4 ms·

I'll admit I could just be out of touch, but who's buying these inkjet printers? Laser printers are dirt cheap to run (Brother) and they exist in color too. Pho

I'll admit I could just be out of touch, but who's buying these inkjet printers? Laser printers are dirt cheap to run (Brother) and they exist in color too. Photos cost like 50¢ each at my local walgreens and they look great.

Wowfunhappy 3y ago
Are there any (color) laser printers that are small? That's my major problem with them, they're all huge and I don't have the space!
- freeopinion 3y ago
  Is https://www.brother-usa.com/products/hll3280cdw https://www.brother-usa.com/products/hll3280cdw too big? I wouldn't call it huge, but color lasers do require more physical space. Still, this seems to be in the range of most inkjets...
  - bombcar 3y ago
    These are really good (we buy them and give them away after conferences because it's cheaper than renting a printer from the hotel) - but be aware, they are not photo printers. Color laser printers shine when doing documents and office-style graphics with charts, etc, not photos.
  - Wowfunhappy 3y ago
    I'd say that's too big, yes. You can get some much smaller inkjets, for example: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/canon-pixma-tr150-wireless-inkjet-printer-black/6407491.p?skuId=6407491 https://www.bestbuy.com/site/canon-pixma-tr150-wireless-inkj...
wvenable 3y ago
There's a big upfront cost difference between inkjet and laser printers. I finally wised up many years ago and bought a Brother laser printer after wasting far too much money on inkjets. At the time it was a bigger cost but it's more than paid for itself now compared to an inkjet.
cracrecry 3y ago
>I'll admit I could just be out of touch, but who's buying these inkjet printers? Anybody that does not want to have toner particles (that are carcinogenic) dust in their houses' air.
- kstrauser 3y ago
  What’s your opinion on how that compares with ink’s safety?
charlieyu1 3y ago
I got an Epson inkjet with refillable ink a few years ago thinking it will be the solution for me. Turns out I seldom use my printer, and ink does clog at the printing head if you don't use it once in a while.
- troupe 3y ago
  If you turn it off and back on again, it will clean the print heads. Might not be a bad idea to do that every week or so.
- whyoh 3y ago
  Set up automatic periodic printing (every 2 weeks or so). With something like this, for example: https://www.finnie.org/2018/10/24/cmyk-printer-line-test-sheet/ https://www.finnie.org/2018/10/24/cmyk-printer-line-test-she...
klodolph 3y ago
Depends on what you mean by “these”. Artists who want prints often buy their own inkjet printers. There are a few good reasons—you can calibrate it, you can immediately adjust and reprint something if you don't like the output, and in the long-run you’ll save money over having somebody printing it for you. I remember doing the math on this—I’ve run printing services for art students and we charged the students 0% markup, so I got a good handle on what the cost savings were compared to commercial offerings (including Wallgreens &c). The break-even point for an artist comes really quickly, if you’re someone who prints. It’s not even a ton of photos, you can easily come out ahead as a hobbyist. The costs are also reasonably similar across the major inkjet printer brands (HP, Canon, Epson).
- ProfessorLayton 3y ago
  Agreed, but I don't believe the typical inkjet buyer is an artist, or even a hobbyist with calibration needs. They'd be much better served by a laser printer and outsourcing specialty prints to a shop.
  - klodolph 3y ago
    Your question was, “Who’s buying these inkjet printers?” I just answered the part of that question that I know the answer to.
bombcar 3y ago
The vast majority of non-office buyers just grab whatever is cheap on the shelf. They see "oooo color" and take the inkjet.
mkipper 3y ago
I'd imagine lots of people buying colour printers these days are parents whose kids need them for school. I can't think of many reasons an adult needs a colour printer, and home photo printing doesn't seem like a booming business these days. That being said, maybe it's a lemon, but my wife has a low-end (still ~$400CAD) colour laser printer from Brother which...not great for that kind of thing. It's built well and might outlive me, but it's clearly meant for printing documents with the occasional coloured chart in them, and things get pretty ugly if you push it beyond that. The cheap inkjets I grew up with 20 years ago might have crapped out every few years, but I remember them having better colour output.
whyoh 3y ago
Inkjets are still cheaper, smaller and can usually be refilled cheaply (with some drilling...). They might also be less toxic.

