Export thread

Looking for a good general purpose printer. It's been years since I've researched printers. Does anyone have some recent experience in buying one?

Does it need to do color?

Color would be preferable.

Definitely go with a laser printer. This monochrome one (or a similar Brother printer) will be a beast.

We picked up a Brother color laser printer too, which we haven't had for long but does the job.

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool HP believer for printers, usually.

If it were me, I'd go with this one:

Amazon product

It's on discount now for about $220, usually $300.

I haven't had an inkjet in years. Yeah, laser toner is expensive. But you won't be changing it out every couple of months, either. In the long run, laser printers are cheaper.

Currently using an HP M252DW. Before that I used a Brother for years until it became nearly impossible to find toner cartridges for it.

GasBandit said:

Does it need to do color?

Click to expand...

As one of my favorite movies says, "Color is prettier."

What will you be printing, @evilmike , and how long does it need to last?
Laser printers are king for text/forms/office docs/etc. and fused toner is long-lasting, but if you're going to be printing primarily photos, you'll want something capable of a wider gamut.
A quick-n-dirty search suggests the $300 Epson XP15000 would be better if you're primarily interested in printing photos, though I have no idea how expensive it would be to feed over time.

--Patrick

It's for someone who has job hunt related printing needs. I know they've been eyeing printers in the sub-$100 range.

I'm not finding any color laser printers for less than $200, so unless your buddy is looking through the decommissioned school/government sales, they're gonna have to be happy with monochrome.

--Patrick

Black and white laser for home, UPS/Target/whatever for color needs.