I actually think the Google LLM produced a really good summary of trade-offs. I didn’t choose a laser printer because it’s more expensive and larger and I don’t print very often. I got the Canon TS702, which has AirPrint and cheap knock-off ink available on Amazon. The older Verge article mentioned seeing Brother printers in the background of video calls. You won’t see a printer in my background, it fits in a cabinet. Why would I want a huge appliance that I use once or twice a month sitting on a table top in the background of my video calls?
If you can find an inkjet that removes the ink-racket of the business model, it’s a really good value. The company making the printer maybe even loses money on it. That’s a win in my book.
Infrequent printing is actually a reason to choose laser though. Toner cartridges are already dry but I have had to refill ink enough times due to dried out that the money could have bought three laser printers. That is only partially affected by the “no black print until you replace cyan ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)” thing.
Yeah, but the ink is very inexpensive.
Yeah IDK what they’re talking about, I’ve got a 8yo cartridge in a 19yo printer. When’s the last time you saw an inkjet last that long?
Weird thumbnail. Why is the printer pixelated, but the logo is super crisp?
Because the article itself says at some point, maybe multiple times: “whichever Brother printer you want”
Even so, it’s clearly identifiable as a Brother HL2370DW or one of its myriad similar variants.
For whatever reason, it’s intentional (the text says “A blurry photo of a Brother laser printer.”) Maybe just saying any Brother is fine as long as it’s a Brother?
I still recommend Brother printers, but some MFC-* models do support/enforce OEM lock-in after firmware updates according to reports. All the info is 2 years old and I so want to be wrong on this. Have they reversed that decision? Firmware update disables 3rd party toner
I just advised a business on a tech proposal, including printers, and the bid quoted one of the lock-in models. Of course it’s a company so toner is a business expense and they arn’t pinching pennies, but the owner is with the us in not supporting this decision. Props to them.
Hey, I own that printer! It’s a good printer.
Remember kids, always buy laser, never inkjet.
We have three of them at my office. I am certain we exceed the duty cycle they were designed for by several times. The one at the front desk has been bitching about needing an imaging drum replacement for I think three years at this point, and it still prints just fine. I’ll put a new drum in it when the existing one stops working.
Anyone have a recommendation for a small color laser printer? Like shoebox size.
My place is pretty small, and I don’t have much desk or shelf space. It doesn’t make sense for me to waste desk space on something that I use 1-3 times a year.
I’ve been using one of these tiny HPs. The ink is a fucking racket, and I’d love a laser alternative. This size is great. I can fold the trays and throw it in a drawer. It’s only 16 x 5.5 x 7in.
I don’t think you’ll find a color laser printer that size. They use pretty large drums to hold the toner. It’d be hard to even find a mono laser printer in that size.
They use comparatively tiny drums these days, but they inherently need four of them all in a row, one each for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. That usually makes even the smaller ones quite deep, front to back, in my experience.
If you only need it 1-3 times/year, why not just go to your local library? In my area, it’s $0.10 for B&W, $0.25 for color, and I can get some books to read at the same time (I go almost weekly).
Convenience. I can’t print when the library is closed, I need to travel over there, if need to print another revision, I need to travel back.
Ideally like the convenience, but I don’t want to deal with HPs shitty ink sponges that instantly dry out. I’d like something that lasts.
Well, I guess you need to decide what the convenience is worth. An ink cartridge dries out in 2-3 years and toner can last a decade or more (I honestly don’t know, ours finally ran out after 8-ish).
Laser printers aren’t that big, mine (B&W with scanner) is about a piece of paper and a half in all directions. I got it for $150 or so on a sale from Costco (currently listed for $250), and it like like the color version is a little taller but similar footprint (but also more expensive at just $390). Official dimensions of the Brother color laser printer (MFC-L3765CDW): 16.1 in. x 17.5 in. x 15.8 in.
I personally know need B&W, and if I needed color, I’d just go to the library since I go almost every week anyway.
Yup. I’m just wondering if something like the tiny ink jets exists for laser printing. I could get a slightly bigger printer, but if I can get a similar size or smaller, I would prefer that.
Looks like I just found one. The HP LaserJet Pro M15w is about the same form factor as my inkjet. Problem is that is BW only, and an HP.
HP commercial units are fine. It’s their consumer line to avoid.
I’d agree with the exception of artists who sell their printed work (ex: photographers, graphic designers). They’re not only making money from their prints but also printing in color frequently enough that the cartridge doesn’t dry out.