Wowfunhappy 3y ago

Are there any (color) laser printers that are small? That's my major problem with them, they're all huge and I don't have the space!

freeopinion 3y ago
Is https://www.brother-usa.com/products/hll3280cdw https://www.brother-usa.com/products/hll3280cdw too big? I wouldn't call it huge, but color lasers do require more physical space. Still, this seems to be in the range of most inkjets...
- bombcar 3y ago
  These are really good (we buy them and give them away after conferences because it's cheaper than renting a printer from the hotel) - but be aware, they are not photo printers. Color laser printers shine when doing documents and office-style graphics with charts, etc, not photos.
- Wowfunhappy 3y ago
  I'd say that's too big, yes. You can get some much smaller inkjets, for example: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/canon-pixma-tr150-wireless-inkjet-printer-black/6407491.p?skuId=6407491 https://www.bestbuy.com/site/canon-pixma-tr150-wireless-inkj...

wvenable 3y ago

There's a big upfront cost difference between inkjet and laser printers. I finally wised up many years ago and bought a Brother laser printer after wasting far too much money on inkjets. At the time it was a bigger cost but it's more than paid for itself now compared to an inkjet.

cracrecry 3y ago

>I'll admit I could just be out of touch, but who's buying these inkjet printers? Anybody that does not want to have toner particles (that are carcinogenic) dust in their houses' air.

kstrauser 3y ago
What’s your opinion on how that compares with ink’s safety?

charlieyu1 3y ago

I got an Epson inkjet with refillable ink a few years ago thinking it will be the solution for me. Turns out I seldom use my printer, and ink does clog at the printing head if you don't use it once in a while.

troupe 3y ago
If you turn it off and back on again, it will clean the print heads. Might not be a bad idea to do that every week or so.
whyoh 3y ago
Set up automatic periodic printing (every 2 weeks or so). With something like this, for example: https://www.finnie.org/2018/10/24/cmyk-printer-line-test-sheet/ https://www.finnie.org/2018/10/24/cmyk-printer-line-test-she...

klodolph 3y ago

Depends on what you mean by “these”. Artists who want prints often buy their own inkjet printers. There are a few good reasons—you can calibrate it, you can immediately adjust and reprint something if you don't like the output, and in the long-run you’ll save money over having somebody printing it for you. I remember doing the math on this—I’ve run printing services for art students and we charged the students 0% markup, so I got a good handle on what the cost savings were compared to commercial offerings (including Wallgreens &c). The break-even point for an artist comes really quickly, if you’re someone who prints. It’s not even a ton of photos, you can easily come out ahead as a hobbyist. The costs are also reasonably similar across the major inkjet printer brands (HP, Canon, Epson).

ProfessorLayton 3y ago
Agreed, but I don't believe the typical inkjet buyer is an artist, or even a hobbyist with calibration needs. They'd be much better served by a laser printer and outsourcing specialty prints to a shop.
- klodolph 3y ago
  Your question was, “Who’s buying these inkjet printers?” I just answered the part of that question that I know the answer to.

bombcar 3y ago

The vast majority of non-office buyers just grab whatever is cheap on the shelf. They see "oooo color" and take the inkjet.

mkipper 3y ago

I'd imagine lots of people buying colour printers these days are parents whose kids need them for school. I can't think of many reasons an adult needs a colour printer, and home photo printing doesn't seem like a booming business these days. That being said, maybe it's a lemon, but my wife has a low-end (still ~$400CAD) colour laser printer from Brother which...not great for that kind of thing. It's built well and might outlive me, but it's clearly meant for printing documents with the occasional coloured chart in them, and things get pretty ugly if you push it beyond that. The cheap inkjets I grew up with 20 years ago might have crapped out every few years, but I remember them having better colour output.

whyoh 3y ago

Inkjets are still cheaper, smaller and can usually be refilled cheaply (with some drilling...). They might also be less toxic.