Cheap and cheerful small MFC's

bcr

Well-known member
Hi all,


In addition to the big MFC's that we run I am looking to possibly order some very small and basic colour desktop MFC's that we can let visitors use. Any recommendations along the following lines would be appreciated:

i) Cheap to purchase and run. No service contract. Cheap aftermarket toners should be available. We want to get as low as possible on the running costs. Ideally they would be mechanically reliable and basic too.
ii) Speed - 25 to 40 colour PPM ideally.
iii) Mostly A4 use only but A3 capability would be nice too.
iv) Finishing - none required. They can use a stapler and a hole punch.
v) Did I mention small, cheap and simple :)

I've some experience with small HP MFC's that seem fairly OK for the money, but the availability of cheap aftermarket toners is a dealbreaker I think.

Thanks all!
 
...
I've some experience with small HP MFC's that seem fairly OK for the money, but the availability of cheap aftermarket toners is a dealbreaker I think.
...

Funny you should say that...whenever I think of a printer with a mass of third party toners, i think HP. Your best best would be find a model you like the look of, then have a look on eBay for the toners.

Another option (not sure if you specifically want lasers or not), is the Epson EcoTank printers. We've got a couple of these for different uses and the cost of GENUINE ink is ridiculously cheap.
 
Thanks Gaz, the Epson ones seem a bit on the slow side TBH, although the ink cost does sound promising. I think HP laser with cheap aftermarket toner is probably the way I'll go. I have to mull it over really, some of our guests will be happy with a 35ppm tabletop colour MFC, whereas some will want a 55ppm MFC. Have to weigh up the pros and cons of getting cheap as chips basic units for the majority and then renting the larger ones when needed, vs. just getting the larger ones from the off.
 
Thanks Gaz, the Epson ones seem a bit on the slow side TBH, although the ink cost does sound promising. I think HP laser with cheap aftermarket toner is probably the way I'll go. I have to mull it over really, some of our guests will be happy with a 35ppm tabletop colour MFC, whereas some will want a 55ppm MFC. Have to weigh up the pros and cons of getting cheap as chips basic units for the majority and then renting the larger ones when needed, vs. just getting the larger ones from the off.

Have you considered used/refurbished Konica MFP's such as the C280 and such? The only reason I mention this is because while they're a bit more of an outlay upfront (about £600 in the UK, not sure how much where you are), the consumables are dirt cheap on eBay. You can buy reset chips for the drums (which even the lease companies use at least once per drum), and a full set of toners that do 18,000 pages are only about £100 on ebay. Might be worth considering if ongoing running cost and print speed are concerns.
 
Have you considered used/refurbished Konica MFP's such as the C280 and such? The only reason I mention this is because while they're a bit more of an outlay upfront (about £600 in the UK, not sure how much where you are), the consumables are dirt cheap on eBay. You can buy reset chips for the drums (which even the lease companies use at least once per drum), and a full set of toners that do 18,000 pages are only about £100 on ebay. Might be worth considering if ongoing running cost and print speed are concerns.

nah for the intended purpose I want minimal hassle. I would rather go for cheap and cheerful disposable tabletop MFC's where we can just keep a brand new spare on hand so that if one develops a problem we just switch it over. Perhaps even offer them the use of two identical tabletop MFC's for faster printing instead of a bigger machine. Lots to think about.
 
Not much in A3 size in the cheap & cheerful category, but th Fuji Xerox Docuprint series are good value in A4
We have a couple here that we use as office / reception printers
 
Brother mfc-6800. About $600 USD 48ppm cheap aftermarket toner. Business class duty cycle.
 
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