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The problem is sometimes, ( 10-20% ) I need colour printing. And colour laser is still expensive. I know it is wishful thinking but I do hope someday we could have some innovation with Colour Laser.

Reposting What I wrote during COVID [1]

I had to install a new inkjet printer because kids now need to print out their homework during COVID.

I swear to god if I ever become wealthy the printer industry is what I intended to completely destroy. Not in it for profit. Not positive sum whatever startup thinking. It will be Zero Sum.

Edit: Lasers are fine. That will be left alone.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30553662

[aembleton]

I bought a Brother colour laser 8 years ago for about £150. Its about double that now [1] at £275. The only fault it has had was that once I hadn't used it for a couple of years and the first page I printed wasn't quite perfect. The next one was though.

I think for £275 with toner is worth it. Its pricier up front than the inkjets but the ease of use and reliability are totally worth it for me.

1. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brother-HL-L8260CDW-Wireless-Connec...

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If I could ever get one for £150 I would have bought one without thinking. I think £150 / $199 is the sweet spot.

Another problem is I only need it during the pandemic. Otherwise I might only need about 10 page per year. And all of a sudden that £275 investment becomes quite expensive.

[ndsipa_pomu]

> The problem is sometimes, ( 10-20% ) I need colour printing. And colour laser is still expensive

It's worth the cost though. I bought a behemoth Brother printer/scanner laser printer years ago and it's been completely reliable (apart from occasionally disappearing from the network and needing a reboot). I don't have to worry about mainly printing black as the colour toner can hardly dry out and is always ready for use whereas I'm constantly hearing of occasional users of inkjets needing to buy fresh cartridges after just a couple of months of them not being used.

[Aeolun]

Honestly, looking at the mechanics that go into my Brother color laser printer I’m surprised they go for the price they do. It seems fairly cheap, everything considered.

[xadhominemx]

That’s because they lose money on the printer and make it up with the toner.

[jjav]

> And colour laser is still expensive.

Totally worth it though. I bought a Brother color laser over 10 years ago and it has been flawless. A lifesaver during covid and printing homework at home.

Before that I was going through cheap inkjets which each only lasted a year or less before becoming clogged and unusable. While cheap at around ~$100/ea, it was more expensive over the years than simply buying a color laser once and stop the frustration and waste.

[NoMoreNicksLeft]

My wife found some deal on Facebook marketplace for a HP 5550DN for $75. Had an extra set of toner cartridges for it, though the ones already in it aren't only a little below half full.

Though, if you don't have ample floor space... it's the size of our washer I think, what with the extra trays and whatnot.

[dspillett]

> And colour laser is still expensive.

I've used colour laser printers at home for quite some time. An older Xerox (6125?) for some years which I later replaced by a 6510 (built-in duplex, faster) when that started to exhibit problems. They cost a lot more than for cheap home inkjets when looking at the initial outlay (£150+ compared to £30+) but once you consider the cost of ink (even just black) including the fact that if you don't print regularly you waste a pile on head cleaning as they gum up, after a cartridge or few you hit break even.¹

Or you used to. Manufactures seem to have got wise to the fact people were starting to get wise to this: the price of official consumables has gone up, and they've cracked down on 3rd party toner carts much like the inkjet world. Running the models that have replaced the 6510 would cost considerably more per page² even if using official cartridges for the 6510. I found this out when looking for a laser to replace my Dad's inkjet that had just died. Looking at second hand units of models that are still dirt cheap to run, they are selling for silly prices – presumably people & small businesses that print high volume are collecting them while they can.

I will be taking very good care of my current printer to try make it survive as long as possible…

> I know it is wishful thinking but I do hope someday we could have some innovation with Colour Laser.

Unfortunately the only innovation seems to be in techniques for gouging money out of customers, inspired by methods that have worked in the inkjet market. When you achieve world domination you may have to cast the laser printer market into the same volcano as the inkjets and completely start afresh.

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[1] Also, the output quality is far better unless you use more expensive paper (I get crisper black text out of my laser on cheap stock paper than inkjets get on more expensive stuff designed to minimise ink bleed and such). Photo output on plain paper is better too, though ink wins significantly once you buy speciality paper – though for the few pages of that sort of printing I've needed in recent years I've just had done at the printing booth in the local supermarket and that further beats home inkjet output and isn't particularly expensive for small one-off tasks.

[2] noticeably more than 10x, as high as 25x comparing 3rd party supplies which the new models make harder to use.