
Ask HN: What printer do you recommend for rare printing? - joshstrange
I need to print something once a month at best. I can use FedEx or other to print but it can be a PITA. I was hoping there are others here on HN that are in a similar situation. I&#x27;m looking for a printer that will do fine with infrequent use and the ink will still work when I go to use it.<p>I&#x27;m looking to print way less that 100 sheets&#x2F;yr, we are talking shipping labels here, nothing serious.
======
hprotagonist
Any base model brother laser printer, preferably any that support wifi
printing.

i’ve had one for 7 years, and replaced the toner exactly once.

~~~
js2
I followed "any Brother" advice years ago and had the bad luck of picking a
Brother model (HL-3170CDW) plagued with a roller failure problem. Brother
refused to fix it under warranty which turned me off the brand. This is not my
review, but I had an identical experience, except this reviewer eventually got
his replaced, whereas Brother refused to do so for me.

[https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-
reviews/RKX2S5U90HT01?ref...](https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-
reviews/RKX2S5U90HT01?ref=va_cr_lb)

edit: then again, it was only a $200 color laser printer.

~~~
MisterOctober
Yep! I have similar personal experience with that particular beastie and can
confirm that it is to-be-avoided.

I think "base model _monochrome_ Brother printer" is a safer guideline

~~~
dsr_
Brother mono laser printer which explicitly has an ethernet port, duplex, and
PostScript (BRScript).

Right now, Newegg is selling a new HL-L5100DN for $180 with free shipping. It
should last for five to ten years of low-volume printing.

~~~
MisterOctober
Good call, I forgot they don't all have ethernet -- the L5xxx is in fact the
most recent one I've purchased [L5200DW to be exact] -- stone reliable so far
with low volume

------
kube-system
You want a laser printer. Inkjets will clog up with infrequent use, but lasers
won't.

HP makes some interesting compact laser printers these days that could easily
be stored away while you're not using them -- something like the HP LaserJet
Pro M15w might be nice for infrequent use.

~~~
avhon1
That sure is a compact laser printer! And it only draws 210 watts while
printing! Unfortunately, I was disappointed by this part of the description:

> Dynamic security enabled printer. Only intended to be used with cartridges
> using an HP original chip. Cartridges using a non-HP chip may not work, and
> those that work today may not work in the future.

DRMed toner cartridges with OTA "security" improvements? That sounds like a
major anti-feature.

~~~
iforgotpassword
I'm glad my LaserJet 1020 just keeps working and working. For infrequent
printing it's just perfect. I always get the cheapest refill from Amazon and
it's doing just fine. One refill lasts about two years and is 15€. The last
two times I ordered the seller even included a note that if I'd give them a
positive rating I'd get another one for free. Didn't do it cause I'm lazy.

~~~
mring33621
What a great printer! My 1020 finally died after my kids knocked it off its
stand too many times. I replaced it with a "HP LaserJet Pro M15w Wireless
Laser Printer" and am very happy with it. The included toner ran out quickly,
but a 3rd party replacement cartridge from SwiftInk works just fine.

------
orev
Only thing I can add to the laser printer choir: I used to try to go with
inkjets because they were so cheap, and the price of a laser really put me off
(wanted a color one). The inkjets jammed and clogged every time I tried to use
them, which was very infrequently. I finally bit the bullet and went with a
Brother color laser (MFC-9340CDW) and it is one of the best purchases I have
ever made. You can print stuff directly from your phone, and I don’t have to
spend all night trying to unclog the print head (wasting valuable ink) the
night before I have an early flight (back when you still printed boarding
passes). The reduction in stress by knowing it will “just work” when I need it
is priceless.

Only issues I have had with this model are the auto feed on the scanner
stopped working, and when it did work the scans came out a little skewed.

~~~
exhilaration
Brother printers are great. I have a B&W Brother laser printer (HL-2280DW)
that I bought used in 2015 for $50. It still works perfectly, can print/scan
directly from Android and iPhone apps. We would only print a few times a year
but now that the kids are older is gets used once or twice a week. It supports
IPP so I can even print to it from a Chromebook.

