PDA

View Full Version : Buy one get one free, mono laser printer



Kaz
29-04-2010, 09:47 PM
http://www.viking-direct.co.uk/catalog/ ... 706&pr=Q71 (http://www.viking-direct.co.uk/catalog/catalogSku.do?id=4901706&pr=Q71)

bms
29-04-2010, 11:14 PM
As with all laser printers (and inkjets come to that), consider the cost of running the printer in toner cartridges as well as the original buy price. Looks okay on the face of it, but £56.99 +vat for 1500 page yield cartridge is a bit high. The Oki C5750 as an example (more expensive to buy and colour), but a black cartridge costs around £79 +vat for 8000 page yield.

JSR
30-04-2010, 12:46 AM
Martin's right.

Awhile back, I was after an office laser and ran up a spreadsheet of those in my price range. Quite a number of them cost more to run than some inkjets.

The situation has got worse over the years.

Many cheap-end lasers will charge you £60 for a 2,000 page toner - yet there are inkjets out there that charge £10 for 400 pages (that's £10 cheaper over 2,000 pages). You can save on toner costs by first finding a printer supported by a refill site such as http://www.refilltoner.com/ (I used to use them to lower the running costs of my Samsung CLP-550N). Unfortunately, many laser printers now use toner cartridges that collect their own waste so even if you refill them, they can't be used again because the waste compartment is full.

However, laser printers also have hidden costs - a set cost-per-page regardless of how much you print such as the photoconductor unit, imaging drum, etc which may only last 12,000 page turns before requiring a replacement that may cost around £150.

It's a bit of a minefield but it's the price we're expected to pay in order to get the printer so cheaply. Sad to say but, just like modern budget inkjet printers, today's low-end laser printers have become throwaway products. So much for saving the planet!