I don't know if I would recommend HP, since they are remotely locking printers which use non-HP cartridges. HP has some pretty shitty practices overall, not at all consumer friendly from what I hear. Personally, I would avoid them like the plague.
There's two ways to do laser printing.
You have the drum in the cartridge like HP. This means printer is cheaper but refills more expensive. Print quality is consistent since its a new drum each time.
The drum in the printer like Brother. Printer is more expensive but refills are cheaper. I would not attempt refilling cartridges that use the Brother model as the wrong toner could damage the drum. You really need to know what you're doing here. Cheap toner is just that generic with sub standard quality control.
As for chipped toner cartridges or not most companies are moving in that direction with HP leading the way. Refills are harder to do and only older printers can do it.
This refilling is less of an issue for home owners i would think than for offices or shops.
It really depends on personal preference and setup location but obviously wifi version is a better choice. It is suggested to extend the budget a little for wireless freedom.
These brother printers are really good but prices are all jacked up , almost doubled now irrespective of the brand.
No doubt wired is cheaper than wifi. Price difference at the time when i bought mine in 2017 was 5k between wired and wifi. Compelling enough for some to consider.
Wired is more fiddly as it requires some tweaking with the router to ensure the signal gets through. The wifi model i have registers with the router and goes to sleep. Whenever i want to print or scan it wakes up and accepts the job. The gap between jobs can be weeks and it works flawlessly. The initial setup was not possible over wifi so that usb-b cable they provide must be kept carefully.
I don't know why the price has increased. I was reluctant to buy from amazon which was retailing the same model for 16k because of complaints about damage and the seller being in another city. So I just called up the local Brother dealer and they had the printer home delivered in a half hour. You pay a premium to brick and mortar shops but there are other advantages too. I had already seen the printer a while back and decided to get it later.
Point i would make to the OP is consider a multi-function device instead of a plain printer. I use the scan function a lot. Otherwise you can get a more specialised scanner later. I don't have the space for another device so a MFD works out great for me. A photo copier at home is a real luxury.
possibly going for for Brother -T520W model.
with extended warranty.
thank you guys for all the help.
Looks good and people have told me ink tank does not have the same ink drying issues as inkjet.