------
slantyyz
>> I'm looking to print way less that 100 sheets/yr, we are talking shipping
labels here, nothing serious.

If you're only doing shipping labels, you might want to consider a label
printer. I got a Brother thermal label printer (QL-700) for well under $100,
and there are third party label makers that sell spools of labels. The great
thing about it is that the output looks great and the only consumables are the
labels. No ink or toner to worry about.

There's also a slightly more expensive model that can do black and red (labels
cost more too).

------
tamalpais
I recommend checking Wirecutter [0] when making a purchase like this. It’s a
site that publishes detailed, well-organized, and well-researched reviews of
consumer products. I check anytime I buy anything durable, though I don’t
always go with their recommendations.

Their “Affordable and reliable” printer pick is the Brother HL-L2350DW for
~$100 on Amazon [1]. I have a similar model, the HL-L2340DW, for the same
reason you’re looking for.

[0] [https://thewirecutter.com/](https://thewirecutter.com/)

[1] [https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-home-
printers/](https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-home-printers/)

~~~
bryanlarsen
Wirecutter makes their money from affiliate links, so the potential for
conflict is high.

They also mostly just meta-analysis rather than doing their own. Their biggest
source is Consumer Reports, who don't make their money from advertisers. Much
better to go straight to the source:
[https://www.consumerreports.org/printers/best-laser-
printers...](https://www.consumerreports.org/printers/best-laser-printers-for-
your-home-office/)

Subscription required, but that's the point -- no conflict of interest.

For those who don't want to subscribe, here are the Consumer Reports
recommendations:

Best for work: Brother MFC-L2710DW

Best for price: Brother HL-L5200DW

Best for presentations: Canon imageCLASS MF642Cdw

~~~
tamalpais
You’re not wrong that there’s the potential for conflict of interest. Many
commenters on Wirecutter articles note that the options they choose are more
expensive.

But the articles _are_ well-written and have saved me considerable time.
They’ve done much of the work of comprising shopping for the reader. I have no
qualms buying through their links when the linked product is the right balance
of reliable and economical.

~~~
copperx
The best Wirecutter recommendations come from the comments, not the articles.

~~~
tamalpais
You’re definitely on to something here. The comments are half the value.
There’s usually someone wanting to know why a given option was excluded or why
a conclusion was reached by Wirecutter staff.

------
cr0sh
I have an HP Laserjet 6P - I bought it (used) years ago because I rarely print
things, and every inkjet I owned would "clog up" and be useless when I needed
it. The 6P (as well as its predecessor, the 5) was/is a "business workhorse".
Mine had less than 25k pages on it - a complete "baby" when I got it; I'm
still well under 50k.

When I need it, it works (assuming paper is loaded). A toner cartridge lasts
forever. I've maybe changed cartridges a couple of times in the past 20 years.

The only upgrades I did to the printer was maxing out it's memory (to 8 meg)
and putting in the Postscript SIMM. I also have it hooked up via a USB to
parallel port cable. There are ways to get it connected to the network, but
I've never done it since it gets used so rarely and only by myself usually.

It isn't fast - it won't win no prizes there. But when I need it, it works.
That is all that matters to me.

------
deedubaya
I've given up on owning my own printer. They seem to last all of two seconds.
I spend too much time to figure out why they aren't working, eventually giving
up.

I have used the Lob.com API to print something, have it mailed to me, and then
used. Inefficient and slow, but it is my reality.

If I'm desperate, I go to the public library.

------
jlarocco
I live near a library and print there when I need to. They're a little cheaper
than FedEx and usually less busy. I suppose for large volume or something more
complicated I'd still go to FedEx, though.

------
joezydeco
Find a used HP Laserjet 1020. Used ones are all over the place and you can
probably get a decent one for $50.

Drivers are easy, works on good ol' USB, and a single $20 toner cartridge will
last you a decade.

~~~
systemdtrigger
By decade you mean 1000pages (OP mentions 100/yr)?

