The Printer Saga Continues

I've previously chronicled that my inkjet's color cartridge clogged up, and that it will cost more than I want to spend to get it going again. When I originally started looking into possible solutions, I explored the concept of a "disposable printer." I was all "gung ho" for buying a sub-$30 printer at Wal-Mart and calling it a day. Unfortunately, with the 5 ml starter cartridges they include, or even worse, with no black cartridge included, I realized I wasn't quite getting ahead. Apparently the printer out of the box mixes all the colors to print text brown. When you factor in the USB cable that isn't included, and the black cartridge, the deal is considerably less enticing.

I've actually been a good customer to the printing companies. Because of my low volume of printing, my cartridges have been clogging before I can use all the ink in them. The only solution is to replace the cartridge. The cleaning routines, in my experience, have never revived a cartridge, not once, so save the effort.

When I researched the issue, it appears that the general consensus is that for the low volume printer user, a laser printer is a better solution. This assumes that we can live without the color capability that an inkjet provides. For those that print text documents only, a personal laser appears to be the right way to go. These personal lasers typically go for around $100. These personal lasers ship with a starter cartridge good for over 1000 pages. As that will last me years, and even longer with the toner saver on, by the time I need a refill, I can just buy new printer with more features.

As we enter the back to school season, there are often great specials in the store. They typically get us in with one cheap item, in the hopes that we'll buy a whole lot more. I was going through the Sunday circulars with an eye on a laser printer.

This week, Staples has a very inexpensive printer. Forget the $100 price point for a personal laser, we're talking $50 (after rebate) for one of these babies, a Samsung ML-2010. This price point, against a $35 color cartridge, makes the argument for the laser a no brainer. However, read on before you head out for the store.

Now, I definitely will agree that this is a great price point. To my amazement, the store actually had one on display, and two in stock. They were even in unopened cartons no less. However, I didn't buy it.

Maybe it was from my low opinion of Samsung products in general. Even though the Samsung printer was plugged in with paper, it couldn't print any test page. The helpful sales associate tried to print a test page to no avail. I was particularly unimpressed with the cheap plastic, especially by the clear plastic paper cover. The fit and finish was also subpar as the whole thing didn't quite fit together evenly, and felt flimsy. In general, I was not impressed, and left it on the shelf.

So, I still think the idea of a disposable printer is the right one. A personal laser is ideal for a low volume home user with clogging inkjets, looking to decrease their overall printing costs. However, sometimes cheap is just junk, and we need to spend some more money to get something of quality. I'll keep my eyes out, and keep you posted. I wouldn't part with my dollars for the Samsung unit. Now there was a Brother next to it, and it looked somewhat better, so we'll see when that one goes on sale. This time of year, it probably will be next week!

--Jonas