Replacement B/W basic single-function printer for iMac?
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Replacement B/W basic single-function printer for iMac?
Back in the last century we owned a PowerMac 6100/66 with an Apple StyleWriter 2 printer. This combo ran 24/7 for nine years. We used it for our business so it printed many letters, work orders and faxes. As this was pre-email we communicated with our families in other continents by fax, incoming ones being printed during the night because of the time difference and outgoing ones being sent after midnight during free Internet time. Yes, with a Global Village fax modem it was a great fax machine as well. This combo plus scanner never failed us in spite of its commercial level of use. The lot was sold only because we moved overseas.
We took a supposedly high end Toshiba Windows XP laptop overseas with an H-P Deskjet 450. This printer was a disaster. It worked for less than six months and then quit for some reason to do with an ink reservoir that required its presence at an H-P maintenance facility. In nine years the StyleWriter 2 never had that problem. Of course there were no H-P service facilities in the African country in which we lived, or in the surrounding countries. There was nowhere to obtain warranty service or ink refills. That was our last H-P product!
On returning to the so-called First World we bought an iMac and a Canon Pixmar iP3300. This did the same as the StyleWriter 2 but added colour printing. It has had relatively light ordinary consumer use. It recently quit printing from the black tank. We can still print dark red and similar colour letters using the colour inks. We were advised by Canon over the phone that the black printhead has failed and Canon does not supply spares. Now we need another printer. Canon has been trying to pressure us into buying complex all-in-one devices that have numerous functions that we will probably never use.
Essentially we would like a new StyleWriter 2 that will work on OSX 10.9.5 Mavericks. Most of our printing is B/W. Colour printing would be acceptable for very occasional use but we do not require photocopying, scanning, cloud, faxing, wireless, battery, duplex or any other redundant or complex functions and gimmicks. The only extra we would appreciate is multi-voltage capability to cover future moves. Our old StyleWriter 2 also accommodated envelopes and international paper sizes such as A4 as well as the oddball American sizes. It did the job! Where is its 2015 replacement?
We just want a user-friendly, intuitive, simple, easy to set-up, plug and play, and reliable basic printer for an iMac. Set-up, instructions and control labels should be simple and in English as they were for the StyleWriter 2. We did not study Egyptian or other hieroglyphics and should not need a Rosetta Stone to set-up or operate what is essentially a domestic appliance. It should be as simple to operate as a home vacuum cleaner - as that wonderful StyleWriter 2 was. Helpful suggestions on what printers we should consider will be appreciated.
We took a supposedly high end Toshiba Windows XP laptop overseas with an H-P Deskjet 450. This printer was a disaster. It worked for less than six months and then quit for some reason to do with an ink reservoir that required its presence at an H-P maintenance facility. In nine years the StyleWriter 2 never had that problem. Of course there were no H-P service facilities in the African country in which we lived, or in the surrounding countries. There was nowhere to obtain warranty service or ink refills. That was our last H-P product!
On returning to the so-called First World we bought an iMac and a Canon Pixmar iP3300. This did the same as the StyleWriter 2 but added colour printing. It has had relatively light ordinary consumer use. It recently quit printing from the black tank. We can still print dark red and similar colour letters using the colour inks. We were advised by Canon over the phone that the black printhead has failed and Canon does not supply spares. Now we need another printer. Canon has been trying to pressure us into buying complex all-in-one devices that have numerous functions that we will probably never use.
Essentially we would like a new StyleWriter 2 that will work on OSX 10.9.5 Mavericks. Most of our printing is B/W. Colour printing would be acceptable for very occasional use but we do not require photocopying, scanning, cloud, faxing, wireless, battery, duplex or any other redundant or complex functions and gimmicks. The only extra we would appreciate is multi-voltage capability to cover future moves. Our old StyleWriter 2 also accommodated envelopes and international paper sizes such as A4 as well as the oddball American sizes. It did the job! Where is its 2015 replacement?
We just want a user-friendly, intuitive, simple, easy to set-up, plug and play, and reliable basic printer for an iMac. Set-up, instructions and control labels should be simple and in English as they were for the StyleWriter 2. We did not study Egyptian or other hieroglyphics and should not need a Rosetta Stone to set-up or operate what is essentially a domestic appliance. It should be as simple to operate as a home vacuum cleaner - as that wonderful StyleWriter 2 was. Helpful suggestions on what printers we should consider will be appreciated.
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I've had similar experiences to you with colour printers from Canon, HP, etc. I also once had a StyleWriter II which, as you say, was bulletproof. I replaced it over 10 years ago with a Brother B/W laser printer (HL-1440, I presume long discontinued). This simple beast - just prints single-sided black and white, that's all - has operated absolutely flawlessly all this time. It's still going strong, seems to get 1000s of pages from a toner cartridge, never jams, never gives any trouble, just works. It has sat beside a series of Canon/HP/whatever colour inkjets that have been replaced every couple of years when they inevitably break down.
So you might look at current simple models from Brother and see what they have.
So you might look at current simple models from Brother and see what they have.
I've had sterling service from two Fuji-Xerox B&W laser printers with not a problem. The latest one is wifi equipped which means I can print wirelessly from anywhere in my abode from a Macbook Pro and an iPad while it's hard-wired to a desktop PC. It cost me $99 Oz at a large office supplier that belongs to the same stable as a supermarket and large hardware chain. I did notice an identical model by Brother but with a price tag 50% more than the Fuji. Work that out, but caveat emptor applies!
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I've also had years and years of bulletproof service from an incredibly cheap Brother laser. (I'm also using an NEC color laser printer which is a Fuji-Xerox in disguise, but at 15% of the price. I run OEM toner cartridges through it just fine. But it's big and I digress.)
If HP's hardware doesn't kill you, its software will. Awful stuff.
You said you don't want multifunction including scanning, etc. If you ever decide you do want to scan, consider something like a Scansnap: ludicrously fast double-sided scanning of bills, business cards, magazines etc. Great stuff.
If HP's hardware doesn't kill you, its software will. Awful stuff.
You said you don't want multifunction including scanning, etc. If you ever decide you do want to scan, consider something like a Scansnap: ludicrously fast double-sided scanning of bills, business cards, magazines etc. Great stuff.
My cheap ( by the standards of the day) Brother HL-2142 (usb only) laser printer continues to plod along, reliably doing what I ask of it. I've used generic cartridges in it without issue. I really couldn't ask for more.
Any colour work is done by a Canon i850 which still works ok, although the prices for replacement ink cartridges is best not discussed in public, and they are becoming more difficult to find.
Any colour work is done by a Canon i850 which still works ok, although the prices for replacement ink cartridges is best not discussed in public, and they are becoming more difficult to find.
Spoon PPRuNerist & Mad Inistrator
If HP's hardware doesn't kill you, its software will. Awful stuff.
SD
When my aged Apple Laserwriter (HP insides) failed I bought a Samsung ML-2580N which can be usb or ethernet connected, seems damn near bullet proof. Fast and good quality prints, can be downgraded from 600dpi to 300dpi. Reasonble footprint and fairly quiet.
