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buying a printer - advice?

by Kay King
17 replies
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We have printers - we have big fancy printers - and they are in the home offices on the main floor of the house. My office/playpen is on the lower level and my printer died some time ago.

I've hooked up to the wireless for one of the printers upstairs but it's a pain...I need an inexpensive laser printer - does not even need to be wireless as usb will work. If I need fancy or color I can use the other printers

I need a printer that I can use for documents, scanning/copy (no fax needed) - two sided printing a plus but not a necessity.

Was looking a Brother (HLL2390DW and HLL2300d, for example) but too many darned numbers to choose from. Maybe HP better choice?

Requirements:

*cheap - under $200 and as close to $100 as possible
*fairly fast printing (20+ ppm minimum)
*reliable, reliable, reliable (hate to keep messing with a printer)

Size is not an issue - wired hookup is fine for my purposes. Don't need color - we have plenty of that available when needed. I want a basic printer without a bunch of bells and whistles...why is that so hard?

I've had an inkjet for years but tired of ink drying out due to my infrequent use so want laser this time. Suggestions?
  • Profile picture of the author Dan Riffle
    I don't own this, but I trust CNET reviews:

    HP LaserJet Pro M15w

    "If space is tight but you need to print shipping labels, shopping lists or homework assignments a few times a month -- an increasing likelihood as the coronavirus era drags on -- this is your machine. The HP LaserJet Pro M15w is a great fit for practical, nonfussy tasks and its tiny footprint, measuring about 8 inches deep and 14 inches wide, fits perfectly on a bookshelf. And it connects via Wi-Fi to nearly any device, which means you can print from your phone. If the students in your family can live without a scanner -- after all, phone cameras can handle most scanning jobs now -- and color output, the LaserJet Pro M15w is a great choice for under $120."

    https://www.cnet.com/news/best-printer-for-2020/

    Specs: https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-laserjet-pro-m15w/

    Amazon Info: 3,044 ratings. 73% 5-star, 13% 4 -Star; 5% 3-star; 2% 2-star; 6% 1-star

    Fakespot Review Grade: B (Amazon removed 29 reviews). Fakespot did not adjust the star reviews.

    Print speed is 18-19, so it's a smidge below your requirement.
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    • Profile picture of the author lanfear63
      Originally Posted by Dan Riffle View Post

      I don't own this, but I trust CNET reviews:

      HP LaserJet Pro M15w

      "If space is tight but you need to print shipping labels, shopping lists or homework assignments a few times a month -- an increasing likelihood as the coronavirus era drags on -- this is your machine. The HP LaserJet Pro M15w is a great fit for practical, nonfussy tasks and its tiny footprint, measuring about 8 inches deep and 14 inches wide, fits perfectly on a bookshelf. And it connects via Wi-Fi to nearly any device, which means you can print from your phone. If the students in your family can live without a scanner -- after all, phone cameras can handle most scanning jobs now -- and color output, the LaserJet Pro M15w is a great choice for under $120."

      https://www.cnet.com/news/best-printer-for-2020/

      Specs: https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-laserjet-pro-m15w/

      Amazon Info: 3,044 ratings. 73% 5-star, 13% 4 -Star; 5% 3-star; 2% 2-star; 6% 1-star

      Fakespot Review Grade: B (Amazon removed 29 reviews). Fakespot did not adjust the star reviews.

      Print speed is 18-19, so it's a smidge below your requirement.
      I think Kay would be hard pressed to find anything better than that for the price, only monochrome but you'd have to go around $299.00 to get color. Listed at $108.90 on Amazon. Good choice.

      I'm not a fan of HP laptops or PC's but never had much trouble with their printers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    Good price and good review - but features lacking even for what ai need. I need scan/copy abilities and may add double sided print as well.


    At this point guess I might as well wait for black friday/cyber monday sales.
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    • Profile picture of the author lanfear63
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      Good price and good review - but features lacking even for what ai need. I need scan/copy abilities and may add double sided print as well.


      At this point guess I might as well wait for black friday/cyber monday sales.
      Ah so you "need" a scanner/copier/feeder function, no compromises. Now would that be with a flatbed scanner so you can scan in thick, misshapen objects like Riffle's head, or just a paper feed version.?

