Look for a good B&W / document printer

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 12:08 pm

Anybody got any ideas about a good, non expensive printer for this?
I can get a new Canon Pixma MG 3520 on sale for $40. It has starter ink in it, and I can get 2 new refurb Canon 240XL black inks (good for up to 300 pages each at 5% coverage) for $22 shipped.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 8:11 am

Am looking into Dot Matrix printers and CISS (continuous ink supply system) printers to try to avoid the ripoff of so many printer manufacturers trying to gouge the heck out of the public. Will a dot matrix print shipping labels alright?

Post by **Philip** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 10:16 am

I would look into Brother laser printers, many of their business models have between 6,000 and 12,000 pages capacity (model HL-6180DW, for example)!!! You can't ever beet that with ink, and they are very reliable.
I have a Brother MFC-9460CDN and we've put over 25,000 pages through it without an issue.

You will have to spend a bit more upfront (~$200 vs. those scam $50 printers that make soo much money on the ink/toner in the long run), but it's very much worth it imho.

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 7:35 pm

Just bought a Brother MFC J870DW color printer on amazon cuz the ink carts are pretty cheap, like 20 bucks for 4 black carts and 2 of each color. Like it so far.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 9:20 am

Yeah Laserjets have come down so much in price....
Inkjets are dirt cheap up front...but ink carts don't last long..and are almost as expensive as the printer. So in a couple of years you've spent a ton of money...very high "cost per page".

Laserjets..a hair more expensive up front..but the toner cartridges last much longer....and over a couple of years, the overall cost is less. "cost per page" is much less than inkjets.
For residential...Brothers are good value.
For businesses and heavier duty use we use HP and Canon.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 2:31 pm

Hi, and thanks for the replies.

I'm shy of the laser printers due to the indoor air pollution some of them are supposed to create.
I wish there was a list somewhere of which ones pollute and which ones don't because I'm very health conscious.

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 3:34 pm

Lurch wrote:Hi, and thanks for the replies.

I'm shy of the laser printers due to the indoor air pollution some of them are supposed to create.
I wish there was a list somewhere of which ones pollute and which ones don't because I'm very health conscious.

Definitely look at Brother, and check on amazon what you can get for discounted 3rd party ink carts. Otherwise inkjets are just way too pricey.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 8:55 pm

OK, thanks.
I've read some good things about Brother printers.
I'll check that Brother model you speak of.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 9:00 pm

PS - Do you know if this Brother MFC J870DW will print in black only?

Many inkjets seem to refuse to let users do this. They make you run color ink.
That seems like a ripoff.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 9:21 pm

Wow, the reviews of this "Brother MFC J870DW " are far better than any inkjet printers I've seen lately.
I can get 2 sets of color + Black ink for $20 shipped, and one black ink is supposed to print up to 600 pages. That is unreal.

Thanks again. I think I'm going to get one of these. Those aren't bad prices at all.
Its good to see that there still are decent deals out there.

For $7 I can get 3 years of added warranty.

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 6:10 am

Lurch wrote:PS - Do you know if this Brother MFC J870DW will print in black only?

Many inkjets seem to refuse to let users do this. They make you run color ink.
That seems like a ripoff.

If you can select B&W in the print options it should, I haven't tried removing the color carts, don't want to waste more ink with the head cleaning. They may have a B&W only model, not sure, we were looking to have color.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 6:52 pm

I ordered a Brother MFC J870DW with a 3 year warranty for $107.
For those prices I'll just keep color ink in it.
Its not like HP trying to charge $1 a page.

Post by **Philip** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 9:46 pm

On many of those newer Brother printers, you can reset the toner counter and have another run (double the pages) with the same cartridge. They seem to consider it "empty" way too early (at least for mine, it prints maybe twice as many pages with the same toner cartridge).

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 10:24 pm

Philip wrote:On many of those newer Brother printers, you can reset the toner counter and have another run (double the pages) with the same cartridge. They seem to consider it "empty" way too early (at least for mine, it prints maybe twice as many pages with the same toner cartridge).

From what I've seen, they do that to keep from shooting air thru the head which can break it. Not sure how likely it is to happen.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 9:05 pm

Hi -

I got my new Brother MFC J870 DW today. It seems really nice.

I also got my 8 pack of color and Black ink from an eBay seller in California. It cost me $10 shipped. He says it will print 1200 pages or more.
Do you think I should use this ink in it? The sellers are Asians and they don't speak English too well. The manual says use only Brother ink.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161717154767?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 11:47 pm

We're using the EZink brand with no issue yet, HO brand is just too pricey.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Tue Sep 29, 2015 9:06 pm

Hi -

I really like my new Brother MFC J870DW AIO.

I emailed another alternative ink seller and asked if their ink would foul my warranty and this is the reply they sent to me :

These cartridges were tested on multiple printers to ensure compatibility. Federal law prohibits any company from requiring you to purchase only their products and prohibits a manufacturer from voiding your machine's warranty simply by using alternative cartridge solutions. For more details, please refer to: Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act (U.S. Code - Title 15, Chapter 50, Sections 2301-2312)
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I got a 3 year Square Trade Warranty with mine.