Am I crazy for not being able to find just a simple color laser printer? I don't need any other functionality. I would love one that can accept cheap 3rd party toner.

"cheap 3rd party toner"

None of them want to accept that

I gave up on trying to keep a color laser running well at a reasonable cost/page and without a bunch of hassle. Proprietary cartridges (4 of them), transfer belts, cleaning, etc...

So, anytime I absolutely need color laser copies I send my files down the street to a guy who prints them for $.60/page and I pick them up that afternoon.

Contrast that with the three 20 year old HP B&W LaserJet 4050's we still run. We've got hundreds of thousands of pages on them and the prints are as clear as the day we bought the machines.

Inexpensive 3rd party toner works well with them.

I've been tempted, purely for convenience purposes, to buy another color laser, but the mixed reviews on them fail to impress.

Good luck. If you find one that impresses, let us know.

What color printer would the hive mind recommend for intermittent home use?

Ask the guys at printershowcase.com. They're very knowledgeable and nothing says you have to buy from them. I did end up buying one we needed from them and was very impressed with their post sale support as well.

I have a Brother HL-3170CDW for a few years now and it's solid. I don't think we've even had to buy new toner since we got it (just occasional use) but when I looked, the Brother toner wasn't crazy expensive.

Thanks all

I don't have color, but I bought a Brother B&W laser almost 10 years ago. It's still going strong. Prior to this one, I has ink jets, they would always clog up due to non-use.

Looking for a used brother 3270. Solid features, new enough, and a bunch of cheap 3rd party toner.

Dill-Ag13 said:

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What color printer would the hive mind recommend for intermittent home use?

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Hell, I had to look up the meaning of 'hive mind' so I'm probably not your best source of info on this (or any) subject.

But if I were looking for a color laser these days, I'd stay away from HP (their glory days of reliable bulletproof printers are in the rearview mirror) and take a hard look at the stuff from Kyocera.

As 92_Ag mentioned, printershowcase.com has some very good comparison info.

Ribeye-Rare said:

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Dill-Ag13 said:

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What color printer would the hive mind recommend for intermittent home use?

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Hell, I had to look up the meaning of 'hive mind' so I'm probably not your best source of info on this (or any) subject.

But if I were looking for a color laser these days, I'd stay away from HP (their glory days of reliable bulletproof printers are in the review mirror) and take a hard look at the stuff from Kyocera.

As 92_ag mentioned, printershowcase.com has some very good comparison info.

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Funny you mention it but Kyocera is exactly what we bought. After a ton of research that put them as our primary choice, I came across printershowcase and two or three dialogs with them settled the debate.