~~~
joezydeco
Yes. Shipping labels use minimal toner. I believe the 1020 cartridges are
typically loaded for 2000 pages.

------
camflan
a ~$100 black and white laser printer.

I got a HP 1102w for this about 6 or 7 years ago and it's never failed. By
getting laser, you can avoid the clogged print heads issues and other issues
inkjets have with infrequent use.

------
rshnotsecure
I would make sure to use Google Cloud Print, and restrict all local access to
your printer (e.g. can only print via Chrome via Google Cloud Print).

Typically printers will expose more security settings via SNMPv3 and you
should take advantage of these (absolutely amazing learning opportunity for up
and coming sysadmins/cloud engineers too).

I think HP is highly underrated for their printer security currently. Yes,
it’s probably hackable in 5 mins like everything else in that space, but it
has signed firmware! And they are the first printer company to be
participating in a big bounty saas platform! Good things all around.

Also go with a monochrome black and white printer laser toner to really get
costs down. You don’t need color as much as is thought...

------
fyfy18
I bought a Dell multifunction colour laser printer / scanner / fax (C1765NF)
around 8 years ago. It is perfect for occasional usage, and a full set of
toners is only £25. Unfortunately they sold their printer branch and no longer
make them.

I believe there's only two companies making laser printers now (HP and
Brother?), so there isn't really much choice. As others say you might be
better off getting something on eBay.

Whatever you get check the prices of new toners (third party are fine;
refilling yourself isn't worth the effort/mess) first as some are going to be
the same price as the printer.

~~~
einpoklum
> I believe there's only two companies making laser printers now

Oh no, not at all: Samsung, OKI, Epson, Canon, Xerox, Kyocera and maybe others
all have multiple models of B&W laser printers.

~~~
Sohcahtoa82
> Xerox

Which may become HP soon.

------
mch82
I was at Staples to get some supplies & they recommended
[https://printme.com/](https://printme.com/)

1\. Send your print, 2. Get a code, 3. Go to a partner like Staples, 4. Pick
up your print

The Staples rep said the document is encrypted & no human ever sees it. I
don’t know if that’s true. Haven’t tried it yet, but plan to. Maybe someone
else on HN already has?

Edit: This sounds cool because it’s not tied to any one store. So you always
print to the same “place” and pickup anywhere. We have a “roaming print” setup
like this where I work and it’s super convenient.

------
yellowapple
If by "we are talking shipping labels here" you literally mean "I'm going to
be using this to print shipping labels", it's hard to go wrong with a thermal
printer:

[https://www.amazon.com/Zebra-Receipts-Barcodes-Parallel-
Conn...](https://www.amazon.com/Zebra-Receipts-Barcodes-Parallel-
Connectivity/dp/B00EUN90SG)

It checks your boxes:

\- It'll do great with infrequent use

\- There's no ink involved, so you don't have to worry about that

1000 4×6 labels (i.e. the kind you'd want to use for shipping) would net you
less than $40: [https://www.amazon.com/OfficeSmartLabels-
ZE1400600-Thermal-S...](https://www.amazon.com/OfficeSmartLabels-
ZE1400600-Thermal-Shipping-Compatible/dp/B00V5HA282)

Direct thermal printers like the GK420d linked above do have a limited
lifetime on the thermal head, but with infrequent use you're highly unlikely
to hit that limit (it's more a problem for full-time shipping operations
printing labels all day every day).

On that note, I would also recommend you not use a laser printer to print
shipping labels unless that printer is specifically designed to handle labels.
Nothing sucks more than having to clean up after a printer that bent the label
sheet too tightly and ended up peeling the labels off into all sorts of
crevices.

