Ink jet v Laser

[5129frederick]

Who's got what, and why?

When I first started off I had inkjet printers because they were reasonable in price and the cartridges were easy to replace.  I do a lot of of typing and found the results o.k. on paper and for general correspondence.  As many of you will know I'm a creative writer.  However, no matter how many times I cleaned the head, on close examination the letters were o.k. but nothing special.  It was fine for general work, but when it came to running of several pages at once - a 5000 word MS for example, I was running through the cartridges like a dose of salts.  It was then I decided to get my first full sized laser - an Epson C900 which weighed  a ton.  Although the toner cost an arm and a leg to replace, the sharpness bore no comparison and the toner seemed to last forever.  I feel you get what you pay for.  £400.00+ is a hell of a lot of money but it was a real workhorse and did it's job admirably until the photoelectric conductor or something like that started going.  The spares - like that of a Mercedes were crippling so in the end I let it go for a score and plonked on an HP 1600.  When that wears out I'll just buy the next model.  It's gotta be a laser for me, every time.

Agree/disagree.  Let's hear it from you.

[aernethril]

I've only ever had laser jets - well, until a couple of years ago - only ever had ONE laserjet, namely the HP 4L.

Got it in 1994 and had it for nearly 20 years before it started doing things I couldn't fix.

So now I have a brother laser printer which is working just as well only faster.

Inkjets have their place and occasionally it would be nice to print in colour - eg when I download knitting patterns,

But I cannot justify getting a second printer just for a few pretty colours on a page which may only be used once.

For what you use, it has to be a laser printer because inkjets are simply not designed to be worked in the way you need.

And these days, they are not at all expensive and the compatible cartridges work just fine too.

I found the reviews on the big river site to be really very helpful too - they can sometimes be a bit hit and miss but printers seems to be one product where buyers will give a lot of useage and assessment info in their reviews.

[5129frederick]

You certainly had your use out of that one!  Lasers have actually come down in price.  It's like everything else - look at the price of camcorders when they first came out years ago - £1100.00 on average.  Bulky, too.  I bought one with the cartridge and got forty-five minutes use out of it.  It's now obsolete.  I think  the modern ones just use a memory card.  You can't stop progress.

[suzieseaside]

For general printing - an HP laserjet. Black and white, but it's fast.  Inkjets are too slow for large reports or similar.

The huge toner cartridge costs around £100 but I bought a couple of unused ones on ebay for £10 each.  Murphy' Law the printer has now packed up - won't pick up the paper I think.   I supose it might be worth finding out if it is economic to get it fixed - it's been a good workhorse.

It's a pity that they don't make toner cartridges compatible with new printers of the same make. Too much planned obsolescence with technology.

[mustard-tree]

It has got to be inkjet for me, as most of my printing is colour posters and flyers for my entertainer friend.

I would certainly give a laser printer a try if there was a reasonably priced colour one.

I like the all in ones where you can use one machine to print, scan and copy.

I used to have an Epson, but when that conked out, I replaced it with a HP 5520

I prefer printers that use 4 separate cartridges, so that if one colour goes, I only have to replace one cartridge.

I never use compatibles, as I found them to be false economy, as the ink does not last as long and they cause the printer to wear out quicker.

[5129frederick]

Hope you haven't got rid of them.  If they're compatible i.e. if they fit HP Color LaserJet 1600 you'd have a ready customer once I get some money in about a month's time!  What colour are they?  Like I said, sharpness-wise in inkjet doesn't compare with a laser.  People tend to think that black is the first colour to run out, but it doesn't work like that.  An MS containing 1500 words uses up a lot, lot less than a photo of a happy couple on the beach - think of all that blue: the sea, the sky etc.

[ghostofhuggles]

I'm sure we have boxes of old toners in the office. Rather than dump them I might stick them all in a lot for MDCC, if they haven't been thrown out already. Do they go out of date? We have often ordered or been sent the wrong ones and they just go in a box.

[suzieseaside]

They are just huge black ink toner cartriges, Fred.

I don't have a colour printer.

[5129frederick]

I know I'm going to sound a bit of a dumbcluck, but I've seen the letters elsewhere on another thread and can't work out what they stand for.  Enlighten me please.

[aernethril]

The inkjets do go out of date and even if they will technically work, some of them have chips in which stop them working with the printer - to force the owner to buy new ones.

A lot depends on what make they are, how much out of date etc.

Laser toners should last and work a lot longer, especially if they've not been opened and have been stored reasonably well, away from heat etc.

In places I've worked before, they'd often over order and then find the colour laser cartridges had gone past their sell-by date but still worked just fine.

They may not really be worth listing for MDCC but instead, stick 'em on that free website for a nominal sum and then give the money to charity that way.