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So I did what they recommended and bought a cheap b/w laser printer, namely the Brother HL-L2340DW. Since that day, printing doesn't suck anymore, and my old

So I did what they recommended and bought a cheap b/w laser printer, namely the Brother HL-L2340DW. Since that day, printing doesn't suck anymore, and my old Canon Pixma sits unused.

berberous 11y ago
I bought it too. Very happy to not have clogged ink jets anymore, but the networking / software / UI is garbage. I just connect via USB to my laptop rather than waste time trying to fix the wifi connection each time it stops working.
- ascagnel_ 11y ago
  I have a Brother laser printer, and the wifi is indeed hot garbage. However, since the printer sits near the wifi router, I was able to run a wire to it, and it's been 100% reliable ever since. As an added bonus, as long as it has a network connection, it still makes itself available for wireless print (via AirPrint) and zero configuration print services on OS X, Linux, and Windows.
- MrBuddyCasino 11y ago
  Sorry to hear that. I've connected it to the router, AirPrint on our MBPs works flawlessly.
jonstewart 11y ago
I sadly had to bid adieu to my Brother 8080DN a few weeks ago after the dishwasher leaked and a bunch of water ran through the floor onto it. A B/W duplex laser printer with a document feeder is a fantastic thing when you have your own business. They're a couple hundred dollars and they do Just Work. If you need color printing, you should send it to your local print shop who will do a better job than any inkjet ever will; if you need to print contracts, sign them, and scan them, a B&W laser printer with a document feeder is a godsend.
douche 11y ago
The Brother laser printers are quite decent. Best printer I've had since the HP LaserJet my parents bought in the 90s - which, with a serial-USB conversion kit, still works today, amazingly. They built those things ruggedly. It's a little weird for me to see that logo on a printer, though - Brother has been a sewing machine manufacturer for a lot longer, and my mother, grandmother, and aunts have had a succession of Brother sewing machines.
- mauvehaus 11y ago
  I had never put two and two together on this, probably in part because the sewing machines I own are 70 and 90 years old (A Singer 15-90 and a Standard SewHandy, which I adore) I've seen modern ones that do computerized embroidery, and I guess it makes sense that there's a lot of overlap between the technology underpinning a sewing machine that does embroidery and a printer. They both require precisely positioning something in two axes over a fairly large area. I wonder if Brother or somebody else who makes embroidery machines is really the perfect company to bring 3-d printing to the home. They have the expertise at not only the software and hardware side of building the embroidery machines, but also the experience of doing it cheaply and reliably enough for the mass market. Assuming there's really a market for a 3-d printer in the $200 to $500 range, anybody who makes embroidery machines should be a Z-axis, build platform, and extruder head away from taking the world by storm. As an added bonus, they don't have to make all the other stuff that makes an embroidery machine expensive: the parts that actually do the sewing. Thanks for making that connection for me!
osi 11y ago
Another vote for Brother laser printers.

So I did what they recommended and bought a cheap b/w laser printer, namely the Brother HL-L2340DW. Since that day, printing doesn't suck anymore, and my old Canon Pixma sits unused.

berberous 11y ago

I bought it too. Very happy to not have clogged ink jets anymore, but the networking / software / UI is garbage. I just connect via USB to my laptop rather than waste time trying to fix the wifi connection each time it stops working.

ascagnel_ 11y ago
I have a Brother laser printer, and the wifi is indeed hot garbage. However, since the printer sits near the wifi router, I was able to run a wire to it, and it's been 100% reliable ever since. As an added bonus, as long as it has a network connection, it still makes itself available for wireless print (via AirPrint) and zero configuration print services on OS X, Linux, and Windows.
MrBuddyCasino 11y ago
Sorry to hear that. I've connected it to the router, AirPrint on our MBPs works flawlessly.

jonstewart 11y ago

I sadly had to bid adieu to my Brother 8080DN a few weeks ago after the dishwasher leaked and a bunch of water ran through the floor onto it. A B/W duplex laser printer with a document feeder is a fantastic thing when you have your own business. They're a couple hundred dollars and they do Just Work. If you need color printing, you should send it to your local print shop who will do a better job than any inkjet ever will; if you need to print contracts, sign them, and scan them, a B&W laser printer with a document feeder is a godsend.

douche 11y ago

The Brother laser printers are quite decent. Best printer I've had since the HP LaserJet my parents bought in the 90s - which, with a serial-USB conversion kit, still works today, amazingly. They built those things ruggedly. It's a little weird for me to see that logo on a printer, though - Brother has been a sewing machine manufacturer for a lot longer, and my mother, grandmother, and aunts have had a succession of Brother sewing machines.

mauvehaus 11y ago
I had never put two and two together on this, probably in part because the sewing machines I own are 70 and 90 years old (A Singer 15-90 and a Standard SewHandy, which I adore) I've seen modern ones that do computerized embroidery, and I guess it makes sense that there's a lot of overlap between the technology underpinning a sewing machine that does embroidery and a printer. They both require precisely positioning something in two axes over a fairly large area. I wonder if Brother or somebody else who makes embroidery machines is really the perfect company to bring 3-d printing to the home. They have the expertise at not only the software and hardware side of building the embroidery machines, but also the experience of doing it cheaply and reliably enough for the mass market. Assuming there's really a market for a 3-d printer in the $200 to $500 range, anybody who makes embroidery machines should be a Z-axis, build platform, and extruder head away from taking the world by storm. As an added bonus, they don't have to make all the other stuff that makes an embroidery machine expensive: the parts that actually do the sewing. Thanks for making that connection for me!

osi 11y ago

Another vote for Brother laser printers.