Printer Buying Guide! Ink vs. Laser / Tank vs. Subscription and More!

[@dpt17]

I switched to a laser printer a few years ago after seeing Lon recommend them a bunch of times (for the casual, not-often printer use cases). He was spot on! The laser printer costs more upfront but you will spend way less money on toner in the long run if you are printing periodically. I ❤my laser printer vs. all the old inkjet ones I had.

[@ArpitaBhawal]

I don't like the cartridge based ink jet printers. I have had so many problems with them. Bought them, discarded them, really such a pain. I am looking for a laser printer.

[@Deepak-qy8uc]

@@ArpitaBhawal Hey Arpita! Cartridge based printers are very inconvenient. I would suggest you to go for an InkTank printer from Canon or Epson. These are essentially InkJet printers, but without the hassles. These printers cost around $100(US) or Rs 12,000(India), and come with 4 bottles of ink required to print absolutely amazing quality colored and BnW prints. I was looking for a laser printer for my office, but a shopkeeper suggested me to go for an ink tank printer, and i couldn't be happier. Firstly you get beautiful color prints, photo prints, and wireless features along with scanner/copier, you also get the benefit of electricity savings. A small laser printer consumes about 1000 watts while starting up, about 400-500 watts while printing documents and about 20-30 watts on standby, whereas the inktank printers consume 1 watt on standby, and 15 watts while printing. You could use the inktank printers even if they were plugged in on a small UPS. :) The only downside of inktank printers is that you have to use them for 4-5 print outs atleast once a week for the nozzles to not get clogged.

[@GLXY23]

what laser printer do you recommend?

[@dpt17]

@@GLXY23 the one I bought is the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M281fdw. It can scan and photocopy too. Very happy with it for my casual printing (and scanning) needs.

[@GLXY23]

@@dpt17 thx for the response, just looking around for printers

[@Xyspade]

I recently got my first laser printer, a mid 2000s HP P3005d, second hand from a local business that was throwing it out because it was "slow." Turns out all it needed was a new pickup roller which was an easy install. That and one $20 generic toner cartridge later, and with 100,000 pages on it, it prints like new. The driver is still compatible with Windows 11 and CUPS, and I plugged it into my Asus router's USB port and set up its built in print server function so I can print to it from any computer on the network. I'm thrilled with it and will never buy an inkjet again. If you're sick of the crackdown on generic refills, don't sleep on old printers. They're built like tanks, and they don't connect to the Internet so there's no firmware updates to be had!

[@gudiaziz744]

can you please recommend some types.

[@LWRC]

HP Laser Printer 1320! I bought one new over 20 years ago and it is still running just fine. Still works with Windows 11 ! ! ! It works so well, I wanted to buy another as a back up and was able to find a refurbished printer on Amazon and it works great as well!!!

[@cmc6295]

Wow, you're a top tech tinkerer who has engineering savvy. Wish I could do that

[@lastchance6845]

@@cmc6295 totally agree I'm not tech savy wish my dad taught me how to build computers bikes hovers etc like he did my brother, I got told to go away n unfortunately my brother just doesn't want to know or help me. 😕

[@matthewcrowley9204]

I always enjoy your videos Lon - informative, to-the-point, comprehensive yet concise, and entertaining. Keep up the good work.

[@brianholdridge1860]

I only occasionally print as well and use a laser printer for that reason. I had a set of toner cartridges last 5 years.

[@mfinite689]

In my experience, about 90% of users can do just fine with a black and white laser printer (or laser all-in-one). People inflate in their mind how much they think they print and love the idea of printing their own photos, but in reality they rarely print and the last time they printed a photo was years ago. A simple black and white laser printer and 1-2 trips to the local office supply store for the occasional color print job can save a lot of people a bunch of money and frustration.

[@TheSnoopyclone]

That’s actually a good point. I have a canon PIXMA printer. Barely make prints, but when I do it’s usually in bw rather than color to save cost. If it’s for cost savings, im better off with a multifunction bw laser.

[@bhaaratsharma6023]

This video should be the official printer buying guide for the internet.

[@DaveThompsonfairlife4all]

Yeah, the video we need when buying a printer. None of that AI sales talk that misses out all the cons.

[@MacTX]

0:33 This is why I bought a color laser as soon as they became affordable. You have to basically be using an ink jet every day to keep it in top shape, where the laser could go months between prints and it's fine.

[@Deepak-qy8uc]

To keep an inkjet(the inktank variety) you have to use to use it once a week or 10 days and print about 4-5 pages. Easy peasy!

[@cmc6295]

Which product of color laser printer did you buy?

[@lorensims4846]

I agree with you regarding laser vs. inkjet printers. Actually, the prices for color laser printers have been coming way down so I'll be getting one soon. I'm looking at a Canon color laser for about the same price as the Brother you showed. These used to cost three times this much. My black and white laser printer is about five years old and I print to it quite rarely. I appreciate the way it prints just fine every time I do use it, something I've never experienced with an inkjet. My sister has an inkjet she doesn't use very often. If it isn't working, the solution is usually to replace the ink cartridge and then print a couple of pages to clear the print head. Thanks for doing this. Last time I looked at The Wirecutter for printer recommendations, they led off their article by saying simply that "printers suck!"

