So now what? New printer time

[Vegas Halo Fan]

My Epson all-in-one started throwing hardware error codes and making banging noises inside with every effort to print. One of our IT guys at work advised me to avoid inkjets this time around and go color laser. Some are horribly expensive, and the toner prices are prohibitive. He said that he buys toner from an aftermarket supplier who sells toner for a fraction of the Xerox price, but I also hear that some manufacturers are putting out firmware updates that prohibit their printers from working with aftermarket toner. He said that he paid $249 for his Xerox printer, but that is hardly a bargain if I have to pay $100 each for the toner cartridges. Now what?

[gotbeer]

Yeah, Epson became bitches and put chips in all their toner so you can't refill or use aftermarket cartridges.  Don't do firmware updates if you are going aftermarket as they block the chips.

Do you need color?  If color is not an absolute must, then a cheaper alternative may be a monochrome printer (black and white).  Brother makes some, and their cartridges are like the old time big copier cartridge.  Which seems to last a lot longer than the toner cartridges.  Still expensive, about $50 at an aftermarket toner shop.  

Also, I'd go to your neighborhood toner place and ask them what they recommend. 

[Tank]

i much prefer epson printers because their colors were truer. everything on my HP tends to be darker than i'd like, but at the time, it was cheaper and fit better in my budget.

i'm still puzzled why each printer company has 162 different sized ink cartridges for their products. 

[Vegas Halo Fan]

An intriguing choice is the new Epson inkjets that don't use cartridges, just refill with ink bottles.

[Redondo]

Black toner is the way to go IMO

They don't dry up and last a long time

I pay $55 for my toner, but to me it's worth it

[failos]

Brother laser jet. I replace the ink cartridge once a year.