What printer do you recommend for rare printing?

Any base model brother laser printer, preferably any that support wifi printing.

i’ve had one for 7 years, and replaced the toner exactly once.

You want a laser printer. Inkjets will clog up with infrequent use, but lasers won't.

HP makes some interesting compact laser printers these days that could easily be stored away while you're not using them -- something like the HP LaserJet Pro M15w might be nice for infrequent use.

Only thing I can add to the laser printer choir: I used to try to go with inkjets because they were so cheap, and the price of a laser really put me off (wanted a color one). The inkjets jammed and clogged every time I tried to use them, which was very infrequently. I finally bit the bullet and went with a Brother color laser (MFC-9340CDW) and it is one of the best purchases I have ever made. You can print stuff directly from your phone, and I don’t have to spend all night trying to unclog the print head (wasting valuable ink) the night before I have an early flight (back when you still printed boarding passes). The reduction in stress by knowing it will “just work” when I need it is priceless.

Only issues I have had with this model are the auto feed on the scanner stopped working, and when it did work the scans came out a little skewed.

>> I'm looking to print way less that 100 sheets/yr, we are talking shipping labels here, nothing serious.

If you're only doing shipping labels, you might want to consider a label printer. I got a Brother thermal label printer (QL-700) for well under $100, and there are third party label makers that sell spools of labels. The great thing about it is that the output looks great and the only consumables are the labels. No ink or toner to worry about.

There's also a slightly more expensive model that can do black and red (labels cost more too).

I recommend checking Wirecutter [0] when making a purchase like this. It’s a site that publishes detailed, well-organized, and well-researched reviews of consumer products. I check anytime I buy anything durable, though I don’t always go with their recommendations.

Their “Affordable and reliable” printer pick is the Brother HL-L2350DW for ~$100 on Amazon [1]. I have a similar model, the HL-L2340DW, for the same reason you’re looking for.

[0] https://thewirecutter.com/

[1] https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-home-printers/

I have an HP Laserjet 6P - I bought it (used) years ago because I rarely print things, and every inkjet I owned would "clog up" and be useless when I needed it. The 6P (as well as its predecessor, the 5) was/is a "business workhorse". Mine had less than 25k pages on it - a complete "baby" when I got it; I'm still well under 50k.

When I need it, it works (assuming paper is loaded). A toner cartridge lasts forever. I've maybe changed cartridges a couple of times in the past 20 years.

The only upgrades I did to the printer was maxing out it's memory (to 8 meg) and putting in the Postscript SIMM. I also have it hooked up via a USB to parallel port cable. There are ways to get it connected to the network, but I've never done it since it gets used so rarely and only by myself usually.

It isn't fast - it won't win no prizes there. But when I need it, it works. That is all that matters to me.

I've given up on owning my own printer. They seem to last all of two seconds. I spend too much time to figure out why they aren't working, eventually giving up.

I have used the Lob.com API to print something, have it mailed to me, and then used. Inefficient and slow, but it is my reality.

If I'm desperate, I go to the public library.

I live near a library and print there when I need to. They're a little cheaper than FedEx and usually less busy. I suppose for large volume or something more complicated I'd still go to FedEx, though.

Find a used HP Laserjet 1020. Used ones are all over the place and you can probably get a decent one for $50.

Drivers are easy, works on good ol' USB, and a single $20 toner cartridge will last you a decade.

a ~$100 black and white laser printer.

I got a HP 1102w for this about 6 or 7 years ago and it's never failed. By getting laser, you can avoid the clogged print heads issues and other issues inkjets have with infrequent use.

I would make sure to use Google Cloud Print, and restrict all local access to your printer (e.g. can only print via Chrome via Google Cloud Print).

Typically printers will expose more security settings via SNMPv3 and you should take advantage of these (absolutely amazing learning opportunity for up and coming sysadmins/cloud engineers too).

I think HP is highly underrated for their printer security currently. Yes, it’s probably hackable in 5 mins like everything else in that space, but it has signed firmware! And they are the first printer company to be participating in a big bounty saas platform! Good things all around.

