Comments on: The best printers for writers?

Question: The best printers for writers?

clairezulkey — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:11:01 -0800

The best printers for writers?

Just wondering if there are any freelance writers out there who love their printers and can recommend them. I steal ink, paper and power at my day job so I haven't printed from home in a long time.

What's more important to you--economy or durability? And, do most of you get by with black/white, or do you prefer color to make your clips look prettier?

I know there are different strokes for different folks (some might want portables, some might not care) so your own recommendations are welcome. Thanks!

By: mendel

mendel — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:19:25 -0800

laser for text. laser for text. laser for text. laser for text. LASER FOR TEXT.

Seriously, it's a world of difference. And it can be cheap and reliable too, if you get a refurbished HP Laserjet 5 or 6 (the ones with flat paper trays, not the ones that hold the paper up and down).

By: dobbs

dobbs — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:21:22 -0800

I love my HP Laser Printer. It's the 1320 model, black and white.

Why do I love it? It does double sided (flips the paper itself) and can print up to 4 pages per side. this means I can fit an 96 page document on 12 pieces of paper. Excellent for proofing.

So, it's both economical and durable. Not portable, however.

I would recommend you avoid inkjet printers as the cartridges are ridiculously expensive, print too few sheets, and can streak.

And color? Why bother? If your printer is for printing text, you're wasting your cash. Many color printers won't even print black and white unless the color cartridges are also full.

By: bonaldi

bonaldi — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:22:35 -0800

HP Laserjet 5. £50 off eBay. A total steal.

By: krautland

krautland — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:28:13 -0800

I agree with the previous posters ... b/w laser printers.

but does anyone have recommendations for where to get a used one? I wouldn't want to buy them off ebay... that seems like just asking to be toyed with...

By: whatzit

whatzit — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:31:24 -0800

Would you feel better buying it from, say, HP themselves?

By: bcwinters

bcwinters — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:38:31 -0800

I bought a LaserJet 2100 on eBay from a company in California that refurbishes equipment from bankrupt corporations. It had hardly been used and it was a great deal. If you're picking someone with good feedback who specializes in printers, there's no reason to be afraid of eBay.

By: lyam

lyam — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:45:28 -0800

I love the LJ 2100.

I've been using mine regularly for almost 3 years with nary a hiccup.

By: storybored

storybored — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 13:03:28 -0800

I have the Brother HL2040 bought for ~$100 after rebate. It's plain vanilla but it works and i'm happy with it.

With inkjet, i was finding i was printing out fewer drafts because of the slowness and expense which had a bad effect on my writing quality. No question, for a working writer, a laser printer is a must-have.

I think i would still like inkjet however for personal projects just because sometimes you do need color for various things.

By: sugarfish

sugarfish — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 13:10:02 -0800

I also have the Brother HL2040 and I've been very very happy with it. (I edit my fiction by hand on printouts, so I use it fairly often.) I think you can get it for a little less now -- I got mine for around $80 a couple of months ago.

By: raydexter

raydexter — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 13:18:44 -0800

My Samsung ML-2010 is only black and white, but it prints quickly and it's been reliable as all heck.

By: trinity8-director

trinity8-director — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 13:54:50 -0800

HP lasers are the only way to fly. I had my LaserJet PII for a decade before it gave up the ghost.

This year I got a color 2600N for $399 and love it.

By: lobrien

lobrien — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 13:55:40 -0800

Several have said it, but I'll reiterate: older-model b/w LaserJet. IMO, cheap is better than durable, because the idea of a "durable" printer seems to me to be a myth. Too many moving parts, especially with hideous "all-in-one" scanner / fax / printers.

By: devilsbrigade

devilsbrigade — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:29:59 -0800

I got a LaserJet IIIp from freecycle. I love it.

By: SirStan

SirStan — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 15:12:01 -0800

Find a local business trashing anything that says HP Laserjet on it. I got a free HP Laserjet 4050.

By: Happy Dave

Happy Dave — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 15:30:24 -0800

Second on the Brother HL 2040, it's pretty nippy, and the text is pretty clear. Steer clear of inkjet if all you're doing is text, it's uneconomical and smears.

By: hatsix

hatsix — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 18:10:16 -0800

I just bought my favorite writer a Brother HL-2070N... it's network attached, so it can sit with the networking equipment and doesn't take up desk space. Other than that it's exactly the same as the 2040 as mentioned above.

I went for the network printer so that anyone in the house can print without having to turn her printer on. It works great, and she's VERY happy with it.

I was recommended to this page, and found it very helpful.

By: flabdablet

flabdablet — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 22:12:21 -0800

Laserjets are good machines, but their Windows drivers and installers suck arse.

Samsung makes good cheap printers with much less toxic drivers.

By: lhauser

lhauser — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 08:34:42 -0800

Second the Samsung, though I don't have one myself. Got my mother an ML2010 at Frys for a little over $100 last Christmas. She's a light printer, but is very happy with quality and hasn't even gone through the (rather small) included toner cartridge yet. She'll complain when she has to shell out for a new cartridge, but it will last her forever.

Older HP printers are durable because so many of the moving parts are in the toner cartridge, and therefore get replaced frequently. My former employer had LJ4 printers putting out 10,000 pages a month 12 years after they were purchased with very little downtime. We replaced most of our LJ5 printers because we needed faster output, not because they were breaking down.