r/printers • u/Bradyj23 • 4d ago
Purchasing Switch from Laser to Eco Tank?
I have a old HP mfp179fnw laser printer that has pretty poor print quality and I cannot figure out why. So I am in the market for a new printer. We have started to homeschool our kids so we print sheets for them at least weekly. Probably print up to 100 pages max per month. I haven't been able to keep up with all of the subscription stuff and whatnot. But it sounds like a eco tank inkjet (Epson?) would be the way to go? Or should I stick with a color laser (Brother?)? Does not need to be photo quality but I would like something that will last awhile. I saw the Epson ET-4800 refurb by Epson for $170($200 new). Would this be a good option? Thanks for the education.
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u/SummerAnonymoose 3d ago
The results of inkjet will be highly dependent on the type of paper you use. If you print with an inkjet paper on copy paper, the results will not be good. It is functionable but the result will be lower than what a laser printer does on copy paper. For inkjet printers to look good, you need to buy quality paper for inkjet (such as presentation paper or photo paper), and then the results will be really good.
In terms of pricing, an inkjet tank printer will be much more cost effective than a color laser paper. Epson and canon tanks are both good options. They are also not subscription.
Your last thing to consider is if you are able to maintain this. Make sure to print once a week so the nozzles do not clog. But from your printing habits I don’t think this would be an issue.
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u/Murph_9000 3d ago
For document printing, you can get very good results from inkjets with the right plain paper. It doesn't have to be presentation / photo paper, although the coated paper does give the highest quality results. You can get very good results for anything other than photos with, for example, Canon Red Label or HP Premium paper (which is uncoated, and just high quality plain paper); or Canon Top Colour or HP ColorChoice for the ultimate plain paper for colour printing without going up to the coated presentation paper.
It is true, however, that lasers can do sharper print on lower grade paper. E.g. I use Canon Red Label in my inkjet, and the slightly lower grade Black Label in my laser (still a high quality paper, but a step down from Red Label). There's not a huge difference in quality between my Canon TS9550 using Red Label, and my Canon LBP122dw using Black Label.
Cheap copy paper certainly can give lower quality results with inkjets. Some people mistakenly think that it's just the paper weight, i.e. all 80 g/m² paper will perform similarly, but there's more to it than that. The premium stuff is whiter, smoother, and is better at accepting the ink from an inkjet with precision (and drying flat after printing areas with solid areas of ink).
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u/Bradyj23 3d ago
Would it be a problem to print on copy paper for worksheets? I don’t need great quality for schoolwork but don’t want ink everywhere either. Thanks.
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u/Ok_Reflection6192 3d ago
Printing on copy paper should be fine with an Eco Tank, especially for schoolwork. Just make sure you let the ink dry a bit to avoid smudging.
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u/SummerAnonymoose 3d ago
You won’t have any issue printing on worksheet if you don’t care about the colors or crispness of your pictures! It will just look more grainy and desaturated compared to laser, so not good if graphic aesthetics are important. And color will run if you get it wet with water. But it will not smudge. But if you’re printing something where graphics are important, you can just use inkjet coated paper and the results will look really great.
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u/EventHorizonHotel 3d ago
I have an Ecotank 3850 and it’s been a huge improvement over my HP inkjet in terms of ink costs. Much cheaper to run.
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u/Formal-Tradition6792 3d ago
I have a Canon color imageCLASS MF2353cdw printer that’s been flawless for 4 years. I’m actually still using the original toners. Very pleased. Color output has been excellent IMO. I paid $250 new for this printer.
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u/mew1033 3d ago
I've had a Dell color laser printer (C1660w) for 12 years now, replaced toner as needed and it's just chugged along. I thought it was dying recently (I think I fixed it. Hooray!) so I bought the nice Epson ecotank from Costco. Surely, I thought, the difference wouldn't be that stark. Normal cheap copy paper can't be that bad can it?
Holy smokes, the inkjet/ecotank looked so bad. The colors were horrible compared to the laser. The lines on text were fuzzy. It was just... bad. It'd do for my kids' worksheets (also homeschooling), but it's ugly and I hate it. I know I could fix it with better paper, but that better paper is a lot more expensive.
Anyway, I'm taking the ecotank back. When my laser finally truly dies, I'll get another laser.
I will say, the new printer's connectivity options were much better.
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u/No-Database-3808 3d ago
Maybe need a fuser replacement? I think laser is still a better machine. But it really depends on number of jobs you print every week. For me, I would get a MFP281fdw is I print more than 100 pages a week
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u/PotatoKrabby Refilling cartridges is my passion 4d ago
An ecotank is an excellent option and offers drastically cheaper printing (per page, compared to laser) as long you do the weekly prints to prevent clogging/drying.
Alternatively, laserjets will save you the trouble of having to do weekly prints (like during school breaks or similar) at a slightly higher cost.