Getting a colour laser duplex

[flyboy]

I am looking for a color, duplex printer that can do wired connected.

My initial guess is to start with Costco.ca who sells ;

Brother MFC-L3765CDW Digital Colour Multifunction Printer - 630 CanD​

HP 4301dw Wireless Colour LaserJet Printer - 640 CanD​

Any thoughts on which or any of these who would be a better choice ?

TIA
Al

 

[thebestcpu]

Hi @flyboy
They sure look very similar.
I usually check and see if there is any difference in the ability to get it repaired when that occurs.
If getting repairs is similar, the main differences I see are that
- The HP has a higher printing speed by about 30%
- The brother could be lower cost per page by 1/2 if using third-party toner cartridges, which can be done while on the HP machine, which is quite complex (not sure if it is possible).

I don't have info on the reliability of either, so that might be worth checking too.

You did not mention your page volume per year. If it is relatively high, I might lean towards the brother for the overall lower costs considering third-party toner cartridges.

Just to let you know, that is my view as a potential consumer, not as an expert on laser printers.
John Wheeler

 

[thebestcpu]

Hi @flyboy
I also wanted to include that both of those printers do duplex printing yet not auto duplex scanning. Thought that was important since you included "duplex" in the title of your post.
John Wheeler

 

[flyboy]

Thanks thebestcpu !
I had not considered duplex scanning. Not sure I have ever seen that. The Brother aftermarket toner is about 1/2 or less the price.

My page volume per year is not huge, but never really checked. Funnily enough if I had bought the Brother the day I posted, it was on sale for about 150 less @ Costco.
I had heard that Brother was making pretty decent printers but never knew much more than that.

I used to use HPs a long time ago but they were very expensive to operate and when they decided that the printheads were done the machine would just stop. That happened at a very inopportune time, as I needed some paperwork to get on a series of flights. So no more of them for me.
Their print quality was always excellent tho.

Then I got an epson and the print quality was/is not the best, but I liked the Tank rather than the cartridges and my printing quality is not an issue. I almost never run the colours so they have partially dried out and taking the printhead out and flushing has not helped much. I need decent colour quality now so I figured time to try a laser printer.

I also have noticed that running B&W all the time is not a good idea as the colours start t dry up.

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

Thanks thebestcpu !
I had not considered duplex scanning. Not sure I have ever seen that.

It is very handy if you ever need it.

The Brother aftermarket toner is about 1/2 or less the price.

Probably still very high. But Brother has the reputation for being reliable and long-lasting, and maybe economical printing.

Laser printers probably won't do very well for color photos on office paper, and as far as I know you can't even use them on photo paper. But inkjets, as you know, are expensive to run, and require regular use or maintenance.