I’m finally done with cheap inkjet drama and want to switch to something more reliable. I’m looking for the best laser printer for home use that can handle regular document printing, occasional forms, maybe the odd ticket or label, without needing constant toner replacements or random “printhead cleaning” rituals. I don’t need anything super fancy, but built-in WiFi, decent print speed and not having it jam every other week would be nice. For those of you who made the switch from inkjet to laser at home, what did you buy and are you still happy with it after a year or two? Any brands or models you’d avoid, or things you wish you had known (like toner cost, driver issues, noise, size) before buying?

Edit: After reading the comments, I found a guide that helped me compare toner costs and long term reliability. Sharing it here in case it helps anyone else: home laser printer guide.

I wanted to make a post about my printer. I recognize that a printer isn't necessarily a "buy-it-for-life" kind of thing, but I think you would be hard pressed to find something that represents this much of a value proposition and cost effective option as a laser printer. Specifically, a laser printer like my Brother that I bought.

Allow me to give a bit of context. My wife and I are both college students, and as you can imagine, have to print a lot of notes. Just this evening, my wife had to print something that was 19 pages long. Previously to purchasing our laser printer, we had one of those crappy Canon Pixma or whatever printers (the bargain printers that can be had sub-$100 at Walmart). I had finally had enough of this printer and so I decided I buy this Brother. I am sure glad that I did.

One of the issues with the Canon was that it was God awfully slow. A print job like my wife's aforementioned 19 page notes would've taken around 10 minutes to complete. The Brother probably took 1 minute, and that's being generous. And, that's with it printing on both sides of the page to save paper.

Another issue was that it guzzled ink cartridges. I am not exaggerating when I say that this single print job would've probably used half of the ink cartridges on our old Canon. Meanwhile, we've had this toner drum since the beginning of the year, and only now is it saying "Low Toner". However, all of the pages came out sharp and non faded, so I don't think it is as low as it may be leading on.

Finally, I just wanted a printer to do just that: print! I think one of the common faults of many new printers is that they're trying to do too much. I have a desk scanner. I don't need my printer to do that. It is much easier for me to use a standalone scanner that have to fiddle with making sure the page is in the right spot or else some of it may be cut off on the scan. I also wanted a printer that I could just hook up via USB to my computer, no internet needed. Yes, I do have it hooked up to an Apple Airport in the office, but that is more so for the ability to print from other computers like my MacBook Pro, instead of just my iMac. I just wanted something SIMPLE, and I am glad that I purchased my Brother laser printer.

If you, like me, want a no-fuss printer that is great and just PRINTS, check out the Brother HL-L2320D.