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The idea that laser printers are a different world from the inkjet ripoffs is a myth from a time where they cost $1k+ and were thus targeted to professional use
by revelation 13y ago
The idea that laser printers are a different world from the inkjet ripoffs is a myth from a time where they cost $1k+ and were thus targeted to professional users exclusively.
The toner in this $150 printer will come less than half full and a replacement is $78. The ratio alone tells you whats going on here.
- jdietrich 13y agoGeneric toner cartridges are cheap and work well. Printer manufacturers don't yet seem to be using the DRM tricks that they've used to prevent the refilling of inkjet cartridges. Inkjets regularly waste ink to unblock the nozzles, so if you print only occasionally you may only get a handful of pages from an ink cartridge. Cheap laser printers are a far better deal than inkjets.
- rbritton 13y agoYou do have to be careful how cheap you go on 3rd party toner cartridges though. At a previous IT job they went a bit too cheap and at least 10-20% of the cartridges leaked toner, covering the inside of the printer with black that frequently ended up on the pages.
- jonah 13y agoYou can also buy toner by the bottle and refill your cartridge a few times before needing to replace it.
- bobf 13y agoAlthough you're right that the razor-razorblade model still applies to these laser printers, the cost per page is far lower than inkjets -- and they are much more reliable. Like Pogue, I had one of this printer's predecessors, the HP 1012, and loved it. Look into re-manufactured toner for a better value. I usually use toners like http://www.4inkjets.com/CE278A-HP-Laser-Toner-Black-Compatible http://www.4inkjets.com/CE278A-HP-Laser-Toner-Black-Compatib... and with that the costs fall to under 1.5 cents per page ($31 for ~2100 pages).