Urgent: Color Laser Printer for home usage / Budget Rs 30k

kekerode

kekerode

Disciple
Please recommend reliable Color Laser Printer for home usage with very occasion printing of 20-30 page documents/photo for home usage.

Summary of requirements
  • Color Laser Printer for home usage with very occasion printing of 20-30 page documents/photo for home usage.
  • Reliable/Durable (Highest Priority) - I may print few pages months apart on urgent basis and don't want printer to fail just because it was sitting idle. I also have HP LaserJet 1020 plus which has proven to be very reliable for my use, too bad it isn't color printer so need to replace it :(
  • High Capacity Toner (at least 2000 pages)
  • Medium print quality is okay as 99% prints will be documents. For example, travel itinerary, Passport copy, Driving License copy etc.
  • A4 and Letter size page print
  • MFD is not required because I already have separate scanner
  • Connectivity: USB connectivity must. Good to have wired/wireless networking option but not required at all due to very low usage.
  • Budget: Rs 30k but can extend up to 40k for right printer
  • Online order from amazon/flipkart preferred or local shopping if no other choice
Unfortunately need to order it urgently, please help. Thanks a lot for your valuable inputs.
 
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Unfortunately there are not many print shops around my place and not reliable either :(
I have been thinking for last 2-3 years to invest into Color Laser Printer so now it's time :)
 
I own a brother all in one B&w monochrome and like it. I thought to get a colour at the time like this but it wasn't available in India. They only offered a wired one with no wifi. SO i went with monochrome. I'm in the same boat with sparing usage. Wireless is very handy. Wired means dedicated computer has to be on and hooked up. I can scan & print via wifi.

Just glanced at the brother site and saw this model

https://www.brother.in/en/home/all-printers/printers/hl-l3270cdw

No scanner just printer. Price comes under too. You didn't mention page size so i'm assuming no larger than A4

What quality requirements do you have ?

Let's see if better suggestions come up.
 
blr_p said:
I own a brother all in one B&w monochrome and like it. I thought to get a colour at the time like this but it wasn't available in India. They only offered a wired one with no wifi. SO i went with monochrome. I'm in the same boat with sparing usage. Wireless is very handy. Wired means dedicated computer has to be on and hooked up. I can scan & print via wifi.

Just glanced at the brother site and saw this model

https://www.brother.in/en/home/all-printers/printers/hl-l3270cdw

No scanner just printer. Price comes under too. You didn't mention page size so i'm assuming no larger than A4

What quality requirements do you have ?

Let's see if better suggestions come up.
Click to expand...

Thanks will check this model. I have updated the main post now with additional info about print quality and page size.
  • Medium print quality is okay as 99% prints will be documents. For example, travel itinerary, Passport copy, Driving License copy etc.
  • A4 and Letter size page print
I use laptop only for couple of years now and so far that is the only source of print. That's why not much bothered with wireless connectivity.
 
If you're in banaglore i just called the brother store near the passport office and they delivered it a half hour later. Didn't bother with amazon

Keep in mind this is a LED printer. Not a laser. There will be a subtle difference in quality

Your best bet is to go the brother store with sample files and try out the print quality between this model and a laser
 
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blr_p said:
If you're in banaglore i just called the brother store near the passport office and they delivered it a half hour later. Didn't bother with amazon

Keep in mind this is a LED printer. Not a laser.
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Did you get better deal than online? Which passport office: Bellandur?
 
Konquerror said:
Did you get better deal than online? Which passport office: Bellandur?
Click to expand...
It was near double road, when i called them up they passed me on to another number. I remember this name

brother unnathi.JPG


I paid 17k for mine, amazon didn't have the model at the time. A little more than amazon i think.
 
blr_p said:
If you're in banaglore i just called the brother store near the passport office and they delivered it a half hour later. Didn't bother with amazon

Keep in mind this is a LED printer. Not a laser. There will be a subtle difference in quality

Your best bet is to go the brother store with sample files and try out the print quality between this model and a laser
Click to expand...

