Colour laser multifunction recommendations?

[itm]

I'm looking for a colour laser multifunction for a low usage home environment. Maybe 30 pages per month.
I was thinking of one of the Brother models (maybe the mfc-l3550cdw), but have read that Brother have now updated their firmware to force you to replace all of the toner cartridges when it deems that they are empty (rather than when they are actually empty). I seem to remember that HP do this as well.
Can anyone recommend something with low running costs that will actually keep printing until the toner really does run out?

 

[deFiniLoGy]

Actually interested in this as well - hoping to get a Black Friday deal if there is any!

 

[bazzabear]

It's not multifunction, but I have a Brother HL-3150CDW, and very pleased with it. We've owned it for at least 4-5 years, and it's been faultless. I've not seen any issues with toner cartridges or demands to replace them (in fact, only changed each colour once so far, and each one changed only as it individually ran out).
If I'd stuck with inkjet, I would have gone through at least 2 printers and myriad cartridges by now as they always get gummed up and knackered by our very infrequent usage.

The quality is great. Only exception is photos - which are actually still pretty good if you use the right paper - but certainly not as good as inkjets in that regard.

I know that the only relevancy here is the toner replacement thing, but thought I'd report back.

 

[deFiniLoGy]

It's not multifunction, but I have a Brother HL-3150CDW, and very pleased with it. We've owned it for at least 4-5 years, and it's been faultless. I've not seen any issues with toner cartridges or demands to replace them (in fact, only changed each colour once so far, and each one changed only as it individually ran out).
If I'd stuck with inkjet, I would have gone through at least 2 printers and myriad cartridges by now as they always get gummed up and knackered by our very infrequent usage.

The quality is great. Only exception is photos - which are actually still pretty good if you use the right paper - but certainly not as good as inkjets in that regard.

I know that the only relevancy here is the toner replacement thing, but thought I'd report back.

It’s actually been really useful thank you.

With how things are I am considering purchasing separate scanner and laser printers tbh

 

[bazzabear]

Cool, glad to hear that.

It's a while since we've tried to print photos with it actually - as it happens I just ordered some photo paper because my daughter wants some 6x4 prints of our dogs for a frame in her playroom. I think I remember that at that size, and behind glass, they actually look perfectly good. But I will report back once the paper arrives and I give it a go!

 

[WJA96]

We were 100% Brother for our home users but we’ve switched to Xerox because of the toner cost primarily but also the fact that it will keep printing black when the colour runs out. Xerox 6515DN has literally everything on it. Double sided copying and scanning (very rare on Brother all-in-ones), AirPrint, Wireless LAN. Everything!

And the photo printing is much better than Brother.

 

[bazzabear]

I never did report back.

On matte photo paper, the picture quality is pretty good, but colours a little muted. On glossy, a lot brighter. Absolutely good enough quality for 6" by 4" prints for display. I would suspect that at anything significantly bigger (like if you wanted full A4) it would start to become apparent that the quality wasn't up there with an inkjet.

 

[deFiniLoGy]

Thanks everyone - will certainly have a good look around Christmas time again!!

 

[Nelly]

We were 100% Brother for our home users but we’ve switched to Xerox because of the toner cost primarily but also the fact that it will keep printing black when the colour runs out. Xerox 6515DN has literally everything on it. Double sided copying and scanning (very rare on Brother all-in-ones), AirPrint, Wireless LAN. Everything!

And the photo printing is much better than Brother.

Still running the Xerox 6515DN? Any issues with them since your post in 2020? I noticed the Xerox C315DN is replacing Xerox WorkCentre 6515DNI.

Xerox C315DN Replacing Xerox WorkCentre 6515DNI

Introducing the Xerox C315DN colour laser multifunction printer, a new all-in-one printer to replace the popular Xerox 6515 series, but what new features doe...

www.youtube.com

 

[WJA96]

Still running the Xerox 6515DN? Any issues with them since your post in 2020? I noticed the Xerox C315DN is replacing Xerox WorkCentre 6515DNI.

Xerox C315DN Replacing Xerox WorkCentre 6515DNI

Introducing the Xerox C315DN colour laser multifunction printer, a new all-in-one printer to replace the popular Xerox 6515 series, but what new features doe...

www.youtube.com

Yes, we currently have 7 in use. All working fine without issues. Which I would expect as very few if the printers is 2 years old yet. A big plus is the lifetime rolling warranty so long as you buy genuine consumables. The genuine Xerox consumables are very cheap anyway so it makes good sense to me to keep all the units in manufacturer warranty.

We would only replace the printers if the manufacturer stops supporting that printer. Our previous ‘standard’ was the Brother MFC 9140-CDN but when we found it hard to get genuine consumables at a reasonable price they got binned.

For me the crossover point between buying consumables and buying a new printer is when a full set of consumables is 80% of the price of the printer. The Brothers hit that because they all decided they wanted fusers and transfer belts and that put the last nail in the coffin.

 

[Nelly]

Yes, we currently have 7 in use. All working fine without issues. Which I would expect as very few if the printers is 2 years old yet. A big plus is the lifetime rolling warranty so long as you buy genuine consumables. The genuine Xerox consumables are very cheap anyway so it makes good sense to me to keep all the units in manufacturer warranty.

We would only replace the printers if the manufacturer stops supporting that printer. Our previous ‘standard’ was the Brother MFC 9140-CDN but when we found it hard to get genuine consumables at a reasonable price they got binned.

For me the crossover point between buying consumables and buying a new printer is when a full set of consumables is 80% of the price of the printer. The Brothers hit that because they all decided they wanted fusers and transfer belts and that put the last nail in the coffin.

Good to hear, still looking at my options at the minute, we used to use Brother printers where I worked for 14 years. I was using a cheap Canon inkjet, but it's failed, so going to invest in a laser, I had my eye on the current Brother printers, but having read your previous post, less features, and not able to continue printing in black when the color runs out would be a somewhat hassle.

 

[White_Widow]

The best option for a low-usage home environment would be an inkjet printer. Inkjet printers are much more cost-effective for low-usage environments, as they use much less ink than laser printers.

 

[Minstadave]

The best option for a low-usage home environment would be an inkjet printer. Inkjet printers are much more cost-effective for low-usage environments, as they use much less ink than laser printers.

I don't think this is true at all. I had inkjet constantly clog for years, switched to Laser and it's being going over 10 years with just a couple of dirt cheap toner changes.

 

[WJA96]

The best option for a low-usage home environment would be an inkjet printer. Inkjet printers are much more cost-effective for low-usage environments, as they use much less ink than laser printers.

I disagree strongly. Unless inkjets are in use constantly they dry out and it’s much harder to get decent quality refills for inkjets than toners for lasers. And the 3000 page toners are the same price as 1000 page inkjet cartridges.

Lasers make much better printers for home users. The only downside to most lasers is the size. They are significantly bigger than most inkjets.

 

[Minstadave]

I disagree strongly. Unless inkjets are in use constantly they dry out and it’s much harder to get decent quality refills for inkjets than toners for lasers. And the 3000 page toners are the same price as 1000 page inkjet cartridges.

Lasers make much better printers for home users. The only downside to most lasers is the size. They are significantly bigger than most inkjets.

I think the poster may be using a bot, they've posted numerous vague or unhelpful comments in several month old threads overnight.

 

[bazzabear]

I suspect a bot too. But just in case - they couldn't be more wrong.