It doesn't get any cheaper than no cost at all. My HP4000 is still running on the cartridge installed when I bought it office surplus. The use a much larger page count cartridge, and so naturally fewer replacements needed.
New printer recommendations
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It doesn't get any cheaper than no cost at all. My HP4000 is still running on the cartridge installed when I bought it office surplus. The use a much larger page count cartridge, and so naturally fewer replacements needed.
What about drum life?
What about it? It is part of the cartridge, and should manage as many pages as the cartridge is designed for. The cartridge is designed for 16000 pages, heavy use, in a commercial environment. There is a good reason they use laser, rather than inkjet.
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Great song by Blur.
Ours had separate drum and toner.
But the OP mentioned only light use...
I've got an Epson Ecotank 2710...
Very economical and rarely get problems as long as you keep it out of direct sunlight and make sure you print off a colour page every couple of weeks.
With bigger capacity toner cartridges, I suppose combining them with the drum makes sense as they'll have a similar lifespan.
If I get an invoice from a business printed on an inkjet I immediately think "amateur". Beside printing photos, I don't think there's a sensible reason to buy an inkjet printer. Even for really low use, inkjet often ends up really expensive due to the nozzles drying and clogging.
Most people/businesses can get away with mono printing. I have two - one mono, one colour, sometimes colour is useful and I wouldn't want to be dependent upon a single one. Invoices mono, random other stuff in colour.
If I get an invoice from a business printed on an inkjet I immediately think "amateur". Beside printing photos, I don't think there's a sensible reason to buy an inkjet printer. Even for really low use, inkjet often ends up really expensive due to the nozzles drying and clogging.
Most people/businesses can get away with mono printing. I have two - one mono, one colour, sometimes colour is useful and I wouldn't want to be dependent upon a single one. Invoices mono, random other stuff in colour.
Which indicates a laser would be better.
Which suggests heavier use.
That is my whole point! You have to make use of it, or it clogs up with dried ink. My laser can happily sit there, unused for months/ years, it needs no regular use to keep it functional. I just turn it on when needed, and print.
Decent mono laser for £79.99...
XL toner, £12.39 for 3000 pages...
= 0.4p per page (for toner only).
Many users will never change the drum, the original will do 15,000 pages. You can get non-genuine versions of them too, but I'd stick with genuine as I bought a rubbish non-genuine drum once. You can often get sealed genuine ones on ebay for a decent discount.
XL toner, £12.39 for 3000 pages...
TN2510XL Black Toner Cartridge Compatible For Brother MFC-L2800DW DCP-L2620DW | eBay UK
Compatible With Brother TN2510 TN2510XL Toner. Compatible Model. 3,000 Pages for Black. MFC-L2835DW / L2860DW / L2860DWE. MFC-L2800DW / L2827DW(XL).
www.ebay.co.uk
= 0.4p per page (for toner only).
Many users will never change the drum, the original will do 15,000 pages. You can get non-genuine versions of them too, but I'd stick with genuine as I bought a rubbish non-genuine drum once. You can often get sealed genuine ones on ebay for a decent discount.
I would avoid buying those, they are built for low volume, lightly built, and relatively expensive. A used ex-office, commercial laser printer, will last forever, and parts will likewise remain available, because of the number produced. My HP4000n is some 28 years old, parts, should I need any, are easily available, likewise cartridges - and it has cost me almost nothing.
You got lucky. I wouldn't touch a used printer normally. Parts for your monster printer will be expensive. Usually filthy too, if it's had an office life and/or the odd toner spill. Buy new, get a warranty and get a nice shiny clean one.
I have the predecessor (HL-2375DW) to that Brother one above, had it lots of years. It's printed almost 16,000 pages now, it just works. I just checked, it says it's had 5 new toners and one new drum. All good.
I have the predecessor (HL-2375DW) to that Brother one above, had it lots of years. It's printed almost 16,000 pages now, it just works. I just checked, it says it's had 5 new toners and one new drum. All good.
It is heavy yes, but as it never needs to be moved it makes no difference. The weight, is in the build quality, which is why it just plods along without wearing out. As said, I had it 20 years, all it has had spent on it is a few reams of paper.
I don't remember it being especially filthy, but it was a long time ago. Should it eventually die, I would happily seek out another ex-office machine - they write them off, long before their time.
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Got the ET-2860, had it nearly a year and got through at least 3 reams of paper, I'm still on the supplied ink.
