Which Printer/Scanner to Buy: Lower Price Point if Possible

LSolidworksError on 11/08/2020 - 14:05

Hi all;

I'm looking at getting a printer/scanner. General use is just archiving/scanning in some documents and printing the odd thing or two like referrals. I think I would be happy with a monochrome printer- I had a monochrome brother printer in the past I was pretty happy with, was like $50 and probably printed nearly 1000 pages on the stock cartridge alone.

I'm happy to spend what I need to to get something that is reliable and convenient. Proper integration with network or cloudprint would be a bonus but not required.

Cheers gurus; I really hate printers.

Computing Printer Scanner

Comments

  • 87percent on 11/08/2020 - 14:18
    +3

    why not just use camscanner or similar apps on phone, and then get a laser printer?

  • bazingaa on 11/08/2020 - 17:24

    I use a $15 HP 2130 MFP for scanning and $30 Brother 1100 Laser printer (may be the same one you have) for printing

  • Findo on 11/08/2020 - 21:39

    I’m using a Brother MFC-L8900CDW at home, works just as well as the Fuji Xerox ApeosPort VI printers at work. It’s definitely not cheap but the cheapest reliable workgroup multifunction device with the most features for under $1000.

    • SolidworksError on 12/08/2020 - 00:41

      I've always had pretty good experiences with Brother products. I've noticed they have a few multifunction style devices with fed scanning and stuff at around $2-300 (monochrome). I might check those out

      • Excelsior on 12/08/2020 - 10:40
        +1

        Seconding Brother printers. Currently using a Brother MFC-L2750DW (monochrome printer) purchased for less than $300, has all the features I need for a home office and small business - duplex scan and print, wireless printing, easy set up etc.

        You can also get generic toner cartridges for cheap, and they work like a charm.

        • jace88 on 24/08/2020 - 23:20

          I'm trying to get the L2750DW but it's nowhere to be found at non inflated prices!

        • jace88 on 26/08/2020 - 15:34

          Can I ask you a couple of questions about your L2750DW since the model names, tech specs and reviews make this a bit of a labryinth to work through.

          Does it support automatic duplex scanning through the ADF? (i.e. will it scan both sides or do you need to manually take out and put back in?) And if so, out of interest, do you know if it's single pass or does it first spit the paper out then rotate it back in (but automatically)?

          I'm also wondering how good you find the wireless app and whether it can scan using OCR (make the text readable/searchable), whether it compresses the scanned PDFs at all as an option (since my old Canon scans files but each resulting scan is many megabytes/i.e. large), and whether it can scan/save directly to OneDrive in the Brother app (again, very limited info on the app other than when it launched back in 2013 or so… so I'm sure the app has been updated since then with new features).

          • Excelsior on 26/08/2020 - 20:01
            +1

            @jace88:

            1. Yes it does support auto duplex scanning (no need to manually feed it), with single pass as well so it scans both sides in one go.

            2. Sorry can't comment on the wireless app functions since I never had the intention to use it (I work off my desktop only).

            3. Yes it has a function to scan with OCR.

            4. There isn't an option to compress PDF's per se, but you can control the resolution (ranging from 100 dpi to 1200 dpi).

            5. Yes you can scan directly to cloud apps/email. I've only tried it with Google Drive and Gmail, but the following options are available on the printer for set up: Email, OneDrive, OneNote, Evernote, Dropbox, Google Drive, Box.

            Hope this helps.

            • jace88 on 26/08/2020 - 20:30
              +1

              @Excelsior: thanks so much for that! About to order one but the new issue is noone has stock….

  • jace88 on 31/08/2020 - 09:38

    Just to bump an old thread as I noticed Officeworks Alexandria has stock of the Brother MFC-L2750DW recommended above: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/562320

    … seems to be quite rare though since you can't order for delivery and only Alexandria is listed as "Available at this store" on the OW website.

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