Laser or Ink-Jet printers aboard

[healhustler]

Folks: I’m just about to destroy both my useless Epson ink jet printers (also destroyed our last HP unit), all due to the ink cost, complexity and lack of reliability. It is a rare moment when either of them don’t have error codes or ink requirements. They are sold cheap but costs per page have averaged .23 and .26 cents per page in black & white.

We need a reliable printer on the boat for scanning, faxing and copying documents. Has anyone found a reliable printer (laser or ink-jet) with a reasonable cost per page that operates outside of the ink cartridge scam? Many of the so-called “independent” reviews sound as though they were written by the manufacturer.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[ksanders]

Geez!

The problem with printers is that the printer manufacturer sells you a printer at below cost knowing they are going to make their profit on supplies.

I bought my mother in law one of those epson printers with a zillion page ink well, but it the printer cost $300

So... I stick with my HP inexpensive units on the boat knowing that there is no free lunch.

 

[Frosty]

I'll be interested to hear what people have to say. I don't print very often (but when I need to, I need to), and so on top of all the rest I have the problem of the cartridges drying out, having to order more and figure out where to have them shipped, etc.

I'd gladly pay more up front. (For me size is a factor but maybe not as much for the OP with that roomy Manatee )

 

[Benthic2]

If you have a fairly common printer, you can buy off brand replacement ink cartridges on Amazon that are much cheaper than the ones offered by the printer maker.

 

[slowgoesit]

You might consider an inexpensive laserjet, and just use a free app like "scannable" on your cell phone to scan docs to .pdf format. Can then fax or e-mail from phone or computer, as well as print to laserjet for really cheap.

 

[tiltrider1]

I have always used ink jet printers. I have no comment on laser vs ink jet. I will tell you that I killed a lot of ink jet printers until I figured out that it was the engine vibrations that were causing all the issues. I placed a 2” foam pad under my current ink jet printer, this seems to have done the trick. My current printer is now 3 years old were before they were lasting a little over a year. I have no comment on HP vs Epson.

 

[Lepke]

If you don't print often, shut off your printer, pull the ink cartridges and tape over the nozzle so it doesn't dry out. If you leave the printer on, it occasionally purges ink into a container. Some printers tell you when the waste container is full but most don't, so you have a mess. It's usually a space with a sponge in it. Depending on the brand, an ink jet will drain the cartridges in about 3 months if left on.

I also have found off brand ink cartridges just as good as major brand ink cartridges.

 

[Barabus]

Really like my HP color laser. It’s a all in one. Used for 10 years now and extremely reliable. Only downside is that it is a tad big and the toners are expensive.

 

[twistedtree]

I finally put a ban on any ink jet printers maybe 10 years ago. Unless you use them on a regular basis, they just aren't worth the aggravation of all the plugged up nozzles, etc. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to print one page, and spending an afternoon tracking down, buying, and replacing a bunch of cartridges. With infrequent use, I was using a set of cartridges each time I used the printer. Laser all the way. My wife still gives me grief over it, but I got a nice duplex, color laser with scanning and copying for the boat. Always works, no mater how long it's been sitting.

 

[PM]

I don't use a printer on my boat. In fact I rarely turn on the laptop I keep on the boat. The WIFI is pretty bad at my marina.

My last H.P. lasted at home about 15 years, lots of expensive ink. I have an Epson now which does a good job. For the amount I use the printer the cost of ink is a drop in the bucket.

pete

 

[Larry M]

We have a an ink jet with all the problems mentioned above. I use the scanner function probably more than I print these days. Connectivity to the laptop or iPad is important.

 

[Cigatoo]

We have a an ink jet with all the problems mentioned above. I use the scanner function probably more than I print these days. Connectivity to the laptop or iPad is important.

Same here. It requires an adjustment in your thinking however very little need to print much of anything anymore. pdf, drop box, and your phone camera are all your friends. No need for a scanner with your phone app. Drop box allows you to take a picture, turn it into a pdf, and store it. What’s better than that? If you need it, display it on your screen, iPad, or tablet.

 

[High Wire]

Forget the Canon Pixima inkjets. If you change WIFI hotspots from one phone to another, you have to go online to Canon, download a setup program every time, and spend about an hour figuring what step in the instructions is missing to get you going again.

 

[Shrew]

I would be asking myself.....'what in my life requires so much hard-copy?' The occasional scan can be had at the marina office or a local office store. I know it's the way things have always been, but that is the worst answer for anything.

Are you still writing paper checks?

 

[Chrisjs]

We cruised for several months on a 50ft vessel with just a small B&W laser printer HP Laserjet P1006. Was lightweight and compact enough to be stored out of the way when not needed (most of time). Frankly, I have given up completely on inkjets. There is hardly any reason (apart from photos) to print in color. Most of the items we print are for records or to keep track of things, with the occasional letter, and the annual taxes. When I did have a color inkjet, it did not give me option to print in B&W (perhaps they do now?), so every little thing from the internet was printed in wonderful color for absolutely no reason. Finally, the print quality is better and there is basically NO maintenance with a laserjet.
I do think one other consideration is potential need for a scanner/photocopier. Our home office unit is a Bother printer/scanner but is definitely a bulky item to keep on most boats.

