Ask HN: What home printer do you use/recommend?

12 points by niyazpk 12 hours ago

I am in the market for a new printer, and thought I'd check with the HN crowd for some recommendations.

I hate my HP inkjet printer with a passion. Feels like the ink lasts less than 100 pages of light printing. And the ink is expensive.

I was under the impression that Brother was a good brand, but it seems they are also following the HP playbook.

What printer do you actually use? Would you recommend it for regular home printing (mostly b/w, occasional color printing. Scanning, copying, etc. would be ideal)?

theandrewbailey 12 hours ago

Color laser printer. I've had a Canon image class model since the pandemic, and its worked great every time I've had to use it (about 10 pages per year). The ink can't dry out because it's already dried out: it's supposed to be dry.

Most people are in for a bad time with inkjet printers. Can't say I've ever had a positive experience with one long term.

Now that my day job is e-waste recycling, I sometimes list color laser printers on Facebook Marketplace. Maybe check there. Decent ones with a few hundred estimated pages worth of toner left should go for about $100, maybe more with a scanner.

al_borland 9 hours ago

I have a small HP laser printer (the M15w).

I don’t do much printing, so I wanted a laser to avoid the issues I’d have from infrequent inkjet use.

I mainly chose it for the small size, I don’t think I’d actually recommend it. The setup process was not good. I tried to set it up using my computer and after several hours I didn’t get anywhere. I was about to return it, but as a last ditch effort I installed HP’s app on my phone, and was setup in 5 minutes. Needing a phone to setup a printer, because their desktop methods didn’t work, was very frustrating. I get that a lot of things are “mobile first” now, but for a printer that feels extremely wrong.

For occasional scanning, I just use my phone these days.

dhruvkar 12 hours ago

Brother black and white laser printer

brother-usa.com/products/hll2460dw

I have one personally and installed it in many a home and business

farseer 1 hour ago

An old HP P2055dn with Chinese toner

helterskelter 12 hours ago

Can't say I've had an issue with my Brother. Works great with Linux and ink is available at the office supply store.

  • vpfaiz 12 hours ago

    I used to have one Brother mode, sold it for $50 after long battle with ink drains. It will sneakily drain the ink cleaning the print head at midnight. I had to keep it off. Then they have chips inside the cartridge to prove authenticity of cartridge!! When the printer itself is cheaper than the cartridge, its almost always is a scam in my personal experience.

    Get an EPSON tank printer, or a laser..

    • helterskelter 9 hours ago

      Yeah I've got a Brother laser printer, never had an issue. Maybe it's just the inkjets?

aprdm 11 hours ago

Staples. I have a broken Canon now and before had a broken HP. Both were dirty cheap. I imagine how much the environment suffers from broken printers alone.

I am not buying a new one. Only going to stores to print.

qsera 5 hours ago

EPSON L3211 Multifunction Ink Tank, works well in Linux

karakoram 12 hours ago

Not exactly sure of brand/model but can't go wrong with any decent Ink Tank Printer.

sergiotapia 11 hours ago

brother laser printer. never "dries" and prints many many pages. last time we bought a refill was about 2 years ago with 3 school age kids.