Also go with a monochrome black and white printer laser toner to really get costs down. You don’t need color as much as is thought...

I bought a Dell multifunction colour laser printer / scanner / fax (C1765NF) around 8 years ago. It is perfect for occasional usage, and a full set of toners is only £25. Unfortunately they sold their printer branch and no longer make them.

I believe there's only two companies making laser printers now (HP and Brother?), so there isn't really much choice. As others say you might be better off getting something on eBay.

Whatever you get check the prices of new toners (third party are fine; refilling yourself isn't worth the effort/mess) first as some are going to be the same price as the printer.

I was at Staples to get some supplies & they recommended https://printme.com/

1. Send your print, 2. Get a code, 3. Go to a partner like Staples, 4. Pick up your print

The Staples rep said the document is encrypted & no human ever sees it. I don’t know if that’s true. Haven’t tried it yet, but plan to. Maybe someone else on HN already has?

Edit: This sounds cool because it’s not tied to any one store. So you always print to the same “place” and pickup anywhere. We have a “roaming print” setup like this where I work and it’s super convenient.

If by "we are talking shipping labels here" you literally mean "I'm going to be using this to print shipping labels", it's hard to go wrong with a thermal printer:

https://www.amazon.com/Zebra-Receipts-Barcodes-Parallel-Conn...

It checks your boxes:

- It'll do great with infrequent use

- There's no ink involved, so you don't have to worry about that

1000 4×6 labels (i.e. the kind you'd want to use for shipping) would net you less than $40: https://www.amazon.com/OfficeSmartLabels-ZE1400600-Thermal-S...

Direct thermal printers like the GK420d linked above do have a limited lifetime on the thermal head, but with infrequent use you're highly unlikely to hit that limit (it's more a problem for full-time shipping operations printing labels all day every day).

On that note, I would also recommend you not use a laser printer to print shipping labels unless that printer is specifically designed to handle labels. Nothing sucks more than having to clean up after a printer that bent the label sheet too tightly and ended up peeling the labels off into all sorts of crevices.

Any recommendations for one for rare printing that is also as small as it gets? I want to be able to put it away easily instead of give it space to live due to its size.

I got pissed off supporting my parents' non-stop issues with inkjet printers, and bought them a nice Brother laser printer with duplex printing about 15 years ago.

This year I replaced it with another Brother Laser, and in between then and now, I've only had to buy a toner cartridge about once every 3 years or so.

Zero other issues. Worth every penny.

At home I have a cheap Samsung M2820DW (duplex as well).

Both Brother and Samsung seem to have good Linux support.

> I need to print something once a month at best. I can use FedEx or other to print but it can be a PITA. I was hoping there are others here on HN that are in a similar situation. I'm looking for a printer that will do fine with infrequent use and the ink will still work when I go to use it.

> I'm looking to print way less that 100 sheets/yr, we are talking shipping labels here, nothing serious.

Contrary to most of the posts on here you can buy an inkjet, just make sure you meet three criteria:

1. Make sure print heads are on the cartridge not in the printer. So if they clog and cannot be unclogged through cleaning you just replace the print head.

2. Leave it plugged in and switched on. It will do a mini clean every so often to keep the print heads clear.

3. Make sure you can buy cheap compatible cartridges, that can be recycled. Then it doesn't matter that you waste some ink through cleaning cycles, or the occasional clogged cartridge.

I have an A3 Brother multifunctional inkjet and whilst it is far from the best print quality or usability compared to others I have owned, it has lasted years.

I have an old LaserJet 1320 sitting in the garage and like you, I use it very infrequently.

Unfortunately, it's not wireless and I didn't want to run a network cable just for that. So I bought a Raspberry Pi Zero W, connected it to the printer via a USB cable, installed cups and some other packages and now I can print wirelessly from either desktop or mobile.

The printer has been very reliable.

I just take a bike and go printing at a railway station. I am better off, the planet is better off and I save some space at home.

I'm just waiting for a laser printer to show up at a local Goodwill, but so far it's just dozens of inkjet printers.

