Which printer should I buy?

drunknmunky

I am looking to buy a printer for my Uni work. I will mainly be using it for printing essays in black text, so i'm not too bothered about picture quality.

I've done some digging around on this site and a few others and I have come to the conclusion that laser printers, although expensive to buy, will work out cheaper in the long run.
Now the thing that is confusing me is that there are some sites where you can buy cartidges for inkjets at dirt cheap prices, so surely the running costs will be turn out fairly similar?

So what kind of printer should I go for? and can anyone recommend a make/model? I am looking to spend between £30-60.

i've heard good things about HP/Epson/Canon and Samsung.

Any info would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Munky

peter_the_piper

I would recommend the Brother range HL2040 etc. Often on Viking/Misco/Staples at around £60.00. Toner should last 1500/2500 pages. Refill from http://www.refilltoner.com/index.htm or similar cuts the price from £40.00 to £10.00approx.
Peter

hendersonb

If your buying an Inkjet Printer stay well clear of Lexmark/Dell (Rebranded Lexmark printers). Also HP cartridges are expensive. Epson are about the cheapest for compatible cartridges.

If you don't mind using ebay cartridges can be very cheap on here especially in bulk. Toner cartridges can also be expensive. Another point about a laser printer is you may also be required to buy drums and fusers from time to time which can be quite expensive.

Cheap epson printers shouldn't cost you any more than around £40 and around £6 for a black and a colour cartridge.

Another thing to watch when buying a printer is that most of them do not include a printer cable (usually a USB A-B cable). Watch what you pay for these as the likes of PC World are very expensive compared to local computer retailers, you may also find that woolworths sell there items cheaper than pc world too.

peter_the_piper

Unless you are expecting to print over 12000 pages you are unlikely to have to worry about a new drum on a Brother. Printing is also more waterproof. Imagine doing a large essay and spilling some beer on it, injet runs, laser dosn't. (mind you it could depend on the beer)

JoseChungsDoomsday

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000A3H4U6/202-4295352-3094200?%5Fencoding=UTF8

when i got it it was only £17, but still not bad for the price