------
whateveracct
Any recommendations for one for rare printing that is also as small as it
gets? I want to be able to put it away easily instead of give it space to live
due to its size.

~~~
Kliment
Samsung M2026W is a super compact laser. I bought one to bring with me to
events.

------
antongribok
I got pissed off supporting my parents' non-stop issues with inkjet printers,
and bought them a nice Brother laser printer with duplex printing about 15
years ago.

This year I replaced it with another Brother Laser, and in between then and
now, I've only had to buy a toner cartridge about once every 3 years or so.

Zero other issues. Worth every penny.

At home I have a cheap Samsung M2820DW (duplex as well).

Both Brother and Samsung seem to have good Linux support.

------
james_in_the_uk
> I need to print something once a month at best. I can use FedEx or other to
> print but it can be a PITA. I was hoping there are others here on HN that
> are in a similar situation. I'm looking for a printer that will do fine with
> infrequent use and the ink will still work when I go to use it.

> I'm looking to print way less that 100 sheets/yr, we are talking shipping
> labels here, nothing serious.

Contrary to most of the posts on here you can buy an inkjet, just make sure
you meet three criteria:

1\. Make sure print heads are on the cartridge not in the printer. So if they
clog and cannot be unclogged through cleaning you just replace the print head.

2\. Leave it plugged in and switched on. It will do a mini clean every so
often to keep the print heads clear.

3\. Make sure you can buy cheap compatible cartridges, that can be recycled.
Then it doesn't matter that you waste some ink through cleaning cycles, or the
occasional clogged cartridge.

I have an A3 Brother multifunctional inkjet and whilst it is far from the best
print quality or usability compared to others I have owned, it has lasted
years.

~~~
slantyyz
>> Make sure you can buy cheap compatible cartridges

This is not always an option.

Some companies have DRM on their cartridges. My dad's Epson printer's DRM
wasn't strictly enforced until a recent firmware update rendered third party
cartridges useless. I had to find a way to downgrade the firmware (which
wasn't easy, because Epson took down all their old downloads) before
compatible cartridges would be recognized again.

------
starik36
I have an old LaserJet 1320 sitting in the garage and like you, I use it very
infrequently.

Unfortunately, it's not wireless and I didn't want to run a network cable just
for that. So I bought a Raspberry Pi Zero W, connected it to the printer via a
USB cable, installed cups and some other packages and now I can print
wirelessly from either desktop or mobile.

The printer has been very reliable.

~~~
bborud
I agree. I have a very simple base model Laserjet that supports postscript.
Regular black and white, the simplest possible model and no extra paper tray
or anything that can go wrong. I've had mine for 15 years (replaced the toner
cartridge once in that time), we bought roughly the same model at work 8 years
ago (on my insistence). Both of them have worked flawlessly.

(Meanwhile at work, the other teams bought huge, complex beasts with lots of
features and they are regularly down, offline, broken etc. I think they are on
the fourth or fifth iteration of fancy printers).

Laserjet, simple, postscript, low price.

------
chewz
I just take a bike and go printing at a railway station. I am better off, the
planet is better off and I save some space at home.

------
teddyc
I'm just waiting for a laser printer to show up at a local Goodwill, but so
far it's just dozens of inkjet printers.

The Goodwill stores in my area offer a 7 day return period for electronics. I
imagine I'll get this for $10-30 and support the community when I make the
purchase.

If this doesn't work out for me, I might break down and buy something new.

~~~
teddyc
I just scored a monochrome laser printer at Goodwill on my lunch break for
$2.50. Of course I rounded up to help the community, so it was really $3.00.
Still has a toner cartridge in it. I have 10 days to return it, not 7. It
doesn't have a network port on it, but I have an old ethernet-to-parallel-port
adapter to put to use for that. Now the question will be, how will I justify
ever buying toner for this when the toner will be much greater in cost than
the printer, but that's a problem for another day.

------
brudgers
\+ Impact printers are the most reliable. That's why they are still available
new. They last for decades. They don't run out of ink, the print output just
become progressively lighter. eBay often has used impact printers stupidly
cheap. Ribbons are still around. Ribbons can be reinked if you really want,
but at 100 pages per year, you'll probably never have the chance. They are
eminently hackable at the low level. The downsides: slow for graphics,
centronics or rs232 interfaces typical, They're obnoxiously noisy. Don't play
well with CUPS for graphics.

