The Optimal Laser Printer for Home and SOHO

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The main features of printers for home and small office (SOHO) use are low cost, moderate performance (up to 30 pages per minute), and moderate monthly workload (up to 10,000 pages). When buying office equipment (copiers, printers, MFPs), customers often focus on the initial price of the device, without considering that the cost of ownership can differ greatly from the purchase price.

The total cost of ownership includes the printer price and the cost of consumables and components with limited life that must be replaced during use.

Every laser printer uses toner cartridges. Each cartridge has a limited capacity based on the toner compartment, which determines its yield—the number of printed pages per cartridge. This is usually stated in thousands of pages, assuming 5% page coverage.

It's important to note that not all cartridges can be refilled, and the cost of refilling ranges from 290 to 1100 rubles.

Many modern cartridges are equipped with chips that track the number of pages printed and toner level.

Depending on the manufacturer, the chip may need to be replaced, reprogrammed, or simply ignored.

All monochrome laser printers from HP and Canon allow using the old chip without interfering with printing after refilling. Many Samsung and Xerox models (except the cheapest ones), as well as some Brother and Epson models, require chip replacement or firmware. All color cartridges require chip programming or replacement. Chip programming costs 200 rubles, replacement – 450 rubles.

Thus, HP and Canon black cartridges are cheaper to refill due to no chip intervention.

The main wear component of the HP Q7553A cartridge is the selenium drum, which can typically be replaced. The drum's life is characterized by its print yield. Drums in HP and Canon cartridges wear out faster but are cheaper to replace (starting at 825 rubles). On average, HP cartridges can be refilled 3–5 times before needing a new drum; Samsung and Xerox last for 5–7 refills. Typical drum life: HP/Canon – 5000–6000 pages; Xerox/Samsung – 7000–12000 pages.

Also important is the monthly print volume, typically ranging from 5000 to 20000 pages.

If used in an office, it makes sense to choose a network printer with a built-in print server (RJ-45 Ethernet port) for access from all network computers without needing a host PC to stay powered on.

For intensive printing, consider RAM size (2 to 64 MB), paper tray capacity, and the number of trays.

Based on these characteristics, a good budget-friendly choice is a printer with a refillable cartridge that doesn’t require a chip, and features durable parts.

A good option is the Canon Laser Shot (i-SENSYS) LBP2900.