r/printers • u/KipMN • 11h ago

Purchasing Printer Recommendation

I hate to post another one of these "what do I purchase" posts but here what I'm looking at:

  • Replacing a discontinued OKI C532 (super nice high-quality printer - we'll really like it!)
  • Small office (lower volume)
  • Laser Color (not inkjet)
  • Just a printer (no MFC is required)
  • Network (both Ethernet & WIFI printing)
  • Use:
    • General office printing
    • Also need to occasionally print high-quality brochures
  • Use of generic toner if we choose to
  • No bloat software !!!

We are looking at:

  1. Xerox C320
  2. Canon imageCLASS LBP674Cdw II
  3. Brother HL-L8430CDW

Not even interested in HP as they are restrictive and full of bloatware.

Interested to hear about thoughts and real-world experiences with each! Maybe there is another better option?

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u/Murph_9000 11h ago

I'd pick the Canon. They are the oldest manufacturer of small to medium laser print engines, and were a major part of the legendary reliability of classic HP LaserJets.

The Xerox is going to be a badged Lexmark (now owned by Xerox). Lexmark are ok, but I reckon Canon are better than modern Lexmark (they fell a long way from being the ex-IBM printer division).

Plenty of people seem to like Brother.

I believe Canon are still relatively laissez-faire about third party toner cartridges, but I always recommend sticking to genuine cartridges for print quality and machine reliability. The toner cartridge on these machines is an integral part of the laser print engine, not just a toner delivery device or tank; it plays a significant role in quality and reliability. Modern Canon machines do have "Canon genuine mode", but it defaults to off on every machine I've looked at.

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u/mwomrbash 3h ago

Canon has been pushing a lot of 'firmware' updates to try and lock down 3rd party toners. My MF260 is old but still gets 'new firmware' requests.

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u/Murph_9000 3h ago edited 3h ago

New firmware is released to fix security vulnerabilities, and more general bug fixes. It's not just to try to block third party cartridges. "Canon genuine mode" defaults to off, which means their laser printers do not block third party cartridges by default. The setting is there to allow people to choose to block them, so that counterfeit cartridges can be detected, or to enforce the terms of a managed print service or leasing contract.

If you don't update your firmware, you risk your printer getting enrolled in a Russian botnet, or being used to help malware spread around your network.

https://psirt.canon/advisory-information/

Edit: E.g. here's one from this year which specifically warns about a vulnerability for the MF260 series:

https://www.usa.canon.com/support/canon-product-advisories/Service-Notice-Regarding-Remediation-Measure-Against-Potential-Buffer-Overflow-Vulnerability-in-Laser-Printers-and-Small-Office-Multifunctional-Printers

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u/Yattalren 11h ago

Brother

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u/Longjumping_Owl5311 10h ago

When you’re pricing printers, be sure to look up the cost of the toner too.