All the photographers I know have a deal with a local professional printing service. It’s not just the higher printing quality, the service can also do bound albums, hard covers and other stuff that’s impossible on a home printer.
I also have that printer. I have to read so many papers for school right now and that thing is a life saver. Is it weird to have feelings for a printer?
I don’t own a printer because it’s 2024 and the only good reason to own a printer is photo/art prints at a scale where outsourcing it isn’t economical.
I’m aware other reasons exist, but they’re bad reasons that mostly boil down to someone being bad at computers.
the only good reason to own a printer is photo/art prints
… how do you read your emails without a printer?
I have my butler read them to me.
Nah, there are definitely cases where you need to print stuff on paper, and need said paper fast enough to warrant a printer. If I use my company credit card for expenses I need to account for that, and for legal reasons I need to send that to our accountant in printed form. I can’t legally mail it to him.
Now I could obviously take 30 minutes and print it at the library, but those 30 minutes would add up fairly fast, making a printer the more accessible and economical option.
Now I could obviously take 30 minutes and print it at the library, but those 30 minutes would add up fairly fast, making a printer the more accessible and economical option.
Privacy is also an issue. There might be reasons why you don’t want to have something printed out at the library/local print shop, like if it’s tax documents, and someone hitting “repeat job” could just have it spit out personal info.
Oh yeah that’s a fantastic point I’d failed to even consider. I don’t really care if my credit card bills end up cached somewhere at the library, like, what are they going to do with it? Pay it?
If I on the other hand dealt with personal identifiable data, that could be hugely problematic. I can see the need for e.g. a lawyer having to print case files and assemble documents physically. In such a scenario, printing it at a library, or at a third party company might not be a great idea.
If you for some reaosn also want your nudes (or I suppose, erotic artwork) in print, I can see how you might not want to have that done by a company. I don’t think I’d personally care, but maybe the person dealing with it at the company shouldn’t have to see that sort of thing.
I need to send that to our accountant in printed form. I can’t legally mail it to him.
This is exactly the sort of thing I meant by “someone being bad at computers”. That someone might be a government regulator in this case.
Are you going to pay for all the systems and processes that need to change to get away from the paper trail?
Ah, I see. It sounded more like “someone doesn’t know how to just mail something.”
I use it a lot for construction. Printed job specs are much easier / faster to deal with than a computer on a job site. You can staple them to a wall, quickly draw on them, use them when your hands are filthy, have multiple large copies floating around, etc. Paper is usually just a better solution for that environment.
That’s an environment I hadn’t really thought about. I concede the point.
Take a look at a Canon PIXMA TR150.
There are plenty of other brands that make this same style, this was just the first I found.
Now if only they had a small portable printer like that that did 11x17
Reading blueprints off 8x11 is damn near impossible unless you blow them up
Yup, I’ve had a previous model (HL-2170W) since like 2006. The nic is dying now, but the printer works fine.
Brother printers are the only brand anyone should buy.
Same, and the only maintenance I’ve ever needed for mine is putting paper in it
The wired Nic on mine is dead, WiFi only now. one time modeled and 3d printed a part to fix the feeder. I will keep this fucker running forever.
Hey, I had to change the toner in mine!.. once… after like a decade.
Bought one used several years ago used for $75 and it’s still on the used starter toner.
Glad to see the perfect Brother laser printer + Linux combo getting a well deserved press attention, again like in 2023 :)
I bought two printers in the last 2 decades. One looked like the model in the article, which I gave to a family member. The other one is a Brother Laser printer with a scanner.
I’d rather get a 50 pack of markers and start coloring in my printouts than buy a crappy inkjet printer. Plus it’s bonding time with my nieces and nephews. I pay them in cookies.
Or you can just go to your local library or office supply store and print in color. My library is $0.25 for color prints, $0.10 for B&W. B&W is almost always good enough (we mostly print coloring pages, word searches, and stuff like that), and the quality of the prints are way better than any inkjet I’ve seen.
I also have a B&W Brother printer, and I finally needed to replace the toner after almost 10 years. I bought it when doing a ton of government paperwork, and then random printouts for a weekly community volunteer project. I got something like 3k prints. My new toner cartridge should do 25-30k prints, so I’ll probably never need to replace it. It’s a multi-function device, and I used the scanner a ton during COVID at-home schooling, and I’ve never really had an issue with it (I’ve printed from Windows, macOS, and Linux, all w/o issues).
