably used once a week maximum. Pretty much every time I wanted to print something it would go into printhead cleaning mode and sit there clunking and whirring for a good few minutes before it printed anything. I'd get through printer cartridges like crazy. With my laser printer, I send something to the printer, it wakes up from sleep, warms up, taking the same time every single time, and prints. No fuss, no bother.

I do need to so some colour printing, maps mainly, so got a colour laser, a Brother HL-3150CDW. I've had it nearly 18 months now and have only just replaced the black starter toner cartridge which is supposedly rated for 1,000 pages after 775 pages. The replacement cartridge is supposedly good for 2,750 pages.

Alun

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

The cost comparison is about 4 years old I think ..... and prices have changed somewhat.
The cheapest laser printer at the time was 3 x the cost of an inkjet ..... now they are about the same!
https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing-accessories/printers-scanners-and-ink/printers/samsung-xpress-m2026-monochrome-laser-printer-10132965-pdt.html

For €50 I reckon it is worth a punt.

I have spent that on ink cartridges in a year even though the old ones were still half full ..... but blocked due to lack of use.

Yes, they've got really cheap now. €50-60 for a mono laser printer, and around €200 for a colour one.


About the only reason to buy an inkjet now IMO is if you print a lot of photos which lasers are pretty rubbish at in general.