[fre17dan]

What can i expect as life span of a rarely used printer?

I have read that printers break down far more often if used too much or too little, but few facts are given as to what we can expect.

I will use mine 2-5 pages once every few months.

Tempted to buy HP LaserJet Pro Laser Printer (P1102W); its monotone and it handles envelopes.
Are laser printers the best in these cases?

Any comments?

 

[57]

I don't use my printer much either - an HP cartridge usually lasts me a year or 2. I've had my last printer for 7 years now, still doing just fine. My previous ones have always lasted me through 2 computers - say 7-8 years too and were always working when I replaced them - sold them or gave them to someone else. My current computer is going to be 7 years old soon and I expect it to last another few years.

With HP, a new cartridge basically makes it a new printer. I've always used HP since the mid 80's for this reason.

 

[Bob_Mtl]

A laser printer is the right choice if you do not use it often; you certainly have to avoid ink jet as it will dry before you run out the cartridge.

A have a HP Laserjet for about 15 years and it is still working fine. I also have a color inkjet but that one always dry before end of cartridge.

To extend the live of laser cartridge you can activate economode if available which use about a quarter of normal toner usage.

 

[recneps77]

Yes, laser is the best for extremely low volumes.
No ink to dry up and no harm to sitting idle (provided it's off and the fuser's not on 24/7 )

 

[ScaryBob]

More agreement here. I have a rarely used HP Color LaserJet that is turned on about once every 6 months. It still works fine after 5 years, with the original toner cartridges. Ink jets are typically toast after sitting idle for 6 months (due to ink drying.) New ink cartridges might fix them, or might not. My main printer is a monochrome laser. No problems there either and it's cheap to operate. A $55 toner cartridge typically lasts about 2 years. With the ink jet I had previously, over $200 worth of ink would have evaporated in that time. The color LaserJet is more expensive to use due to high toner costs.

 

[gzink]

I have not had a drying ink on an Epson nor on an HP officejet. Both are seldom used and cartridges usually last over a year.

 

[hugh]

What can i expect as life span of a rarely used printer?

I have read that printers break down far more often if used too much or too little, but few facts are given as to what we can expect.

Ink and Toner aside. For longevity, get a good quality laser printer.

I recommend a Canon or HP because you literally replace the drum everytime you change cartridges and the device will probably last you ten or twenty years.

These devices haven't really changed in 20 years so the technology is very mature.

 

[ScaryBob]

Brother makes a good printer in the $100-$150 price range. The toner doesn't include a drum but the toner is half the price and the drum is rated at 20,000 pages. It works out cheaper to buy a new printer than replace the drum. Go figure.

I have not had a drying ink on an Epson nor on an HP officejet.

That depends on the printer. I had an HP that wasn't a problem. Replaced it with an Epson photo printer that lost $75 evaporated worth of ink every 6 months. I could almost see the ink evaporating in the status monitor. To make it worse, every time I used it the heads needed cleaning. That went through 1/8 to 1/4 of the ink before it would print cleanly. I will never buy another Epson product.

 

[CamDAB]

Those who trade in gold should really consider inkjet ink. Much more expensive.

Anyone had any experience with Samsung laser printers over time? We have one that so far seems OK. The only thing we can't do with it is greeting card stock or photos... Unless I've missed something somewhere... The protected wifi connection has worked flawless from Win 7 x32 and x64 versions and a WinXP machine.

Bought a Canon iP1600 a few years ago and despite the high cost of cartridges and they're self destruction over time, the printer's worked well too doing cards, photos etc. And the purchase price was much lower than a set of cartridges....

Cameron

 

[ScaryBob]

Anyone had any experience with Samsung laser printers over time?

Not over a great length of time. Their warranty service must be the worst on the planet though. Our MFP quit working on Dec 23, 2011. Finally got a replacement last week, March 10, 2011. To be fair, a couple of weeks got wasted over Christmas. OTOH, it took several phone calls and several weeks to get an RMA. Then it took more phone calls and more weeks for the RMA info to actually show up. Then it took more phone calls and another 6 weeks to ship the replacement, after a replacement was finally approved. Every time I called I got one of three different call centers, none of which had any record of what the others had done. Samsung Canada is totally useless and failed to contact me on several occasions. The call center in Puerto Rico couldn't do anything because any record of their calls was lost in the system. The US call center is the only one that managed to get anything done, eventually, after bypassing Samsung Canada to get things done.

