I'm looking for a laser printer. It should be fairly cheap, and I'm not too fussed about speed, because I won't be using it that often. It should be a laser printer, because I won't be using it that often, and inkjets always dry up, and paying £30/page doesn't strike me as cost-effective. I'm not particularly enthused about an all-in-one.

The constraint, however, is that it MUST be usable from Windows and Linux (Mint). If it could also work from Mac OSX, that'd be good too.

I'm also considering getting a Chromebox/Chromebook (just because) at some point, so being able to print from that might be useful, too.

If it makes it easier (and it probably doesn't), I've got a Windows 2012 Server available.

I'm thinking that a network-attached printer would be the best option.

Recommendations?

Although using a Raspberry Pi as an AirPrint or Google Cloud print server has a certain appeal...

See this or this for example.

Just about any printer works well with OSX and Linux these days, thanks to CUPS. But I'd still avoid Canon -- they're a bit of a laggard for that.

To guarantee universal compatibility, get a printer with a built-in Postscript engine, as opposed to one that does it in software. But there are lots of good printers without that too.

For a CHEAP laser printer, look at Brother (OS9, OSX, Linux, and MS) -- they have networked mono printers for well under $100 around here, and colour ones at just over $100. Edit: I got a Brother mono laser for my mother-in-law six years ago, and it's still going strong with no complaints, first on MacOS9, now on Linux.

I recently purchased a cheap Samsung colour laser printer, the CLP-365. Those also retail around here for just over $100 "on sale". The CLP-365W is the same machine, plus ethernet and Wifi. The CX-3305FW is the all-on-one version of the CLP-365W. All three use the same expensive consumables, but for a low use situation that shouldn't really matter.

All of the above models, except the CLP-365, have ethernet, and the Samsungs have Wifi as well. I strongly suggest getting a printer with built-in networking. So.. why did I purchase a non-networked CLP-365? Purely for the toner cartridges and other spare parts, to use in my CLX-3305FW.

Cheers

For monochrome lasers I usually recommend Brother printers too. They have the least expensive monochrome, wireless, automatic duplexing printer on the market. I think you can get the model with all of that for around $100.

For color laser I'm not sure anyone has a less expensive model than Samsung, and I've used their lasers for about a decade. I may hate their phones, but they make cheap, reliable laser printers.

Unfortunately I can't speak to the compatibility for any of these printers, but I think many are being built with Airprint and Cloud print baked in these days.

When pricing out printers, make sure you also price the first round of toner replacement, since most manufacturers ship their printers with half-empty toner cartridges. In double-plus newspeak, the full cartridges are given names like "high capacity."

For what it's worth, I found a good deal on a Samsung CLP-620 a few years ago. It's double sided and color. It took about a year to burn through the toner that came with it. By then, the third-party cloner toner market had caught up, and I was able to buy matching toner for half of the proper price.

At this point, my only gripe with it is that the checkbox for "black optimization" in the Mac print driver cannot be permanently checked. ("Black optimization", in another feat of newspeak, seems to mean "only use black toner when printing plain black text". In the default mode, the printer dumps all four colors when printing b&w text, happily chewing through toner *and* giving colored halos around your text.)

If you don't need color, then get a b&w laser and be happy. In my office at work, I have a cheap Brother all-in-one unit. I occasionally need the scanner and it plays nice with my Mac, notably working just fine even if you don't install the Brother software.

I agree, Brother is the best of the low end. I've had troubles with Samsung, tho...

Because I never want problems with my printers, I buy Okidata.

I just wanted to add that in the inkjet realm, I love my Epson Workforce Pro WP-4540. It has much larger than average cartridges that last about as long as a laser toner cartridge. It also has the best network support I've seen on any printer, laser or inkjet. That kind of "it just works" stuff you hope for. Before this printer I had a pretty deep hatred for all printers, now it's just most printers.

HP is the devil. I despise their printers. They're still trading off the quality of their products from 15 years ago. I swear, every client of mine that buys an HP (against my advice) does so because they remember that IIp they had in 1994. I can't convince them that these new printers are the farthest thing from those old workhorses that you can get.

Actually, it's worth pointing out that I've already got a Brother HL-2010, but that it's broken and no longer feeds paper. The roller goes round, but doesn't grab any paper from the tray. Any tips for resolving that problem before I drop some cash on a new one?

I'll try to remember that. I, too, loved the HP printers from the 90's because they were terribly reliable. So if shopping for a new printer, I'd probably lean in that direction if it weren't for your advice here.

To be fair, I should say that a great deal of my disdain comes from the software side of things. HP installs a gargantuan amount of crap just to get the printer set up. It's FAR too heavy.

But no, the hardware isn't good anymore either. I've seen a ton of them go bad after a very short time (less than two years).

I think HP has smartly (from a marketing standpoint) kept up their presence in brick and mortar stores. For some reason, it seems like most people get their printers in person. I guess they want to see how much space it'll take on a desk. Consequently whenever I walk into Best Buy or [especially] Microcenter, HP has by far the largest presence, usually be a factor of two or three.

*edit*

I did love that IIp printer, though. That thing was a tank (in build and weight), and sipped toner.

Hi.

