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In the house we have a very old windows laptop, A recent Chromebook, 2 Amazon fire HD 10 tablets and 2 android phones.
I would like to purchase a basic laser printer that all devices could connect to .. mainly wirelessly if possible.
I only need black and white and don't actually print a great deal but with my old printer I can only connect with USB
so I send all stuff to the laptop which is permanently connected then print it that way.
I always try and buy good value items .. have a low budget and prefer minimal running costs ( who doesn't)
I've never printed wirelessly or directly from android/Chromebook/fire devices so could anyone advise and possibly recommend any units that might be suitable?
Many thanks and much appreciated in advance.
Bill in Devon
Dunno about specific laser models but we have a Brother inkjet that has been in use for a few years without issue. Will print anything from any device on the same wifi network.
Between that and Brother's non-proprietary ink refill policy I'd look at them before any other manufacturer.
If your printer is still serviceable is there an option to purchase a Raspberry Pi and set up a print server on the local network and print via that?
I could save you some cash vs a new printer.
An HP M15W here. AirPrint off laptops, phones etc.
seems reliable.
The raspberry Pi solution is interesting but maybe rather techy although I usually get there in the end...I 'll have a look thanks
Re the Brother printers ..yes agreed . Last two have been of that ilk and hacked with tape to stop the reminder and malfunction when I didn't insert or use a colour cartridge. Last one was laser which seemed better.
Just get one that will use a WiFi connection (and I bet most do nowadays), and the devices will pretty much take care of the rest. Ours is a probably ten year old Canon thing, it links to WiFi, and I happily print on it from Windows laptops and Android tablets and phones.
HP M15W here as well.
Works very well, prints wirelessly from anything and tone is relatively inexpensive for remanufactured cartridges.
No need to spend any more unless more features or print output is required imho.
Brother Lazer here. Everything connects to it via WiFi. Seems to be pretty much device agnostic.
Avoid anything made by Samsung. They copied and pasted the design from HP but never released updated drivers so it's unreliable at best. It also decided last week that it was out of toner and instantly started printing everything in an extra-pale setting.
Does it have to be a laser. LED printers offer similar advantages but are usually cheaper.
Brother. Our first one (colour) lasted 12 years until it was cheaper to buy new printer than replace the drums and cartridges. Wireless is great and also apps for easy printing from phones. Avoid remanufactured carts though, I found they didn’t last as long as Brother ones and we more prone to leaking and smudgy printing.
Brother are very industry standard (for a reason) and they also heavily support the British cycling scene at the moment which, is nice
I have a pretty old Epson colour inkjet that I can print to from a number of Android devices, plus Chromebook and PC - all wirelessly. I reckon that's just standard these days.
Thanks all ..for some reason I had thought printing from android phones is or was a bit awkward but obviously things have moved on . Appreciate the help.
B&W HP Laserjet, used/refurb from eBay. Find a model that's commonly used in large offices and the generic toner replacements get very cheap (and cost per print is super low). Super reliable (they're designed for multi thousand monthly print runs)
I had an ancient laser jet 4000 for a decade or more before I picked up a Colour Laserjet Pro 400. The new one does wireless 'AirPrint' from devices and sits on the network connected to my router with a cable.
I'll repeat the votes for a Brother: they're fairly cheap, you can get third party toner, and they just work. As long as it has wifi you'll be fine.