What kind of inexpensive printer is good

[Sadie5]

I have tried HP and Lexmark a couple of different times each. When one would break I would go out and buy another one. The last a Lexmark only lasted about a year and a half. It is fixated on the copy mode and will do nothing else. From day one it has been acting up in some fashion. I print very little and need a cheap printer that will print when I need it. The multifunctional ones seem to mess up too much. Any suggestions? Any help appreciated.

[NYC_SKP]

1. Brother and Samsung have been good to me. Laser printers, not ink jets.

Ink jets are crap, and lasers have come way down in price.

[steve2470]

2. if you don't mind buying used, the HP1020 is good and reliable, B&W only of course nt

[polly7]

3. I do a lot of printing for invoicing and such

and really like the Brother laser printer I bought when my HP died. I've had it for about 2 years and it hasn't given me a single problem. The ink for it isn't that bad either.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. We have recently bought Brothers

One was a high end laser all in one that works perfectly after three years and going strong. We bought a cheap-o ink jet (all in one, as it happens) for one of the kids that is less than a year old but seems to be doing just fine. She prints a good bit of school papers on it and invoices and such for her business.

I know first cost matters, but don't overlook the cost per sheet to print. Inkjets get very expensive very fast. That was another attractive part of the cheap-o Brother: the supplies were cheap.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

5. I've had 2 Brother multifunction products

I had the first for about 5 years. It lasted well and printed with no issues. Other printers I had began smudging and streaking after 6 - 12 months. I've had the second one for about 4 years and it's going strong with no issues. If I needed a printer today, I would order one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828113671

[Sadie5]

6. Thanks

I will check out the brother laser printer. No more than I use it the ink can't cost that much. Thanks everyone!!!

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

7. You're welcome...

...and best of luck.

[hobbit709]

8. If most of what you do is document printing get a cheap laser.

I've seen Samsungs go for as little as $50 on sale. For most of my printing I use a HP Laserjet 1018 that has given me no trouble for several years. I use a Samsung CLP-680 for color laser printing and two sided printing. I have an Epson large format all in one WF-7510 that I use for printing posters and scanning large papers (it has an 11x17 scanner) The good thing is that if I use up one color I only have to replace that color.
The color laser I picked up for $250 when it was on sale. The Epson was on sale for $175 and the HP was under $75.

[Warren Stupidity]

9. I went to buy ink for my printer a couple of months ago

And a new printer was cheaper than the ink. I ended up with a nice hp wireless that prints from everything and does scan and copy too. But I suspect I'll be replacing it again soon.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

10. Several years ago...

...I bought Epsons for photo printing. The were ~ $120 but often went on sale for $59.99. The ink went for about the same so instead of ink I would buy a new printer and put the old one on auction.

[CK_John]

11. Does your local public library have a website and will they let you remote print to them?

Or put your print output on a flash drive and carry it to the library and print it there yourself.

[Phillip McCleod]

12. forget everything you ever heard about any brand and do this..

buy whatever has the cheapest ink cartridge to page printed ratio. you also want them to be readily available nearby.

i was the production designer for an art mag for 7 years and just bought a new lexmark once a year because that was the cheapest option for cartridges. since they're disposable, like pez dispensers you just keep refilling them till the head pops off then go buy a new one.

[StanGr]

13. All I buy is HP. I've had really good longevity with them.