Brother Laser 2140 versus HP OfficeJet Pro 8000?

I can get either one for $49.99 and I'll be refilling myself.

Which is better for a frugal college student?

OfficeJet does color, but is inkjet. A black XL cartridge gets 2200 prints though.

Brother is a laser, gets about 1500-2000 pages per toner, but it's a laser, better black/white print quality but doesn't do color.

i bought a Brother HL5140 off CL for 30 bucks a while back (and a 20 dollar usb wired print server for the home network)... never looked to inkjets again (only when i need color... and thats MAYBE 5% of the time MAX). Black and white text is the HUGE majority of printing for us college students, and laser printers are far better on the "just works" "print the 10 page paper out last minute without any problems" factor. Just load the paper tray with tons of paper and in the words of Ron Popeil "set it and FORGET IT!"

My HL5140 is similar to the 2140... never had ANY problems with it... got 15k pages left on the drum, 4k pages on the toner and can refill the toner for 10 bucks.... you really cant beat that. When you do need something printed in color. its as easy as using someone elses inkjet... but id be willing to bet 99% of the time you wont need color.

Every inkjet i have used has had problems... whether it be it chews through ink, doesnt pull paper, prints horrid quality, or the heads get cloged cus it sat for too long.

Like seriously... i setup the printer and print server 6 months ago... loaded 300 pgs of paper, and every time i press print my stuff comes out i grab it and i head out, its like its not even there it works so well... i <3 laser!

Well, that's quite a convincing speech. I think I'll get the laser. Plus I can sell my old inkjet on craigslist and offset the cost by a few sheckles. Not to mention the toner refill. Much easier than the laser.

ur gonna love the laser... i was in the same situation as you were a while back... i was using my moms printer over the network it would never pull paper right and thus id have to reprint and i got fed up and was like... well do i go laser or a cheap inkjet. went laser and i am so glad i went laser.

It was so nice during finals cus i did A LOT of printing... and it always just worked!

I have had a 2140 for years and love it. It hasn't given me a bit of trouble. I have been using refills off a ebay for $20. With the money I have saved on ink the printer has paid for itself at least twice over. If you college years are any like mine were you will certainly go through a ton of prints.

I'm doing English 116: Logic and Critical Thinking this semester, next semester I'm doing US History to make up for an F I got a few years back. I figure I'm going to write a lot of papers for these classes.

Printing on a laser is really fast.

Essenar said:

I'm doing English 116: Logic and Critical Thinking this semester, next semester I'm doing US History to make up for an F I got a few years back. I figure I'm going to write a lot of papers for these classes.

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Then laser is the way to go. It will literally pay for itself. Depending on your set-up you might want to spring for the wireless version. You can find it pretty easily for $100.

I picked up the HL 2140 for $49.99 I suggest you guys check them out at Staples. $49.99 is a great price considering it comes with a full toner cartridge that you just have to fill up. I got the service plan for $7.99 because I'm gonna wear this sucker down and tell them it's broken even though it's not, since I know Staples policy and they just issue you a cash card for face value.

Anyway, where do you pick up your toner refill kits at? On Ebay I see them for about $10 each but I'm wondering if there's a site I should go to that also gives you the little plastic bag to empty out the leftover toner.

I bought my Brother HL2070 N a few years ago and I will never, ever, look to a different brand of printer ever again.

No bloatware, works with linux and windows out of the box, and appears to have a bottomless pit of toner.

I was given a HP 3650dn from work due to it not printing magenta anymore, which is easily fixed and is caused by dust on the mirror for that colour, (used in industrial setting). Stuck it in the cupboard and networked it, will never go back to inkjets again, messy and expensive.