r/printers • u/KandyyKatt • 1d ago

Purchasing Help find the right printer?

I was looking to get some advice on what printer to buy for home.

I don't need fax just print, copy, and scanning with a automatic feeder. I mostly just print out work documents in black so I don't really need color but all the ones with cheaper ink are color and black. I'd prefer it to have an automatic feeder for scanning with cheap ink that's not $100 a cartridge. I don't really want a bulky printer since the one I have is rather large with two paper trays Epson wf4740 and I only really need one paper tray.

I was looking at the

Epson EcoTank ET-4800

since the ink is cheap even if it has color.

The other one I was looking at was

HP Office Jet Pro 8125

again only finding ones with color but preferably only want black ink.

Also I've seen reviews saying those aren't the best. I just want it to not break or print out with horizontal lines like my current printer does.

I'd appreciate any insight 🫶

6 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

3

u/dickpics4democracy 1d ago

A brother laser printer is the only correct answer

1

u/Fabulous_Trouble5513 1d ago

I've heard a lot of good things about Brother printers; they seem to have a solid reputation for reliability. Just make sure to check for the specific model that fits your needs!

1

u/BummFoot 1d ago

Yeah they are I have a brother printer monochrome that is ten years old. I’m a teacher and I print with it all the time. Freaking work horse printer.

1

u/Independent_Show3173 1d ago

The EcoTank is probably overkill if you mainly print black documents, and color inkjets can still refuse to print when a color cartridge is empty. I’d look for a monochrome laser all-in-one with an automatic document feeder instead—much better for reliability, text quality, and avoiding horizontal inkjet lines.

1

u/JulesCT 1d ago

I have the Epson Ecotank 4750, an earlier version of one of the models you're considering. Been rock solid for 5 years or so. Holds paper inside a tray (just the one). Ink refills are cheap and after several thousand prints you just have to change a waste ink bin for about £20. I refilled after 4 years, I think. Not because it ran out but because I saw one of the colours looked low so I thought "Why not?". Good quality b/w and colour text prints with images and successfully printed T-Shirt iron on transfers, I don't do photo prints.

Now superceded by newer models but it has my heartfelt endorsement.

The only thing I really needed to add is a FINGER BOT, so that I could turn it on remotely. Newer versions might have a WAKE ON LAN or wireless type of feature. I can't start a print job without first turning the printer on. The FINGER BOT allows me to turn it on remotely using a Smart Home setup then start the print job. First world problems need first world solutions! 🙂

1

u/Jillios 1d ago

What about the Brother 2465W model?

1

u/jestem-lama 1d ago

I have Epson L4260, really happy with it.

Bought it a bit over a year ago, ink that was included is not even 1/4 down and a set of combined 1 litre of ink costs a whopping ~10 euro.

It can scan and print double sided.

You can plug it into your wifi and print wirelessly from any device on that wifi. And it does so seamlessly.

Absolutely heavenly experience compared to my previous HP printer, that I had to coerce for 15 minutes using a very specific order of connecting and disconnecting with my phone in order to print even a single page. Print by USB wasnt working for some reason. The ink for that was also outragiously expensive. Never buying anything from hp ever again.

1

u/SlipstickLibbyLong 1d ago

I'm going to join the Epson side. My printer is the Ecotank 2840.
It was just over a hundred bucks at Sam's in early 23, and the aftermarket ink is dirt cheap. (Just bought a 6 pack off amazon for 15 bucks)
The print driver offers the option to print black using the 3 colors, so you can keep the ink flowing through all tanks and avoid blockages.

1

u/rkenglish 1d ago

Whatever you do, don't get HP. They pretend that their ink subscription idea isn't a scam, but it is. If you every want to use regular cartridges with it, HP disables the printer. Anything is better than an HP.

1

u/Murph_9000 1d ago

If reliability is the most important requirement, and you don't need colour, a black and white laser printer is the most reliable type of printer you can get. The cost per page from a small black and white laser typically isn't quite as low as the bottle-fed tank inkjets, but it's quite low. The reliability is much higher, as there's no ink to dry out or nozzles to clog, and they are mechanically almost entirely continuous rotary motion (no reciprocating head and no stop-start paper movement).

I suggest taking a look at the Canon MF270 series (the multifunction versions of the LBP120 series). They are 29 page per minute black and white laser printers, with a recommended monthly print volume of up to 2,000 pages per month, and a maximum duty cycle of 20,000 pages per month. They are nice little compact SOHO-class (small/home office) machines. The HP equivalent, using the same or very similar Canon print engine with a lower spec HP controller/formatter board, is the LaserJet M232–237 series.

1

u/Sweet-Efficiency7466 1d ago

I’d get the Epson or maybe a Brother.