Printer suggestions?

[BasicAcid]

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[slothpomba]

We've had this conversation heaps before, try the search box.

Laser is better by far. Comes down to basic mathematics really (which im no good at but hey!). I got a brother for $90 or there about. Great printer, prints double sided automatically (very important feature!) and came with half a toner cartridge. If you want to get technical, the business model of printers can be described as "razors and blades", they sell the printer at a loss to later make it back on the actual consumable portion (toner), much like razors and blades (which are the classical example). You're already getting a good deal on the printer itself because it is likely close to cost or at a loss.

The ink can be found on eBay, its not official ink (works the same though), so, its much cheaper. I get one that prints something like ~1800 (or was it 2500..i cant remember) pages for ~$20. Do the math, its probably less than a cent a page, even if you figure into the $90-140 initial cost of the printer, over the long run, its still basically a cent (if that) a page. The drum needs to be replaced maybe once every 2-3 years, slightly more expensive, due to the economy of all this though, it might be cheaper (although extremely wasteful) to just simply buy an entirely new printer.

I have a brother 2242D myself. Brothers are reliable and in many models, you can put tape over the sensor so it continues to print (even though it acts like or thinks the ink is empty). The quality will be a little reduced but its better than having it refuse to print at all. There are probably tricks for most companies/models out there though. As always, http://www.whirlpool.net.au is also your friend. When buying, i'd consider double sided a critical feature. Cuts your paper usage in half and makes it much easier to staple everything (it honestly does get hard even after 7-8 sheets sometimes, let alone some of the larger lectures).

For black and white notes (or other office stuff) laser wins hands down. Even if you only occasionally print stuff, laser still wins. The only situation where its kind of shit is where you want colour (colour lasers are fairly expensive i think) or great quality photo prints (as in stuff you'd put in a frame). Otherwise, in an economic sense, inkjets are insanity.

I explained in more detail in another thread somewhere (including crunching the numbers).