 

[DHeckrotte]

We have a wireless Brother inkjet for use on the boat. We take it home for the winter and use it in Sue's 2nd floor home office. We use the larger HP color 11x17 inkjet in my 1st floor parlor office. Saves running up and down stairs and keeps both printers happy.

We also take the boat's toaster home for the winter, but we don't print with it.

 

[AZ2Loop]

In my experience, laser printers are far more reliable than inkjet. I never expect our inkjet to work. IMO they are garbage. I also never expect to need it.

Are you sure you need to print? What often makes people think they need to print is in order to sign something and return it. You probably still don't need to print. Here is something that has saved me hundreds of times. You can use the "tools" or "annotate" drop downs on a PDF viewer to create a signature on the document you are viewing. Or you can keep 2 or three samples of your signature and initials in PDF and as jpegs, too in a file to use when you need to sign something. Keep them in a password protected file if you are concerned. Any document you get that you need to sign, just drop the signature in place as a PDF or JPEG into the document, size the signature/initials appropriately for the space, save the newly modified document, and send it back to whomever needs it electronically.

Alternatively, there are lots of "e-sign" type programs that most companies can use to make it easy for you to sign their documents electronically. They will probably do it if you ask them to and then you can just click to sign.

Sometimes a live, wet signature is needed. Often when that is the case the document also needs to be notarized. In that case, while on board, we have found a mobile notary to meet on shore and they have always been willing to print the docs and bring them. In all those cases above, where a signature was needed, we didn't need to actually print a single document.

I realize there will be exceptions.

 

[Retriever]

Cheap Samsung black and white laser printer/scanner combo on my boat. Been aboard for 6.5 years and 25,000+ nm and still works great! Toner off Amazon isn’t expensive.

 

[Waterford]

I don't carry a printer on the boat, but I agree with the nearly useless nature of ink jets. I have a Brother B&W laser, copy, scanner that is simple, reliable and inexpensive to use. I works very well via WiFi too. I've had HP and Brother lasers and they are both excellent.

 

[Group9]

My HP ink jet printer made me so mad, I resolved to never buy another HP product as long as I lived.

 

[Comodave]

We don’t use a printer on the boat but we have used Brother laser printers for about 15 years and really like them. Ours is just B&W.

 

[ksanders]

I'll be interested to hear what people have to say. I don't print very often (but when I need to, I need to), and so on top of all the rest I have the problem of the cartridges drying out, having to order more and figure out where to have them shipped, etc.

I'd gladly pay more up front. (For me size is a factor but maybe not as much for the OP with that roomy Manatee )

What I do is print a couple pages every couple of weeks at least.
Then the cartridges don’t dry out.

 

[Pau Hana]

Color Laserjet here- has worked flawlessly for 5 + years.

Inkjet- never again.

 

[Capt Jack]

Color laser jet HP M479fdw. Print/scan/fax. It’s in my home office and works very well. Wireless as well. Not cheap but it gets the job done

John

 

[Giggitoni]

My HP ink jet printer made me so mad, I resolved to never buy another HP product as long as I lived.

Good anchor???

We’ll probably see HP ink jet printers on our next anchor thread.

 

[O C Diver]

I have had great success with a Brother black and white laser printer. Only draw back is that the generic toner cartridges don't work well in it. It lives on a folded towel to absorb vibration and the boat is kept at below 50% humidity when docked.

Ted

 

[fgarriso]

We use the HP ink jet printers on sale at Walmart. We can usually get them for less than $50, and I have found that the ink cartages cost the same or more than the printer. Therefore, when the ink runs out we dumpster the printer and buy a new one. That way we save money and get a new printer.

 

[Bendit]

I have had great success with a Brother black and white laser printer. Only draw back is that the generic toner cartridges don't work well in it. It lives on a folded towel to absorb vibration and the boat is kept at below 50% humidity when docked.

Ted

I’ve had HP (old ones were great), Canon and Epson inkjet. All junk IMO.
Now have Brother in the office, at home and on the boat. No issues and couldn’t be happier.

 

[rsn48]

The latest Epsons no longer use cartridges, check models to make sure it isn't one of the Epson's that does use cartridges. Under the new system ink prices have dropped radically, here is a review of one of the models, you'll see what I'm talking about. Costco carries one model, a lower model but still has the ink reservoir tanks, bought my son one of these:

 

[BruceK]

Had a Brother inkjet at home which used more ink in factory programed self cleaning than printing. Pristine inside, empty of ink, a POS generally. Switched to b&w laser. Replacement non factory laser cartridges readily available.Way cheaper to run.