THE RIGHT PRINTER FOR ME
What is the best printer for me? Spoiler alert, the answer is: you have to figure it out for yourself. Don’t listen to Facebook or YouTube without doing your own research (or at least reading this article). Find the printer that is available and you can afford. There are dozens of combinations of factors to consider. Inkjet or laser? B/W or color? Print only or Multi-Function? Notaries need laser printers. In this article, we will discuss how laser printers work to understand the printer parts and compare different features.
HOW INK JET PRINTERS WORK
Ink jet printers squirt droplets of liquid ink onto the paper and laser printers use powder toner and heat to melt the image into the paper. While ink jet printers may cost less than laser printers initially, ink is more expensive than toner per page and inkjet printers take longer to print. In general, you can print hundreds of pages per inkjet cartridge but thousands of pages per toner cartridge. The ink can smudge or run if the paper gets wet. Many title and loan companies will not accept pages printed with inkjet printers. Laser printers and toner cartridges can be more expensive, however they last a lot longer.
HOW LASER PRINTERS WORK
Laser printers use 3 main parts that will need replacing: toner cartridge, transfer roller ( imager), and fuser. The printer uses light (laser) to create an electrostatic image on the transfer roller (imager). Toner is pulled to this image on the transfer roller and transferred to the paper as it passes against the roller. The paper is then pushed under presser between the fuser rollers and the heat melts the toner into the paper. A video illustrating the process can be found at: https://youtu.be/EwvmNv1leUo. In most HP printers, the transfer roller is built into the toner cartridge: https://youtu.be/WB0HnXcW8qQ.
WHEN WILL I NEED TO REPLACE THESE PARTS
Toner will be the first item to replace. Manufacturers state approximately how many pages you can print per cartridge, usually 8,000-12,000. Most state at 5% coverage, this means 5% of a letter size page is covered in toner. Real estate documents and legal size pages use more toner. You should expect to get about 50-75% of the stated number of pages per cartridge. There are 3 types of toner cartridges available. Manufacturer (OEM) cartridges are made by the printer manufacturer and filled with their specific blend of toner. Compatible cartridges are made by separate companies and filled with toner that is close to but not quite same as the OEM. Think of name brand vs. generic prescription drugs. Remanufactured cartridges are used (usually OEM) cartridges that are cleaned and filled with compatible toner.
The transfer roller (imager) will wear down and start to develop streaks and spots. This is when you need to replace it. A transfer roller will usually last as long as 3-4 toner cartridges. Since HP builds the transfer roller into the toner cartridge it is automatically replaced when you insert a new toner cartridge.
Fuser units eventually need to be replaced after frequent use. Most laser printers will inform you when the fuser unit needs to replaced. An easy way to identify when a fuser unit needs to be replaced is when there is smudging or smearing on your printout. Smudging and smearing occurs because the fuser will not heat the toner particles enough to fully melt them onto the page.
HOW DO FEATURES AFFECT THE PRINTER
Laser printers are monochrome (B/W) or color. Monochrome printers are generally less expensive, have larger toner cartridges, and print faster. Color printers use four different colors and generally take longer to print because the page has to cross over these 4 colors and the printer has to process each color. Color printers often need more time to cool down after a large number of pages have been printed. Some color printers may not print is one toner is empty.
Laser printers are simplex (single sided) or duplex (2 sided). A duplex printer has an extra part, the duplexer, that turns the page over and runs it over the transfer roller(s) a second time before sending through the fuser. This feature is not needed for printing loan signing documents. It may slow down the print speed and is an extra part that may break.
Printers can be print only or multi-function printers (MFP or all-in-one). Multi-function printers may include the ability to scan, copy, and fax. They usually print slower than ‘print only’ printers and these added abilities may not match stand alone machines. For example, a stand alone scanner may have more features, scan faster and have a better resolution. Generally quality is dictated by price and the more features means there are more parts that can break.
WHAT BRAND IS BEST
This is the question you will have to figure out for yourself and your budget.
