Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler USB Print Server

I am sick of buying inkjet cartridges!

We currently use a HP 7310 all-in-one at home. Fine machine, but it's getting fussy.

We also have an old Canon 630. We need to maintain the ability to make some copies and send some faxes. We could retain the HP or the Canon for the relatively small number of color pages we print.

But as we print more stuff, I keep thinking that a laser printer would be cheaper and better.

Problem is, to get a network-capable laser printer (or all-in-one) seems to cost $300 and up. I'm of the opinion that printers are starting to be disposable items, and I'm reticent to spend big money on one.

1. Do those USB-to-ethernet print servers really work? Here is an IO Gear thing for $50. Are there better options?
2. How much cheaper per page are laser printers than inkjets?
3. I've never wanted to fuss with refilling inkjet tanks. Am I being silly?
4. What brands or models of laser printers would you recommend (either standalone or all-in-one)?

Thanks for your advice.

Tom

Tom - simle answer [url+http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010270038+109472125&name=Brother+HL+series]take a look at the Brother laser HL-2140 here[/url]. Also take a look at their refurb printers.

Brother makes a reasonably priced, dependable, reliable printer.

Thanks for the tip, Ray! I sort of expected a more X-rated answer from you, though.

We've got the Brother MF5460 running on the Linksys Wireless G printer running here and it works very well indeed - no issues at all with either one. I don't do much family photo printing or anything fancy like that, but it works for our limited needs.

You could always look on Craigslist for an old HP Laserjet 5, 4000, 4050, etc. I've got an old LJ 5 that works great!

Lasers are the way to go. Are you looking to do any color printing? Do you need/want an all-in-one?

Also, if you have a desktop computer that is always on, it's pretty easy to share the USB printer over the network anyways - that's how I have my parents set up.

If you go with an All-in-one that is over the network, trying to scan to a computer through the network can be finicky, so it's best to have it connected via USB to a computer.

Laserjets will save you tons of money in the long run. If the toner is starting to run low, all you need to do is take it out, shake it back and forth, pop it back in, and you'll get some more use out of your toner. Inkjets just can't produce the crispness that laserjets can do, unless they print on super high quality - that takes forever too.

Tom,

I have the Brother laser Ray references for a while. It has been a GREAT printer. If you research it, you will see comment about paper curl. Even though I use low quality paper, I haven;t had an issue with curl.

I have it plugged into my wire/wireless router. That way anyone on the network (wired or wireless) can print from it.

Great for those days when I work remote, am on the porch and need to print something out!

Gosh, such quick consensus. Alarming.

Thanks so much for the comments. It sounds like Brother Ray's Brother laser might be a winner.

We don't need to scan via the network; I have the space for an old (but excellent) Epson scanner connected directly to one of the machines.

We do need some kind of MFD to remain, whether it is retaining the HP (for fax and copying, and backup or color printing) or replacing the whole thing (which might be my preference).

I do have a combination of wired and wireless, so my preference is certainly to buy a printer or MFD with an ethernet port (the current HP is on the network and it's great). I was hung up on the notion that doing so would cost more than buying a comparable USB-only printer and a USB-to-ethernet box-thingy. It appears that the Brother machines are inexpensive enough and equipped with built-in ethernet.

We don't do much color printing, and can probably keep the Canon around for that - the ink seems cheaper than the HP, and if it wasn't the primary printer, it wouldn't matter.

We have HP and Xerox at the office. Great machines, but I'm tired of waiting for surplus opportunities.

Thank you so much!

Does your ISP have a fax to email service? People fax a number but it shows up in your email instead. You can still print if you need to and you can view your faxes from anywhere you can access your email.