* Laser printers are reasonably reliable for occasional printing. But my more recent experience is that they are getting "ink-jet" like planned obsolescence/built-in failure modes because otherwise they're not very profitable. Other's have mentioned Brother, and I had great experience with cheap Brother printers back in the early 00's. Even their inkjets. The last $80 Brother I bought started producing crap after about a year of light use (I had a Brother laser-fax that went five years of moderate use).

\+ Inkjets are reliable if you use them all the time. They have amazing color.
They're cheap to run if you're willing to refill cartridges. The two go hand
in hand, the low cost from refilling cartridges ends aversion to printing. The
commitment to printing all the time justifies the overhead of learning to
refill cartridges efficiently. Refilling cartridges efficiently makes printing
all the time no big deal. Refilling all eight cartridges of my photo printer
takes about twenty minutes now. Less time than going to the store and buying a
replacement.

\+ If you can live with only printing 4"x6" a Canon Selphy 1300 is an option
for ~$100. It uses dye-sublimation and 108 sheets of media can be bought for
~$30. Not exactly cheap, but the process is reliable because the rate of
consumption is fixed. Each print uses the same amount of "ink", the "ink" is
stable, and the whole process is predictable. 4x6 will work for a shipping
label if that's all you do.

------
elorant
Any entry level Laser printer will do the work. You have to avoid inkjets
because with so low printing jobs the ink will become thicker and it could
clog the heads. Shelf life for toner is higher. As long as you keep the
printer in a low-humidity area one toner could last you a decade.

~~~
beatgammit
And they're often faster, which is useful even if it's used rarely. We bought
our laser printer because of the shelf life thing, and then we needed to do a
ton of immigration stuff and the fast printing was nice. I wouldn't buy a
printer just because of speed, but it was a nice value add.

We got ours at Costco for <$200 IIRC (base model monochrome Brother with
WiFi), and it has worked well and we're still on the toner it came with.
That's about the cost of an ink printer with one or two cartridge refills, so
I feel like it's already paid for itself.

~~~
elorant
I'm still on a Lexmark E232 I bought back in 2006. I've printed like 80k pages
and the thing keeps working fine. I bought it for less than $150.

------
mongol
I am very happy with my Brother printer. It is not even wireless but it has
Ethernet and I connected it with some wireless access thingy from Zyxel and it
has worked without hickups for 10+ years. Sometimes it needs to be restarted.
I even have not changed toner once!

------
glup
Your neighbor's

------
jotm
I still have a Canon Mx925, with all the bells and whistles (photo/CD/card
printing, high resolution scanner, ADF, etc). Great machine. 150 Euros.

Also bought a HP Envy 5020 for £40 for scanning and label printing, printed
over a hundred pages (just text) on the starter cartridges, worked a charm.
Gifted it to a friend when I moved as I had no space. Quality wise, same as
the Canon.

But really, any machine will do. HP/Epson/Canon always have everything from
cheap to expensive. Check driver compatibility, they're weird nowadays.

------
obarthelemy
I'm in the same situation, and have given up. There's a shop around the corner
that will print PDFs at a nominal cost.

Inkjets are especially bad. they print heads used to be in the cartridge, so
thay got changed regularly; now they're fixed and the cartridge is only ink,
and little-used printers get clogged printheads. I've enquired repeatedly
about old-school inkjets with whole-assembly cartridges, no luck.

If you really want your own printer, your only option is Laser.

