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Are laser printers still a ‘thing’? I recall having one as a kid and it just wiped the floor against any InkJet printer I’d used - holy crap. It was limited to

Are laser printers still a ‘thing’? I recall having one as a kid and it just wiped the floor against any InkJet printer I’d used - holy crap. It was limited to black and white though.

bediger4000 4y ago
I just bought a new Kyocera ECOSYS P2235dw laser printer. Still black and white, but I haven't had a paperjam yet, unlike my HP5600, which has a ceremonial paper jam every time it wakes from a deep sleep, or my old HP 1606n, which occasionally just couldn't print a particular PS or PDF. Didn't need Windows to get the Kyocera on my network, and they provided a .ppd that works with CUPS. Hasn't automatically upgraded itself over the network either.
Rebelgecko 4y ago
IMO if you print only occasionally at home, laser printers are the way to go. No more frantically realizing that all my print heads are gummed up 2 days before taxes are due.
- dghughes 4y ago
  Or an hour before an interview "Oh they want a paper copy of my résumé/CV!"
- Ekaros 4y ago
  Yes, don't expect photo quality from them, but if you want some documents, or tickets or what ever in paper form they are perfect. And you don't need to care about drying up ink.
- merry_flame 4y ago
  Laser printers are really bad in terms of energy use if you don't turn them off (the toner is kept warm at all times) and interior air pollution, two problems inkjet printers avoid entirely.
kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
Yes. They can be purchased new with color or B&W. Old HPs from 20+ years ago are still running fine as well. Modern color lasers have the same problem as inkjets with tracking dots printed on every page so there is utility in keeping a B&W laser around.
- noisy_boy 4y ago
  I was thinking about a color laser printer - didn't know about this issue - thanks
mullingitover 4y ago
They're the best thing. They print at screaming high speed, with none of the problems of inkjets. Every inkjet printer I've ever owned has ultimately made me want to throw it in a wood chipper. I got a Brother HL-L2300D a couple years ago and have been thoroughly impressed, no wood chipper impulses so far. I've had zero cases where I needed to print color. If I want to print photos I just order them at Shutterfly and pick them up in less than an hour at the Walgreens around the corner.
Jedd 4y ago
What do you mean 'a thing'? They're hugely popular in offices and increasingly in residential environments as people (very) slowly pick up on the offensive economics of feeding a bubblejet. I picked up a Brother (L3510CDW) colour laser + scanner a few years ago. It was slightly more expensive than a bubblejet, but consumables and maintenance will mean TCO is way lower. Brother seem to have some of the better support for GNU/Linux & CUPS these days - this thing Just Worked (over the network, too) on Debian with I think one package from the standard repos. Also, the printer from your childhood was limited to black and whatever colour paper you fed into it, not black and white.
- lostgame 4y ago
  >> What do you mean 'a thing'? I meant ‘are they being produced anymore’, ‘would you still recommend them’, etc. >> Also, the printer from your childhood was limited to black and whatever colour paper you fed into it, not black and white. I wouldn’t have known - it’s not exactly like I was the person purchasing the toner, and I was simply told by my Dad that it printed in black and white only. At that age, I was just grateful to be able to print my Winnie-the-Pooh fan fiction. :P
  - Jedd 4y ago
    Fair enough. I'd looked at your profile and assumed you'd have come across plenty of laser printers at large orgs like LEGO & Universal Music. I guess the swathe of energetic replies to your first question have now convinced you, in any case. It's a bit of a trope, people calling monochrome printers black & white -- they don't print the white areas, of course. Some light-yellow paper would have been appropriate for the fanfic. : )
  - devilbunny 4y ago
    Laser printers have been the most versatile B&W printing tech more or less since they were invented, and the best-looking for most of their existence. For photo prints, you are far better off just paying per page for commercial products, though color lasers are pretty good for simple things like colored charts. A really good color printer costs a lot; it's far cheaper to rent the use of one when you need it. I used an HP LaserJet 4+, upgraded to 4M+ by adding a PostScript board, and adding memory to get it into the 30-something MB range. That was 12 ppm printing speed. I replaced it with a much-lighter Brother HL-2140 (22 ppm) when I had owned it for about 10 years, during which I replaced the toner once. The Brother is now almost 10 years old, still working just fine, though I have replaced the toner twice. I could replace it, but why? It still does what I bought it to do.
zozbot234 4y ago
Don't underestimate impact dot-matrix printers as well. They still have the lowest cost per page if you don't mind the rather sub-par quality and are printing a lot.
- benj111 4y ago
  Or the noise.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - Lio 4y ago
    Occasionally I still have dreams about being woken as a child by the sound of my Dad’s dot matrix printer churning out newsletters. Lost soundscapes, like playing a computer cassette out loud or hearing a modem dial up have a really nostalgic power for me. I wonder, what sound is current now that will disappear in the future? Car engines for one I’d bet.
kristopolous 4y ago
Buy exclusively laser. The manufacturers generally don't fuck around with their laser lines. If it's color and they don't have a machine identification code (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Identification_Code https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Identification_Code) then you have a real gem. They actually respect you as a customer.

