[tech] Home printers?
A question for my fellow Mac users.
I no longer have access to awesome workplace printers, so time has come, I think, to finally buy my own printer. (Just what I wanted: something else in my house that requires maintenance and consumes supplies. But whaddayagonnado?)
Problem is, I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. Also, I have a kinda funny criterion structure.
Re the first, I haven't bought a printer in, basically, ever. I have two Macs at home with which this thing will interoperate, and a little home NAT. Do all printers just speak ethernet or wifi now? I have those. One of the Macs is a G4 from 2002 running, um, I think it's 10.4 (certainly, it can't ever go past 10.5). The other is a MacBook Pro running 10.6.6.
Re the second, I understand printers are One Of Those Things, where you have to have some idea of what features you'll need/want and what your usage model is because there are enormous cost-benefit decisions. Unfortunately, I have two completely different usage models to consider, between which I may decide on the basis of value:
a) Optimizing for cheap-through-lifespan, with the understanding that I will get crummy quality output, very slowly, for printing the occasional form[*] and only one additional feature (more on which below); or
b) Optimizing for having a copier-fax-scanner-printer, which scans and prints sheet music (1200dpi minimum? musicians, is that right?) and which can cough up pages at a brisk clip, and the below feature, for as cheap as possible.
In either scenario, the damn thing has to optimize for minimal volume. I live in a glorified closet, and it's going to have to live here with me. If it can double as, say, a coffee maker or a stereo, so much the better.
The one thing I absolutely don't need is color printing.
[* Really, SCA? It's 2011 and I have to print out a freaking reservation form?]
Things that would be helpful for me:
1) Advice as to how to optimize each of (a) and (b). For instance, I've been advised that laser printers cost more upfront (than inkjet) yet less over the life of the printer due to lower toner costs. Is that still true in the case of printing maybe 20 pages per month? Isn't there a point at which the toner goes bad? For another, how do the qualities of inkjet vs. laser compare? Am I going to be unhappy trying to print sheet music on an inkjet?
2) Advice as to how to optimize the choice between (a) and (b); for instance, if you happen to knw that among Mac-compatible printers, higher dpi and additional features are such a marginal increase in cost, they're generally worth it unless one is truly pinching pennies, that would be good to know. If you happen to know that the laser printers are so much more expensive, that unless you really do need to print a minimum of 1000pp/month, they're just not worth it, or that those multi-purpose machines are so poor as scanners/copiers that they're not worth it, or that the only good ones take up huge amounts of space, that would also be good to know.
3) Pointers at specific models is really only helpful if accompanied with explanation as to how they meet the above criteria and confirmation that I'll be able to print to it from both my Macs. Bonus points if I'll be able to print to it from my OS 9 emulation.
4) Pointers to known extra cheap vendors you have had good personal experience with could be helpful. I'm planning on comparison shopping online. Of course, if anyone here loves comparison shopping hardware and simply wants to do this for me, and tell me what I should buy, I'd be happy to receive your recommendation. :}
5) Is buying refurbished as bad an idea as it sounds?
6) Answers to above questions, also any questions I didn't think to ask but which I am likely to need to know the answer to. I really don't know what I'm doing.
I no longer have access to awesome workplace printers, so time has come, I think, to finally buy my own printer. (Just what I wanted: something else in my house that requires maintenance and consumes supplies. But whaddayagonnado?)
Problem is, I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. Also, I have a kinda funny criterion structure.
Re the first, I haven't bought a printer in, basically, ever. I have two Macs at home with which this thing will interoperate, and a little home NAT. Do all printers just speak ethernet or wifi now? I have those. One of the Macs is a G4 from 2002 running, um, I think it's 10.4 (certainly, it can't ever go past 10.5). The other is a MacBook Pro running 10.6.6.
Re the second, I understand printers are One Of Those Things, where you have to have some idea of what features you'll need/want and what your usage model is because there are enormous cost-benefit decisions. Unfortunately, I have two completely different usage models to consider, between which I may decide on the basis of value:
a) Optimizing for cheap-through-lifespan, with the understanding that I will get crummy quality output, very slowly, for printing the occasional form[*] and only one additional feature (more on which below); or
b) Optimizing for having a copier-fax-scanner-printer, which scans and prints sheet music (1200dpi minimum? musicians, is that right?) and which can cough up pages at a brisk clip, and the below feature, for as cheap as possible.
In either scenario, the damn thing has to optimize for minimal volume. I live in a glorified closet, and it's going to have to live here with me. If it can double as, say, a coffee maker or a stereo, so much the better.
The one thing I absolutely don't need is color printing.
[* Really, SCA? It's 2011 and I have to print out a freaking reservation form?]
Things that would be helpful for me:
1) Advice as to how to optimize each of (a) and (b). For instance, I've been advised that laser printers cost more upfront (than inkjet) yet less over the life of the printer due to lower toner costs. Is that still true in the case of printing maybe 20 pages per month? Isn't there a point at which the toner goes bad? For another, how do the qualities of inkjet vs. laser compare? Am I going to be unhappy trying to print sheet music on an inkjet?
2) Advice as to how to optimize the choice between (a) and (b); for instance, if you happen to knw that among Mac-compatible printers, higher dpi and additional features are such a marginal increase in cost, they're generally worth it unless one is truly pinching pennies, that would be good to know. If you happen to know that the laser printers are so much more expensive, that unless you really do need to print a minimum of 1000pp/month, they're just not worth it, or that those multi-purpose machines are so poor as scanners/copiers that they're not worth it, or that the only good ones take up huge amounts of space, that would also be good to know.
3) Pointers at specific models is really only helpful if accompanied with explanation as to how they meet the above criteria and confirmation that I'll be able to print to it from both my Macs. Bonus points if I'll be able to print to it from my OS 9 emulation.
4) Pointers to known extra cheap vendors you have had good personal experience with could be helpful. I'm planning on comparison shopping online. Of course, if anyone here loves comparison shopping hardware and simply wants to do this for me, and tell me what I should buy, I'd be happy to receive your recommendation. :}
5) Is buying refurbished as bad an idea as it sounds?
6) Answers to above questions, also any questions I didn't think to ask but which I am likely to need to know the answer to. I really don't know what I'm doing.