Best printer option for two teachers

daimbert · 05-19-2009, 07:21 PM

Hello everyone...

I currently own a Brother MFC 9440cn and although I am happy with the printer overall my girlfriend and I are considering getting a different printer/copier. Why? Well this printer has the annoying issue that it waste color toner even though we mostly do black copies. As a result right now we need to replace all toners plus the drum (about 20,000 copies so far) at the whopping price of $450 and we only paid 500 for the printer. That's to much to stomach.

Both my girlfriend and I are music teachers (general music/band director) who on a typical school year make anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 copies. Now all my copies are exclusively black but my girlfriend needs to have the option of color printing when needed. We would love to have a copier/scanner/printer and with duplexing and automatic feeder but don't need a fax at all.

What would be the most cost effective option for us. Do we:

1.Buy a monochrome laser mfc and just buy a separate color printer for those occasions we need color.

2.Buy a separate monochrome laser printer, high speed scanner (another option that would be useful for a teacher) and separate color printer (again for those occasions when we need color printing.

3. Another MFC color laser printer
that does color, even though most have fax.

Well leave it to the pros. What brand and or models. We are willing to spend at most 500 - 600 dollars. We just need to buy one that is cost effective for us. We initially brought the brother for convenience but it's ending up being a money pit. Help us. !

**godspeeed** · 05-20-2009, 02:41 PM

Hello,

Are you buying in Canada or USA?

Its always better to have 2 different printers if you have enough room. As long as you you stay with laser printers the toner cannot dry so you are not forced to print every now and then to keep the nozzles from drying.

That means having a color laser printer that you will be using only a few times a month is probably the best way to go for color printing.

As for your everyday monochrome printing, the cheapest way is always the bottom line laser printer in the 100$ bracket. You will be able to pull out around 10 000 copies before having to change a drum, once you need to change the drum you can just recycle the printer (please recycle) and get a brand new machine for around the same price as the drum.

Rince and repeat.

daimbert · 05-21-2009, 04:52 AM

Buying in USA. Are the B/W Multifunction printers any good? Or are the stand alone printers the best? We both need the option to copy so I am not sure if I should buy a separate scanner. So essentially we need a separate laser color and B/W printer.

yisgood · 05-21-2009, 07:03 AM

To solve this problem I have several printers which still works out cheaper than buying one expensive one. It also gives me backup in case one goes down. I have two Brother HL2040 monochrome lasers for which I paid about $50 each. I found toner on ebay for $6 but you need a $4 part called a reset gear in order to refill. In 3 years all I replaced is the toner. The $6 lasts for about 3,000 pages.
I have Samsung CLP-300 color laser for which I paid $80. I bought a full set of toner for $70 at http://ccs-digital.com but so far I only replaced the black. It's good for 2,000 pages.
I have several Epson multifunctions for copying, scanning and color photos. I recently bought the NX200 for $40 at officemax. I get ink for under $3 a cartridge at http://ccs-digital.com
I don't think all these printers together cost $500.

**godspeeed** · 05-21-2009, 08:30 AM

monochrome multifunctions are reliable depending on the brand/model. The reason why I mentionned the printers instead of all-in-one units is because they are very cheap.

If you need monochrome copying it will be cheaper to get the monochrome MFC for your monochrome jobs and the color MFC for color jobs.

yisgood · 05-22-2009, 07:06 AM

How much color are you going to do? I have an Epson cx3810 scanner/copier/printer which is years old and still going strong. You might be fine with a monochrome laser and an Epson multi-function color printer (look at the NX series and the Workforce series). Both machines could be under $100 each.