Unfortunately not in Bangalore currently and checked there are no Brother store nearby either :(
 
kekerode said:
Unfortunately not in Bangalore currently and checked there are no Brother store nearby either :(
Click to expand...
Why Laser ?
Why Not Inkjet ?
In my Experience, as a reseller, I found HP is always "The Best". In my View, as per your requirement, HP Ink Tank Printer with an AddOn-Two Year Warranty is Best suitable for your requirement. Running Cost my be 15-20% higher than other, but quality and peace of mind. Assume total cost may be in the range 15K with Wifi Option.
 
gcbeldar said:
Why Laser ?
Why Not Inkjet ?
In my Experience, as a reseller, I found HP is always "The Best". In my View, as per your requirement, HP Ink Tank Printer with an AddOn-Two Year Warranty is Best suitable for your requirement. Running Cost my be 15-20% higher than other, but quality and peace of mind. Assume total cost may be in the range 15K with Wifi Option.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I checked in HP shop about Ink Tank Printers and issue is that I will have to print at least 1-2 pages every month to keep printer working in good condition which is headache for me.

Finally decided to go with local print shop for urgent prints this time and will order "HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M181fw" next month end so that can use salary to add funds.
 
kekerode said:
Thanks, I checked in HP shop about Ink Tank Printers and issue is that I will have to print at least 1-2 pages every month to keep printer working in good condition which is headache for me.
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That's what i thought as well until some one here told me otherwise. If it is left on standby then all is well

skoka123 said:
That must be an isolated incident. The printer I have was bought in Feb 2016. In 2.5 years not once did I face the problem. I never had the issue with clogging even if I have not printed a single page in 2 months. The key here is the auto clean function. As long as one remembers to keep the printer powered on, one does not have to worry about clogging print nozzles. As I said, even after 2.5 years, I am yet to refill the ink tanks. Also the cost of the ink bottles (prints around 5000 pages) is less than Rs. 500 each.

I used to own a Casio Cartridge based inkjet printer that used to get clogged if I do not print at least once a week. Finally, the print nozzle was so clogged that no amount of cleaning revived the printer. Ink Tank inkjet printers with auto clean completely changes the scenario.
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blr_p said:
https://www.hpshopping.in/printers/hp-color-laserjet-pro-mfp-m181fw-t6b71a.html

What price have you been quoted ?
Click to expand...

Around 52k including shipping.

blr_p said:
That's what i thought as well until some one here told me otherwise. If it is left on standby then all is well
Click to expand...

This is great info. Situation is that I am the only one going to use printer in family for now.
So if I am not around then printer will be turned off and packed away eventually.

For example, my mother put away my very old PATA HDD without telling me and I just came across it while clearing house for interior work!
Now I don't have single clue what's on HDD and no adapter/converter to read it.
 
kekerode said:
Around 52k including shipping.



This is great info. Situation is that I am the only one going to use printer in family for now.
So if I am not around then printer will be turned off and packed away eventually.

For example, my mother put away my very old PATA HDD without telling me and I just came across it while clearing house for interior work!
Now I don't have single clue what's on HDD and no adapter/converter to read it.
Click to expand...
then an ink tank isn't going to work for you.

That HP is pricey but i'm surprised to find Brother only does LED printers and not Lasers in colour.

Do you need the fax feature ?
 
blr_p said:
then an ink tank isn't going to work for you.

That HP is pricey but i'm surprised to find Brother only does LED printers and not Lasers in colour.

Do you need the fax feature ?
Click to expand...

Yes it's very costly but I chose this one so anyone in family can use copy function instead of going to local xerox shop.

There are no Brother shops around my place to test LED printer, only HP shops available.

I don't need fax feature.
 
Well, you will have to accept it because they don't have a model with the same features but sans fax. It seems a good model.

HP pwer consumption.JPG

Does not take much power when printing. With laser power draw can spike when starting from cold but looks like this will work fine of a normal 6A socket without dimming the lights.

Can see why brother is offering LED printers only for colour as they are at least 15k cheaper. I think the print quality will be slightly better with laser though. Wish there was a way to tell how much better.[DOUBLEPOST=1556306124][/DOUBLEPOST]This guy does an excellent job explaining the difference between laser & LED. I was certainly taken aback to realise that brothers colour "laser" printers are actually LED printers and notice how they are announced on amazon as "digital colour printer". So the word laser isn't there but that is Brother being honest. Others do list printers as Laser ie Samsung but in reality are LED and not laser


He references a xerox paper which gets into the details but in short led's can vary in light intensity leading to inconsistent printing. How obvious to tell isn't easy. Still, lasers are more consistent. Lasers also offer higher print resolutions.

Laser vs LED paper from Xerox

Better print quality & resolution for laser. Whether this applies at the consumer level has to be seen

LED aren't more reliable than laser in real life unlike what the marketing fluff says.

What i would like to see is photo comparisons of print quality between laser & LED but can't find any online :(
 
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