Xerox invented the laser printer and holds market share in business printers and MFPs, thus the term “Xerox” a page means make a copy. Xerox focuses on business printers and copiers. They use a special formula of toner and drum, which can be difficult for other manufacturers to make. Because Xerox usually leases and services their machines, they can be hard to buy. They are directly available for sale through Xerox or an approved third party dealer. Xerox dealers are available in most metropolitan areas. Used machines are available on Craigslist, OfferUp, and eBay. If you lease a machine, you usually will receive an allotment of pages and toner for free, then be charged beyond that. The good news, maintenance and repair is usually included.
Brother focuses on retail printers for individuals and small/home offices. They are available in office supply stores and online. For this reason, they are widely recommended by notaries. Most Brother printers have the ability to use compatible or remanufactured toner, however this varies by model and Brother highly discourages it. Some people report issues with printing from Apple computers and Adobe Acrobat.
HP makes almost half of the printer models available today They focus on home, small business, and large corporation printer needs. HP is known for its quality business enterprise printers and availability of its retail printers. Many of the retail printers are MFPs. Enterprise printers are made to handle hundreds of thousands of prints per month and millions of prints over the life of the printer. HP brand toners can be expensive because the transfer roller is part of the toner cartridge but you will never have the expense of replacing the separate transfer roller. Most HP toner cartridges have a memory chip on them knows how much toner is left and approximately how many more prints you have. Many new retail models have software which requires an original HP manufactured (OEM) toner be used, while some models give you a warning if you insert a HP compatible cartridge. Most enterprise printers do not have this software and compatible or remanufactured cartridges can be used. HP printers can be found new in office supply stores, Walmart, Target, and online. Used and refurbished (defective parts replaced) enterprise printers can be found on Craigslist, OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, and eBay. These printers can last a lifetime and are usually leased or traded in by large corporations and small businesses.
Many websites claim the per print cost is very close between Brother and HP. HP toners might be more expensive but HP does not require a separate transfer roller to be purchased. If you buy compatible or remanufactured toner cartridges, the price would drop dramatically in HP’s favor.
When you buy a brand-new printer, the toner cartridge will physically be full size, however it will only be filled with about 50% of a regular toner cartridge.
There are other brands like Canon and Dell but not enough notary feedback to include.
WHAT MODELS ARE RECOMMENDED
Because they are not sold in stores, Xerox is not a popular choice for notaries. They are quality machines and a great option. Check with your local Xerox dealer for a recommendation.
Notaries recommend the Brother HL-L6200DWT printer because it has two large trays at the bottom. This printer prints up to 48 letter size pages per minute. Brother has it listed for $319, however as of 9/19/21 it is out of stock and has been for most of 2020-2021. It will cost $600-900 depending on where you can find it. D means it has a duplexer, which is not needed. W means you can print directly from a wireless device like a smartphone or table with going through your network. T means it comes with an extra tray, which is technically the 3rd tray. If you open the front cover, you will see a multipurpose tray which holds 50 sheets of paper. If you can only find the DW, you can use the multipurpose tray for either letter or legal and still have a dual tray printer.
A great alternative is the HL-L5200D or DW or DWT. It only prints 42 pages per minute but is essentially the same printer as the L6200. The 5000 and 5100 are less expensive models. People report having difficulty printing with them, but they may be worth a try, especially if you have free return.
HP fans recommend the enterprise printer models P4014, P4015, and M600 series for the office. The P4014 and P4015 were made in the early-mid 2000s while the M600 was made 2008-2012. HP also has the letter system. D means duplexer, N means network, T means extra tray. As the printer comes; flip down the front door for tray 1 and tray 2 is the main tray. If you add an extra tray, it would be tray 3, 4, or 5. You can add extra memory to these printers for about $15 to help handle really large files. Originally these were thousands of dollars but you can find them online or locally for $150-300 and they can last a lifetime or at least a notary career. You can find an extra online for $50-100. Because of the popularity of these machines, replacement parts are easily found online and there is probably a repair place close to you.
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