I've had a Canon Pixma MG6150 for a couple of years or so and whilst as a printer it's OK (and it's nice to have the scanner/copier built in), I'm getting seriously fed up of it hoovering up ink for no apparent reason. Since I last replaced the cartridges, I kept track of how many pages I printed before it said it was out of ink again, and it's pitifully low (<150 B&W and the occasional document containing colour - no photo printing). I don't do a lot of printing at all and most times when I switch it on to print something, it will click and whir and buzz for a good 2-3 minutes before anything actually happens while it charges the print heads...which seemingly uses a huge amount of ink, as it disappears at a simply astounding rate. I've tried non-branded cartridges too, but was left very unimpressed (messy print).

 

So, I'm considering alternatives, as it appears that most inkjets are similar when it comes to ink usage (which I guess is why they're so cheap to buy new...because the manufacturers know that they'll get your money when you buy their ink!). Like I say, I don't print a lot so don't need something super flashy or high-end but it would be nice to have something that is slightly less wasteful when it comes to ink. I'm wondering about a low-end laser printer, as even colour ones these days are not too expensive; and I know the toner can be pricey, but at least it lasts a reasonably long time.

 

Has anyone got any recommendations...? Have you made the switch from inkjet to laser?

We switched to a mono laser a couple of years back.

 

Never looked back!

 

Great for printing documents then on the very odd occasion we need to print photos out it's easier to go through an online printing service or nip to tescos for instant prints.

 

Colour ones are cheap now too but don't expect to be able to use it for photos just colour documents.

 

Phil

I bought a wireless colour laser samsung printer for £100 a couple of years ago

It wont use less ink - but it would be cheaper to fit a CISS and bulk buy your ink.

If you dont do much colour, then a good mono laser is ideal, but the cheaper ones tend to be expensive to run unless you can source knock-off toners/refills from China.

We switched to a mono laser a couple of years back.

 

Never looked back!

 

Great for printing documents then on the very odd occasion we need to print photos out it's easier to go through an online printing service or nip to tescos for instant prints.

 

Colour ones are cheap now too but don't expect to be able to use it for photos just colour documents.

 

Phil

 

Yes, this is what I'm considering. I got the MG6150 originally as I thought it would be nice to print out photos every now and then, but to be honest I can't even remember the last time I did that.

Get a multifunction mono laser and send off for your colour prints.

 

we've a rather old Samsung laser which has worked well for 8yr. Recently got 2x 1500 page refills for £24.

I have a samsung laser, after getting frustrated to heck with a HP deskjet which wouldn't print using black despite buying HP carts.

 

The Samsung laser i have is also WIfi, Ok the replacement cart is going to cost but for the amount I use it, it will be quite a while before i need any toner.

How odd, my ink tanks are blinking today... got one more pack of generic inks left to go through the canon.

 

I print mostly mono, 50/60 sheets a week. I said when this ink batch runs out I'd go laser... so shopping today for laser with network & duplex.

 

Also going to go for color as I'll be doing some colour printing for freedom letters this year. The problem is the very good inkjet if not used will clog up and belong a plastic dinosaur in the corner of the office... it still works seems daft to 'scrap' a working item.

I got a cheap colour laser from an office clearout years ago. I'm still on the toner cartridges that it came with. It replaced a mono laser I got cheap from an office clearout when its toner ran out. I haven't had an inkjet in many years and haven't missed them at all.

Glad to see Colin is at last joining me  on the laser trip.  

 

£10  HP mono laser  = brill bit of kit   and new ones are not to badly priced either.

I find my HP Deskjet 3070 All-in-one uses a LOT less ink if I DON'T switch it off!  

 

I used to have a Canon Pixma like the OP (till it's Yellow print head got blocked on a diet of Cart World refills and I couldn't buy a replacement head unit, or unblock the yellow). Both the Canon and the HP used to go through an automatic, unstoppable head clean routine EVERY time they were switched on afresh, i.e. powered up from cold.  That used ink by the Gallon! 
 

Leaving the HP switched on means its in sleep mode 99% of the time, so adds to my electricity bill a little (but nowt compared to the fridge and freezer running 24/7).  But the BIG advantage is it does not then run a head clean when you wake it up to print. Plus its always available, which can be handy when you're three rooms away and want to print over the household wifi.  Means only one trip up to the "office" to collect the result.

 

Methinks the environment is better protected too, with an 80% reduction in ink use compared to a little extra electricity?

 

:-)

I find my HP Deskjet 3070 All-in-one uses a LOT less ink if I DON'T switch it off!  

 

I used to have a Canon Pixma like the OP (till it's Yellow print head got blocked on a diet of Cart World refills and I couldn't buy a replacement head unit, or unblock the yellow). Both the Canon and the HP used to go through an automatic, unstoppable head clean routine EVERY time they were switched on afresh, i.e. powered up from cold.  That used ink by the Gallon! 
 