------
rhinoceraptor
If you're printing documents, you want a laser printer. If you're printing
photos, use a printing service and save yourself the headache/expense of
inkjets.

~~~
growlist
> If you're printing photos, use a printing service and save yourself the
> headache/expense of inkjets.

This holds up to a certain point - and that point is when you want large,
gallery quality prints on decent paper. I compared the cost of these types of
prints from a print shop with the cost of doing it myself and there's very
little in it, such that the convenience and control offered by owning your own
printer can swing it.

It's worth pointing out that what tipped the balance for me is the quality
that it's possible to get from a home inkjet these days. I have an Epson
XP-960 (other printers are available!) and the results when printing a good
image are truly staggering - colour, detail etc. blow me away. And I'm not
even a particularly good photographer! Although it seems surprising, it's not
significantly cheaper to get this quality of print from a print shop.

------
jve
There are new breed of printers that are convenient to refill.

HP Ink Tank. What does HN crowd think about these printers and what feedback
can provide? Is it cheaper than regular Ink printers?

[https://store.hp.com/in-en/default/hp-ink-tank-
wireless-415-...](https://store.hp.com/in-en/default/hp-ink-tank-
wireless-415-z4b53a.html)

(If someone knows how to switch HP store location to show USD, welcome to
paste link/price here)

~~~
obarthelemy
With infrequent use, the issue is not refills or refill cost, but clogged
printheads.

------
teddyc
I bought the hp p1102w 8 years ago and it's been great. I get generic toner
off amazon for about $9, which works in it just fine. It can hook up to Google
for printing via the internet so you can print from ChromeOS / Android. It
feels a little sturdier than the Brother laser printers in the same price
point. It supports Bonjour for MacOS printing. It connects over wifi or
ethernet.

------
duxup
I used a Brother HL-L2340DW.

I goes to sleep a bit too often and doesn't wake up but otherwise it is low
maintenance and the cartridges last forever.

------
zzzeek
Looks like other people are saying it but inkjets are a scam, not only the ink
is useless but the printers themselves just break, I used to go through them
like paper towels. Brother MFC 9560 CDW here, I'm sure there are newer models
now but definitely the color laser thing is vastly cheaper to just buy it once
rather than buying new ink/printers every few months.

------
raphlinus
Apologies if this is off topic, but I'm interested in this same question, but
with an emphasis on printing quality - one of the main things I want to use it
for is proofing fonts. Right now I'm doing most of that on a 4k monitor, but
print is the only way to reach really high resolution. I have an inkjet, but
it doesn't come close to the quality needed.

------
blablabla123
Inkjet is fine, I paid for mine 70 or so and about 40 for a 5 year warranty
extension. I think the biggest problem is dust though, so when not using it,
consider removing the paper and closing all the lids. My Canon with built-in
scanner now survived 2 years without any problems. And the drivers work well,
at least on macOS. Also I can print labels with it.

~~~
wpskidd
One caution: I don’t know if it is still a thing, but inkjets used to dry out
pretty badly if you left them idle for too long. Sometimes a thorough cleaning
would work, but sometimes not. I push non-technical family members to get
cheap laser printers.

~~~
blablabla123
I know somehow who had an inkjet that he used maybe twice a year. It just
worked for years, he never even had to replace the ink I think. But when we
didn't use it, he closed all the lids and put it back into the shelf :D

So now I try something similar but not that strict. Also I like about inkjet
that it can print photos etc.

------
UI_at_80x24
Get a laser printer. The toner won't dry out.

------
dajonker
Don't forget to buy some premium printer paper. If you only print a hundred
sheets a year, it's well worth the cost.

~~~
jaywalk
Absolutely. I bought a ream of high quality paper 10+ years ago and am still
going through it. I really don't print much.

------
Finnucane
I agree with others who say get an older HP laserjet, from before the DRM
shenanigans. Likely it will still have enough life left in it to manage
occasional use (back when I was doing more dtp work I'd run through reams at a
time, but now it's only a few times a year. I don't expect to ever need to buy
a new printer.)

------
SamCritch
I've got an Epson ink bottle printer. The bottles last for thousands of
sheets, don't cost much, and don't dry out. I only print a couple of times a
month and moved from a Brother printer because a set of four cartridges cost
€120 and you couldn't use the scanner when any of the ink cartridges were
empty.

------
cdumler
I bought a DCP-8085DN years ago and it's been zero maintenance. What you
really want to consider is getting a business class printer laser printer.
They're expected to handle a real load, so they last. Look at the software
connectivity. I can print and scan straight from my iPhone/iPad.

------
throwaway9298
I have an Epson multi-function ink jet which sits for months at a time unused,
and because of the cartridge design (I think the print head is part of the
cartridge itself?), it prints just fine regardless.

The MFDs are cheap, the carts are expensive, but it fits your usage
requirements (which were similar to mine, at the time).

------
mille562
HP Envy 5055 w/ HP Instant Ink

Just works. We print a couple of times a month and the Instant Ink is fee < 10
pages per month.

