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Comment by legitster | Hacker News Reader

The best advice I have for people is to stop buying inkjet printers. For 95% of people, you are not printing enough to go through the ink before it dries.

I have had the same Brother laser printer for about 15 years and it may be the most reliable piece of technology I have ever owned.

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As an added bonus water doesn’t destroy laser prints like it does inkjet prints. I bought a color laser many years ago to print topographical maps when I go into the backcountry because they don’t get damaged when I have to take them out of the ziploc bag I use as a map case. Anything printed with ink gets ruined.

Not sure about water, but I found that most glues dissolve [something] in the printed surface.

this is true only for inkjet printers that use dye-based inks. If your printer uses pigment based ones, the colors won't run when wet.

I bought a brother laser printer also and have been using the demo cartridge that came with it for the past three years. It's still printing, and I've printed several books with it.

Got a used/written off HP laserjet for 30 bucks ten years ago, still on the same toner cartridge and no issues whatsoever yet. Good investment

Mostly agree but the release of "Tank Inkjet" printers has radically changed the economics. You ARE an idiot if you still own or buy an ink cartridge-based inkjet printer.

But yes, I go with both B/W and color laser printers mostly.

There are times when inkjet can give improved color rendering but on the right computer, you can get close to gamut even on newer color laser printers.

The OP's advice was the right advice for a long time. Occasional users were far better off with a laser, because of the reasons he gave.

But the advent of continuous ink printers has turned that on it's head. Continuous ink jet are colour (not marvellous colour, around the same standard a laser - but still), cheaper than the laser equivalents, cheaper per page and to address the direct concern about longevity some come with 12,000 pages of ink in the box which means they require 0 maintenance or supplies (except paper) for the life of the printer.

Then again I have those ecotank things, and dear lord, it needs 3 prints before it makes a clear print. I did the cleaning/calibration etc, doesn't matter. It's draft printing mode is apparently a while different way of printing, because that's broken beyond repair.

Totally agree, I have a Canon laser that I bought for $100-$150 around eight years when we moved house (lots of stuff to print for lawyers etc).

The problem with Ink jets is that the ink dries up and clogs before I get to use them. So far the Canon hasn't missed a beat.

I paid 5 Euros for a HP 4050N from a bankrupt bank back in 2008.

I still have not changed the cartridge 13 years later!

I am starting to get worried that all the cartridge refill shops will go out of business before I get a chance to do a refill.

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