We also have a small, portable photo printer that my wife can use from her phone, which is really handy for family get-togethers. We can go from “I’d like a print” to “here you go” in like 2 min, and it’s small enough to take in the car with us.
Sorry, the printer of the year is still the 2008 HP 4730mfp. Still going strong 16 years later!
Until HP figures out how to brick it remotely when your credit card expires.
Literally just a bunch of HP goons throwing bricks through windows.
"Introducing HP brick protection program, for a low cost subscription of <whatever we feel like at the time> we will make sure you or your printer aren’t hit with bricks through windows*, you would want that happen would you?
*only specialty HP branded bricks are covered"
I just use the printer at work.
I like that the AI generated “cons” of the brother printer are just gripes about laser printers in general.
After being an idiot for 15 years, and repurchasing inkjet printers with their insanely expensive inks and guaranteed to dry out, gunk up, and quit working, I went ahead and bought a Pantum laser from Amazon, it came with a full cartridge good for 1600 B&W prints, and there was a special on for another 1600 B&W cartridge for free, the whole thing printer, two cartridges $99 bucks out the door. Steal. Works like a charm. I have, and have had, no real reason to print in color, I’m not handing out presentations, and mostly the only things I actually print are Amazon return labels sometimes, but whenever I’ve needed to print I no longer worry about the print head clogging up, and it’s like freedom from bondage.
Maybe I’m in the minority, but I like my EcoTank. I got it cause we print a decent amount of pictures and laser can’t do even passing quality photos. Having no cartridges to worry about is much less of a hassle than it used to be.
That said, laser is fine for most people.
Epson Ecotank is definitely the least bad option of the non laser printers. Mine still clogs more than I like but it’s the first inkjet I’ve been able to live with. And that’s including the canon ink tank which clogged weekly.
All printers are bad and the Brother Printers are consistently the least bad.
My Brother was giving a toner end of life message and refusing to print.
I took the toner end cap off and reset the gear toggle, and now it prints again.
Cool story.
I’ve got 2 brother printers, never had a problem. I’ve used Epson, HP and both were an absolute shitshow to setup
I got an HP because it was remote accessible, and had a scanner with a feed tray as well. It prints maybe 10 pages on a new cartridge. Costs 30 bucks for a new one. 3 dollars a page to print.
Bought a brother LaserPrinter that only prints B&W but at like 2000 pages. HP just does scanning now, nothing else
There’s a menu setting to turn that off
Yea, but nah. Went through all that no luck.
Resetting the gear toggle fixed it, though.
It would be fun if there was a menu setting called “turn shitshow off”.
I did it, but eventually it didn’t. So I gave in and replaced the toner.
I got nearly 3k prints from the starter cartridge, so not bad. My replacement should get like 25k. Given that I had the original for ~8 years, I don’t think I’ll ever need a B&W printer ever again.
Ah ok mine is newer. I just run the cartridges dry after turning that option off.
Same here. You need to reset the gear under the toner end cover.
Pop the end cover via two or three screws, then rotate the white gear back to 12 o’clock
Ah. I’ll try to remember that when my toner goes out again in like 10 years.
Try it on the old toner if you can fish it out of the trash
Already sent it in to be recycled. Thanks though. :(
What makes you say Brother printers are bad? I’ve had no complaints with them at all.
Maybe “bad” is the wrong term. But every printer - Brother included - has its own little set of firmware to maintain and special connection protocols to support. The interface between OS and printers, generally speaking, sucks. Wifi connections are unreliable. Its very easy to get into contention with multiple devices. And that’s for a simple little household printer.
Talk to my IT staff about how much of a pain in the ass commercial printers are. More machines, each machine has to connect to multiple printers, and the software to handle these cases generally sucks. Brother’s are the least-bad, but they’re still annoying to configure and periodically unreliable to access.
I’ve got a Brother laser printer myself last year, and I like the printer, but I’ll agree their software is bit of a hot mess. I used to have an old Canon multi-function laser printer that wasn’t locked to 1st party toner, and their software was much easier to install and use. But it finally broke down after >10 years of moderate use and the new models are reportedly DRMed, so Brother was the only decent option.
?
How new is new?
I have a Canon ImageClass MF733CDW at home that’s maybe six years old and it’ll print with off brand toner just fine. I’ve run nothing but generic/counterfeit toner cartridges in it since I ran out the ones it came with. It did bitch about it on its little screen the first time I installed one, but you can turn that nag off in the options and it never prompted me again.
