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- Across the board all new printers use more plastic and less metal parts. This has resulted in poorer component reliability OVERALL. We have seen plastic gear, capstan, and feeder tray failures on printers that are subjected to a lot of printing. The failure rates increase when the printers are subject to high temperature environments (>80F) without adequate air conditioning or external cooling. To appropriately manage expectations, do not expect these printers to last more than 3-4 years under a steady load in a heavy printing environment without adequate AC cooling.
- DELL- Based on our past experience, we recommend users avoid Dell re-branded printers for the time being. Non-working and poor driver support for both Mac and Windows, non-user serviceable parts, and under-performing overall printer reliability have lead us to advise all users to steer clear of Dell branded printers.
- LEXMARK- Lexmark has been another brand that has produced products with driver and hardware reliability issues. We recommend staying away from Lexmark branded printers for the time being.
- HP- from the 80s-early 2000s, HP was the standard by which all other printers were compared against. Unfortunately printers produced by HP in the late 2000s and early 2010s were manufactured with an excessive quantity of plastic parts that may have contributed to poorer overall hardware reliability. If you consider a new post 2013 HP product, be sure you read the reviews carefully to confirm for yourself that the model you're purchasing will fit with your reliability expectations.
- Inkjet printers- We do not recommend the use of inkjet technology printers for the reason that the ink cartridges are overly expensive and the ink cartridges themselves dry up if the printer is not used for a while.
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