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Solved
Laser printer recommendations
Posted on 2013-05-24
I am looking for recommendations for b/w business laser printers that are reliable and durable.
Possibly the best, most durable laser printer ever made was the LaserJet5. Possibly among the worst, least durable laser printers made today are HP. However, I cannot locate any business black/while wired laser printers that aren't made in China, and I suspect that's the reason for the lack of durability I have seen for the past 5-7 years. The component quality just isn't there anymore.
Thank you.
Mike
Possibly the best, most durable laser printer ever made was the LaserJet5. Possibly among the worst, least durable laser printers made today are HP. However, I cannot locate any business black/while wired laser printers that aren't made in China, and I suspect that's the reason for the lack of durability I have seen for the past 5-7 years. The component quality just isn't there anymore.
Thank you.
Mike
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12 Comments
I doubt very much you will find many printers made outside the Asia region.
Even if you could find a small company making printers in the USA etc (I'm sure there are a few small companies making them) then the components will be made in China or Korea anyway.
There was a lot of cheap 'tat' printers produced years ago when China was trying to get into the market. A lot of that has gone now. The quality has improved overall.
Now there are still cheap printers that will fail after about 2 years - but as the price is about 5 times lower than it was 15 years ago - we (the consumer) have pushed companies to make cheaper parts.
Read reviews and spend a bit of extra money on a quality printer and it will pay back.
Make sure you get the price for toner and for things like fusers as that will massively change the price of ownership overall.
Even if you could find a small company making printers in the USA etc (I'm sure there are a few small companies making them) then the components will be made in China or Korea anyway.
There was a lot of cheap 'tat' printers produced years ago when China was trying to get into the market. A lot of that has gone now. The quality has improved overall.
Now there are still cheap printers that will fail after about 2 years - but as the price is about 5 times lower than it was 15 years ago - we (the consumer) have pushed companies to make cheaper parts.
Read reviews and spend a bit of extra money on a quality printer and it will pay back.
Make sure you get the price for toner and for things like fusers as that will massively change the price of ownership overall.
I do not know of any printers made in the USA. At our offices we use a lot of brother laser printers and they all have been working great for 5+ years.
I second what edster9999 says and, think you should go off of reviews of the product. A lot of time manufacturers will tier their products low - mid - high. I would assume in your situation you would be looking at the mid-high model lines.
I think you have been very unlucky to have laser printers that fail after 2 years. Even the few HP 2055's that we have have been going for over 3 years now.
I usually read the reviews on amazon and newegg.
I second what edster9999 says and, think you should go off of reviews of the product. A lot of time manufacturers will tier their products low - mid - high. I would assume in your situation you would be looking at the mid-high model lines.
I think you have been very unlucky to have laser printers that fail after 2 years. Even the few HP 2055's that we have have been going for over 3 years now.
I usually read the reviews on amazon and newegg.
Thank you, both. I have indeed been preusing reviews at great lengths (tho many of those are geared to consumer models) and have no problem paying a premium for printers $1000+ if it means my spending less time replacing, replacing, fixing, etc., these units.
Unfortunately, so far without exception, all of the reviews I have read so far fail to address longevity and durability. They all print well enough, expendables are all priced about the same...none of that matters to me. Me not having to repeatedly spend time dealing with printer failures due to quality issues (remember those Chinese capacitors? I'm still dealing with those, too) matters a lot.
Thank you, tho.
Unfortunately, so far without exception, all of the reviews I have read so far fail to address longevity and durability. They all print well enough, expendables are all priced about the same...none of that matters to me. Me not having to repeatedly spend time dealing with printer failures due to quality issues (remember those Chinese capacitors? I'm still dealing with those, too) matters a lot.
Thank you, tho.
Active today
Not sure what you meant by 'Possibly among the worst, least durable laser printers made today are HP' - I've always had success with the HP range, back in 2002 we bought 20+ of the HP 4050/4250 laserjet models and they lasted for 10 years with very little going wrong with any of them...cost a price but it was worth it at end of the day...
Generally I find if you pay a premium you'll get a premium printer...just my 2 cents...
Generally I find if you pay a premium you'll get a premium printer...just my 2 cents...
Active 1 day ago
I'll second the HP 4050/4250/and 4350 models.
We have a building that pretty much prints 24x7 and these hold up strong. About all that needs to be done is roller replacement/fusers/ and the occasional gear on the ones that see the most usage.
If you want a real workhorse that simply won't quit, look at the HP 9000 series.
These beasts print about 60ppm and can literally run 24x7. Only having to stop for normal maintenance.
We have a building that pretty much prints 24x7 and these hold up strong. About all that needs to be done is roller replacement/fusers/ and the occasional gear on the ones that see the most usage.
If you want a real workhorse that simply won't quit, look at the HP 9000 series.
These beasts print about 60ppm and can literally run 24x7. Only having to stop for normal maintenance.
Another suggestion (given your budget) would be to purchase two models. Have one ready to go as a hot-swappable backup.
In the event you encounter problems just switch it with the replacement.
In the event you encounter problems just switch it with the replacement.
Okay, thank you. I will take a close look at the 9000 series. The 4250s I have have been okay; I guess using the HP5 as a yardstick may be unfair. However, over the past year I threw out 2 2015's after repeated failures of various sorts.
Back to the wars...
Back to the wars...
Active 1 day ago
Definitly not low end...
Take a look at the specs:
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/printers/product-detail.html?oid=404872
Take a look at the specs:
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/printers/product-detail.html?oid=404872
Ah. The sub-$500 9000 looks low end. The *9050*, at $3500, had better *not* be low end!
Ouch. No printer is that good... :-)
Ouch. No printer is that good... :-)
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