Suggestions on multifunction color laserprinter/scanner, non HP

glasspusher

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...because HP can suck my balls. Great print quality, but everything else about HP and their shit and shitty UI/UX make me all stabby.

Thanks for any and all.
 

Scott Cooper's Grand Slam

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I'm rarely led astray by The Wirecutter for consumer tech, but all their multifunction picks are HP. They also link to this one from Brother.

I had a Brother laser printer 10 years ago that I was thrilled with. It was fast and sharp, but only did black and white and was only a printer. I bought a Canon multifunction printer 5 years ago, and used it until the ink ran out. It's cheaper to buy a new printer than to replace the ink, which is absurd.

My need for a multifunction printer nowadays is close to zero. 99% of what I would print for can be accomplished using digital document transfer and signature. For the 1% of stuff I need to print, the local library lets me print or scan for 5 cents a page.
 

glasspusher

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This would be for the lady of the house, of which I'm her IT support. Thanks for the advice!

edit- yes, agreed, the consumables for most printers are where they make their money. The printers are a loss leader.
 

charlieoscar

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The 'ette is the acting secretary for an association, doing the newsletter and mailings from home on the HP multifunction they provided. She called it some of George Carlin's seven words this weekend.
 

Harry Hooper

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FWIW, I had a Brother I loved several years back, but the one thing it couldn't do is print addresses on envelopes without really mangling the appearance of the envelopes. That may not be an issue these days.

Take a look at the Canon imageClass laser series, such as this one, or the Epson Workforce Pro series of inkjets for small business use.
 

Couperin47

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I prefer the Canons : there are inexpensive generic replacement carts for all their models, each includes both toner and drum while Brother always uses a separate drum which is expensive to replace. For most Canon models you can also buy refill kits which make it easy to refill the carts and each drum is always good for at least being refilled twice. The real limitation on refilling carts is you can't refill more than twice without emptying the 'used toner' bin (which will otherwise overflow and make a huge mess) and deliberately emptying that bin is also incredibly messy.
 

LoweTek

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NortheasternPJ

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I use this one. Cartridges are pricey but it prints and scans pretty seamlessly. Software comes with it makes it simple to use. Not for heavy duty, it's spec is 250-700 ppm. I have a 10% discount code expiring the 16th I can give if you decide on this one. I have no plans to use the code.

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-color-multifunction-printer-e525w/apd/210-aedl/printers-ink-toner
Woof, look at the reviews on that one. I get that people are more likely to give negative reviews than positive ones, but I wouldn't touch that thing with those reviews.
 

LoweTek

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I looked at a couple of them. I have had nothing even close the the experiences described. It works just fine for a low volume requirement. I'd take some of those reviews with a grain, etc. Good luck either way.
 

glasspusher

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I ran the above mentioned Canon printer/scanner/copier through its paces. It's pretty damn good. I've got some minor complaints, but that's because it did everything else really well. Double sided color copies...Mmm.

About the only thing that was a *bit* annoying is the touchscreen seemed a bit touchy when it came to scrolling/swiping by finger up and down a list on the screen.

Other than that I'm impressed. Have only tried it with Macs/iPhone/iPad. Doesn't seem to have a linux driver yet. Also haven't changed the toner, yet.
 
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Harry Hooper

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Ended up buying this one yesterday. Will report back on how it behaves. Going to check it thoroughly before the return period is over. Thanks for the replies!

https://www.staples.com/Canon-imageCLASS-MF733CDW-Color-All-In-One-Laser-Printer/product_2656788

Looks like Office Depot, Walmart, Amazon, and Best Buy are all selling this model for about $380. You might want to ask Staples to price match you a refund of the difference or take it back.

The Staples Price Match Policy says:

If you buy an item from Staples and within 14 days you find it at a currently available lower price at Staples, staples.com or a valid competitor, show us the lower price and we will refund the difference.
 

Couperin47

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Also simply search on Amazon for Canon MF733Cdw toner and you'll see a huge range of compatible products at prices at a fraction of the genuine Canon. Hint: It seems to use the 046 carts, search on Amazon is crappy, searching on Canon 046 toner and carts will bring up an even larger number of products and options (many who sell toner and carts don't update their listings to include every model that uses these).
 

glasspusher

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Also simply search on Amazon for Canon MF733Cdw toner and you'll see a huge range of compatible products at prices at a fraction of the genuine Canon. Hint: It seems to use the 046 carts, search on Amazon is crappy, searching on Canon 046 toner and carts will bring up an even larger number of products and options (many who sell toner and carts don't update their listings to include every model that uses these).
Thanks for this too. I'm glad I opened my trap!
 

The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa

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I think you did very well with this choice. My Canons, not as fancy as yours but still the same basic guts inside, have been going strong for over 10 years now, and I haven't had to go broke paying for toner refills.
 

Couperin47

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Also, unless things have changed (like Seiji my own Canons are older and just keep chugging along since their carts replace most everything that wears out) unlike almost everyone else, when the printer stops and says 'low toner' all I do is remove the cart shake while keeping it level, to even out the toner, replace and hit OK. Canons do NOT lock you out of continuing and in the case of mine, there's generally a full ream of additional black toner before you see the first white streaks that show you are really out.
 

glasspusher

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Thanks to @Harry Hooper and @Couperin47 - went back to Staples this morning, returned the toner, got 110% back price guarantee on the printer (165 bucks instead of 150 bucks difference from Best Buy). You made me look good with Her Majesty.

I do the toner shake too, I'm a laserprinter cheapskate from way back.

Fun facts- the printer was made in Viet Nam, and imported through Canon of Mexico.
 

Couperin47

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Thanks to @Harry Hooper and @Couperin47 - went back to Staples this morning, returned the toner, got 110% back price guarantee on the printer (165 bucks instead of 150 bucks difference from Best Buy). You made me look good with Her Majesty.

I do the toner shake too, I'm a laserprinter cheapskate from way back.

Fun facts- the printer was made in Viet Nam, and imported through Canon of Mexico.
The last computer I built had an ASRock motherboard (a Taiwan company) that was made in Vietnam, and it's Intel CPU came from... Vietnam (to clarify, Intel only manufactures cpu chips in US, Israel, Ireland and China, but 'final assembly' of the wafer onto the base and cover occurs in several other plants including one in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and those are listed as 'origin' on the cpu.
 

glasspusher

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Going to order some toner cartridges for the above mentioned Canon, looking on Amazon there are many third party compatible companies, anyone have any advice/experience with them? Some of the names listed, all in the same price range :

New York Toner, True Image, Aztech, Arcon, Cool Toner, Ink E-SALE, Do it Wiser...

Any and all advice muchly appreciated
 

Couperin47

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Read the reviews here: https://www.4inkjets.com/1253C001CTA-Canon-Laser-Toner-HY-Cyan-Comp
https://www.4inkjets.com/1253C001CTA-Canon-Laser-Toner-HY-Cyan-Comp
The companies who ship compatible toners often change suppliers/rebuilders so even if it's the 'same brand/box' what's inside can be different. The LD "brand" stuff seems to be available on a lot of places, if you can get their current stuff in the yellow wrap, sounds good.

The refill cart option: These carts are 'chipped' you need toner and replacement chips to refill. The starter carts are half filled. High capacity = 100g for the colors and 120g for the black. aaatoner.com sells a set of the high capacity toners for $44 and a set of the chips for $48 so refilling the complete set of original carts will run you $92 (free shipping). Since 4 packs of compat/rebuilt carts can be had for as little as $120, probably not worth the time and effort to go the refill route on these.