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I bought a brother printer once largely because of the praise I see in HN, but it was a color inkjet printer. It did not work out well. At first it was great, b

I bought a brother printer once largely because of the praise I see in HN, but it was a color inkjet printer. It did not work out well. At first it was great, but I don't print much and ink dried on the print head and the 'cleaning' mode used up all the ink and and basically it never worked properly again after that. I ended up tossing it for a POS canon inkjet. I don't print often, but when I do I want color so a BW laserjet isn't a good fit.

gureddio 3y ago
Definitely consider the outlay for a colour laser printer. I've had one for around 5 years and it has been no trouble and is always ready to print, scan and copy.
- starkparker 3y ago
  I love my color laser, but depending on what you're printing they're either not ideal (photos) or not always possible (sublimation, transfers, some adhesives, most things involving heat; laser-specialized materials might be available but won't work as well). Inkjet is also typically more viable for non-commercial borderless and supertabloid printing, like large prints and posters.
  - gureddio 3y ago
    That sounds like fairly specific usage. My color laser has served me well for document printing, both color and black and white
KennyBlanken 3y ago
The praise is for Brother LASER printers. It's universally coupled with a lot discussion about how much of a scam inkjet printers are from any company. > I don't print often, but when I do I want color so a BW laserjet isn't a good fit. .....then....buy....a Brother COLOR laser? The levels of arrogance in "well I can just throw out more than half the advice" is breathtaking... ...and then you have the nerve to blame the community?
- Doctor_Fegg 3y ago
  TBH my Brother multifunction colour inkjet/scanner is also better than any I've used from any other printer manufacturer. No activation junk or "genuine cartridge" nonsense, it just prints.
  - mminer237 3y ago
    Really? I thought Brother started started blocking third-party ink a couple years ago, even pushing firmware updates for older Wi-Fi printers that previously allowed it.
- g-b-r 3y ago
  The mastodon post to which this discussion refers to doesn't mention the word laser, nor do most of the recommendations in the rest of this discussion.
  - rchaud 3y ago
    Every person learns about printers the same way. 1) Buy a cheap inkjet printer 2) Discover it runs out of quick within ~50-100 pages 3) Learn about the distinction between laser and inkjet printing 4) Buy only Brother laser printers for the rest of your life It's a rite of passage at this point.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- Eddy_Viscosity2 3y ago
  A color laser is worth several cheap inkjets. I don't print much so its actually cheaper to use a crappy inkjet and throw it out and get a new crappy inkjet multiple times then get a single color laserjet.
Mashimo 3y ago
Does the Canon not dry up?
- Eddy_Viscosity2 3y ago
  It can, but on the cheap canons the printhead is part of the ink canister, so if you just have to get new ink and problem solved. On the brother they use a higher quality printhead that is part of the printer. Good, unless something happens to that head and you can't fix it.

gureddio 3y ago

Definitely consider the outlay for a colour laser printer. I've had one for around 5 years and it has been no trouble and is always ready to print, scan and copy.

starkparker 3y ago
I love my color laser, but depending on what you're printing they're either not ideal (photos) or not always possible (sublimation, transfers, some adhesives, most things involving heat; laser-specialized materials might be available but won't work as well). Inkjet is also typically more viable for non-commercial borderless and supertabloid printing, like large prints and posters.
- gureddio 3y ago
  That sounds like fairly specific usage. My color laser has served me well for document printing, both color and black and white

KennyBlanken 3y ago

The praise is for Brother LASER printers. It's universally coupled with a lot discussion about how much of a scam inkjet printers are from any company. > I don't print often, but when I do I want color so a BW laserjet isn't a good fit. .....then....buy....a Brother COLOR laser? The levels of arrogance in "well I can just throw out more than half the advice" is breathtaking... ...and then you have the nerve to blame the community?

Doctor_Fegg 3y ago
TBH my Brother multifunction colour inkjet/scanner is also better than any I've used from any other printer manufacturer. No activation junk or "genuine cartridge" nonsense, it just prints.
- mminer237 3y ago
  Really? I thought Brother started started blocking third-party ink a couple years ago, even pushing firmware updates for older Wi-Fi printers that previously allowed it.
g-b-r 3y ago
The mastodon post to which this discussion refers to doesn't mention the word laser, nor do most of the recommendations in the rest of this discussion.
- rchaud 3y ago
  Every person learns about printers the same way. 1) Buy a cheap inkjet printer 2) Discover it runs out of quick within ~50-100 pages 3) Learn about the distinction between laser and inkjet printing 4) Buy only Brother laser printers for the rest of your life It's a rite of passage at this point.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Eddy_Viscosity2 3y ago
A color laser is worth several cheap inkjets. I don't print much so its actually cheaper to use a crappy inkjet and throw it out and get a new crappy inkjet multiple times then get a single color laserjet.

Mashimo 3y ago

Does the Canon not dry up?

Eddy_Viscosity2 3y ago
It can, but on the cheap canons the printhead is part of the ink canister, so if you just have to get new ink and problem solved. On the brother they use a higher quality printhead that is part of the printer. Good, unless something happens to that head and you can't fix it.