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home print solutions

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TonyJZX
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home print solutions

#1 Post by TonyJZX » Wed Apr 22, 2020 11:38 pm

I wanted to ask if you guys are on the laser print multifunction fax machine thing?

I have a b&w multifunction fuji xero and a epson colour inkjet multi.

This would be fine for most people. I would occasionally take an old retired laser printer from work and run it until it busts and then throw it out.

I wonder what you guys use?

I'm looking at a old multifunction at one of my workplaces once they retire it.

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Re: home print solutions

#2 Post by dr_st » Thu Apr 23, 2020 12:29 am

I tried a laser color printer at home once, back when they were new and unreliable. It was a Xerox model and it was terrible - color printing was slow and it broke down shortly after warranty expired. This traumatized me enough to not bother with a color laser printer at home again (I had nothing but great experience from the monochrome Xerox laser printers).

Now I just keep a simple multifunction inkjet at home. Yes, it's not as efficient per-page as a good laserjet, and it's slower to start printing too, but I don't really print so much to care. And it's much more compact than a similar-function laserjet.
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Re: home print solutions

#3 Post by RealBlackStuff » Thu Apr 23, 2020 1:44 am

I have a Brother HL-5240 mono laser printer, that I bought new back in 2007.
It is still printing as good as new.
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Re: home print solutions

#4 Post by Puppy » Fri Apr 24, 2020 3:08 am

Konica Minolta PagePro 1300W - bought in 2005 I guess. Still works, official Windows 10 driver available.
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Re: home print solutions

#5 Post by atagunov » Tue Jun 09, 2020 1:37 pm

Re home printing: got a CubeX Duo but about to tear it down for parts :)
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Re: home print solutions

#6 Post by olex126 » Tue Jun 09, 2020 3:17 pm

Hi All.

Three printers here and in-use constantly:

1. HP 2605DN, color laser, built-in duplex printing (a huge plus since I print a lot of multi-page/multi-chapter documents), networked. Beautiful color output! Big plus....The 2600 2605N and 2605DN have long been surplus business equipment due to age, and can be found on the used market relatively cheap. Definitely NOT a speed-demon though, the newer 30 page-per-minute printers run rings around the 2600-series at 10/12 ppm.

( I also have a 2600 and 2605N as spare machines....total cost for both spares was $200....and primarily purchased because the bankrupt business seller also included another $500 worth of new laser color cartridges!) By keeping a careful eye for the printer cartridges on Kijiji, Ebay and local Buy-and-Sell papers, I can usually get a refill for $25. I have about a dozen new spare cartridges between the four colors.

The only drawback to this series is that they use a four-color combo to print black....so if you run out of any one particular color cartridge you're totally farked for printing anything at all....and EXPENSIVE!

WAY TO GO HP :twisted:

2. Samsung 2165W wireless printer in the bedroom for quick-and-dirty print-outs just before I fall asleep!

3. HP Laserjet 4. Networked, and used mostly for printing the multi-page documents that don't require color. This printer is a TANK....approaching 305,000 total pages printed (not mine! It had 296,000 on it when I purchased it five years ago)...and it hasn't missed a beat! The only drawback was finding reasonably-priced new 98A cartridges for it... I picked up two new ones at a flea market last Fall, so I'm good to go for awhile now.

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Re: home print solutions

#7 Post by cadillacmike68 » Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:10 am

We use the HP Color MFP 477fdw and Color MFP 281fdw. The 281 is the successor to the 277 and I'm sure the 477 has a newer model as well. They both do duplex, have good color printing, excellent for glossy brochures, etc and even decent for printing photos. They are both connected to the phone lines and yes we do send the occasional fax. These printers do Not run down the color cartridges when printing BW or Gray-scale. The big one (477) is only on its second set of cartridges. They are both hard wire Ethernet connected. Wireless is too finicky for me. I hate how it craps out while doing nothing.

We also have an HP color Office Jet (inkjet), which we use primarily for envelopes. I don't want en envelope jamming in the laser printers. It has fax / copy, etc, but we use it only for printing. There is an Epson 600 series used only for printing photos on the special photo paper.

I also have an ancient HP Laser Jet 6P. It must be over 20 years old No duplex, no color, no copy, no fax, but it still works. We had a 5P as well but a tab broke on the paper tray and it would no longer reliably feed. I still have a few new cartridges for this, but I don't think they are available any longer so when the last cartridge runs out, I'll trade it in. HP usually runs some trade in promo a couple times a year.

In the desert we had the mammoth HP high volume color LJ printers. These things stood on their own and had 3000 sheet feed trays and massive cartridges.
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Re: home print solutions

#8 Post by MikalE » Wed Jun 10, 2020 7:49 am

I have a Canon MG2900 that has served me well for three years now without problems. It will print from all systems in the house except the A31p.