~~~
dahdum
A friend of mine had two Envy’s failing less than 6 months after purchase with
light usage. They are disposable printers, and the ink scam is ridiculous. We
could never get the supposed override to work, and it would never print b&w if
any color cartridge was low.

------
joeraut
Whilst there's not really much more left to add to the laser printer argument,
in my own experience the absolute peace of mind a laser printer brings in
knowing your report/flight ticket/etc. _will_ print without issue is well
worth the greater initial cost.

------
yangikan
Not to hijack the thread -- but any recommendations for 100-200 pages a month,
coming in sporadically?

~~~
brudgers
That's a light load for a laser printer. An inkjet would probably work if you
print about once a week, but not so well if all pages are at once.

------
brandonmenc
Brother HL23xx series (ex: HLL2370DW). $100, wifi, ethernet, laser printing.
Built like a tank.

~~~
horsawlarway
I'll second this. I have one of these. The drum lasts forever, it's built like
a tank, it just works with basically every OS you have.

Not what you want if you're printing photos, but if you just need to print a
few sheets of black and white every now and then, this is the printer to go
for. Zero maintenance, low costs, lasts a long time.

------
runjake
Any cheap Brother branded laser printer. Don't worry about buying any extra
toner cartridges.

I still have an HL-5250dn bought new with the original "sample-sized" toner
cartridge installed.

It's about 13 years old, at this point. I paid something like $75 for it.

------
znpy
I just wanted to point out that HP printers had official, open source drivers
for years and are probably the most gnu/linux-compatible printers you could
fine.

Many others named Brother, but afaik their gnu/linux support is not on-par
with HP.

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gmiller123456
I've had a HP LaserJet 1012 for about 20 years, I've probably replaced the
toner 3 or 4 times. I think it was about $200 new, so that's like $10/year,
and it doesn't show any signs of giving up soon.

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unstatusthequo
I have similar situation. Epson WF-1000. Also has a battery so it can work
without a power cord for awhile which is nice to have. Does a fine job for
what it is. Also wireless and has print from iPhone capability.

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dole
A recommendation to stay away from Samsung laser printers, their division was
sold off to HP a few years ago and the Samsung wireless setup and connection
has been maddening and completely unreliable.

~~~
growlist
I have a Samsung ML-3710 or similar that I've had for about 10 years now. Only
ever used with USB. It's always been fantastic and I love it, because as a
former dot matrix owner the idea of printing out pristine documents in seconds
at home is still a bit magical. It's only ever had light use, but for my needs
it's perfect. I can switch it on for the first time in months and it's up and
printing in seconds.

~~~
dole
Yeah, I wouldn't doubt that wired printing would be mostly bulletproof but
getting our SL-M2020W's wireless/airprint functionality (under Windows) has
been painful after multiple attempts at configuring.

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goatinaboat
I would gladly pay for a service that my “printer driver” really uploads it
securely and a few days later I get the printout in a cardboard envelope
through the post.

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Nextgrid
Any reason why you can’t print at work? Unless you’re printing dozens per day
nobody will care about the occasional Amazon return label.

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bjoli
I have had a HP laserjet 1010 since it came out. Still works.

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hestefisk
Brother laser printer. Then an HP Selphy for photo print.

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sdegutis
Libraries usually have printers. Ours is $0.10 per sheet.

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arif1621
I'm reccomended FedEx,HP or Cannon :)

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kull
Any brother

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tthayer
A free one.