The Goodwill stores in my area offer a 7 day return period for electronics. I imagine I'll get this for $10-30 and support the community when I make the purchase.

If this doesn't work out for me, I might break down and buy something new.

+ Impact printers are the most reliable. That's why they are still available new. They last for decades. They don't run out of ink, the print output just become progressively lighter. eBay often has used impact printers stupidly cheap. Ribbons are still around. Ribbons can be reinked if you really want, but at 100 pages per year, you'll probably never have the chance. They are eminently hackable at the low level. The downsides: slow for graphics, centronics or rs232 interfaces typical, They're obnoxiously noisy. Don't play well with CUPS for graphics.

* Laser printers are reasonably reliable for occasional printing. But my more recent experience is that they are getting "ink-jet" like planned obsolescence/built-in failure modes because otherwise they're not very profitable. Other's have mentioned Brother, and I had great experience with cheap Brother printers back in the early 00's. Even their inkjets. The last $80 Brother I bought started producing crap after about a year of light use (I had a Brother laser-fax that went five years of moderate use).

+ Inkjets are reliable if you use them all the time. They have amazing color. They're cheap to run if you're willing to refill cartridges. The two go hand in hand, the low cost from refilling cartridges ends aversion to printing. The commitment to printing all the time justifies the overhead of learning to refill cartridges efficiently. Refilling cartridges efficiently makes printing all the time no big deal. Refilling all eight cartridges of my photo printer takes about twenty minutes now. Less time than going to the store and buying a replacement.

+ If you can live with only printing 4"x6" a Canon Selphy 1300 is an option for ~$100. It uses dye-sublimation and 108 sheets of media can be bought for ~$30. Not exactly cheap, but the process is reliable because the rate of consumption is fixed. Each print uses the same amount of "ink", the "ink" is stable, and the whole process is predictable. 4x6 will work for a shipping label if that's all you do.

Any entry level Laser printer will do the work. You have to avoid inkjets because with so low printing jobs the ink will become thicker and it could clog the heads. Shelf life for toner is higher. As long as you keep the printer in a low-humidity area one toner could last you a decade.

I am very happy with my Brother printer. It is not even wireless but it has Ethernet and I connected it with some wireless access thingy from Zyxel and it has worked without hickups for 10+ years. Sometimes it needs to be restarted. I even have not changed toner once!

Your neighbor's

I still have a Canon Mx925, with all the bells and whistles (photo/CD/card printing, high resolution scanner, ADF, etc). Great machine. 150 Euros.

Also bought a HP Envy 5020 for £40 for scanning and label printing, printed over a hundred pages (just text) on the starter cartridges, worked a charm. Gifted it to a friend when I moved as I had no space. Quality wise, same as the Canon.

But really, any machine will do. HP/Epson/Canon always have everything from cheap to expensive. Check driver compatibility, they're weird nowadays.

I'm in the same situation, and have given up. There's a shop around the corner that will print PDFs at a nominal cost.

Inkjets are especially bad. they print heads used to be in the cartridge, so thay got changed regularly; now they're fixed and the cartridge is only ink, and little-used printers get clogged printheads. I've enquired repeatedly about old-school inkjets with whole-assembly cartridges, no luck.

If you really want your own printer, your only option is Laser.

If you're printing documents, you want a laser printer. If you're printing photos, use a printing service and save yourself the headache/expense of inkjets.

There are new breed of printers that are convenient to refill.

HP Ink Tank. What does HN crowd think about these printers and what feedback can provide? Is it cheaper than regular Ink printers?

https://store.hp.com/in-en/default/hp-ink-tank-wireless-415-...

(If someone knows how to switch HP store location to show USD, welcome to paste link/price here)

I bought the hp p1102w 8 years ago and it's been great. I get generic toner off amazon for about $9, which works in it just fine. It can hook up to Google for printing via the internet so you can print from ChromeOS / Android. It feels a little sturdier than the Brother laser printers in the same price point. It supports Bonjour for MacOS printing. It connects over wifi or ethernet.

I used a Brother HL-L2340DW.

I goes to sleep a bit too often and doesn't wake up but otherwise it is low maintenance and the cartridges last forever.