[@CharTurner6928]

as an infrequent printer, buying a laser printer was my best decision. When I had an inkjet it was a nightmare of errors every time I needed to print. I'd waste so much ink and paper just trying to clear the errors.

[@AABB-kh9eb]

I have no need for a printer, but I'm excitedly about to watch a 17 minute long video about printers 😂😂

[@kitdinker]

Yes!

[@ThumbdownMan]

You think you dont need but once you get one. Its a godsend.

[@Deepak-qy8uc]

Always good to keep yourself updated on tech :D

[@LifeSavingDefense]

If you double the speed it's more fun. I don't smoke weed or do any drugs so I can't see if it's more fun if you do those things but according to many people it might be but I can't suggest it because anything that screws with your brain is not healthy .... Man.... maybe I should slow this thing down.....

[@SupernovaX72]

We could be friends 😆😆😆

[@TonyPadgett]

Looking for an economical laser printer WITH scanner. I know I can use my phone to scan but I just find scanning on a flatbed better and easier.

[@keyboard_g]

Still using my Brother laser printer from years ago. Zero issues.

[@cmc6295]

No problems with a Brother? Deciding on which company has best laser color. Had bad experience with HP ink jets performance and tech support. Leary of buying HP again, though I have always used all their tech, computers etc. Recently bad experiences.

[@wildbill23c]

I still have an occasionally use my Brother HL-1440 monochrome laser printer....it works fine, and I can refill the toner cartridge several times before I need to replace it. I just buy bottles of toner, pop the cap off the end of the toner cartridge and dump a bottle of toner in....I think that printer will print around 5,000 pages on a toner cartridge....if I recall I bought that printer for $100 probably close to 20 years ago, it still works just fine...trouble is probably finding a toner cartridge for it anymore might be a problem, but I haven't looked because I haven't used it for over a year. I have an HP multi-function color laserjet printer that I mainly use now, and a Canon Megatank printer....the tank style printers are great, if you print frequently, otherwise just like a regular ink cartridge type printer the print head gets clogged up and you go through a ton of ink and a lot of time trying to get the thing to print properly again LOL. The Canon Megatank printer does borderless photos...my Epson Ecotank printer came out before Epson put that feature into them, so it doesn't do photos but I use it as an office printer anyhow so it just prints a lot of documents, and the color is nice for side notes and highlights in color that would otherwise be dull boring annoying gray scale LOL.

[@zoiks6631]

My advice is buy a Brother laser black and white or color printer. It will still be working in 10 years, has a low cost per page, and Brother doesn’t do the HP shenanigans of bricking your printer or cartridges after a certain amount of time. I’d never sign up for a printer subscription service.

[@cmc6295]

So right about subscriptions. Me neither, would never consider it.

[@SomeRandomOldGuy]

Thanks Lon, Yup for those of us who print infrequently an inexpensive laser is the way to go.

[@fredashay]

I gave up on inkjet printers many years ago after they kept failing one after another. I bought a color laser printer over 10 years ago and it has never failed in all that time and I only had to replace the black toner once in all that time!

[@12GaugeLeadSalad]

I've had cartridge based ink-jet printers in the past. Spent $100 on ink, just to use it a couple times and have it clog or dry out due to lack of use. I couldn't justify the chance of forgetting to print, or having to print full pages cyan, yellow, magenta just to clear the jets on new tank printers. Tank based ink-jets do have a use case though, just not for me. I grabbed a color laser from a big box club a year ago and I couldn't be happier. I also have a 4x6 photo printer that works great. No regrets on either purchase.

[@Grandadtech]

I have the cheap HP printer and the $1 per month subscription (15 pages). In over a year I have exceeded the 15 pages only a couple of times. Those overages have been covered by my rollover pages. When you sign up they give you an extensive trial period and those rollover pages carry over to your plan. Last year I spent $12.60 for ink!

[@quitman977]

Great review on tank vs laser. My cannon ink jet died and I almost went for a mega tank...until I read about the diaper problem...and.... the percentage counter of the diaper ink. Once it hits 100% full..it stops! Printers are a big scam. But like you I don't print very often so it'll be a laser for me. Good job on the info we need more people like you. Cheers..Ed

[@davidbowne122]

Good video, i mainly been a LaserJet fan since the 90s. For me the laser has the better overall value.

[@LonSeidman]

I once had a legendary LaserJet 4 !

[@davidbowne122]

@@LonSeidman yes I had one of them. Kept it for many years until about 2015. Only was replaced when I got a Color Laser printer, and having two large printers seemed impractical for the home.

[@cmc6295]

​@@LonSeidmanCool

[@RynoDBones]

I had a Canon with the ink tanks…lasted about a year before it stopped working - too clogged to fix. Got a Canon all in one laser with awesome reviews….it was DOA but I got it working….lasted three months. Went to the old standby Brother and it is flawless, cheaper, and faster…plus it doesn’t throw errors when I use third party toner cartridges.

[@RynoDBones]

@Rez629 I'm using the Brother MFC-L2750DW. So far, it's pretty awesome. It even shuts itself down after a few hours to save power. Scanning is kind slow at high resolution, but not unbearable. I have no complaints except toner that came with it didn't last very long. It does work fine with third party toner though.

