WHICH LASER PRINTER TO GET

Joined
Oct 16, 2018
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History:- Just home use printing not very often.
My Canon Pixma MP560 has served well for many years of my using Octoink refill inks to refill cartridges using Durchstich method and chip re-setter. Have had to change printhead a few times (in early naive days refurbished heads bought - no good at all- short life if work at all then bought genuine one QY6-0073). I have 3 old heads (I never throw anything away!!! was going to open them up out of curiosity) and the latest in use head that started magenta clogging = 4.
Recently Magenta started blocking again + a couple of others a bit dodgey So bought a head cleaning kit and watched the video (Octoink) on how to clean heads; it can be a time consuming process! No go on 3 of them which gave poor "nozzle check pattern"; the 4th had some success but magenta still apparently part blocked. I possibly pushed down too hard at the stage where you put the nozzles on saturated paper towels and gently press up and down so fluid enters head and dyes seen to bubble out at cartridge input gauzes where you soak it off with cotton wool buds....keep going till no longer get colour but clear droplets. This last head now prints cyan 3 lines but a bit weak, black ok but magenta only most of first line+parts second line and hardly any 3rd line. Yellow just a small trace at end, PGBK pattern with some little bits missing. A print out of a document in grey scale fast was good. So much ink used up with 2 lots of cartridge re-fills during all the fiddling about and head cleaning maintenance cycles!!
At least the printer is functioning from the point of view of other functions - copy, scan so can put document on memory stick, to transfer to computer etc. I hate Canon for totally stopping the printer from all functions when any one stops working. So to the question:

I will keep the Canon going as long as possible in current state. New heads no longer available - thank you Canon! Meanwhile I will use the Canon for printing greyscale, fast, longer multipage documents using the automatic duplex facility and do the occasional short prints to keep nozzles from blocking up and limiting amount of ink used up on those automatic infuriating necessary head cleaning cycles. I can report success in overcoming the error code that reports waste ink pads full and shuts the printer down. That after the kind person that made the service program available and described how to use it.
I Have Apple MacBook Air and Mac Mini computers....with each having different chips; Intel MB Air, Apple Mini M1 and MB Air M2.
Built in obsolescence -they are now up to Apple M4 chip. Apple chip does everything in it's own specially developed chip - super fast.
I would like to get a small cheap mono laser printer so it can be used for all the shorter print out jobs without wasting all that ink that occurs at each print session and it can just sit there without the danger of clogging up if not used for a while. After quite a bit of time reading around I was almost sold on the HP M110w on special reduced price, or HP M209d(w) both getting good reviews but delving deeper find Hewlett Packard are doing their utmost to sabotage the toner cartridges to give as short a life as possible and certainly prevent any possibility of refilling or using non HP toner cartridges (Have they been getting lessons from Canon?). So snags and positives are:-
M110w - AGAINST 1. No automatic 2 sided printing. 2, No possibility of using cheaper non HP cartridges. 3. No possibility of toping up cartridges from bottled toner.
FOR 1. Smallest footprint (paper input tray folds away), 2. WiFi connection, 3. Good fast print out. Cheaper printer. 4. Well built lasting long.
M209d(n)(w) I understand n = network connection w = wireless connection. Is this a HP standard method naming that applies to all their printers?
Against 1. More expensive. 2. Paper input tray sticks out and can't be folded away so takes up much more desk space. 3. No WiFi unless here is a dw model? 4. Cartridge top up/non HP cartridge use is not possible.
FOR. 1. Auto 2 sided printing. 2. Still relatively not too much money for one new one ex shop display. 3. Good reviews 4. Hopefully w =wireless version available.
Thinking of the important ability to use non original cartridges and/or be able to top up from a bottle, it looks as if BROTHER printers still retain these abilities (5 Dec 2024) and are the only ones that do and no hint of changing their policy? I don't have any idea of Brother printer quality/long lasting ability. I have seen the following mentioned:-
HL-1210w has a plug through which cartridge can be refilled from a bottle (from cartridge people)
HL-L8260, Duplex printing
HL-L2445DW
HL-1110
Any thoughts or recomendations would be welcome. I do remember before I retired doing basic maintenance on our office (ship at sea) mono printer where the toner was supplied in foil sachets and the powder was just poured into the tank/cartridge.....bit messy at times but cost effective for Her Majesty!
Am now 80 and have one leg recently amputated so hope next new printer will last me out without costing the earth and allow minimal servicing from a wheelchair or if/when I get walking again with a prosthetic not too much standing around;)

Dennis
 

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