Mid-size Color Laser Recommendations
I was asked this morning for a recommendation on a mid-size color laser printer, with included scan and fax capabilities. Printers are one of the last remaining “mechanical” devices in our modern computing world, as such they require the most maintenance, and typically are some of the most frustrating, and unreliable pieces of technology we have to interact with on a regular basis.
One thing to keep in mind: with rare exception, when you’re spending less than $1,000 on a copier, what the manufacturers are selling you is ink and toner. There’s not much pride in delivering a great piece of hardware, since profit margins on inexpensive printers and copiers is so slim. Instead, corners are cut, and costs are minimized to get a printer in your door cheaply today, so they can sell you expensive toner/ink tomorrow. If the printer dies in a couple years, that’s fine, they can sell you a new printer that takes a different set of toners, and sell you even more toner/ink.
Great color, but low paper capacity: Lexmark MC2535adwe ~$600
Cheaper color prints, but older: Brother MFC-L8900CDW ~$530
Why I recommend the above printers:
I typically deal with devices from a variety of well-known vendors, such as HP, Lexmark, Xerox, and Brother to name a few. HP built a reputation for reliability with it’s excellent DeskJet and Laserjet printers back in the 1990’s, and ultimately has been tearing down it’s reputation ever since, with increasingly poorly built printers in the residential/small business market. That’s not to say that mistakes aren’t made, and an occasional good model of inexpensive printer comes out, but for the most part they are as unreliable as cheaper printers they compete with, while also having inefficient, bloated printer software for use on your computer as well. This is especially noteworthy when purchasing a multifunction printer, as the software is typically required for scan and fax functionality.
Brother on the other hand typically delivers cost effective hardware, with basic but efficient software and drivers. There’s nothing flashy or special about brother devices, and quite frankly they are largely disposable. Expect a 3-5 year lifecycle on heavily used printers, and plan your ink/toner purchases accordingly.
Xerox is similar to HP in that they have largely been riding their past reputation, with mixed products. Canon makes some great products, but their consumer printer lineup seems to be an afterthought to the brand in many ways.
Lexmark stands out as a printer manufacturer that relies on printer sales as the core of it’s business. As such, there is a greater incentive for them to make great printers since they can’t count on “computer sales” or “embroidery machine sales” to carry the business if they make bad products. While you might pay a bit more on a Lexmark machine, in general they perform well, and have good parts support if you wish to maintain your printer for a long term.
At the end of the day, there is no perfect printer that be guaranteed to require no maintenance, and feed paper flawlessly for 10 years. Purchase a printer with an understanding that unlike your laptop which may not even have any moving parts any longer, that a printer is comprised almost entirely of moving parts.