[@RynoDBones]

@Rez629 I think I got mine on sale for $199 at Staples. Of course tax brought it up again. Ha

[@WhittyPics]

I have also found that laser printers are better if they sit idle very much. I don't have an inkjet in the house any more, while I have 3 laser printers, 2 are all in ones with one in color. That color one really does a nice job. All of them are Brother printers. Have you tried any of the 3rd party color toner from Amazon for 1/3 the price?

[@jaredhuang2225]

I've recommended my friend to get their color prints done at a office supply store (Staples/Office Depot/Kinkos/etc.). They very rarely print color maybe 5 pages per year, the rest is B&W. The cost difference between a color laser and B&W is probably enough to last them a lifetime of copy center prints.

[@Andykev]

Exactly. Bring in the USB and they had my run of color fancy paper three page newsletter done in 30 minutes, 300 copies. Cheap. And stapled. Now a step further... I upload it in full color with photos to the organization's website and every month the members get an email notice with a link to the newsletter. They can print it themselves. That was a savings of hundreds of dollars each year.

[@paulwarner5395]

Thanx for the video. I have three printers at home . A Canon TS8160 inkjet that only gets used for CD and DVD label printing and a test page once a week and I use 3rd party refills, A Brother HL2150N with 3rd party carts and a new Brother MFC-L3770CDW color lazer. I do have a full set of replacement Brother high capacity carts for it but haven't had to replace any yet. I usually buy all my 3rd party carts and ink from the same place and never had a out of box failure. One thing I do hate about the cheaper inktank printers is that they have a top paper feed rather than bottom feeders.

[@awesomedez]

I never want a company to be able to remotely brick my printer

[@jimjones6960]

As an owner (fixing to be former) of an Epson et-2550, I can for sure confirm that that brand/model will brick once it reaches the arbitrary "was pad fullness". It's super easy to clean the waste pads, literally two screws and a clipped on retainer bracket to remove. But even after cleaning there's no way in the maintenance or settings of the Epson software to reset that waste pad counter. Every time I try to print I get the maintenance pop up for the waste pad capacity. Now I'm in the process of finding printer reviews, little disappointed here that this was less of a "guide" and more of a comparison of types of printers. I'll look back through this guy's videos and see if there is an actual guide on one of these tank printers (although the Epson here is a 2400 which is a little dated, so probably keep looking for something at least newer than my 2550).

[@yxmichaelxyyxmichaelxy3074]

They do not brick your printer. They brick the cartridges. You need only cancel your Instant Ink subscription, return HP's cartridges, buy your own, install them and you are good to go. Why people do not understand HP's simple subscription baffles me.

[@jimjones6960]

@@yxmichaelxyyxmichaelxy3074 ET-2550 doesn't have cartridges. So yes, once that waste pad sensor is tripped as full, you're left with a brick sitting on your table unless you send it back to Epson to pay the ransom to have it reset.

[@yxmichaelxyyxmichaelxy3074]

@@jimjones6960 Notice I said Instant Ink, yes? Epson has no Instant Ink. That is HP's subscription program.

[@Ggma918]

@@awesomedez Ikr I was refilling my HP 26 cartridge with no trouble. Then, after an update, the refilled cartridge leaked out. I had to buy a NEW cartidge that would refill properly. When this new cartridge was used up, it could be refilled either. I think I am done with ink jets. For sure done with HP. I had an old Brother I used offline for years until it completely wore out. Automatic updates are suspect. Cannot be turned off, can they?

[@cliffmauck510]

Thanks for the informative video. I was looking at “tank” printers but now am going to get a laser printer. Keep up the great work.

[@ccroy2001]

This was a great video, thanks. It's so confusing now with all the options for cartridges. I've been thinking of upgrading and having the ability to print photos is appealing. Overall I am a very light user so thanks for breaking down the use cases. BTW I have a Brother laser that probably has a decade old toner cartridge in it and works fine! Laser is the way to go for black and white documents IMO

[@anullhandle]

My older brother printer has a button sequence to reset the page counter if it gets stupid when changing toner cartridges.

[@donajean33]

I’m a crafter and I print images on card stock. Would a color Laser printer work for this, if so what would be a good one? Thanks

[@sbrazenor2]

I've considered this issue for a long time. What I find works is having a B&W laser printer, a Brother that I've had for like 18 years. And for photos, using an adhoc print service, like a point of sale kiosk, or by mail online service. The per instance cost for a service is more per page in theory, but if you consider that there's no maintenance or initial cost of entry, etc - it's cheaper. If I want to have pictures of my family or other stuff on display, I can just setup a monitor or digital picture frame that runs a slide show or something. Printers only make sense if you do professional prints, and those people are not buying low-to-mid grade consumer printers. They would buy a professional printer, which isn't cheap.

[@StephiesCorner]

Thank you, new sub. Best review I have watched all day. You have helped me select the perfect printer for my needs. Thank you so much!

[@charlesleonard9459]

I have both a Lazer printer and an ink jet. An HP 1100 series and an Epson tank model. 90% of my printing is black and white, so obviously, the HP gets the most use. I make it a point to print at least one color print each week to avoid the problem of clogged print heads.

