Printer

[stealthee]

Ok, I am in search of a new printer. My old printer still works, but it is a pain in my ass and I am about to go all Office Space on it.

The main requirements I would like is it to be a 3 in 1 (print, copy, scan). If it's 4 in 1 (also faxes) that would be acceptable but the feature is not really needed. The second requirement is NO INK JET. I absolutely hate ink jet. The ink is ungodly expensive for the amount of pages you get. I want it to be laser with a toner cartridge.

Price range would ideally be around $100, but I would be willing to go to $150.

So I am not looking for anything super special. I really need to get one so I can start printing resumes for my job search. I will continue some searches of my own, but am looking for feedback and/or recommendations.

I found this one so far

Brother DCPL2520DW Wireless BlackandWhite AllInOne Printer Black DCP-L2520DW - Best Buy (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/brother-dcp-l2520dw-wireless-black-and-white-all-in-one-printer-black/9093196.p?id=1219393138268&skuId=9093196&ref=06&loc=01&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=9093196&extensionType=pla:g&s_kwcid=PTC!pla!!!90641767999!g!!58266638839&kpid=9093196&k_clickid=35032690-17db-4f59-9ac5-e65665df9118&kpid=9093196&lsft=ref:212,loc:1&ksid=35032690-17db-4f59-9ac5-e65665df9118&ksprof_id=8&ksaffcode=pg6280&ksdevice=c)

[striker2]

I love my brother laser printer. have it hooked up to the network via wireless (very easy setup) so no extra cables and I can print from anywhere in the house. the initial toner cartridge that came with it lasted several reams of paper before needing to replace it.

[TKIs]

+1 on the brother. I've had a few of them over the years and I have several clients that use them. They hold up well and you cant beat the price.

[stealthee]

It looks like that's the way I am leaning. I found the one I linked for $120 on Amazon.

I just need to decide if I will go with it, or go with the next model up and spend $150.

The next model up basically adds fax options and is a little prettier. After doing some measuring though I don't think I will go with it. Only other decision is if I should spend the $10 I am saving by buying it on Amazon to put a protection plan on it,.

[HilbillyHomeboy]

Another vote for Brother. I've been using them, commercially, for nearly 20 years and I have never had a single problem. You don't need fax; waste of money. No one faxes shit anymore.

I buy my drums and toners from QuikShipToner.com Outstanding service and prices.

Jeremy

[stealthee]

Yeah not much is faxed at all anymore, and even if something has to be faxed I can just take it to Staples or the pharmacy to fax it. Hell there are probably even apps I could use to send a "fax"

I put the 2520 in my cart. I just need to pull the trigger to make the purchase. If I was working I would have done it already but I am trying to be very smart with how I spend my money right now. I know I definitely need the printer, but it's still hard to convince myself to spend the money.

[HilbillyHomeboy]

With scanners and e-mail there just is no reason to fax anything. I run my own business and disconnected my fax line a few years ago, and that was still after only receiving maybe 5-10 faxes in the 2 years prior. It's just outdated tech at this point.

I understand about money. Just have to look at it for the long run. It will last you many years, making the annual cost of ownership much of nothing.

Jeremy

[stealthee]

Definitely. My inkjet is probably going on 9 years old now. It did it's job and it was nice to have color printing at times, but for all the troubles it gave me and for the cost of ink per page just makes it not worth it any more.

If I can find a place to stash it maybe I will keep it around in case I ever have to have something in color, or want to print a photo at home.

[HilbillyHomeboy]

LOL, I have a brand new (10 year old) inkjet in my garage. Never even been plugged in! :lo5l:

My combo machine is inkjet, but I only use it for scanning now and still use my old Brother b&w laser for dedicated printing. I have no use for color. If I (read: my wife) need something in color, it's always a picture, and I just e-mail those to Wal-Mart.

Jeremy

[NickS VR4]

I don't have much to add, but my parents had an Oki Color Laser printer, and to replace all of the toner cartridges would cost more than the printer (with cartridges). So unless you want a disposable laser printer, stay away from Oki.

Also, it appears that newer Brother printers have "Google Cloud Print" which is amazing for an all in one device. Allows to to scan directly to your Google Drive account, print from anywhere you are online, and no printer set up on any devices (printing from the Chrome Browser)

[stealthee]

Welp, I said screw it. I was in town at Shop N Save and walked past the gift cards. I thought about picking one up for my dad for Father's Day when the Amazon gift card caught my eye. I started doing the math in my head and figured I may as well do it. I bought a gift card for my dad, then I got the Amazon card for my purchase so I could take advantage of the fuel perks since I was spending the money anyway. My next stop was the gas station anyway. :p

Between the two gift cards and my groceries I added an additional 40 cents off a gallon.

After I entered the $125 gift card info I had a balance of $2.19. Printer should be here later this week or early next week.

I know I am probably going to stress about spending money for a few days, but in the end I will be happier that I did.

[stealthee]

I don't have much to add, but my parents had an Oki Color Laser printer, and to replace all of the toner cartridges would cost more than the printer (with cartridges). So unless you want a disposable laser printer, stay away from Oki.

Also, it appears that newer Brother printers have "Google Cloud Print" which is amazing for an all in one device. Allows to to scan directly to your Google Drive account, print from anywhere you are online, and no printer set up on any devices (printing from the Chrome Browser)

LOL Nick you must have posted as I was typing.

Oki wasn't even a consideration. Brother was at the top of the list as were a few others, but for the price point Brother kept seeming to come out on top.

I did notice the features with Cloud Print, but I don't have Google drive, nor do I even know what it is. LOL

Once I am set up with it I will play around with the wireless printing options to see what works best.

[stealthee]

Got the printer today. Setup was basically painless... for the most part.

As a printer it works flawlessly. I'm having issues with the program Control Center 4. It is supposed to be what you use for the scan function. FOr some reason the program not only crashes when the computer starts up, but crashes when I try to scan from the printer. It also crashes when I click scan from the Brother Utilities program.

I was able to change scan properties and scan using Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard, but it would be nice to be able to take full advantage of the scan options.

I went through several troubleshooting efforts and still have the same issue. I ran program repair. I uninstalled, turned off all anti-virus programs, and reinstalled and I'm still not having any luck.

If any of you guys have any advice I'd appreciate it.

Computer is running XP if that helps.

[KeithMac]

Might be an xp issue, we run the same on windows 7 with no problems?.

[stealthee]

It might, but everything I have found said it is compatible with XP.

[HilbillyHomeboy]

When I had CC4 running on xp boxes it would only run on the newer unit. I use 8.1 now and it works flawlessly. My printer is older than yours, but CC4 is the same as it does update from time to time.

Jeremy

[onebadmollafolla]

Another vote for Brother. I've been using them, commercially, for nearly 20 years and I have never had a single problem. You don't need fax; waste of money. No one faxes shit anymore.

I buy my drums and toners from QuikShipToner.com Outstanding service and prices.

Jeremy

I fax things every day.

http://i.imgur.com/j2IqgOp.gif

[HilbillyHomeboy]

I fax things every day.

http://i.imgur.com/j2IqgOp.gif

You probably math on this, too, huh?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/mula-abacus__21167_PE106157_S4.JPG


Jeremy

[onebadmollafolla]

You probably math on this, too, huh?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/mula-abacus__21167_PE106157_S4.JPG


Jeremy

Except I use stones.