Printers: Laser, ink jet, etc. What’s your choice of printers at home?
- Black & White Laser
- Color Laser
- Inkjet
- Rocking the Dot Matrix
- I have no printer
0 voters
1 Like
My black and white workhorse printer is an HP LaserJet 1018. This thing is a beast that refuses to die, even after (10?) years printing a few thousand pages a year. Toner is around $70 or so and lasts about 2,000 pages. I’ve had a ton of inkjets with issues and have had to replace a good number of them over the years, but this thing has lasted (knock on wood).
My other printer is a Canon PIXMA MX490 (color inkjet/scanner). Inexpensive, seems to be okay, only issue is it complains about low ink prematurely. If I printed more color I would get an EcoTank, earn Leo some of that sweet sponsor money (probably like 50 cents from a single unit, but still 
).
1 Like
If I ever did get a home printer, I’d probably make it an Epson EcoTank (which, yes, I learned about from their ads on TWiT) because, although at high price-points, over time they’re comparably priced and so ultimately save on hassle wrangling toner.
I just have a B/W laser printer. I had a Samsung Laser, but it was starting to give me issues. And, it was almost out of toner. I did not know if a new toner cartridge would fix it. And, it was not compatible with Chrome devices.
So, I just bought a new b/w HP laserjet for $80 at Best Buy earlier this year. Works great with my 3 Chrome PCs and my 1 Windows computer. I do not print nearly enough to have an inkjet.
1 Like
I just last year got a Brother multifunction color laser printer. It does a fine job as an economy printer that does good quality prints.
2 Likes
I have a Brother multifunction ink jet. It’s a cross between an ink tank printer and a standard cartridge printer - the ink cartridges have very high capacity. It also auto updates firmware, which is good. And it must do some maintence even when off (network off basically) as I occasionally hear it move something (eg. Print head carriage) which lasts all of a second. Has been working very nicely indeed and despite printing a fair few photos, still a lot of ink left.
It is a Brother DCP-J1100DW.
I have an aging Epson WorkForce ink jet at home. I replace the printer every 10 - 15 years. Up until this one, I had always had HP DeskJet, since the original DeskJet (no suffix) model. One of the great things about them was, you could leave them standing around for 6 months, print a couple of pages and leave it standing around again and it always worked reliably - I spent a lot of time away on contract and there were several years, where I was only home for 1 day on the weekends and I had little or no need to print.
I’ve had two pixma’s and they both died. Gave up on them. I have some old HP 2500 series, I think. Works fine for documents and 4x6 photos. I’m that dude that still prints things as well as the same dude that actually uses a DESKTOP PC on a regular basis for workflow. 
1 Like
We recently upgraded to an Epson EcoTank and I will never go back to the old system. As a crafter I use a LOT of ink and it was just so cost prohibitive (cartridges are super expensive here in Australia for not a lot of ink) - my next big thing is to get a 3D printer… any recommendations?
1 Like
It depends on your budget and requirements (print size being one of many considerations, along with ease of use, filament types, print speed, etc), but the Monoprice 3D printers are good starter units.
I have an XYZprinting DaVinci 1.0 that I bought a few years ago. Fairly basic, but was decent value for 200x200mm. I would love to get one of their color(!) 3D printing units, but not in market for a new model yet, and it’s out of my budget, anyway.
You should start a new thread, you might get some good recommendations with better visibility.
1 Like
@ZivZulander thanks… still newish to the forum but if I work it out I will! Off to google your model now.
1 Like
Don’t buy inkjet printers unless you really need to print often, otherwise the ink dries out quickly.
3 Likes
Inkjet at home, but two color laser at my office (I’m self-employed.)
I agree - years ago, before I knew this… I had inkjets. And, I would try not to print to save money on ink. Then, when you need the printer - bam. Won’t work right.
1 Like
I believe multi-choice would work better for this poll even though I realize this poll is meant for home users.
I use both a black & white laser printer as well as an all-in-one inkjet. This helps me save costs and I can complete my print/copy duties much faster.
2 Likes
Apparently Inkjets are the most popular type here… I had figured that would be the case.
I used them for years. Now, if I want to print a photo - I just upload it to the WalMart website and go pick it up 1 hour later. Cheaper than dealing with ink for the occassional photo print.
1 Like
I still have an old HP color laserjet printer, but it is too old to be useful. Earlier this year, I got an Epson Ecotank 4750 and I am very pleased with it. We are still using the first set of ink bottles that came with the printer (printed 2,837 sheets so far to-date) and we still have the second set of ink bottles (the printer came with two sets of ink bottles). Epson isn’t kidding when they say there is up to 2 years of ink in the box!
1 Like
I had an HP Laserjet that worked great for over 10 years. Solid quality, black and white output, and super cheap (maybe 3 toner cartridges total over those 10+ years).
Over the years, the need to print had tapered down to maybe once or twice per month. For photos, I would just shoot them over to Costco for a couple of cents per print.
Last year, my wife’s company bought her a higher end HP Color Laserjet all in one, so now I use that. It has really nice output and is fast. We tend to print more lately for kid’s school projects, so the color option comes in super handy.
Our main printer is a HP color laser. I decided when I bought it that toner was cheaper than ink, for how much printing I do. But, I did need a scanner. So I ended up getting an HP All in One (made more sense than a standalone scanner). I use it as necessary, but prefer to print to the laser.
I love printing and people love to be given prints. I use an old Canon Pro 100 for proofs and giveaways. I use a Canon Pro 1000 for larger prints that are sold. Only about 2-3 a month but it pays for the paper and ink!