 

[Rideauman]

As someone who used to work for one of the printer manufacturers, I can say that the expectation is that a laser printer installation will refresh (replace) every 4-5 years. When you compare the construction of an old HP 4si to its equivalent today, you can see that the hardware is not built to last anymore. Manufacturers almost sell hardware as a lost leader, making up the difference in the sale of toner and ink. Therefore, the cost of manufacturing is kept as low as possible - losing out is the quality.

 

[Camera.Ken]

Samsung ML-1740 @ 6 Years

Hi All:

This inexpensive monochrome laser printer has given me excellent value for money. I buy cartridges from a local refiller for about $ 50, and they give me about 3,500 pages each.

I had a few anxious moments when I connected it last year to a new Windows 7 64-bit desktop. Samsung came through with a suitable driver, and all has been well for a year.

I checked it today, and it's now given me well over 17,000 pages printed.

It's my workhorse printer.

 

[audacity]

My current printer (a Brother laser printer) has been great. I don't print very often, but when I do I don't have to screw around with it. The only issue with Brother is that since this is an old printer they haven't released any Windows 7 specific driver (only a Vista driver, but that works just fine in 7) and it isn't signed, so I have to click through one more "yes, I'm sure" whenever I'm installing it.

A long time ago I had a color ink jet for printing photos, and it was rough. If you've ever had to deal with ink jet printers I'm sure you could relate to this. Very funny!

 

[ScaryBob]

My Brother laser printer was a treat as well. It always worked on a moment's notice and toner cartridges seemed to last forever, even the original that came with it. Brother didn't have a Win7 driver but one was included with Win7. Unfortunately, half the features were missing (typical) and I needed a networked multifunction unit for the better half. The new unit lasted less than 2 months before it quit.

 

[f_a_98]

Hugh recommended Canon printers- I have used a Canon multifunction MF3240. Its been great; 3 years now and I have not yet changed the cartridge. One note of caution- please check th operating system compatibility of print drivers.
I can no longer use my print software with win7 64bit.

HP might be a better choice? I have heard great things about Epson too, but personally have never used one.

 

[barcham]

We sell a lot of low end Brother laser printers and they work great and I've yet to have a service call on one. One advantage is that the imaging drum and the toner are separate units and that makes it a good bit cheaper when buying toner. Stay away from low cost colour laser printers though, no matter who makes them. They come with 30% filled starter cartridges and the cost of replacing all four will be double what you paid for the printer. If you want or need colouor at home, get an inkjet. Kodak inkjets are decent units and the ink is much cheaper than any other printer out there.

 

[dosborne]

Although you have lots of good answers, I'll throw in my $0.02.

A laser does "last" well if unused, however it is typically more expensive.

I purchased an inkjet printer ($75), set it up, then decided to get the next model up as it was on sale ($95) too and I wanted the sheet feeder.

The original (both Brother printers) went back in the box until 11 months later when I wanted to give it to a family member. Unfortunately, the ink had dried in the print head and no amount of purging/cleaning would resolve it. Brother however replaced it with a newer model and shipped it direct to the address of my family member, which saved me the trouble.

Both printers would have been fine if I had simply left it plugged in. I use my printer only a few times a year now for printing (I use the scanner, fax etc more often). These printers cycle a small amount of ink every couple of days to keep the heads clean. It is the equivalent of a page every couple of months so is really minor in terms of cost.

I must say my experience with Brother was great too. They covered all costs, were friendly and easy to understand. Customer support in Canada. Technically it was literally 1 day past the warranty period.

I was not a fan of multifunction units, but I've used all the options now and can't complain for the price. Under $100 for a colour printer, scanner, fax, copier, photo printer, memory card reader with wired and wireless lan as well as USB. 4 separate ink cartridges.

Having owned HP, Dell, Epson and a number of others (dot matrix, inkjet and laser), I'd definitely give Brother my money again.

 

[CamDAB]

These printers cycle a small amount of ink every couple of days to keep the heads clean.

Not all printers do that. I have a Canon Pixma iP1600 inkjet and it definitely does not do this, whether left on or off. When I bought it, it was on sale and the price was just above half the price of buying a set of ink cartridges.

Cameron

 

[ScaryBob]

As I have already stated, some inkjets use a lot if ink to keep the heads clean, even when unused. Laser printers may be more expensive to buy but are a lot cheaper to operate, especially when lightly used. The price difference between a new inkjet and laser these days is about the cost of one or two sets of ink cartridges.

 

[gzink]

As I have already stated, some inkjets use a lot if ink to keep the heads clean, even when unused. Laser printers may be more expensive to buy but are a lot cheaper to operate, especially when lightly used. The price difference between a new inkjet and laser these days is about the cost of one or two sets of ink cartridges.

Colour laser??