Is it worth getting a printer while WFH?

nokia3310

I've been working from home for the last 6 months. While overall it has gone well I am getting a bit fed up of reading documents online and I'm considering buying a printer. I find that I just absorb information much better while reading things from a physical page than reading from a screen.

Has anyone else found it difficult to read a lot of documents on a PC? Or has anyone else bought a printer while WFH and found it worthwhile?

nibtrix

The cost of ink for a home inkjet printer is exorbitant, it will cost you an absolute fortune unless you're only printing a couple of pages a day - even at that level you'll go through an ink cartridge in a couple of months.

If you're printing a lot, then a laser printer is a lot cheaper to run, but more expensive to buy in the first place.

pinkfloyd34

I got a colour printer, scanner copier for €30 in dunnes, at the time I thought I would not need it but it turns out it can in very handy for a few application forms i needed.

Foweva Awone

I've been WFH the past 6 months now, first thing I did was buy a Canon printer. I don't use it every day but I get enough use out of it that it was worth the investment. I think it was only about €60, make sure you also factor paper and ink costs into your decision though.

It's handy to have it there for personal use too. Especially with libraries etc closed at the moment.

nibtrix

I get a little under 200 text pages in black & white from a standard ink cartridge. Obviously this depends on the make, model, the coverage per page etc. etc. but it's probably a reasonable rule of thumb if you're trying to estimate ink cartridges.

The manufactures generally only use 5% page coverage when calculating their page yields so expect to get less than they estimate on their cartridges.

antix80

Hp instant ink is a good shout. I make do with the free plan and rarely go over the limit

wench

Be careful of the data security issues that could arise from printing down documents.
Make sure you have a safe way to store and destroy any printouts.

GalwayGrrrrrl

I use a Kindle Fire to read PDFs- I find it easier than reading on a PC. Also I can look at the Kindle and type on the laptop without having to flick between tabs. I still prefer a printed page but I find this is a good compromise. I have the cheapest kindle fire, think it was 50-60 Euro.

I read all my documents on screen, printing stuff is just a nuisance and would not help me absorb the detail.

Dial Hard

I do a *lot* of proofing in my job and would have always preferred to do it on a hard copy but honestly I haven't missed the printer once since we left the office, it genuinely was just a habit. I would say learn to embrace the true paperless office!

mojesius

I had to get one for the random stuff (non work related) that I usually use the work printer for. Got really annoying not having one. Only spent 70 euro on it, not the best but it does the job!

Nigel Fairservice

My missus has to do a lot of printing from home so we bought an Epson Eco Tank. The up front cost was more but I think those cheap printers are a bit of a false economy considering the cost of ink cartridges (if you have a lot of printing to do). I think the Eco Tank is rated for 12,000 pages with the ink that comes with it. Won't have to buy ink for a long time.

road_high

Can you not claim one as expenses back or put them on the credit card?
Work related so surely they’ll provide even a cheapo one and ink/paper

q2ice

123ink.ie are very good for cheap ink. Their own brand ink vs the brand name.
https://www.123ink.ie/

The J Stands for Jay

Will you actually be able to print of you're WFH? Your company's VPN may not allow connections to external devices such as printers.

antix80

McGaggs wrote: »

Will you actually be able to print of you're WFH? Your company's VPN may not allow connections to external devices such as printers.

Vpn wouldn't stop local printer and windows security usually doesn't stop you installing printers either. May be trickier if using remote desktop.
Obviously your organisation might have policies and security that prevent it.

MrMusician18

If it's only for proofing documents and work is not going to supply inks then I'd get a cheap inkjet second hand that is compatible with a continuous ink supply system (ciss). CISS adapters for regular inkjets can be got for buttons on ebay. Fill CISS tanks with generic ink and you'll be good to go for thousands of pages relatively inexpensively.

antix80

antix80 wrote: »

Vpn wouldn't stop local printer and windows security usually doesn't stop you installing printers either. May be trickier if using remote desktop.
Obviously your organisation might have policies and security that prevent it.

VPN wouldn't prevent it but modern group policies would. Depends on the organisation, but a locked down work PC wouldn't let you install anything.

I'm on my phone so can't easily do multi-quote. An earlier poster suggested getting a second hand printer. I strongly recommend against that. I ran a PC repair company a long time ago and after a few disasters stopped supporting printers. The cheap consumer ones are very temprimental and often buying a new one with a free cartridge inside is cheaper than replacing the ink.

My advice to the OP, assuming its for consuming text, not edits etc and again this is dependent on their companies policies is to get a Kindle. Not a kindle Fire, just a regular e-ink kindle. Great for reading text on a cool e-ink display.