Leaving the HP switched on means its in sleep mode 99% of the time, so adds to my electricity bill a little (but nowt compared to the fridge and freezer running 24/7).  But the BIG advantage is it does not then run a head clean when you wake it up to print. Plus its always available, which can be handy when you're three rooms away and want to print over the household wifi.  Means only one trip up to the "office" to collect the result.

 

Methinks the environment is better protected too, with an 80% reduction in ink use compared to a little extra electricity?

 

:-)

Sorry Double post after delay in receiving a response. [Edit] button not available either.....

I find my HP Deskjet 3070 All-in-one uses a LOT less ink if I DON'T switch it off!  

 

I used to have a Canon Pixma like the OP (till it's Yellow print head got blocked on a diet of Cart World refills and I couldn't buy a replacement head unit, or unblock the yellow). Both the Canon and the HP used to go through an automatic, unstoppable head clean routine EVERY time they were switched on afresh, i.e. powered up from cold.  That used ink by the Gallon! 

 

Leaving the HP switched on means its in sleep mode 99% of the time, so adds to my electricity bill a little (but nowt compared to the fridge and freezer running 24/7).  But the BIG advantage is it does not then run a head clean when you wake it up to print. Plus its always available, which can be handy when you're three rooms away and want to print over the household wifi.  Means only one trip up to the "office" to collect the result.

 

Methinks the environment is better protected too, with an 80% reduction in ink use compared to a little extra electricity?

 

:-)

 

Maybe that's worth a shot - give it one more chance before I launch it! 

I bought a Dell wireless colour laser printer  1660w for £54 last year. Still on its "starter" toner,  The replacement toner seems a little pricey at £80-£100 for a full set but at least the ink heads aren't all dried up when I want to use it.

Brother are currently doing a cracking deal on a colour laser.

 

£250 from about £600 and it's a multi function scanner/copier/fax too

I have been using a mono laser last year, still on original toner cartridge. I have printed at least 700 pages of A4 text so far. I paid £40 for it from Argos. Probably as cheap to buy another printer as it is to replace toner when it does eventually run out. The other plus is that it prints big documents much much faster than my old inkjet.

Edited 13 March, 201412 yr by Chris GB

I fitted a CISS to an Epson years ago. I had rainbow coloured hands almost permanently. As I only print the odd photo and even less documents it's no longer an issue . One of the unexpected benefits of retirement.

I always use Epson Stylus Photo 3-in-1 printers, ie: RX420/RX425/ RX520

Cheap to buy second-hand, last for years before the scanner usually dies.

All use the same compatible inks, pay about £15 for 30 cartridges (4 colours) and only very seldom have to use 'Clean Head' facility.  

Little opening at rear to access a little pipe which enables you to drain-off excess ink externally into a catch-bottle.

 

My trusty Epson DVD/CD R300 printer does printing on all my blank printable discs, again using cheap compatible inks. 

Depends what media you want to print though doesn't it! 

 

Want CD/DVD you can't do that with a laser it would buckle it, you can do automatic duplex printing with some, but not many.

 

Photos don't seem to have the same quality through a laser printer for some reason, I don't know why though.

Wrong type of ink?? However I will say the HP Laserjet Pro 100 gives pretty good photo results on plain paper, the toner is hideously expensive though, and even the black gets nowhere near the quoted feeble estimates of 1,500 pages; if it wasnt for China and cheap imports, running the HP would probably bankrupt us.

I got an old hp laserjet for £10 with a virtually new toner. Hooked it up to a wifi repeater that also cost me a tenner, and can print from anywhere in the house. Ok a not big and not attractive to look at, but seeing as it's in the garage it doesn't really matter :-) quality is excellent for documents and we don't really print pictures or colour.

After the apocolypse there will only be cockroaches and HP Laserjets left.

I've got a Xerox 6125 colour laser. It was about £160 from Amazon. I've had it about 3 years and it's done about 3500 pages in total, a mixture of colour and B&W prints. Lots of the stuff I print is technical in nature and has loads of diagrams and such like in it. I'm on my 3rd set of toners now. The non Xerox toners have worked perfectly too.

Apart from being more economical, the laser stops the paper coming out looking like a bit of corrugated roof if there are colour rich diagrams. The inkjet soaks the paper in this case and it looks crap in my O&M manuals.

It's a bit old school from a connectivity perspective. A 10/100 port and USB. I've got a wireless bridge stuck to the back which works fine with the iMacs and windows laptops we've got in the house. We also have an Epson MF printer for air print, scans and such like. 99% of all printing is still via the Xerox.

When it eventually expires, I'll definitely replace it with another colour laser.

I actually use an HP Officejet. It seems to not go through masses of ink, and gives good quality results.

Network and USB enabled, but not WiFi. It's a few years old now.


Frankly, I'd buy one again if I needed to do a lot of colour, but if I didn't, it'd be a decent branded Laser all day long.