At work we have one (1) Canon LBP632C that’s probably around a year old, our sole color printer in the building, and it too has no problem with generic toner cartridges. That one’s just a printer, not a multifunction machine.
The only gripe I have with the generic cartridges is that the toner level reporting is not very accurate, but I’ve never found it to be very accurate to begin with so I’m not sure I’m missing out on much.
I think they do (or at least did) put some form of DRM on their toner cartridges, but it is fairly easy to bypass as you mentioned. There was an article about the fact they had to instruct customers how to bypass it due to COVID related chip shortages a while back. https://www.techspot.com/news/92915-canon-printer-owners-get-official-guidance-bypass-printer.html
I did like the quality and longevity of my (very) old Canon MF8350cdn from 2011 - it was a workhorse! But my new(ish) Brother MFCL2710DW has been great so far too. Only time will tell if it lasts as long as the old Canon though.
We got one over a year ago and it’s been nothing but a dumb appliance for us - it just works.
a dumb appliance
This is the goal. Printing is a solved problem, so we should avoid anything overcomplicating it for profit reasons.
I can add that we have two Bother multifunction laser machines at work (in addition to three of the venerable HL-2360’s) and the fucking things will lose scanner association with the PC’s in our office at the drop of a hat, all the time, for no identifiable reason. And there is no way to reassociate a printer with a computer short of uninstalling and reinstalling the driver package, after which point it’ll inevitably cack itself in a week or two anyway.
The things print just fine but getting them to scan is like pulling teeth. Everyone in our office but me is afraid of the scanners on top of the things now, they can never figure out how to make them work, and even when they do it right we invariably found that their computer has magically and silently lost connection with the scanner component – and only the scanner component. The software side of these things is garbage.
The software side of all printers is probably garbage, as you say. For instance, my Canon ImageClass at home scans just fine, but there’s no way to make it do double sided scanning through the sheet feeder by default, or from any preset or option the screen on the printer itself. You have to set up a custom preset via the driver tool on a PC, it can only remember two presets, and you can’t rename them. So you just have to know that “Custom 1” is double-sided-scan-from-sheet-feeder-and-make-it-into-a-pdf. You can set it up to do a different thing in “Custom 2,” and then just fuck you I guess if you ever need to do a third thing.
Etc., etc.
The industry has made us accept a lot of sub-par configurations, and we need to stop this.
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no more wifi. If you like it, put a cable on it. ACLs get simpler and spooky radio issues become a distant, comical memory.
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Whether it’s PDF or something better, find the body pushing for a common format and give them eyeballs and money. Make printers interchangeable again.
no more wifi. If you like it, put a cable on it.
Hard to run a cable to my laptop a lot of the time. Impossible to do it from a cell phone, and I do periodically like to print a PDF or other small file I’ve got on there. But I agree, wifi complicates things. It certainly shouldn’t be the default option.
Make printers interchangeable again.
A good decision at a technical level, but we all know why monopoly-pursuing private businesses don’t want to go in that direction.
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I have a consumer grade Brother and it’s pretty good, but it has stuff I just can’t fix:
- wireless G only - it has Ethernet, so it’s fixable
- scan to PC doesn’t seem to work - I just use a USB drive, so it works
- copies and scans use the built-in display, so if that breaks, I’ll probably be SOL
It’s about as good as a consumer printer gets. I paid $150 or so for it, and it has lasted 8-ish years so far without any issue (I only remember one jam, which took 5s to fix).
But I’d like it so much more if it had open firmware and open schematics. If it did, I could probably fix each of the above issues, as well as implement a ton of cool features. I’d start by making the web page a lot better, making scan to my Linux desktop work, and override the stupid low toner check.
So I’m satisfied, but things could be better.
From the title and picture, I thought this was some weird diss on the depicted Brother laser printer and stopped by to defend it. Fortunately it is, instead, tauting the superiority of Brother laser printers.
I own the depicted printer, or one very close to it, and it is a workhorse. Brother laser printers are the way.
I can print at my workplace, and there is a library 5 minutes walking distance from my apartment. These huge commercial printing machines are so much better than anything you can buy for your home, and I don’t have to maintain them. I’m very grateful I don’t have to own a printer.
“Also this strikes me as a very lazy reviewer. Which makes him profoundly qualified to review printers”
😂
