Because this model has been around for a decade, generic toner cartridges cost $15 on Amazon. Do they spit a little dust? Sometimes. But for $15 for 3,000 pages? I’ll take the dust. The Bad: Living with 2014 technology The Screen The two-line LCD text screen looks like a calculator from 1992. Setting up the fax or network settings requires pressing the "Setup" button 14 times and memorizing menu trees. There is no touch screen. There is no color UI.
This is the trap. And it is the exact reason why used, "old" office lasers like the refuse to die.
Do the math. That is .
You cannot plug a thumb drive into the front and print a PDF. You have to walk back to your computer.
I recently picked up one of these units for $50 at a surplus sale. It looked like it had been through a war—scuffs, dust, a mysterious coffee stain. After wiping it down and plugging it in, it roared to life.
But it does one thing better than any $300 printer at Best Buy:
Let me paint a picture. You are shopping for a printer. You see a shiny new inkjet for $79. You buy it. Three months later, you realize the replacement ink costs $90. Rinse. Repeat.