It might print from that too, but I have not downloaded the drivers, nor do I think they will have any for XP anyway.
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Re: home print solutions

#9 Post by TRS-80 » Fri Jan 29, 2021 2:36 pm

Kind of old thread, I know, but...
dr_st wrote:
Thu Apr 23, 2020 12:29 am
I tried a laser color printer at home once, back when they were new and unreliable. It was a Xerox model and it was terrible - color printing was slow and it broke down shortly after warranty expired. This traumatized me enough to not bother with a color laser printer at home again (I had nothing but great experience from the monochrome Xerox laser printers).
Lasers in general, and color in particular, have come a very, very long way. I remember they were $1000s of dollars what seems like not too long ago.

I picked up an HP color laser network MFC at a garage sale for like $30 a couple years ago. Now that's still a steal, but anyway, they can be had in the ~$200-300 range even brand new now I think? But I would look for a used one on Craigslist, garage sales, or whatever you have near you, as printers almost gone the way of the dodo by now and you can find them for not too much money.

Multifunctions are nice to have and the only thing I would bother with nowadays, and even only a network one for that matter. As little as I use it, it will probably last me the rest of my life... I am looking for a dust cover for it in fact... LOL!

Of course nowadays I always check for GNU/Linux compatibility before purchasing any hardware, but that's just me. :thumbs-UP:
dr_st wrote:
Thu Apr 23, 2020 12:29 am
Now I just keep a simple multifunction inkjet at home. Yes, it's not as efficient per-page as a good laserjet, and it's slower to start printing too, but I don't really print so much to care. And it's much more compact than a similar-function laserjet.
Ironically, it was using inkjets so seldom that drove me to lasers. Printing only once or twice a year maybe, the ink would always dry out. Buy a new $30 ink cartridge (or more likely hassle with syringe and refilling to save money) just for a few prints here and there. A laser on the other hand can sit there for years, toner doesn't dry out.

You got me on the size thing, though. It's pretty big. And heavy as a mofo. I wanted to put it up on a shelf to get it out of the way, but it's so heavy I had to brace the shelf...
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Re: home print solutions

#10 Post by cadillacmike68 » Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:11 pm

A note on inkjets. If you don't print every few days, the ink carts will eventually dry out, even if full.
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Re: home print solutions

#11 Post by w0qj » Sat Jan 30, 2021 12:45 pm

It really boils down to whether or not you are allowed to print personal stuff at your office, for bulk print jobs.

1. We are officially allowed to print personal stuff at our office!
~HP M553 Enterprise duplex printer.
~Company grade duplex scanner (with proper image/file compression ratio).

2. As such, our home AIO (All-In-One) printer is much smaller/compact, gets the job done, albeit ink consumables a bit more expensive.
~HP OfficeJet Pro 9010

3) Alas, our home could not fit the taller HP OfficeJet Pro 9020 with the single-pass two-sided (duplex) scanner.
Would have loved to play around with that.

Finally, we find that Laser All-In-One devices are far too large for our home.
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cadillacmike68
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Re: home print solutions

#12 Post by cadillacmike68 » Sun Jan 31, 2021 7:19 pm

w0qj wrote:
Sat Jan 30, 2021 12:45 pm
It really boils down to whether or not you are allowed to print personal stuff at your office, for bulk print jobs.

1. We are officially allowed to print personal stuff at our office!
~HP M553 Enterprise duplex printer.
~Company grade duplex scanner (with proper image/file compression ratio).

2. As such, our home AIO (All-In-One) printer is much smaller/compact, gets the job done, albeit ink consumables a bit more expensive.
~HP OfficeJet Pro 9010

3) Alas, our home could not fit the taller HP OfficeJet Pro 9020 with the single-pass two-sided (duplex) scanner.
Would have loved to play around with that.

Finally, we find that Laser All-In-One devices are far too large for our home.


Yeah the HP color Laser MFPs are large, but not as large as the Enterprise class mammoths. And we put our on shelves. So, we have Five printers here. I want to get down to 4 (or 3 now that I found laser compatible envelopes) but not until all the toner carts run out on that old LaserJet 6P. And then maybe we'll sell the Color MFP HP OfficeJet and just work with the two Color LaserJets and the Epson photo printer.
600 600X
760LD FUBARd
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T60 T61 8897 2.4GHz SXGA+; 8898 2.4Ghz; 6463 2@ WSXGA+; 7658 2.5GHz; T61p; 6 more T61s
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Re: home print solutions

#13 Post by mpcook » Tue Mar 09, 2021 12:27 pm

I have an HP Laserjet 5p running since 1999, great B&W printer, although a bit slow compared to modern printers. I also have a color HP Officejet Pro 8620 which does well with color and has been pretty reliable for about 5 years now.
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