      Not much under 200 bucks if you really need this. Here's an HP one for just under 200 but it's quite big, https://www.amazon.com/HP-LaserJet-W...922379&sr=8-10

      You never know, you might pick up this or something similar for less in the sales
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    I need a printer that I can use for documents, scanning/copy (no fax needed) - two sided printing a plus but not a necessity.

    Yes, I did say I needed that - I scan music, designs and recipes...the size of the printer is not an issue - i have a huge amt of space. Flat scanner is fine - if I need to scan riffle's head I'll just smoosh it down.


    Narrowed it to HP or Brother - guess I'll come up with a list of 'model numbers' and watch for sales.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan Riffle
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      Yes, I did say I needed that - I scan music, designs and recipes...
      Yeah, that's my bad. I skimmed back to your requirements and forgot about the scanning part in the above paragraph.

      Here you go: HP Laserjet Pro M148dw
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  • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
    For what it's worth, I've owned an HP MFP176n laser printer for several years (at least 6 or 7 I think) and can vouch for its reliability.

    It's a color printer, but these days I mostly use it to scan documents and print letters. The only downside is the ridiculously high cost of toner cartridges.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    THAT looks good - does everything I need. Amazon price is best and free prime shipping. Back ordered till mid-november but that's ok.


    thanks! I won't 'smoosh' you after all...
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    • Profile picture of the author tagiscom
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      THAT looks good - does everything I need. Amazon price is best and free prime shipping. Back ordered till mid-november but that's ok.

      thanks! I won't 'smoosh' you after all...
      I have a Brother HL-L2340D Kay, with a second hand scanner hooked up to my old PC, XP.

      The printer was l think about $160, b/w and with wi fi, so l can print from the laptop, (this is in AU thought, always more expensive here).

      And you should be able to pick up a second hand scanner for $30, then find the drivers online.

      But it most likely will not work with Windows 10, but should be fine for your Laptop with w7.

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    • Profile picture of the author lanfear63
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      THAT looks good - does everything I need. Amazon price is best and free prime shipping. Back ordered till mid-november but that's ok.


      thanks! I won't 'smoosh' you after all...
      I would pre-order that, it's a great price. Only 14 or so days wait.
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  • Profile picture of the author johnmatty2165
    What kind of printer do you need?
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    I would pre-order that, it's a great price. Only 14 or so days wait.

    I agree - just placed the order a few minutes ago. Gave me a delivery date off Nov 15-17 so not bad at all. Ordered toner as well (of course) so now have a $200 incentive to clean up my work area


    Checked prices on it elsewhere - and it IS a good price on Amazon. I prefer to buy from Amazon - great customer service every time I've needed it. I have prime so free shipping and I use Amazon Smile so a small amount goes to my favorite charity, Animal Adoption Foundation, every time I spend money there. ALSO, by being flexible on delivery date I got a $2 credit on my next purchase. I love a good deal!


    Thanks for the help and advice peeps.
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  • Profile picture of the author Naheed
    @Kayking,
    These are HP LaserJet Printers that can work fine for copy, scan along with good printing quality. These are considered all in one printer and hope HP LaserJet Printer meets your requirements in all respects.
    Many thanks

    Best.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    Wow - forget the 'back order' - printer shipped today by amazon...
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    • Profile picture of the author lanfear63
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      Wow - forget the 'back order' - printer shipped today by amazon...
      Amazon fairly often surprises me like that.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mehwishkhan
    I will say what people replied below, but ultimately the cyan, yellow, and magenta colour cartons are all combined to get red. Now, the positive thing about laser printers is that the colour cart-rids are typically distinct, while the colour cartridge is a single cartridge in several inkjets. If you print the magenta ink in the red with some yellow, you just need to substitute the magenta in the laser printer, while in an ink jet, if it has a mixed cartridge, you have to replace it and replace all the colours and waste money. Quick reply, only red printing needs all three colours. I prefer HP laser printers personally, too. I'm not a big fan of other brands, but their laser printer are tanks and last forever, in my experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    I bought a monochrome - not color - printer - it's been delivered and later today I'll probalby get around to setting it up.


    Thanks for all the help, folks.
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