The feed roller may well have polished itself to the point it no longer has enough friction to work. I have found a good method of resurrecting printers with this fault is to lightly sand the surface with 320 to 600 grit wet and dry sand paper moistened with isopropanol, until it is slightly rough to the touch. Wipe it down with more alcohol, and try it. It often makes the thing work for another few thousand pages.

pca

I bought a HP CLJ2600N over 7 years ago and that is still going strong. I don't do any heavy printing with it, though. I only had to change out the cyan cartridge earlier this year, otherwise it's still the original cartridges installed.

Have you seen the stuff they sell today? It's not like that anymore.

The laserjets are also better than the inkjets, but they all have the crap software.

I wouldn't know. I only installed the driver and not all other crap that may or may not have been included.

Why would you install the software printers come with? I usually just download the latest pure and simple drivers, and use those.

Me too, but you and I know more about computers than most people. Most people just follow the instructions that come with the thing they bought. And he's right: HP installs a lot of bloatware if you follow their instructions. I think they should be held accountable for doing that, even if experts know how to work around it.

Yeah, usually I'm coming along after the person has already installed the software.

And I still don't trust that hardware...

Oh, sorry, I did not get that. I thought *you" were installing it, which seemed weird to me, as I did not see any actual reason fro you to do that.

Just to add a side note to this: I've disliked and staid away from InkJets for 15 years, or possibly more. And, I've come to dislike recent year's low end laser HP, just like you.

But I decided to give a try to a OfficeJet HP multifunction printer, considering also it's relatively low price (and low ink cartridges price).
It's been working at home for 2 months now, flawlessly. It mostly scans documents and prints few pages a week. It comes with a touchscreen and a fast and clear UI, so, so far I am happy. I am still a bit suspicious and I'd not be that surprised if it failed on us sooner than we hope for, but so far so good, and we've spend less than for a laser, color multi-function printer.

Of course, not good for any photo printing, but quite good quality for office-type work. So far, I should add, since InkJet quality is, in my experience, quite inconsistent over time.

Still kind of on topic. Does anyone have a recondition for a portable printer?

It doesn't necessarily need to be super small just portable enough for a small camper and can run on 110V AC. iPhone/Android compatibility is not that important, but might be nice.

There sure seems to be a lot of different designs out there. Even one designed by Lady Gaga???

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2386593,00.asp

I need more of a document printer rather than a photo printer

If you don't mind thermal, Brother makes a portable thermal printer with an internal battery. http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Pocketjet-Direct-Thermal-Printer/dp/B004KECZF0

They've got a bunch of accessories targeting the road warrior, including a clipboard-sized box that can hold fanfold thermal sheets. Also, you can upgrade the NiMH battery to a lithium rechargeable.

I assume you're mostly asking about portable printers because you'd like it to be small? With most portable printers I've seen they only have two advantages: they're small and they have batteries. You don't need the second part of that, so size must be what you're going after.

I haven't seen many well-reviewed portable printers out there. I have the HP H470 because at the time I got it (about three years ago) it was the best reviewed out there. It works well, but I honestly haven't used it in a couple years.

The problem is that you're going to see a huge markup for portable printers because of the battery. If you don't need the battery, you should look for a small regular printer. Maybe something like this? It's only $77, gets fantastic reviews, and looks like it would be pretty darn small.

...crap, looks like it needs 120v...

So, it needn't be very small or battery, but is for a camper.

So lasers are out 'cos the camper will scramble the toner enroute. So, any smallish inkjet that's rectangular (no fancy shapes) and has no protuberances that can't be folded away (so it can be efficiently stored) would do.

How about the HP H470Wbt? Or bigger but cheaper the Epson xp-200?

Yes, just a small printer will do. It does have impressive reviews for any printer. I just need to find out what they mean by "Compact."

110V... 120V it's all good.

Thanks for the info on lazers. I did not know that. This is for the wife and more specs are comming in... She wants wireless and now says color would be nice.

I do like the $75 price of the Canon

Is that definitely the case?

I don't know exactly how well 'sealed' different brand and model toner cartridges might be, but I certainly have taken nearly empty toner cartridges out and tilted, rocked and even firmly tapped them on a desktop surface to redistribute the remaining toner and extract some more page printing. Typically there is minimal or no toner spillage. Depends on the cartridge design.

There may be some laser printers that would be more compatible with being jostled enroute.

Perhaps removing the toner cartridge for travel would allow it to cope better. Putting it back into the original toner box inside a ziplock baggie might be enough to avoid a black toner mess.

What about heat, cold, humidity? How extreme will the environment be for this travel printer?

Will the printer sit unused for long periods of time between travels? Ink jets can dry out and clog the nozzles if not used periodically.

If color is a requirement, then laser is out, since color laser printers are large and pricey. (And the smallest ones aren't particularly well built.) Also, I'd be suspicious of a laser printer for use in an RV, since they can draw a lot of current when they start up.

That pretty much leaves you in inkjet-land. My advice is not to fall for the cheap intro prices, and instead price out the cost of a printer plus its first ink refill.

My old laser printer had explicit instructions on the toner cartridge bag that it was to be re-used when transporting the laser printer...

In the end, I bought a Brother HL-2250DN networked mono laser printer. Works fine from Windows 7, Windows 8, Linux Mint and OSX.

Except for one problem: the Linux machine doesn't release the printer when it's done printing, which means that I have to reboot before I can print from anything else.

Could you share the printer from Windows or Mac and have the Linux machine print via the share rather than directly to the networked printer?

It might be simpler to just fix whatever is misconfigured, or select a different connection method for it in the printer setup dialog. There are usually a few different choices there. LPD is likely the wrong choice.

Cheers