[@ScaerieTale]

Thanks for this. I'm looking at printing options for a potential (very small) business, color labels, possibly some custom stickers, and I haven't shopped for a printer in actual decades (flashback to printing off college term papers the night before and praying the printer didn't jam!). I didn't realize ink subscriptions were actually a really competitive way to go

[@efox2001]

Thanks Lon! I will be looking for a printer for producing watercolor prints. I would love a review/overview of what to look for. Epson is my current frontrunner but your comment, regarding the sponge replacement, has me wondering if that is a point of concern.

[@abunk8691]

Have no need for a new printer (current one still going strong since 2017) but I still watched as I wanted a comparison to laser printers which I did get from this vid thanks you. The one I use is an Epson L220 which is an inkjet with an ink tank outside. Aside from having to replace the ink pad and the power supply (darn crappy Chicony power supplies) it still working fine even with non genuine ink. Prior to the L220 our family had an Epson Stylus T10 my family that served us from 2010-2017 and it was one of the last working ones from the place we bought it. That thing was jank and had a CISS kit installed so that it could work as an ink tank style printer and it broke in a bunch of ways like bad print head, failed CISS kit, failed stepper motors, etc. As a student having a color printer is pretty valuable as it was pretty common to print stuff for assignments and projects. A while back I had to print a big batches of research papers (720 pages then 606 pages) and printing them myself was way cheaper than having others or print them.

[@cyborgmetropolis7652]

How soon before a subscription is required for groceries, or gasoline, or chewing gum?

[@cyborgmetropolis7652]

Or a required subscription for a cemetery plot, along with Big Funeral lobbying Congress to ban cremations.

[@cassie5344]

Exactly. Depends on how lost we get as a society.

[@coastie1951]

Just canceled my hp ink program. They shut off the existing ink and require you to install factory ink cartridges. The roll over expires and due to our low volume we were billed anther month to close. Never never again.

[@kolad264]

Yes its a scam

[@DaveThompsonfairlife4all]

What an awesome video. I wish I had discovered it sooner. Everything I needed to know so I could order a printer based on knowledge. Thanks a lot. Going for print-only Brother LED/Laser.

[@gil10601]

I serviced dry ink printers for 30 years. We had a document in our tool kit something like the one you held up. The document looked pretty similar and it represented 5% coverage.. Most documents are in that general range and if thats what you usually print than the expected pages for the ink yeild is possible. BUT, do one full color page and you may be using ink enough for 20 or 30 pages so if what you print most is full color or graphic pages with large coverge of mixed colors or the other thing that surprized a lot of people was when you make a print with the platen cover up and your print comes out surroundded by black you will not get the yield you hope from your expensive ink purchase. Sometimes an ink cartrige that claims 2 or 300 may only give you under 40 or 50 if your lucky. It's all about coverage.

[@phbrinsden]

I switched to a color laser last year and love it. Photos are not very good but I never print them any more. I’m not a high volume user.

[@cmc6295]

Have you printed a b & w photo with it? If so, how was the quality?

[@littleeddie133]

Brother HL-3170CDW purchased in 2015 just now having few issues with it such as gray smudge marks on the white part of the paper, to troubleshoot you have to buy new toner and drum unit which is more expensive than just buying a new printer, I ordered Brother HL-L3280CDW will see how it goes. I only print out a few pages a month so the issue with inkjet printers clogging up I'll just stick with what I know based off previous experience. Also based on experience again just stick with OEM ink not cheap knockoffs.

[@ddradio9500]

Nice video on the printers, thanks. On the new Epson EcoTank printers, the user can easily replace the sponge you are talking about. The sponge comes built into a "maintenance box," which can easily be replaced from outside the printer without ever touching the sponge itself. The printer will let you know when it is time to replace it, and the one for my printer only cost me $16 at Staples. There would be no need to return the printer for this routine maintenance.

[@paulwarner5395]

I thought that Canon was doing the same now but can't find a link to it.

[@ddradio9500]

@@paulwarner5395 I see some Canon "maintenance boxes" with the built-in sponge available for certain Canon printers at B&H Photo. Hopefully, they have one that will work with your printer. From what I am seeing, some other Canon printers don't make it as easy as replacing the "maintenance box," one would have to do some DIY cleaning of the sponge and hope the printer would recognize the clean sponge and continue to operate. Good luck with your printer.

[@Electrotech1980]

I own a Brother HL4070CDW colour laser. Original purchase price $600 CAD. When I purchased it, I was using Windows XP. That was a long time ago. I'm very pleased with it. Laser printers do need to be cleaned occasionally. Then, they print perfect again. As long as I can get drivers, I will keep using it.

[@jamesoldman3021]

I bought a HP LaserJet 8000 when they first hit the market. Still using it but it is on the way out. HP quit producing cartridges for it a few years back and have been running on refurbished since then. What I have ran into is the refurbished have now exceed their life expectancy. Almost impossible to get toner now.

[@timcolton4680]

Question - I need simple - Just a b&w printer (2-3 times a year) connects to computer only (no cell phone crap) to print b&w. Can you recommend one please.

[@treypop123]

My parents got a new hp printer scanner combo for Christmas. I being my family's IT they had me set it up on the Wi-Fi for them. The frustrating thing I found about that is the scanner portion of it requires an HP account because when I tried to test it with the Windows scanning app from the Windows store it would just are out the printer and I would have to unplug and plug it back in to reset it

[@vaxick]

I'm still using the toner cartridge that came with my Samsung M2020 I bought at Office Depot ages ago. Did have an issue with it not wanting to feed paper through it about a year ago, but it was an easy enough fix.

