Printers

As I mentioned earlier, I use a SAMSUNG duplex lazar printer. It’s a love-hate relationship at the moment. First I will offer back-story to explain. When I first started printing books, I simply used my BROTHER MFC-240C ink printer without duplex. That’s right, I couldn’t double-side anything I printed, so I had to do it manually. I would put in a page (cut to the proper size), have it print, then flip it and print again. I would then move on to another sheet. It was painful, taking just under an hour for a single book. Not only wasn’t it cost or time efficient, it was tedious.

So, back to my SAMSUNG. I love it purely because it is a dramatic improvement over my first printer. Now that they both sit next to each other on my desk, I have to love my SAMSUNG. It doubt-sides all my pages, doesn’t need the paper cut before printing, and can do a book in seven minutes while I’m doing something else completely! Unfortunately, I rushed into buying it, only because I couldn’t handle my BROTHER anymore. If I had really done my homework beforehand, I could have made a far smarter decision. As before, I will paint a picture of benefits. My SAMSUNG cartridges are $89 and that gives me 2,500 pages worth of toner. This, I thought, was an unbeatable number at the time, having only had the pleasure of my BROTHER’s inadequacy. I found out later, from my toner-refilling people, that there was a significantly better option. If I had gotten a LEXMARK (for a bit more money than the SAMSUNG) I could be using their magnificent toner cartridges. They cost $150 dollars, and yield 21,000 pages worth of toner. I’ve done some rough math, and that’s twice the price for ten times the toner!

I however, have my money invested in my SAMSUNG, and returning it simply isn’t an option anymore. I will work with the machine as long as I must to break even, then maybe I’ll consider advancement. It isn’t a colour printer, which is a feature I don’t need. However, if you are doing graphic novels, maybe it would be worth the extra hundred dollars.

Bottom line, consider your needs, and look through every model you can find. It is a matter of spending an hour or two on the Staples website.

P.S. When they say three days delivery…they really mean eight.