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by tonyedgecombe 3485 days ago
We used to have solid and enjoyable printers, around about 1990 was the peak (LaserJet III).
3 comments

You're saying I should definitely rescue the unused LaserJet III from the dusty corner at the office printer room?
Absolutely.

They are no doubt the best printers in your company's facility. Most printers for enterprises are garbage now without a service contract or managed print deal.

For personal use, the brother laser devices <$100. Are the best bet. Simple, reliable and most of the things that break are either field replaceable or you can ditch the device.

> For personal use, the brother laser devices <$100.

Rarely do I fanboy over a piece of electronic device, but this rings so incredibly true. I get thousands of pages out of my Brother laser printer per toner cartridge, it duplexes, the wireless just works. If you absolutely need a printer, get the sub-$100 brother laser printer.

Likewise. Mine is possibly the most reliable piece of hardware I have ever owned. It does exactly what I expect it to do, all the time.
May I inquiry your Brother printer model ?
looks under desk HL-2270DW, but that version appears to be an older model now (I've had it for about 5 years). Check out the newer version on Amazon for $80, its the version I bought for my Grandmother and it is just as reliable.

https://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-L2340DW-Monochrome-Wireles...

Thanks, old is fine, maybe I'll snipe one on craigslist, even though, very few brother laser printers get back on the market ;)
I have a 2340DW. I think I paid $90 for it.

It's great... works with AirPrint, Google CloudPrint and standard printer protocols. I think you can even FTP jobs to it.

I have two HL-2040s and they've been bullet proof. What I'd really like now is a simple way to make them IPP Everywhere or Google Cloud Print printers to make all the cross platform usage identical.
Yes. Those things would survive a nuclear war and still print. Realistically, you need to replace the drum every year or two, depending on how much you print, and then just fill it up with the cheapest toner you can find - it will work no matter what.
You laugh but I only buy laserjet 5500 or 4700 printers now for home and work. They're cheaper to own and operate than most new inkjets if you are patient for toner deals on Amazon or ebay.
GPIB plotters. I still have one of those. It still works. It is the only "printer" I never had a single problem with. It runs on a now over 50 years old computer bus.
Depressingly accurate.