Inexpensive lazer printer: I'm trying to find out about blk and wht printers for non color image's. I'm on a limited income, disabled veteran, but am in love with the old stile prints...

Beeks

I'm trying to find out about blk and wht printers for non color image's. I'm on a limited income, disabled veteran, but am in love with the old stile prints in black and white photography. I took some photo classes years ago and still mainly use film. Nikon Fe2, Nikon F3, Nikon D3400, and a Bronica Wetsuit. Usually I shoot Kodak T-max 100 orvwhats available. Pro-photo in Portland Or develops my film with prof sheets. This way I can have a regulated process that I can choose from. I live in a travel trailer and in the high desert countryside. Great place to look for the one, aren't we all, photo that is what we expect in our own mind. Any and all help will be welcome. I use DXO image software and will be trying Adobe Photoshop Shop.
Thank you for any information, Beekers

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

I still have an old HP Laserjet under my desk.
Very economical, "pro" results, prints never bleed, and quick.
I hit up eBay for PCIE parallel port cards for my Macs.

steve49 Loc: massachusetts

I have used a Brother printer for some years and it has been great. Just got a new one.
Was under $100.

I don't use it for photographs but see no reason it wouldn't be fine

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

My only complaint with laser printers is the substantial electric use. They rely on heat, and that's produced by electricity. I like my Epson ET-2760 tank printer. The ink is cheap, and it seems to last forever. I don't know if it would be best for B&W photos, though.

For the last billing period, I ranked twelfth in electrical usage. I'm aiming for #1.

Best B&W printers
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/best-black-and-white-printers-4171954
https://pdf.wondershare.com/pdf-knowledge/black-and-white-printer.html
https://www.techradar.com/best/best-black-and-white-laser-printers
https://techgearoid.com/printers/best-black-and-white-laser-printers-for-home-use/

There are more similar links available through Google.

bleirer

Sending the work out for printing can also be cost effective. For example Bay photo has a good quality economy print (costs less because of no color correction), 8x10 only $1.99. Places like Costco can cost less, you don't need a membership. These are wet process traditional silver halide prints, exposing light sensitive paper to laser or led light and then processing using chemical baths more or less the old fashioned way. Some people prefer the continous tone rather than the dot by dot. That way you don't have to make room for the printer.

uhaas2009

Printer are cheap but ink is what gets me. The last ink I bought a sams off brand. And I don’t print pics anymore. I use in store printing and, or books

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

HP has some laserjet printers that can print a rather high DPI output which can help when printing things with a lot of detail. They can also print on a variety of different types and thicknesses of paper.

JerryOSF Loc: Bristol, VA

I second the Brother recommendation. I am using my second Brother this one is an HL-L2395DW. It also scans. I don't print photos with it but it is quick and cheap. Also very fast. Toner is also much cheaper than ink. Less than $100.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I had a laser printer for office use... the toner cartridges were pricey, but huge and lasted for years of printing.

It was simply awful for B&W photos.

I ended up using a modified Epson inkjet instead. Replaced the color cartridges with different shades of gray. That was years ago. I'm now using a Canon inkjet with black and two different gray cartridges (in addition to five color cartridges) and it makes excellent B&W prints.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

amfoto1 wrote:

I had a laser printer for office use... the toner cartridges were pricey, but huge and lasted for years of printing.

It was simply awful for B&W photos.

I ended up using a modified Epson inkjet instead. Replaced the color cartridges with different shades of gray. That was years ago. I'm now using a Canon inkjet with black and two different gray cartridges (in addition to five color cartridges) and it makes excellent B&W prints.

Agree. Laser printers are great as office tools to print text and graphs but are not the best choice for printing images. Working from home over the years, I've had several higher end color and black and white laser printers from a few different manufacturers. The only thing they didn't do well was photos. However, everyone has their own standard of quality. Additionally, the cost per page for an image printed on a laser printer is generally noticeably higher than an inkjet If the initial cost of the printer and the toner and other supplies required are taken into account. If I was the OP, I would definitely want to try a laser printer out before purchasing.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Beeks wrote:

I'm trying to find out about blk and wht printers ... (show quote)

The HP LaserjetPro 1102w I have had for about 2 years runs about $230. The HP replacement ink cartridge is about $75. I found the laser printer much cheaper to run than the ink jet printer because with the inkject I had to replace the color cartridges even if I was only printing black and white.

Attached are 2 HP LaserjetPro 1102w prints I just made and photographed on the carpet with my camera. They are a pretty good representation of the printer output. They will not be anywhere close to the quality of glossy prints, the blacks and whites are nowhere near as sharp. But just as a test print to determine what you might have commercially printed it might work. The laser printer is fast (does an 8x11 print in about 15 seconds), cheap, and fairly economical.

(Download)

GEngel-usmc Loc: Spencerport NY - I miss Lakeland, FL

I don’t recommend Laser printers for b/w photos. I’ve used Brother Laser printers for 10+ years. Excellent for everything else. If you need/want a Laser printer. I suggest Brother HLL2395DW, print/flatbed copy/scan, 1200 ppi, 39 pgs/min, 8.5x14 max. $170 Amazon, Refill Linkyo toner pks - 2 for $30 (will last for approx 2 years printing use) - VERY economical printer!
- color prints I just farm out to Costco- cheaper than buying ink sets for inkjet printers!!! - just my opinion writing 40 years of reviews and Newsletters!
- George -

OleMe Loc: Montgomery Co., MD

I "third" the vote for Brother printers. I've had two and they are reliable. Save by not going for an all-in-one unless you realty need that. As others have noted, cheaper per page. Amortized cost of
Laser cartridges makes that true. Big but: print quality will be less than with ink jets.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

I am using a Brother duplex laser printer still that was originally in our leased studio in 1998. It's now in my home office and our main B/W printer we use daily, connected to our network for access by all PCs in my office and wife's home studio. If you want fine line reproduction, then an inkjet will provide better copy than a laser.