05-19-2009, 07:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
daimbert Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Mac Leapord	Best printer option for two teachers Hello everyone... I currently own a Brother MFC 9440cn and although I am happy with the printer overall my girlfriend and I are considering getting a different printer/copier. Why? Well this printer has the annoying issue that it waste color toner even though we mostly do black copies. As a result right now we need to replace all toners plus the drum (about 20,000 copies so far) at the whopping price of $450 and we only paid 500 for the printer. That's to much to stomach. Both my girlfriend and I are music teachers (general music/band director) who on a typical school year make anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 copies. Now all my copies are exclusively black but my girlfriend needs to have the option of color printing when needed. We would love to have a copier/scanner/printer and with duplexing and automatic feeder but don't need a fax at all. What would be the most cost effective option for us. Do we: 1.Buy a monochrome laser mfc and just buy a separate color printer for those occasions we need color. 2.Buy a separate monochrome laser printer, high speed scanner (another option that would be useful for a teacher) and separate color printer (again for those occasions when we need color printing. 3. Another MFC color laser printer that does color, even though most have fax. Well leave it to the pros. What brand and or models. We are willing to spend at most 500 - 600 dollars. We just need to buy one that is cost effective for us. We initially brought the brother for convenience but it's ending up being a money pit. Help us. !

05-20-2009, 02:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
godspeeed I helped the forums. Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 298 OS: Win 7 RC	Re: Best printer option for two teachers Hello, Are you buying in Canada or USA? Its always better to have 2 different printers if you have enough room. As long as you you stay with laser printers the toner cannot dry so you are not forced to print every now and then to keep the nozzles from drying. That means having a color laser printer that you will be using only a few times a month is probably the best way to go for color printing. As for your everyday monochrome printing, the cheapest way is always the bottom line laser printer in the 100$ bracket. You will be able to pull out around 10 000 copies before having to change a drum, once you need to change the drum you can just recycle the printer (please recycle) and get a brand new machine for around the same price as the drum. Rince and repeat. __________________ Nietzsche: God is dead 1887 God: Nietzsche is dead 1900 Last edited by godspeeed; 05-20-2009 at 02:45 PM.

05-21-2009, 04:52 AM	#3 (permalink)
daimbert Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Mac Leapord	Re: Best printer option for two teachers Buying in USA. Are the B/W Multifunction printers any good? Or are the stand alone printers the best? We both need the option to copy so I am not sure if I should buy a separate scanner. So essentially we need a separate laser color and B/W printer.

05-21-2009, 07:03 AM	#4 (permalink)
yisgood Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 34 OS: xp sp2	Re: Best printer option for two teachers To solve this problem I have several printers which still works out cheaper than buying one expensive one. It also gives me backup in case one goes down. I have two Brother HL2040 monochrome lasers for which I paid about $50 each. I found toner on ebay for $6 but you need a $4 part called a reset gear in order to refill. In 3 years all I replaced is the toner. The $6 lasts for about 3,000 pages. I have Samsung CLP-300 color laser for which I paid $80. I bought a full set of toner for $70 at http://ccs-digital.com but so far I only replaced the black. It's good for 2,000 pages. I have several Epson multifunctions for copying, scanning and color photos. I recently bought the NX200 for $40 at officemax. I get ink for under $3 a cartridge at http://ccs-digital.com I don't think all these printers together cost $500.

05-21-2009, 08:30 AM	#5 (permalink)
godspeeed I helped the forums. Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 298 OS: Win 7 RC	Re: Best printer option for two teachers monochrome multifunctions are reliable depending on the brand/model. The reason why I mentionned the printers instead of all-in-one units is because they are very cheap. If you need monochrome copying it will be cheaper to get the monochrome MFC for your monochrome jobs and the color MFC for color jobs. __________________ Nietzsche: God is dead 1887 God: Nietzsche is dead 1900

05-22-2009, 07:06 AM	#6 (permalink)
yisgood Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 34 OS: xp sp2	Re: Best printer option for two teachers How much color are you going to do? I have an Epson cx3810 scanner/copier/printer which is years old and still going strong. You might be fine with a monochrome laser and an Epson multi-function color printer (look at the NX series and the Workforce series). Both machines could be under $100 each.