TLDR
- The cheap man pays twice as much: Cheap printers make their money off of selling consumables. ie: their stuff (toner, drum, developer etc) wears out sooner. And their toner doesn't last the full amount.
- Don't buy printers that Walmart or Amazon sell: This doesn't mean "a seller on Amazon.com" I mean that if the printer is sold by amazon.com or you can pick it up at the local Walmart. It's a POS.
- I recommend Kyocera: They have the longest lasting and least expensive to operate consumable parts and toner in the market for almost 20 years.
- You can only get Kyocera from a dealer (some small dealers sell on Amazon): https://www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.us/en/about-us/contact-us/dealer-locator.html
Consumer Grade Printers (HP, Brother):
If you are printing under 100 pages a month. It doesn't matter what printer you have. That's not enough to worry about long-term cost of operation.
But, if you're like most businesses. You buy paper by the box. And those pennies you spend to print each page add up over time.
Consumer grade printers like HP and Brother. Make money in 2 ways:
- Planned Obsolescence: Cheap printers (under $600) are built to break. That's why your $150 printer only lasted a year. They have to keep selling printers to make a profit (capitalism baby!).
- Short Lifespan of consumables (toner & parts): Consumer brands (HP Brother etc) make their money by selling consumable products in mass. That's why their toners are so expensive and last for such a short time. It's also why their parts go bad so fast. (an HP feed roller lasts about 30,000 pages. A Kyocera feed roller lasts about 100,000 pages.).
Consumer Grade Toner Cartridges (all-in-one carts.)
HP uses an all-in-one cartridge. It is made up of multiple units (Developer, Toner, Developer roller, Drum etc). These create excess waste and wear out fast.
Brother uses a similar tactic. Everything is combined except they keep the drum separate.
The way these printers keep track of "Toner Level" (they don't) is by tracking the number of pages on a chip.
Business grade printers use a special sensor that detects the actual level of toner in the "Developer" (a part of the printer on the inside which transfers toner to the drum).
Business Grade Toner (Kyocera, Ricoh)
This is the black toner from my Kyocera M5526cdw. Notice how it doesn't have any drums and isn't a giant piece of plastic. That's because all that is in here is toner.
"Toner level" is detected by a special sensor in the printer. So you are always using 100% of the toner.
Kyocera makes its money by selling high-end printers that last for a long time.
The toner they sell is inexpensive and the formula is only sold by Kyocera. Their consumable parts also last for years.
All Kyocera's bought from a dealer come with a 3-year warranty. Because they are built to last.
I worked as a specialist in printers for over a decade. I know way too much about these things.
How not to get scammed by printer manufacturers