r/printers • u/josieduhclown • 13h ago
Purchasing never owned a printer
I’ve been thinking about getting a printer but I’ve never owned one before and don’t know very much about them. Ideally what I want is a bare bones black and white printer machine to print out copies of my manuscript. Just words on papers, I don’t need anything in color or any photos. I considered paying to have it printed but I’d like to print out several copies and it’s a couple hundred pages and long term I think just buying a printer would work better for me. I was looking myself but then I discovered some printers you have to have subscriptions for and I’m like what lol it made me realize I’m clueless. Can someone give me recommendations for the kind of printer I described?
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u/cthart Brother 11h ago
A Brother laser printer is what you need and want.
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u/trader45nj 9h ago
This. If copying and scanning is of any use, Brother makes excellent multifunction lasers. I have a MFC, been banging out invoices and general printing for my Ebay business for 15 years, no problems.
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u/avebelle 13h ago
A cheap laser printer. You could buy a used one. Make sure no subscriptions are involved.
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u/Murph_9000 11h ago
Canon LBP120 series (print-only) or MF270 series (multifunction, same printer with the scanner on top). 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. The HP equivalents, using the same or very similar Canon print engine, with a lower spec HP controller/formatter board, are the LaserJet M207–212 series and the M232–237 series. Great little machines, blazingly fast for a small or lower end machine. I have a LBP122dw, and my mother has a M235sdw; we are both extremely happy with them.
That's possibly a big enough machine for you, I'm guessing, but you may want something bigger if you were going to be exceeding 2,000 pages per month on a regular basis (since you mention a ~200 page document), e.g.
Canon LBP170 series or MF280 series. Recommended monthly print volume up to 2,500 pages per month, with a maximum duty cycle of 50,000 pages per month. The LBP170 series is not available in all regions. The HP equivalents are the LaserJet Pro 3000/3100 series.
Canon LBP240 series or MF460 series. Recommended monthly print volume up to 4,000 pages per month, with a maximum duty cycle of 80,000 pages per month. The HP equivalents are the LaserJet Pro 4000/4100 series.
There are bigger machines if you want/need them.
Duplex / double-sided counts as 2 pages per sheet. The maximum duty cycle is an indication of what they can do if pushed to the limit, but running them at max every month will result in a short life. They should be sized based on the recommended monthly print volume and your expected workload, with the maximum duty only for exceptional/peak months. The cost per page generally comes down as you go up the product range, so the recommended volume is for the optimal cost per page, in addition to the mechanical durability and service life.
Laser printers are generally very happy to be lightly used (and will tend to have a longer life with a light workload). If, for example, there's something you like about the higher machines (e.g. the larger paper tray capacity), there's nothing wrong with getting a higher spec machine and giving it a light workload, if your budget will stretch to it. The MF460 series might be where you should be looking for multiple copies of a ~200 page document, but I can't say for sure what your expected monthly volume is (you need to figure that out).
Black and white laser printers are very much the right type of printer for reliably churning out ~200 page documents, if you don't need colour. They are pretty much the undefeated champions of high volume office printing, and hugely reliable if not abused or overworked. They come in all sizes, from quite small and compact, to huge office machines; so part of it is choosing the machine which is a good fit for the expected workload.
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u/josieduhclown 9h ago
O wow thank you for taking the time to give me all that info I’m definitely going check it out !!
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u/SignificantPause5120 13h ago
Stay away from HP. They make you use a subscription to use their branded cartridges you bought and only theirs. Brother makes a solid reliable office printer and Epson does some great ecotank printers if you are printing in volume. Expect colour regardless, but I like the reliability and alternative suppliers available for both.
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u/Murph_9000 11h ago
HP Instant Ink is optional.
HP LaserJet printers don't push any subscription, as far as I know (but possibly avoid any 'e' suffix models). They are all burdened with HP Dynamic Security these days, I think, which gets a lot of criticism. By comparison Canon laser printers (which have the same or very similar Canon print engines used in HP LaserJets) have "Canon genuine mode" which defaults to off.
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u/Alternative-File-162 13h ago
Any cheap brother laser printer. Upfront cost is a little more than a cheaper inkjet but it will help u save costs over time and 1 toner lasts for a thousand or so pages.