[NBLUG/talk] Printers

[Kyle Rankin]

On Wed, Mar 04, 2015 at 07:29:46PM +0000, cecrops at sandwich.net wrote:
[snip]
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1. Can someone recommend a good and affordable general-purpose printer/scanner combo
> that doesn't chip the cartidges and rip you off? 
> 

The printer/scanner combos always seemed like those DVD/VCR combos from the
`90s. They were never really that great at either thing, and if one part
broke you were stuck with the other. I'd advise getting a standalone
scanner, and then looking at the Brother line of consumer laser printers.
The Linux compatibility is good and they are decent printers for the price.
When I shop for a laser printer the two main things I look for besides
Linux compatibility are good price per page on toner, and even if I intend
on buying toner online, I want the same toner to be available at a local
office supply store.

The common wisdom is that toner is a lot cheaper than ink, however these
days it's not necessarily true. It's important to get the claimed toner
yield and calculate cost per page. When I got my Brother (an HL-4070CDW), I
noticed that some other consumer lasers were basically charging the same
for toner and ink. The Brother extended black toner cartridge at online
prices was substantially cheaper per page.

-- 
Kyle Rankin
The North Bay Linux Users' Group
http://nblug.org
IRC: greenfly at irc.freenode.net #nblug 
kyle at nblug.org