PC Peripherals Printer - Laser or Ecotank (?) Need all-in-one B&W with WiFi/LAN - 100 pages/month

[sibot]

When you open the box, the printer will be covered in a big plastic wrapper bag, don't throw it away, get a printer stand of some sort which is the size of the printer, so when your printer is not in use, use the bag upside down as cover to prevent dust from entering the printer.

Oh man, you hit the nail on the head. Dust and the monsoon humidity, the arch-nemesis of printers. The repair guy said my last printer looked like a dust bowl. I had been searching for a printer cover on Amazon with an openable front zipper or velcro. Why a printer stand though? I'll be placing the printer on my computer table, about 3 feet above ground.

 

[Heisen]

Why a printer stand though?

The cover height is double the length of the printer, so you need something which is the size of printer to elevate it, so it fits perfectly, the oversize is good because dust has to go in upward direction to get to the printer.

Some stand like this.

and the bag that came with the printer in my case, looks like this.

 

[chyawanprash]

...when your printer is not in use, use the bag upside down as cover to prevent dust from entering the printer.

I kept my Ricoh laser printer properly covered and it worked flawlessly for several years. Somehow I forgot to cover it last year and now it doesn't power on. Do you know how to troubleshoot it?

 

[sibot]

The the cover height is double the length of the printer, so you need something which is the size of printer to elevate it, so it fits perfectly, the oversize is good because dust has to go in upward direction to get to the printer.
Some stand like this.
and the bag that came with the printer in my case, looks like this.

Thanks for sharing pictures. This seems like a quick hack. Though I'd personally prefer more made-to-fit solutions. I ordered these off Amazon -
https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B0CVQQ59GL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0CVFR3JY4?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

The former doesn't come with a zipper, but I like the material and colour, so if it fits the printer - I'll get a zipper stitched on to it.

@chyawanprash - The printer shouldn't go back within a year of not being covered. Anyway, most likely a board issue. Best to get it checked out at the service centre or the local repair shop.

 

[imvids]

@sibot
Since you regularly print 100-200 pages per month, Inktank should not be a problem for you. I bought Canon Pixma G3000 for home use at ~10K . Will print just 20-30 pages and 2-5 photos per month.
It will cost you less than medium tier laser printer and adds the functionality of Copy/Scan/print and WiFi too !

 

[gcbeldar]

Hey guys, wanted to update everyone here. I bought the Brother DCP-B7620DWB (Link) for Rs.18,700/- from Nehru Place.

The factors that leaned into my decision -

• Low toner cost - The toner for the 7620 and 7640 (w/ ADF) costs ~800 with a print capacity of 2600 pages. It's the lowest in the market right now and I'd really prefer a toner that I don't have to refill and is easy on the pocket in the long term. Canon would have been cheaper, but the original toner costs about 4-5k and nobody in Nehru Place had much of an idea about the cost of the compatible one.
• Auto-Duplex - No other company apart from the discounted Canon on Flipkart has auto-duplex in this price range.

The installation guy will come tomorrow to set it up (don't ask me why they need to do that), and I'm avoiding opening the box until he comes, lest there is some manufacturing defect. Would be happy to answer any questions that anyone has.

Have you aware of "Replacement of Drum" ?

 

[sibot]

@sibot
Since you regularly print 100-200 pages per month, Inktank should not be a problem for you. I bought Canon Pixma G3000 for home use at ~10K . Will print just 20-30 pages and 2-5 photos per month.
It will cost you less than medium tier laser printer and adds the functionality of Copy/Scan/print and WiFi too !

I have already purchased the Brother laser printer now. Will keep this in mind if somebody else asks for a recommendation. Would have saved a lot of money with an ink-tank printer.

Have you aware of "Replacement of Drum" ?

The original drum costs 1900 and toner costs 800.

 

[Heisen]

Would have saved a lot of money with an ink-tank printer.

Ink tank has some disadvantages too.

According to the internet.

Ink tanks, Eco tanks, they come under various names, with the tagline of housing large quantities of ink. With this, the necessity to change ink cartridges is reduced. Noticeably, refilling your ink tank is much cheaper than purchasing a new ink cartridge. However, having large amounts of ink and not using it for extended duration might cause the ink to coagulate and form lumps. This is never a welcome sight as the only way to fix this is by breaking the lumps or replacing the entirety of ink solution.

Refilling can cause harm to the printer as the clogs that result from infrequent usage and air getting trapped inside the ink tank whilst refilling the ink. The refilling cartridge comes with 3 years of shelf life and once opened, has to be used within 6 months.

Refilling can be quite a hassle. The ink needs to be properly refilled and spillage will ruin your clothes and will take a lengthy cleaning process to remove the ink from your hands. With these issues taken care of, the ink tank is a wonderful printer to be working with.

The benefit of laser printer is, reliability. Whether you use it daily or stop using it for years, it will work regardless. The shelf life is insane, due to simplicity of things within.

 

[sibot]

Ink tank has some disadvantages too.

According to the internet.



The benefit of laser printer is, reliability. Whether you use it daily or stop using it for years, it will work regardless. The shelf life is insane, due to simplicity of things within.

Yeah, mostly from the reviews that I read, it's a hit or a miss for people. Albeit laser was expensive, it gives me the peace of mind knowing that I don't have to flush and drain the printer along with the other things in the house.

 

[Sanjiv8]

If black and white only- Laser

If wanna print color sometimes, then EcoTank


Laser printers can only do b/w printing, and are cheaper than color printers (cost per page).
But if you wanna print color as well, then you have options like Inkjet or Inktank.

Inktank If you want one time investment.
Inkejt if you wanna spend 70% printer's price for ink cartridges each month.

Inkjet ones need cartridge replacement, one for color, other for black.
These cartridges cost nearly 70-80% of the printer's total cost.
But new cartridge assures brand new quality in print.
You can also refill cartridges yourself upto 5 times, but slight loss in quality, and takes like 10minutes for filling em up. All you need are ink bottles and syringe.

But inktank stores liquid ink in it, so you can refill it with ink bottles directly.
Just that if the print head gets damaged, it will cost 3-5k for replacement / repair.


Hearing 100 pages a month, go for inktank printer.

 

[imvids]

Ink tank has some disadvantages too.

According to the internet.



The benefit of laser printer is, reliability. Whether you use it daily or stop using it for years, it will work regardless. The shelf life is insane, due to simplicity of things within.

Well, I read them fully before I bought Canon Pixma G3000. The problems listed above are kind of inherent problems of InkTank technology. But TECH is changing very fast and workaround have been inbuilt right into the printer.
For example :
1. To prevent drying of ink nozzles, printer fires ink droplets even you have not printed for a few days/weeks and it goes to waste drum. The printer should always be connected to power.
2. Check YT videos on refilling ink. HP has aced the technology with zero spillage system. Quite neat and clean to be honest. Canon refill system is okay okay.