Are laser printers still a ‘thing’? I recall having one as a kid and it just wiped the floor against any InkJet printer I’d used - holy crap. It was limited to black and white though.

bediger4000 4y ago

I just bought a new Kyocera ECOSYS P2235dw laser printer. Still black and white, but I haven't had a paperjam yet, unlike my HP5600, which has a ceremonial paper jam every time it wakes from a deep sleep, or my old HP 1606n, which occasionally just couldn't print a particular PS or PDF. Didn't need Windows to get the Kyocera on my network, and they provided a .ppd that works with CUPS. Hasn't automatically upgraded itself over the network either.

Rebelgecko 4y ago

IMO if you print only occasionally at home, laser printers are the way to go. No more frantically realizing that all my print heads are gummed up 2 days before taxes are due.

dghughes 4y ago
Or an hour before an interview "Oh they want a paper copy of my résumé/CV!"
Ekaros 4y ago
Yes, don't expect photo quality from them, but if you want some documents, or tickets or what ever in paper form they are perfect. And you don't need to care about drying up ink.
merry_flame 4y ago
Laser printers are really bad in terms of energy use if you don't turn them off (the toner is kept warm at all times) and interior air pollution, two problems inkjet printers avoid entirely.

kevin_thibedeau 4y ago

Yes. They can be purchased new with color or B&W. Old HPs from 20+ years ago are still running fine as well. Modern color lasers have the same problem as inkjets with tracking dots printed on every page so there is utility in keeping a B&W laser around.

noisy_boy 4y ago
I was thinking about a color laser printer - didn't know about this issue - thanks

mullingitover 4y ago

They're the best thing. They print at screaming high speed, with none of the problems of inkjets. Every inkjet printer I've ever owned has ultimately made me want to throw it in a wood chipper. I got a Brother HL-L2300D a couple years ago and have been thoroughly impressed, no wood chipper impulses so far. I've had zero cases where I needed to print color. If I want to print photos I just order them at Shutterfly and pick them up in less than an hour at the Walgreens around the corner.

Jedd 4y ago

What do you mean 'a thing'? They're hugely popular in offices and increasingly in residential environments as people (very) slowly pick up on the offensive economics of feeding a bubblejet. I picked up a Brother (L3510CDW) colour laser + scanner a few years ago. It was slightly more expensive than a bubblejet, but consumables and maintenance will mean TCO is way lower. Brother seem to have some of the better support for GNU/Linux & CUPS these days - this thing Just Worked (over the network, too) on Debian with I think one package from the standard repos. Also, the printer from your childhood was limited to black and whatever colour paper you fed into it, not black and white.

lostgame 4y ago
>> What do you mean 'a thing'? I meant ‘are they being produced anymore’, ‘would you still recommend them’, etc. >> Also, the printer from your childhood was limited to black and whatever colour paper you fed into it, not black and white. I wouldn’t have known - it’s not exactly like I was the person purchasing the toner, and I was simply told by my Dad that it printed in black and white only. At that age, I was just grateful to be able to print my Winnie-the-Pooh fan fiction. :P
- Jedd 4y ago
  Fair enough. I'd looked at your profile and assumed you'd have come across plenty of laser printers at large orgs like LEGO & Universal Music. I guess the swathe of energetic replies to your first question have now convinced you, in any case. It's a bit of a trope, people calling monochrome printers black & white -- they don't print the white areas, of course. Some light-yellow paper would have been appropriate for the fanfic. : )
- devilbunny 4y ago
  Laser printers have been the most versatile B&W printing tech more or less since they were invented, and the best-looking for most of their existence. For photo prints, you are far better off just paying per page for commercial products, though color lasers are pretty good for simple things like colored charts. A really good color printer costs a lot; it's far cheaper to rent the use of one when you need it. I used an HP LaserJet 4+, upgraded to 4M+ by adding a PostScript board, and adding memory to get it into the 30-something MB range. That was 12 ppm printing speed. I replaced it with a much-lighter Brother HL-2140 (22 ppm) when I had owned it for about 10 years, during which I replaced the toner once. The Brother is now almost 10 years old, still working just fine, though I have replaced the toner twice. I could replace it, but why? It still does what I bought it to do.

zozbot234 4y ago

Don't underestimate impact dot-matrix printers as well. They still have the lowest cost per page if you don't mind the rather sub-par quality and are printing a lot.

benj111 4y ago
Or the noise.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- Lio 4y ago
  Occasionally I still have dreams about being woken as a child by the sound of my Dad’s dot matrix printer churning out newsletters. Lost soundscapes, like playing a computer cassette out loud or hearing a modem dial up have a really nostalgic power for me. I wonder, what sound is current now that will disappear in the future? Car engines for one I’d bet.

kristopolous 4y ago

Buy exclusively laser. The manufacturers generally don't fuck around with their laser lines. If it's color and they don't have a machine identification code (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Identification_Code https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Identification_Code) then you have a real gem. They actually respect you as a customer.