[@davecool42]

I’ll never buy an ink based printer ever again.

[@saifrashid8701]

I didn't have much choice, laser printers are € 150+ non multifunctional and monochrome only, tanks printers cost around €250 and none of them even have automatic duplex, finally bought a 4-in-one Brother inkjet with 4 cartridges that are expensive af, I hope that would do it because i've had enough with HP printers scams, I can' afford a multifunctional color laser

[@cassie5344]

Ditto. Particularly not HP. Their conduct is egregious.

[@hollo0o583]

Highly recommend an epson EcoTank (the second cheapest one in particular.) Yes it’s slightly more expensive but it comes with an inc bottle in each colour that should last you for the first year or two. The replacement bottle only costs between 10-20 bucks and again, will last you for over a year. These printers even come with a no mess, no extra products self cleaning cycle incase your printer does get clogged by dry ink. The initial cost will quickly repay itself!

[@cyberwasp461]

I had an hp 8600 officejet for a long time. Last time I needed new cartridges I ordered from HP and they didn't work. Hp was of no help, so I ended up with a Canon MF753cdw color laser for $300.00. Funny thing. I've only printed black and white pages for the last 2 months. My black cartridge is still 100% but the other 3 C, M Y are at 90%. Am I missing something??

[@jcstevegigs]

Will I be able to hook up a “new” printer to an “old” computer? My old HP inkjet T45 just died. I use it with my 15 year old iMac which won’t allow me any more updates from Apple.

[@vinyfiny]

I have an old Epson NX430 I bought used for $30 like 8 years ago. Once I found some generic cartridges that actually worked consistently I was good to go. Unfortunately I print very seldom (mostly just shipping labels) so I do have to replace cartridges that are barely used every once and a while, but since the machine still works with generics it doesn't cost much. It prints slow, but I barely ever print anything so I don't mind. And Wi-Fi printing surprisingly still works fine after all these years. I was considering getting a laser printer, but I think I'll stick with old reliable. If it ain't broke don't fix it!

[@yorafael]

I have both, I only use the scanner on the cheap ink jet and print with the laser. It's now running low on toner, so I am looking to replace it with a generic toner. I hate that the inkjet asks for a user and password every now and again to use the scanner.

[@htz70]

Seems to me that, in the long run, a Color Laser printer (like Brother 3280) is actually much more expensive than an Ink-Tank printer (like Epson 2850 or 3830). Ink bottles cost far less than toner, and yield far more pages. Epson 3830 (ink tank) is $370. Includes normal (not starter-size) set of ink bottles, which yields 7500 pages. That’ll last me forever. But if needed, ink set (#502) costs $30-60. Brother 3280 (color laser) is $270 (today, on sale). Includes starter toner, which yields 500-800 pages. So I’d need to buy a full toner set fairly soon for $250, which only yields 1200-1500 pages. So for the same 7500 pages, the color-laser would need also 4 toner sets, total ~$1270, vs only $370 for the Ink-Tank. The main problem with ink-tanks is the need to print at least weekly to prevent clogs.

[@ShaneCrenshaw]

You mentioned an upgraded printer mechanism like the one you used for printing photos. What are some models for that at the lower price point that have that upgraded printing mechanism? Thanks in advance!

[@strouja]

I had same experience with inkjets and will never buy another again. I have 2 lasers printers. One multi function hp color and a black and white brother.

[@Poorgeniu5]

I still have and use my ancient Canon MP240 color inkjet printer. I got around the ink cartridge price by buying third-party cartridge and now just hand refilling them with generic ink myself. I was looking forward to get a ink tank printer as I still do want to print out photos but reflecting that I print kinda rarely, I might just get a laser printer and if I want down the line, a dedicated portable small format photo printer.

[@Airbertach]

Thank you, Lon. This was quite informative about the current state of both Inkjet and Laser printers. I did have one question not directly related to this video and that is, are there printer manufacturers that us solvent based inks vs. water based. My understanding for printing pictures, solvent base is far superior and long lasting whereas, the water-based pictures fade over time.

[@cynthiakerford4458]

Great information, concise, organize and well delivered. The subscription segment was alarming. I thought you were just paying to have the unit communicate when the toner/ink is low and when to send more toner/ink. The subscription should not have the power to deactivate the chip in the printer if payment is stopper or service is cancelled. This is persuading me to go with the toner/ink. BTW: I have experienced the issue with a 3rd-Party printer head on my HP 8600E. The new head worked for 6 pages and now I get a constant printer failure error and the unit is in excellent condition. Oh Well!

[@beachbumsailordude]

Lon what kind of buying guide is this? How about comparing and contrasting different models? etc...

[@LonSeidman]

This video was an overview of market choices, you can see individual reviews in the playlist.