My other suggestion would be to look at their brightness and lighting settings on their computer. From years of being hunched over a Linux shell, black screen white or green text, I find that so much more comfortable on the eyes then Word with a screen of white and black text.

bobbyy gee

Are you reading from a laptop buy a 27-34 inch monitor

You can also get your computer to read the screen to you

floorpie

Seems useful to have a printer nearby regardless of WFH, I'd recommend getting one. I hate the feeling of needing to print something asap and then having to think where you can get it done (e.g. some tickets wont be accepted from phone).

Brother black and white laser printers are *excellent* and cheap (~€100 in Argos), literally last for decades, and off-brand toners cost nothing (€10) and print 2000 pages. You guys are crazy using inkjet.

The J Stands for Jay

floorpie wrote: »

Seems useful to have a printer nearby regardless of WFH, I'd recommend getting one. I hate the feeling of needing to print something asap and then having to think where you can get it done (e.g. some tickets wont be accepted from phone).

Brother black and white laser printers are *excellent* and cheap (~€100 in Argos), literally last for decades, and off-brand toners cost nothing (€10) and print 2000 pages. You guys are crazy using inkjet.

We all get sucked in by the dirt cheap inkjets (cheaper to buy a new one than to buy ink for it) and the vague notion that we might fancy some colour printing.

floorpie

McGaggs wrote: »

We all get sucked in by the dirt cheap inkjets (cheaper to buy a new one than to buy ink for it) and the vague notion that we might fancy some colour printing.

Ah I've made the same mistake too. A black and white laser is one of the best purchases I've ever made, no exaggeration. It's saved my butt many times...last minute job applications that must be printed and signed (some places still wont accept digital signatures!)...last minute tickets that can't be on a phone...assignments that need a hardcopy...it always works, always has toner, always has 300 pages in it ready to go, is wireless so everybody's device in the house can send jobs to it from anywhere, love it.

caviardreams

In teh same position OP - have managed up until now but actually bought a laser printer today as I would print a lot of documents for reading/highlighting/marking up etc. and fine reading on the PC much more difficult. Plus it actually gives you a break from teh PC screen for a bit which I think helps too.

blindsider

B&W Laser all the way

https://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9200210/Trail/searchtext%3ELASER+PRINTER.htm

HP Laser with print/scan/copy - with document feeder and double sided printing...wireless printing....

Comes with a toner drum. Replacement (1200 pages = €45..)


Looks good to me!

(You might get it cheaper elsewhere...worth checking...?)

nogoodnamesleft

blindsider wrote: »

B&W Laser all the way

https://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9200210/Trail/searchtext%3ELASER+PRINTER.htm

HP Laser with print/scan/copy - with document feeder and double sided printing...wireless printing....

Comes with a toner drum. Replacement (1200 pages = €45..)


Looks good to me!

(You might get it cheaper elsewhere...worth checking...?)

+1
I have a Samsung black and white laser from when I studied my MSc nearly 10years ago as when I worked out what the rough projected printing cost for the year would have been using the university print rates it was far cheaper to buy my own laser printer and effectively I got a free printer as it paid for itself in the year. A benefit of the laser printer is that the toner doesnt dry out like the injets do when lift sitting for prolonged periods.

One aspect which is also worth knowing is that most (nearly all) corporate laptops are blocked for security reasons so you may not be able to install the relevant drivers for the printer anyways unless you email to your personal email the documents but that would incur data protection issues as usually this is a no no under company data protection policies.

I generally call by the office once every few months now and block print what I think I will need for different projects. As for engineering drawing its much easier on paper to see markups or tracing drawings which are referenced on other drawings more often than not on something bigger than A4.

maxitup

These Canon & Epson High volume printers are great if you print a lot. The problem with them is I found the ink gets hard in the tubes and printhead when it hasn't been used for a while and really hard to free up. Paid over 200 euro for it and still problems with streaks. Also found

123toner.ie to be helpful. They have a downloads section which shows many problems with printers and how to solve them. Also sell ink and toners- hope this is a help to some-one before they but the high volume printers.

sekond

We bought a printer early in the first WFH/schools closed period. Expected to get loads of use out of it. We did a bit for school work, and in the initial weeks I printed a few things for work.

After the first few weeks it was barely used. Work locked down the ability to print when WFH, and the kids school work moved online. It's now used mostly for the occasional worksheet the kids need or tickets for things. It's a bit unreliable, so it's often more trouble than it's worth.

I do like to read/edit long documents in paper form, so I just wait until one of my work from office days and print stuff off then.

AndrewJRenko

If it is occasional use, most libraries offer a remote print service. You send it to a particular email address, and your print job is waiting on the machine for you to release it when you arrive, for a fairly nominal cost. They do colour printing too, at a slightly higher cost.