New colour printer - laser vs ink tank

[PHAT]

We have been rocking the same old black and white laser printer since 2003.  We have replaced the toner once or maybe twice - I feel like we got our money's worth!  Now that kids are in school, we are having to print things more often, and often in colour too, so it's time for an upgrade!  The old one still works, but its becoming temperamental (only connects to my computer, not to hubby's), and it doesn't have wifi, so printing from a phone becomes a rigamarole with emailing things around (lazy, I admit).  The print quality is also poor for this day and age (sufficient for the occasional travel documents and permission slips, but really not for anything with more detail)

I've been looking at new colour printers, and here are my criteria:  We are short on space, so compact is a must (none of those giant office-style ones, I will pay more for smaller size!).  We don't print a ton, but probably once every few weeks we print something.  We aren't printing novels, just a few sheets at a time, so print speed is not a huge concern.  I don't really need fancy options like scanner/copier/fax/etc - I can use my phone camera for that on the rare occasion it may be needed.

I was looking at colour laser printers, looks like I can get a smaller one for around $400-600 (CAD), then the toner cartridges are around $100+ each (x4 because black and 3 colours).  Its been many years since I looked at printers, and I see there are now these "ink tank" printers - technically ink jet, but without the need for expensive cartridges, just pour more ink into the tank!  Does anyone have one of these?  Would this be a good option for my needs?  They seem to be cheaper to buy, and probably cheaper for the ink too given the price of the toner.  Will it dry up and clog if we go a month or so without using it?  Which brand/model would you recommend?

[reeshau]

I have had 3 Brother laser printers.  (Not that they break; could not tote across the Atlantic)  They are pretty cheap, and have decent 3rd party cartridges that are a lot less, and not crappy.

I used to have b&w laser w/ photo ink jet, but switched for similar reasons to you: school.  Particularly, pandemic school-at-home.

If your kids are using it, too, how water resistant so you need?  Laser isn't waterproof, but it doesn't take much of a sprinkle/ spill / spot to make a big 'ol mess out of an injet print.

If you are printing pictures, then a photo quality ink jet could be worth the tradeoffs vs. laser.  We get good enough, but if we are going to frame something or give it to someone, we go to the copy shop for a good one.

[ChickenStash]

Unless there is a dire need to print photos, I'd vote for a color laser printer. Mainly because toner is usually less expensive and doesn't dry out like ink for less-used printers. HP, Ricoh, and Brother are the ones I've used and had decent luck with personally and professionally.

[PHAT]

Unless there is a dire need to print photos, I'd vote for a color laser printer. Mainly because toner is usually less expensive and doesn't dry out like ink for less-used printers. HP, Ricoh, and Brother are the ones I've used and had decent luck with personally and professionally.

I agree that in the past toner has been much cheaper, but I'm not sure that is still the case for these ink tank printers?  Example:  I can buy a bottle of ink from HP/Epson/etc (ie: the expensive manufacturer stuff, not the cheap knockoff) for approx $20-30 per bottle, which apparently lasts 2000 + pages.  That's much cheaper than toner for a comparable number of pages! ($150-200 each).  And I don't need to deal with the hassle of returning/recycling my toner cartridge, I'm just left with an empty plastic bottle to toss in my normal recycling bin!

I do acknowledge the drying out issue that has historically been a problem.  I was hoping maybe there had been some technological breakthroughs in the past 20 years to resolve this :)

[reeshau]

I don't think the price difference is so big.  I just looked at my last purchase, back in Feb of this year, and it was $65 for a full set od 4 toner cartridges.  I look for knockoffs that don't have too bad ratings, and try to stick with those.  I think I had one bad one; just didn't ever get a good print.  But that's over a couple of decades.

Inkjet isn't a bad way to go; neither is perfect, so it's a balance of what your biggest pet peeves would be.