Cycling UK Forum

Can anyone out there educate an ignoramus (me) about the pros and cons of laser printers, please?

The printer that I've got is a Cannon MG 5250 inkjet colour printer. It's been OK so far (6 or 7 years), but now it's screen is telling me "The type of print head is incorrect - Install the correct print head". Nothing has changed or been changed. Two of the coloured ink cartridges are flashing "empty", having been shown as "low" for quite a while. The cartridges are expensive, and I don't want to spend unnecessary money if the printer is kaput anyway. I have a spare for only one of the colours. I suspect that it's possible that these cartridges may have dried up, and that all I need is to replace them. I use colour so very rarely that sometimes the cartridges have emptied themselves (evaporated?) without ever having been used.

However, the stories about laser printers that I hear, from people who know about these things, suggest that a laser printer can be the answer to all problems.............but then others tell me differently. If I do have to change, then I'm tempted by a laser. I understand that first cost is quite a lot higher than inkjet, and that toner cartridges (or whatever they are) are also so very expensive, but once installed and up and working, the laser printer runs and runs for a very long time, and is trouble free.

Can anyone pass on advice/knowledge/experience/warnings please?

What kind of printing *do* you do?

There is always the option (very cheap) of getting a B&W laser printer, and then go to a print shop, or your local library, or Tesco etc.. for any colour printing you do.

I think that your diagnosis of the current problem is correct. Printer cartridges are expensive eg they do say that the price of printers is kept low by a cross-subsidy from selling the ink. For starters you need replacement cartridges and your printer will try to self-clean. I think there's generally a deep clean type of setting you can actuate through a menu although all that uses up more ink.

I can't help with laser printers, except to say I believe they are more geared up for longer print runs.

If your colour printing needs are small, it may be cost-effective to get it done at a shop offering the service. AFAIK, You can get a reasonably cheap monochrome printer for your routine stuff like letter writing.

(Bob got in before me.)

I think you should consider a laser - but the bulk of the printer itself may be a determining factor - they tend to be bigger than inkjets. To give you an idea, our laser (a colour Samsung CLP325) measures about 38cm wide by 24cm high by 32cm deep - with an extra 9cm of paper tray sticking out at the front. If you can accommodate that or similar amount of space - go for a laser.

If you do opt for a colour one, one of the advantages - especially for those who don't print colour very often - is that the toner cartridges don't 'dry out'. Ours has separate black, cyan, magenta and yellow cartridges, which can be ordered separately, so you can opt for replacing the black more often than the others. I think I've only replaced the colour cartridges once in the printer's lifetime - several years now.

Look online for third-party or refilled toner cartridges - they are a lot cheaper than the manufacturer's bespoke. Of course the manufacturer will tell you in no uncertain terms, to only use their own cartridges. Well - they would - wouldn't they?! We've not had any problems.

JohnW wrote:Can anyone out there educate an ignoramus (me) about the pros and cons of laser printers, please?

More expensive to buy for the same print colour/resolution than inkjet. Faster printing. Cheaper to run in the long term, but each toner (ink equivalent) cartridge is probably more expensive than inkjet when it is actually required (less frequently). Refilling cartridges is more expensive and messier than inkjets if it goes wrong. As always, check compatibility with your computers and operating systems and try to spot obvious goofs in the design: I had one laser printer that ejected pages near-vertically, which was an easy slot for dust to collect in and work its way back to the print head (corona wire). Probably not a problem if you print many pages a day, but it is if it stands unused for weeks...

So I think it depends how much you print, really. I'm trying to cut down on paper (both printing and filing) and the inkjet printer also has a scanner in it, so that's why I went inkjet last time I needed a new one.

Hi,
Look at how cheap injets are and how many pages you get per £ of ink?

In my experience, non manufactures carts stuff the printer quicker.

Six - 7 years is a good run on your printer...........................buy another.........wireless..................

As said has a scanner and of course a copy without the comuter being on..................card reader if you print photos (though I rather edit on computer first)...........wireless so lap top printing and no extra cables....................whats not to like.

I have always gone Epson over the last 18 years....

[XAP]Bob wrote:What kind of printing *do* you do?

There is always the option (very cheap) of getting a B&W laser printer, and then go to a print shop, or your local library, or Tesco etc.. for any colour printing you do.

+1

That's what we do.
Samsung wireless laser B+W printer. It's been out of ink for ages, but still prints fine.

I've had both. I loved the laser printer, but it's hard to justify the cost these days.

When I did need the laser printer, it was because I was printing out my own maps for cycling. The results from a laser printer are much more weather durable.

So if you do that, it's well worth getting a laser printer, even if you use a sealed map bag or something, it's sometimes necessary to take the map out to turn a page or turn it over.

Otherwise, I don't do enough printing to recover the cost of a laser printer.

About 15 years ago, we were in the bizarre situation where we bought new printers rather than replace ink cartridges!

It was seriously daft... we had a discount at a local retailer, and a new printer was at the time some £30 cheaper than buying the cartridges

Still is seriously daft, but maybe not.
Our Samsung is out of ink but still prints well for what we need it for.

The original cartridge is enough for a few hundred pages and that was used up in maybe twelve months, but the new replacement cartridge will do thousands - but costs over £60 - but has lasted years and years and years.

The printer new is about £50.

I recently had to sort out a bereavement which involved writing several letters. My all in one inkjet printer scanner was having problems printing with the cartridge drying up. A replacement black cartridge only lasted a short time and it would only print one page every 1/2 an hour or it wouldnt be readable. I Treated myself to a cheap samsung black laser printer which cost £40 delivered. Xpress M2026. A simple cable connected device - no fancy wifi. You will need a connecting cable but this was the same as the printer we replaced. I have printed several letters with this, no hassle with the cartridge drying out, perfect printing every time and it has been going for over 12 months on the original toner/cartridge which i understand was only a part filled get you going cartridge suitable for a couple of hundred pages. I have lost count of the printing done but it still works fine , always ready and no indication of needing a new toner/cartridge. Best printer i have ever had and it has a very small footprint on my desk, half the size of the previous all in one.

quick search shows it is still available at that price, cant recall where mine came from but heres one for starters.

https://www.johnlewis.com/samsung-xpres ... lsrc=aw.ds

Hi,
Not sure
http://www.itpro.co.uk/office-printers/ ... r-printers

I believe it is common practice, when selling a new printer, to include only a partly-filled cartridge or cartridges. That's one way they keep costs down!

Thanks you for all those responses everyone - food for thought and worthwhile spending time studying.

661-Pete wrote:I believe it is common practice, when selling a new printer, to include only a partly-filled cartridge or cartridges. That's one way they keep costs down!

I don't know if they are partly filled, but at least they are 'small'; ones that do perhaps 50 colour / 100 BW pages, though this does vary from one brand to another. They are usually smaller in size, although of the brands that I have owned, they sold more than one size, and the printer came with a normal small size, rather than a partly filled one.