Looks like other people are saying it but inkjets are a scam, not only the ink is useless but the printers themselves just break, I used to go through them like paper towels. Brother MFC 9560 CDW here, I'm sure there are newer models now but definitely the color laser thing is vastly cheaper to just buy it once rather than buying new ink/printers every few months.

Apologies if this is off topic, but I'm interested in this same question, but with an emphasis on printing quality - one of the main things I want to use it for is proofing fonts. Right now I'm doing most of that on a 4k monitor, but print is the only way to reach really high resolution. I have an inkjet, but it doesn't come close to the quality needed.

Inkjet is fine, I paid for mine 70 or so and about 40 for a 5 year warranty extension. I think the biggest problem is dust though, so when not using it, consider removing the paper and closing all the lids. My Canon with built-in scanner now survived 2 years without any problems. And the drivers work well, at least on macOS. Also I can print labels with it.

Get a laser printer. The toner won't dry out.

Don't forget to buy some premium printer paper. If you only print a hundred sheets a year, it's well worth the cost.

I agree with others who say get an older HP laserjet, from before the DRM shenanigans. Likely it will still have enough life left in it to manage occasional use (back when I was doing more dtp work I'd run through reams at a time, but now it's only a few times a year. I don't expect to ever need to buy a new printer.)

I've got an Epson ink bottle printer. The bottles last for thousands of sheets, don't cost much, and don't dry out. I only print a couple of times a month and moved from a Brother printer because a set of four cartridges cost €120 and you couldn't use the scanner when any of the ink cartridges were empty.

I bought a DCP-8085DN years ago and it's been zero maintenance. What you really want to consider is getting a business class printer laser printer. They're expected to handle a real load, so they last. Look at the software connectivity. I can print and scan straight from my iPhone/iPad.

I have an Epson multi-function ink jet which sits for months at a time unused, and because of the cartridge design (I think the print head is part of the cartridge itself?), it prints just fine regardless.

The MFDs are cheap, the carts are expensive, but it fits your usage requirements (which were similar to mine, at the time).

HP Envy 5055 w/ HP Instant Ink

Just works. We print a couple of times a month and the Instant Ink is fee < 10 pages per month.

Whilst there's not really much more left to add to the laser printer argument, in my own experience the absolute peace of mind a laser printer brings in knowing your report/flight ticket/etc. will print without issue is well worth the greater initial cost.

Not to hijack the thread -- but any recommendations for 100-200 pages a month, coming in sporadically?

Brother HL23xx series (ex: HLL2370DW). $100, wifi, ethernet, laser printing. Built like a tank.

Any cheap Brother branded laser printer. Don't worry about buying any extra toner cartridges.

I still have an HL-5250dn bought new with the original "sample-sized" toner cartridge installed.

It's about 13 years old, at this point. I paid something like $75 for it.

I just wanted to point out that HP printers had official, open source drivers for years and are probably the most gnu/linux-compatible printers you could fine.

Many others named Brother, but afaik their gnu/linux support is not on-par with HP.

I've had a HP LaserJet 1012 for about 20 years, I've probably replaced the toner 3 or 4 times. I think it was about $200 new, so that's like $10/year, and it doesn't show any signs of giving up soon.

I have similar situation. Epson WF-1000. Also has a battery so it can work without a power cord for awhile which is nice to have. Does a fine job for what it is. Also wireless and has print from iPhone capability.

A recommendation to stay away from Samsung laser printers, their division was sold off to HP a few years ago and the Samsung wireless setup and connection has been maddening and completely unreliable.

I would gladly pay for a service that my “printer driver” really uploads it securely and a few days later I get the printout in a cardboard envelope through the post.

Any reason why you can’t print at work? Unless you’re printing dozens per day nobody will care about the occasional Amazon return label.

I have had a HP laserjet 1010 since it came out. Still works.

Brother laser printer. Then an HP Selphy for photo print.

Libraries usually have printers. Ours is $0.10 per sheet.

I'm reccomended FedEx,HP or Cannon :)

Any brother

A free one.