Forum Moderators: open
It doesn't matter what kind of printer you get - the cartridge cost for most entry-level printers is equal to that of the printer itself - sometimes more.
Unfortunately for our environment, it's often cheaper just to get a new printer than to get a cartridge.
I've found laser printers to be the least trouble. The problem with a seldom-used inkjet is that the jets will clog if not used regularly. Lasers can sit for a year and just fire back up.
Laser cartridges have a much greater capacity than inkjet. If your use is occasional, you may never need to buy a new cartridge. You'll probably want to replace the printer (new features, etc.) before the cartridge runs out.
Wish I hadn't sold my old DecWriter... Looks like I'd have a buyer. :)
You could get a cheap color inkjet that uses a separate cartridge for black. You usually don't need to load the color cartridge to just print black and white. (Make sure to select "black and white" in the preferences, though, as it will give an error if you try to print a page with color on it otherwise.)
You will still have all the disadvantages mentioned above - high cartridge cost, small page count, short cartridge life with only occasional use, etc.
I wondered about lasers but when researching HP's site they had a minimum recommended use level - which lead me to believe they may have issues with toner if not used enough.
That may be true in theory, but I haven't found it to be the case. I fire-up my Samsung color laser maybe once a month, and I'm still on the original cartridges after 4 years. (I do need to get a black cartridge soon.)
I haven't seen any variation in quality.
My sister has an ancient HP laser that gets used once in a blue moon. The paper feed tends to jam (bad design rather than old age) but the print quality remains good - I sometimes use it if I'm staying with her.
Kaled.
See if you can locate a used laser copier that has printer capability. A friend of mine works for a copier company (which shall remain nameless) and often gets used ones on trade-ups and sells them next to nothing, <$100.00US. I picked up a Pitney Bowes machine *REALLY* cheap (Okay, free - black only) and it prints up to ledger size and I have a decent copier where the toner is only about $35US on-line and is good for about 10,000-12,000 8-1/2x11. I was able to download the print driver from PB's web site.
Marshall
On the other hand, the cartridge cost is likely lower on the HPs, since they have been around so long and there are many third-party sources for cartridges.