[@richj120952]

I moved to color laser well over 10 years ago. Prior to that I used inkjet printers and started with the first gen HP inkjet. When I was doing a home business, they worked OK (except if any page got wet, say from rain). After I closed my business, I did not do so much printing, and had the issue of perfectly good ink carts drying up or clogging. Cost of new carts, way too much. Then I moved to LaserJets. One thing you did not mention is that the carts for them do not need to be replaced all at once. Most likely the black will run out before any of the other colors. So, you don't absorb the cost of a full replacement of all carts at once. Since this was a personal printer now, it was being used by my wife. She needed it to print onto cloth, as she is a quilter, and repairing a quilt meant she needed to replace a section with cloth that had the same pattern as the original. Since most repairs were done on quilts that were made in the 1920's and up, that pattern was nowhere to be found. But if you could scan a section on the original quilt that had that pattern, with an inkjet printer, you could recreate that section. Can't do that with a laserjet. So, I had to buy an inexpensive inkjet to do that work. I have also gone on vacation where I needed to print out a map of a local area, and bought the least cost inkjet to have while on vacation. Leaving it. Back when that happened, no smartphones, and hotels did not have a "business center" or WiFi. Of course you don't need to do that now-a-days.

[@Ziplock9000]

I've been using printers since they were dot matrix. Bubblejet was a great technical leap forward, but when colour photo jets came out the price of ownership was just too much for most people. B & W laser printers however are so cheap, they are almost free to run. I've had several over the years and I get cheap replacement cartridges once every 2-3 years! I wish there was a printing tech cheap like B&W lasers, but glossy colour like colour bubble jet.

[@mediatechfaithumc5875]

Would like to hear your thoughts on which printers give you the best photo print quality. Maybe break it down by brand and model and price ranges?

[@EG-O]

the HP print heads cost around $60 for both print heads together. I tried hp ink option subscription and i didn't like it, so i recommend just buying the ink if you have a tank printer as the ink last atleast 2 years and i am a student and i print alot. Cost around $66 for the full ink set

[@Travmeister]

Excellent topic. In December I was looking around to get rid of my three printers (laser b&w) downstairs and upstairs along with one nice HP multi function ink jet. Because of my infrequent use of printing nowadays, I wanted to buy a nice color laser printer. However, what I discovered is the DPI wasn't the same as compared to the inkjet so I moved on to just punting for another year and seeing what might come out in another year or two. I want a nice color laser jet to replace all three that will last 10 years or so. Right now, my inkjet can get 1200x1200 versus the laser jets I was seeing were only about 1200x600 for home consumer end. It would get quite pricey if I wanted to get 1200 by 1200 into the enterprise range and that's not within my budget or need. If I'm going to make this migration, I want to make sure I had the best optical print. My suggestion for a future episode would be looking at trading in other printers for just one nice laser printer. As you said, just occasional printing here and there but I wanted to work well when I need it.

[@Decade.Glass.Studio]

Are there any economical laser printers you could recommend that print 11x17, or ideally super tabloid 13x19? I do stained glass, and having to piece together my patterns out of 8.5x11 gets annoying. Would be nice to be able to print some larger patterns without having to tape them together. I've seen some photo printers, but I'm not printing often enough that I would worry the ink would get clogged or dry out. I thought after seeing this video laser might be better. I'm struggling to find any that aren't huge (meant for an office) or really expensive

[@9to5techs]

need help should i go with Canon - imageCLASS MF455dw Wireless Black-and-White All-In-One Laser Printer with Fax $219.99 or Canon - imageCLASS MF654Cdw Wireless Color All-In-One Laser Printer $299.99. i might do color once or twice a year

[@telefonbarmann4514]

I would be cautious with the subscription models. HP for example alledgedly locks down your printer if you cancel the sub, even if you still have ink in your printer...wich is insane!

[@GeneralJameson]

Hp wanted to remote into my computer when I tried to get some ink cartridges replaced that stopped working on their subscription thing, so I threw the printer away and got a Brother B&W laser printer and have never looked back.

[@Razor2048]

Sadly the tank based printers have become a huge waste of money. While the ink is cheaper per page, the companies charge far more up front but the idea is that it is suppose to save you money in the long run. The problem is that they add a waste tank or waste sponge, where the printer will count it as full after a certain number of page prints, after the limit is reached, there is often no way to reset it, even if you clean the sponge. At that point, the company will charge you a steep service fee. Due to this issue, many people who purchased eco-tank printers, ended up not really saving anything over the more traditional cartridge based printer. PS, for the eco tank printers, when the waste sponge is listed as full, often it is only around 2% full in real life since ink loses a lot of its volume as it dries. This is why cartridge based printers do not really bother you about a waste tank/ sponge. The issue seems to be that pushing the tank based printers are shifting the additional markup of a traditional ink cartridge, to the maintenance cost of the printer. The up front higher cost of an ecotank vs the similarly spec cartridge based printer, already makes it so that before you print enough for the raw ink cost per page gets anywhere near the cost difference of the printer, then it is already time to have the printer serviced. That service cost then acts as a major setback in savings, and unless you trust the printer to last 20 years, odds are that you will not come out ahead in terms of total cost of ownership before the printer fails and you need to buy a new one.

[@danv1061]

Ink sponge replacement foe Epson tank printer is easily done by user in less than 5 minutes. Parts from Amazon cost less than $20 for a pair of two.

