I jumped from HP printers long ago and bought some cheap Canon (yes I read the full article and saw Canon mentioned) as it was easier to buy cheap cartdriges. My usage is very low.
What printer would be the good one to go these days?
What printer would be the good one to go these days?
>"I got tired of the user-hostile shenanigans, bad software, low-quality output, and high TCO (5 or 6 HP or Canon devices over the years), finally came to my senses and bought a Brother. It "Just Works", is fast and quiet and reliable, does exactly what it's supposed to, and is in such stark contrast to the typically terrible printer UX it's almost funny."
Coincidentally, just yesterday it warned of low black toner (for the 1st time) and I realized I actually believe it, given all the printing my family's done this year. I've read that it supports non-OEM cartridges, will find out for myself in a day or two.
Luckily I was able to remove the DRM chip off of the expended starter cartridge that I hadn't yet thrown out and swap it into the 3rd party toner cartridge which got it working again.
I'm honestly confused at how they were able to do this. I'm pretty sure that several years ago HP lost a class action lawsuit about exactly this kind of behavior. I'd have thought that, having another company lose that lawsuit, there'd be a lawyer just waiting to jump on this. Is brother just too small market share to attract a class action lawsuit over?
1. The tech has been around long enough that any/all patents should be done with.
2. In general they are much more eco-friendly, the 'cartridge' is just a specially shaped wax block.
3. Prints wind up being extremely robust due to the wax ink, I remember when salespeople would spray photo prints with water and show it just run off.
Of course, the challenges would be providing a sufficient filter for ink, any foreign particles can clog up the print heads after all, as well as making sure users understand that there are processes in moving them.
I'm no expert and can't vouch for any of the details, but this is what I encountered in multiple online discussions when I looked into it last.
That being said, I'd probably be willing to pay up to $500 for a simple black and white open source, open hardware laser jet printer, assuming that it worked as well (from a pure mechanical perspective) as current consumer grade printers.
It just works. Even The Verge agree: https://www.theverge.com/23642073/best-printer-2023-brother-...
"...it does not feel like the CEO of Inkjet Supply and Hostage Situations Incorporated is waiting to mug me..."
For (rarely) printing photos I just send them out.
https://www.reddit.com/r/printers/comments/kjxd45/do_these_n...
Every now and then I'd like to print out a map or whatever in color but it's just not often enough to maintain an inkjet printer.
If everyone who did that just bought a brother B&W laser just once instead of re-upping their inkjet I bet anything the consumer market for cheap inkjet printers would disappear forever. Inkjets would only survive as a high end commercial colour technology.
No complaints. It just works. 3rd party toner also works should i need it.
* they're transparent about this, was just pointing out how efficient they are.
Sometimes I don’t even replace the toner when it complains; I just take toner out shake it and it keeps working (a bit lighter than usual)
So yeah, black and white laser multi-function and online printing services for me.
I wish I'd bought a laser
Mine just sits there until the rare occasions when I need to print something.
It's still on the original toner cart that came with it.
I've not needed to install a printer driver for any of the 4 platforms we've printed from on it.
No photo storage, no ink drying out, ink subscription service and no multi-gig downloads before you can use it.
A totally, wonderfully boring product. I wish I could buy more stuff like that.
I'm fine with only B&W and no scanner. When I need to scan something, I grab the insanely good camera I have in my pocket all the time and use the Microsoft Lens app. Works great for scanning a few pages.
There were some posts online that pointed to reflashing firmware fixing the problem but it wasn't clear how to do that and the required utility is apparently only distributed to licensed technicians.
The issue with any inkjet is that you need to use them. The eco tank makes sense if you print a lot.
Be careful of some Brothers models as the ones to avoid have "Refresh" option.
"Refresh" is just a way for a centralized Brothers server to monitor your printer and your local subnet (for what ever purpose they wanted). HP/Epson/Canon have few or no models without "Refresh" option, unless you spring for a more expensive business-class printer.
For the very rare occasion I do need to print something (exclusively, of course, things that could have been digitized 20 years ago), the one in the office works fine..
What do you do if you realize once every n months that you need a print that the ink has dried out / toner is empty?
A toner cartridge lasts me years and it's obvious when it's getting somewhat low--and can generally be revitalized for another number of months by shaking it a bit.
It's really tiresome that some people seem to think there's is the only reasonable lifestyle.
Nearest Staples is in the nearest bigger city, a 30 minute drive.
> What do you do if you realize once every n months that you need a print that the ink has dried out / toner is empty?
Laser toner in home use lasts for years, and the printer will tell you percentage levels and warn about if for the last year of operation. Shaking the toner cartridge lets you print a few hundred pages more. There's plenty of time to order a replacement.