the thing is laser printer is costlier upfront, Bulkier, heavier, needs more space and compared to inkjet printer
Comment on Open Printer is a fully open-source inkjet with DRM-free ink and no subscriptions
undefined@lemmy.hogru.ch 3 weeks ago
I could get into it if it were laser; I’ve long given up on inkjet.
ardi60@reddthat.com 3 weeks ago
undefined@lemmy.hogru.ch 3 weeks ago
That’s true. I don’t print much (I’m happy to go to the print shop) but my wife does quite a bit, but not enough to keep the ink from drying out.
After buying two inkjet printers and having constant problems with the cartridges it probably would’ve been cheaper to start with the laser printer I eventually bought. I didn’t realize that HP would lock out cartridges from their subscription on cancellation either (which feels very morally wrong to me).
TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
It’s technically more money upfront, but you’re not just buying the printer itself: you’re also buying the starter ink/toner cartridges that come with the device. The starter toner gives you vastly more pages than the starter ink, and it basically never goes bad. According to Brother, the size of a starter toner cartridge is 1000 A4 pages. According to HP, their Deskjet and Envy starter cartridges print about 150 and 250 pages, respectively.
So that higher upfront cost doesn’t just go into a better, more efficient machine; it also goes into quadruple the starting pages. There are people who could seriously never print more than 1000 pages, whereas the starter for a Deskjet is so small that you practically ought to buy a spare cartridge for when it near-immediately runs out.
leverage@lemdro.id 3 weeks ago
Unless something about inkjet has improved in the 15 years since I was more inclined to know everything about them, the “goes bad” is what anyone with a brain should be focusing on. The first time you use a cartridge to print, it has a shelf life. It gunks up, prompting cleaning cycles that use dozens of pages worth of ink. If you only print a few pages a month, there’s a good chance you’re getting <40 pages out of that $63 cartridge.
I have a Brother DCP-7065DN, paid $64 for it in Feb 2014 (obviously a very good deal), page counter reads 3626. We’re on toner #3 including the starter, first was replaced in 2019, second in July 2025. Toner was $55 each.
I hope there aren’t people seriously advocating for inkjet printers for black and white anything. The only thing they are good for is photos, and even then you are paying more per print for a worse photo vs local print or online order options. That holds true even if you get good deals and somehow actually use the entire cartridge set without waste, I did the math a few times over the years. The only use cases are printing shit you’re too embarrassed to risk printer shop seeing, or is illegal/copyright, or you just like giving money to these garbage companies.
Maybe projects like this will change the math. I think if they targeted commercial print specifications it would be quite interesting. The jump to larger format printers is so expensive.
SARGE@startrek.website 3 weeks ago
I bought a toner printer in 2020 and I’m still on the first replacement cart. I have over 2000 pages printed.
Considering I spent $80, plus $40 on the new two pack of toner, I consider it money well spent.
I do wish I had bought a laser printer though… There are things I would like to begin printing that will be several thousand pages after it’s all finished. Mostly reference materials.
BurgerBaron@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Only for colour laser because they’re much more complicated internally. My B&W isn’t any bigger than an inkjet scanner/copier/printer combo unit.
Exception: Definitely heavier.
Eldritch@piefed.world 3 weeks ago
Agreed. But a start is a start. More of this please!