[@electricrainbowskull]

I table conventions and markets and I've been trying to figure out a kind of printer that can sit for a while and not clog up, as well as have a decent ink cost for the amount I print for these events. I was thinking I'd go for a tank printer because of the lower ink cost and how much ink you get, but the maintenance alone seems like more of hassle I'd like to deal with especially if I'm on a deadline to print things off. Laserjet seems the way to go if it can sit for a while, but I heard there more for text documents than images so I'm worried that my image quality will suffer and I'd be paying even more for toner than I would if I stick with my inkjet printer

[@LonSeidman]

It really depends what you're printing out. If you're doing a lot of photos an inkjet is better but for most other types of documents a laser is just fine.

[@electricrainbowskull]

@@LonSeidman It's mostly regular paper, matte sticker paper and cardstock

[@sferg9582]

Just curious which color laser printers are capable of printing on standard business ENVELOPES. This is a specification that's usually impossible to find while shopping for a color laser....also which color lasers do NOT have individual toner cartridges to replace only the colors that get depleted more often.

[@kuehnel16]

Can you recommend a aftermarket toner

[@MARC1TIM]

Substructions are good if you print at the rate you signed up for. For us it's maddening, since we can go for months with printing at the expected rate but then sporadically print a lot. Rollover pages are only for the last 3 months so don't bank for the year. So, if you print 100 pages after in 3 months without rollover you get hit with large fees. I'd like to see any annual or semi-annual plan.

[@jeffreykoerber6595]

My old InkJet and my current OfficeJet jams on card stock and photo paper even when I select the correct paper type. HP doesn’t make replacement rollers for their Ink printers so when they wear out, it’s time to buy a new printer.

[@michaelwiley5427]

Had an HP PhotoSmart 6520 for 11 years but killed it last year by not using. Replaced with an Epson Et-4850 two years ago. No it isn’t as accurate as the old HP but it doesn’t cost an arm and leg for cartridges. I have used 1/4 of the ink and printed a heck of a bunch of photos. I like ink jet for best photos . Having only three colors CYMK is maybe not the best but calibrated screen and ICC print profiles it’s very good for home, plus I have used the scanner. Prints from iOS and MS wirelessly no problems. While I do like the feel of laser b/w text melted on top of the paper but I don’t own one.

[@davidalford7165]

Lon been watching your reviews for years your making us both old lol. Anyway i have an HP Officejet Pro 9025 and i am on HP ink program no complaints here just an observation. I have never seen ink cartridges that i bought from a store last as long as what is sent to me on HP ink program. The cartridges must be jammed with ink from HP program where their store bought is just half full. I have not been able to find any info to prove this but trust me my printing is very consistent on a yearly basis they are filling those cartridges up lol . Any knowledge on this is much appreciated. David

[@LonSeidman]

you're only as old as you feel! :). So HP does in fact state in their FAQ that the carts hold more ink - they definitely have a greater capacity vs. retail carts: www.hp.com/gb-en/printers/instant-ink/faq.html

[@saturnotaku]

I’ve found the generic cartridges for my Canon AIO last longer than the official ones. As long as they continue to work, I will continue to buy them.

[@patrickizumi]

I think the HP single black and single color cartridge system is a good system for inkjet plus you can use it with just one cartridge be it black or color cartridge

[@CTSFanSam]

What about printers on Linux machines? I am pretty new to Linux. Of my 2 printers, one worked with Linux fine. My Epson XP-850, no love. I am shopping printers lately, to use on Linux. A bit of a research project.

[@youdontknowme5969]

From experience, I would personally just stick with laser printers that understand PCL or even PostScript. They "just work." Many inkjets seem to use a proprietary "language." I don't know if any inkjets exist that actually understand PCL or PS. Some manufacturers might offer Linux drivers (or printer definition files) on some inkjet models, but you're usually totally on your own installing them.

[@carolepruett1702]

My hp8600 is dead according to hp. I recently have been using generic ink. Is it possible to flush out the printer and start over or is it really ruined?

[@kuehnel16]

Do laserjet color printers need to be perfectly level. Im getting a black streak on left side of paper . I have a hp m277dw and yes im using Amazon toner

[@songsan807]

Used to buy many Epsons and Canon printers for myself and family. The first and last color laser printer I brought was from Brother. The 4 color Toner genuine set was about $150. I went for a generic set for like $50. It first printed good and then a few months later I started noticing the print quality is not as good. Then I started thinking back on my other Epson inkjet printers where the prints used to be good where I print in photo glossy papers. Then when I started using the generic inks after a while the prints don't look correct. I tried cleaning the heads and running diagnostics and same thing. Not sure if anyone have similar issues.

[@Logan-limitless]

this was a great video, is there anyone who could advise me on the better one of the following 2 printers, it will be used for school and not for work. HP Smart Tank 530 or Brother DCP-T520W Ink Tank Printer, thank you

[@guiabanana8642]

This convinced me to buy the laser printer because my inkjet cartridges got dried up after 6 months of not using it.

[@ThumbdownMan]

A good old black & white laser printer is the most reliable.

[@captainkeyboard1007]

I have had a Canon all-in-one color laser printer since 2017. I use only Canon toner that has a high-capacity volume of toner. I do not print every day, but the toner supply is very good and does not decrease when I print some jobs during the day. Having a microcomputer and a computer printer makes my life meaningful and with definition. Perhaps I spent many dollars on four packs of toner cartridges, I saved much money in the interim. Therefore, I do not need to purchase toner often. I do make and print business documents based on my typewriting service. Since I bought my first microcomputer, color laser printer, scanner, and label printer, I am doing so well that I never need to return to the past anymore.

