What kind of good/reliable home office printer??

[H Richard]

Another vote for HP. I currently have a 7855 Envy Photo, and it gives great prints, reliable for the last 3 years since I bought it, but ink is expensive. I only use up 1 or at most two sets of ink cartridges a year, (1 color 1 Black).

This is the third HP I have had going back to about 25 years when got first computer.

 

[yaktamer]

I'm surprised by all the love for HP. I had three and they were all junk. Happy with Canon.

 

[GypsmJim]

This is my 20th year in business. Had them all. Never had a good HP, and never had a bad Epson. I just wonder why my experiences are opposite of the rest of you.

 

[Truckman]

I just wonder why my experiences are opposite of the rest of you.

Maybe you're in an alternate universe, and this forum is the only portal......Ben

 

[BigBoy99]

I got a Brother Laser B/W scanner/printer and an HP color Laser printer at the same time. After 3 years the HP was in the recycle bin but the Brother was still going strong. It was 18 years ago I bought both of the printers and the Brother is still giving me perfect scanned and printed copies!

 

[outta_ammo]

After dumping (literally) our last HP, we've been a Cannon family for many years without complaint. Before we retired my wife printed hundreds of two-sided 11x17 every month for about ten years and bought a newer model only when ink became too scarce/expensive for the old one.

 

[Jon651]

My advice is to first take a long, hard look at how you actually use your printer. If you can honestly do without color then I would suggest almost any brand of black and white laser printer. Why? Because a typical toner cartridge for an inexpensive laser printer will print around 2500 pages - and toner doesn't dry up like ink cartridges do before they run out.

An average toner cartridge costs about as much as two black inkjet tanks, where a typical inkjet tank only prints 1/10th as many pages. Therefore it also makes economic sense as well.

I have an older Brother HL-2280DW and love it. The paper is loaded into an interior tray so it doesn't hang out the back or top or get dusty if not used frequently. It also has a built-in scanner that the Fax and Scan program that comes with Windows works perfectly with. They probably aren't made any longer but mine has lasted over 10 years so that is saying something.

Just my two cents worth...

 

[rkrcpa]

I've been more than pleased with my Canon copier/printer/scanner/fax but my everyday printing needs are fulfilled by a run of the mill Dell laser printer.

 

[S42N8]

Another HP user. The Instant Ink thing can save money; happy with the overall performance.

 

[Dave_n]

I have three Brother "cheap" laser B&W printers that I have had for years. From Amazon I can get B&W refill cartridges at roughly 25% of the cost from Brother and these may run to only 80% of the number of sheets printed compared to the "Real McCoy" but the savings are significant. Dave_n

 

[Targets Guy]

I have had my Brother L2350DW printer for over three years now. Never a problem. I get the toners from Amazon and they work fine.

 

[Tyree1867]

I have a Black & white, Brother MFC L2700DW. Scanner, copier etc. Bought it because I got dead tired of HP and their ink rip offs. IMO HP practically gives the equipment away cuz they make all their money on ink cartridges. Anyway I've been very happy with this Brother.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Another HP user. The Instant Ink thing can save money....

Thought a description of the "Instant Ink" HP Ink Subscription plan might help.
1. The printer must be set to communicate with HP via the internet, and keeps track of the number of prints produced.
2. You select a plan that approximates your monthly number of prints. All printed pages count the same. A page with one word or a full page high resolution color photo, using gobs of ink, count equally as one page.
3. Plans start at 99 cents per month. I pay $2.99 a month for 50 pages. Unused pages can rollover to be saved for later. Pages beyond your allotment are charged at a fixed price per page, but if your experiencing a surge of use, you can temporarily upgrade the subscription as-needed.
4. Ink will be mailed to you automatically, as the printer starts to run low. Once, when I had not printed for a long time and the cartridges dried out, I contacted HP and they immediately mailed me a new set of inks for free.

The HP Instant Ink dashboard I see on my computer:

They always stay ahead of my ink replacement needs. This is the amount of ink they've sent that's waiting to be installed:

Edit: Funny, but I just saw that there are expiration dates on the cartridges, and some are expired. Didn't realize they are perishable.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I have an HP Office Jet Pro 8710 that has outlasted any printer I've ever had and I've had a few.

This.
I use it for my home office and it does everything I need it to. Scans, prints copies. Have always had good luck with HP printers

 

[xsexcess]

I don't use a printer often, and really have no compelling need for color. I chose to get away from the liquid ink cartridges and use a powdered ink Canon ImageClass D530. It scans. It prints. Powdered ink never goes bad.

 

[len917]

They are all good and they all stink.Have an HP ENVY 4500 for years now and does drink ink like a drunken sailor in Singapore. They have what is called HP Doctor Print & Scan for when you have trouble printing or scanning. It diagnosis the problem and makes the repair from your computer.
The only concern I have is that the ink for this one is in short supply and that the ink for the newer models is readily available. So any printer that you choose, think about the longevity of the printer and whether you will be able to get ink.

 

[outta_ammo]

The other thing to know about consumer grade printers—which is everything we're talking about here—is that they're expendable. When they start acting up or ink becomes difficult to find or pricey, just replace it.
People use to call and ask if we fixed printers. The answer was always "it would cost way more to repair it than replace it." When the time comes, just let it go.
Think of them like tires or wiper blades...

 

[Jeff423]

I've got an HP scanner and an HP Laser printer. Both were "Office Grade" when purchased. They are 15-20yrs old, bought used, and I've never had a problem with either one. I'm only on my second toner cartridge.
I got a laser printer because due to my intermittent use I found that when using an inkjet printer more ink was used up during the cleaning cycle than actually made it on to paper.

 

[TX-Dennis]

I've always liked Canon for inkjet printers. For me they clogged less often than either HP or Epson.

A few years back I saw a Xerox laser all-in-one (black only) on sale for $69. Best $69 I ever spent. It works consistently well, and the cartridges last a LONG time.

 

[TX-Dennis]

The other thing to know about consumer grade printers—which is everything we're talking about here—is that they're expendable. When they start acting up or ink becomes difficult to find or pricey, just replace it.
People use to call and ask if we fixed printers. The answer was always "it would cost way more to repair it than replace it." When the time comes, just let it go.
Think of them like tires or wiper blades...

Heck, I once bought 3 new Canon inkjet printers on closeout because they were the same model I had, and they were way less expensive than buying the included ink cartridges alone.