Purchasing a Printer

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Please help. I need a printer for my middle schooler - black & white (preferably) or maybe even color "if" I could get one where I would spend a bit more money on the printer itself and NOT have to buy a new cartridge every two weeks!! These companies are making a ton of money on cartridges because they run out so quickly. The other thing that gets on my nerves is when your color cartridge runs out on a color printer and you can't even use the machine at all even though you're just trying to print a black and white typed page and that particular cartridge is still full. Even the cartridges on plain black and white printers run out prematurely!! I feel like they're really stickin' it to the consumer. Has anybody had any good experiences with any particular printer models. Thanks

How much are you printing? If your printing is extremely low volume, it often makes more sense to have things printed elsewhere. For most people's reasonable printing needs, you might want to consider a low end laser printer. It will cost more upfront than an inkjet, but you won't have to replace the toner cartridge often at all. Toner is a powder, inkjets use a liquid ink that dries out, and clogs.

I have a Samsung ML-1740 laser printer, and it has worked well for 4 years or more (it still works). I can't remember how much I paid for it, but I think it was around $200. I bought it at Staples. The toner cartridge lasts for several months. I'm not sure how many pages I've printed with one cartridge, though. I think a laser printer is cheaper in the long run, and it is more convenient (i.e., you're not changing cartridges as frequently).

If you do go the laser printer route, try to get one with off-brand toner cartridges available. $10 vs $60 for my Dell 1320C.