[@T3hBeowulf]

It is worth pointing out that with HP, once you enable Instant Ink, that printer can never use a generic cartridge again. The printer's firmware is permanently altered to require genuine HP cartridges the instant you agree to try Instant Ink. Also, as you pointed out, turning off your subscription disables the cartridge in the printer even if it was the cartridge that came with the printer. You must purchase a set of replacement genuine cartridges to use that printer again. This practice is very wasteful IMHO.

[@christinemurphy7683]

It's worse than that. I had the Instant Ink subscription, but then the printer stopped connecting to the internet for some reason I was never able to figure out. This particular printer had the ability to connect to a computer with a USB cable, and when I did that, it would not print with the Instant Ink cartridges. It kept giving me an error message telling me to connect to the internet, but the printer would not connect, as I said,. I canceled Instant Ink and returned their cartridges, as instructed, and purchased retail ink. It still gave a bunch of annoying error messages at first, but I finally got it to work. However, I had to go through a lot of crap every time I wanted to print. I finally bought a cheap Canon ink jet, without even an option to subscribe to anything, and I still have it, The only reason I went for Instant Ink in the first place was because my late husband was one of those people who liked to print out the entire internet, and I figured this might be cheaper. It was, until it stopped working. I don't print much myself, yet somehow, this Canon ink jet is still holding up after four years, no clogging or anything. In any case, I will never do another subscription for ink again.

[@cmc6295]

​@@christinemurphy7683oh wow, thank you so much for relating your experience. Last week, called HP to buy a printer outright, and did not want the subscription. Their Sales persisted I get it, how much better it is, and would not take no for an answer. consequently said Absolutely Not and hung up.

[@ytguy2010]

Let's not overlook the drivers. HP's driver/app is very annoying. It requires you to create an account to use it. Canon's driver download website is a mess. I've found that Epson and Brother are the best when it comes to drivers. I personally have a Brother b+w laser printer/scanner/copier. I've had it for at least 8 years at this point and it still works great.

[@sGeforce]

Does the high end tank printers like Epson Workforce Pro have the same problem of ink getting stuck if not used? Are the prints sharper like laser? Only problem I have with color laser is its size. They are usually too big.

[@LonSeidman]

Yes they’ll clog up just like regular ink jet printers

[@kumarp3074]

My friend has purchased so many of these cheapo Inkjet printers that I've lost count. Meanwhile I've had the same laser printer for well over a decade and it's been rock solid. For photos I'd suggest either using a photo printing service or get a dye sublimation printer. Either way you'll get better photos than you can with an Inkjet.

[@rafaeltorovip]

During the beginning of the pandemic I was able to buy a color laser printer. Today, the same printer cost almost twice as much. For some reason the laser printers are way more expensive now.

[@ACBMemphis]

I agree on the longevity of laser, have an HP 1102W many years old and it is very reliable. I was discussing printing/print cartridges with someone in their early 30s and their attitude was like "What? Why is this a thing, I don't even own a printer"... I am older than that and print so rarely I am not interested in subscriptions, cartridge DRM, or any type of ongoing games these printer companies are trying to play. (For example, a printer/scanner combo where the scanner doesn't work unless ink cartridges are installed.) Recently found a new-in-box Epson inkjet for 1/3 the price on an auction site to replace my 2006 inkjet that died last month.

[@keyboard_g]

In a future video on printers, it would be good to hear about driver and software quality. Printing from ipad or iphone, etc.

[@Tommydis]

Thanks for the video! What your opinion on Thermal Printers? I have seen a few reviews but none go as in depth as your reviews. Cheers!

[@bashfullJ88]

Thermal printers are the best if you don't mind 4x6 maximum paper size output.

[@Mr_D555]

I'm done with the Epson Ecotank printers, on printer number two and can only print black/white. Once the black tank gets clogged I'm going laser.

[@byrd203]

Not true the Lexmark C series is great for photos as well as the brother photo lazer printer they offer ones that do this as well I seen them

[@havingoodtime]

Still printing with the HP D4360 last cartridge I bought was Meijer branded noticed the HP 74 was $29 now for a few bucks more I could buy that cheep printer when my ink runs out

[@paratrooperlane7022]

The issue I have is, the inside of my printer drys up. I have to inject cleaning solution inside the printer and let it set for sometime for it to work. I have a solution to my problem, once my black ink is used up. I will drill a hole in the cartridge and fill it with cleaning solution, plug the hole with something.

[@robertmason7013]

The soon mini is a new battery powered mini PC that just hit the market. like to see you test it out.

[@iamjadair]

Top video thanks for sharing and creating! keep up the good work... this is still relevant in December 2024 but there is more known about ecotank printers they seem to be the better choice overall, however I can see how laser printers can be a better choice in some circumstances too...

[@joeyscleaninglady2877]

Nowadays you can buy lease turn in commercial multi function copiers/printers for cheap. They usually come tuned up with full ink and you will likely never have to buy ink again.

[@Anna_Beth_]

Where from?

[@CrashCarson14]

Nice. Thanks good info. Didn't know about the subscription models. Doesn't quite seem like the best market to be doing that lol. Bought one of the cheapest canon laser printers the other day. Works pretty good. Sharp image