Best printer for maybe 4 times a year use?
 

We need a printer that we will use in our rental in mexico. We might use it 3 or 4 times a year then store it the rest of the time when we are not there.

We have ( had) a printer that uses ink cartridges which even after taking the cartridges out and storing them the nozzles seem to have clogged. Despite all attempts to clean etc.....It was inoperable on our last trip.

Would a laser printer be a better option for us?

Absolutely, although you may want to read about long-term storage of opened toner cartridges. I could go 2-3 weeks without printing anything on my laser printer with no issues, not sure about every 2-3 months.

Laser would be much better for you Other than shaking the toner cartridge in case the toner caked up and settled, there's nothing you would need to do

If Humidity is a problem when it's not in use wrap it up with one of those moisture sponge things in a heavy garbage bag to help keep it dry when you are not there. Of course, unplug it too.

I would also use fresh paper when you do use it

Thanks....humidity is not a problem.... we are up in the high desert of central Mexico.

I give a laser printer a try.

Not sure what your quality/color requirements are, but Xerox and a few others make printers using solid polymer inks that are highly shelf stable. Antother bonus is the "ink" packs are very small if you are need to store or carry those in (doesn't sound like there is an Office Depot next door). Downside is the machines are pretty expensive, I see the entry level Xeroz Phaser (which is actually a pretty full featured machine) starting at $350ish.

Another thought to consider if you do run into issues storing the toner (seems unlikly) you might consider a laser printer that seperates the drum and toner. For some of these (Oki's in particular) the replacment toner is really inexpensive, for some models the toner is about the price of a single inkjet cart. Models that combine the toner and drum (most HP/Canon engines) could get expensive if you do find you need to replace toner on a regular basis.

Get a portable printer
 

A quick google will show portable printers that you can pack easily to take with you. Also use them as a 2nd printer in the main home as many are wireless.

1. As said by Man Pax, buy and bring a portable printer with you (Canon Pixma iP100 is the smallest one that uses normal paper, I think)

or

2. Buy the same printer you have at home and bring only the cartridges with you

(By the way, taking the cartridges out is not, for some printers, the best way to preserve them. Some printers have a system that optimizes the longevity of cartridges when they are left in them. You mentioned at a second post that that is a very dry location. If so, your problem is too low humidity. Best bet in this case would be to seal the normal, existing humidity into the printer. You could do it by hermetically wraping the printer into plastic, even food wrap will be OK!; just make sure it is at ambient temperature before doing it)

Laser or else carry your cartridges with you.

If you leave an ink jet printer turned off for a few months the cartridges are gone. Depending on the printer the whole unit might not be worth saving.

At this point I wouldn't suggest anyone get an inkjet unless they need it for photo printing.

Phaser is not a good choice as per our xerox tech... they melt a certain amount of the solid ink to have ready to print. Over a period of non-use the melted ink will eventually degrade and as he put it "cook"

Just to add to this thread, is there any brand of inkjet printer that doesn't spit most of its ink in a waste container?

I don't print much but I like being able to print photos from time-to-time. I have an HP all-in-1, and basically every time I use it it initialises itself by squirting out about 10% of a cartridge of ink into the waste container.

It might make financial sense to get a colour laser all-in-1 (but I think this is expensive) and just print any photos in a machine in the mall if needed urgently, but is there an inkjet that's better than HP?

Get a dye sublimation printer like the Canon Selphy series. It's very good for printing out a few pictures at a time (at around $0.30/print).

so is there not any kind of library or copy shop aroud? maybe a hotel that you could pay to use their printer? i guess it depends on how far in the country you are. it just seems like a lot of trouble for a 3-4 time a year deal.

Hmm yeah but no A4 printing, scanning, etc.

Seems I just have to live with the crappiness of inkjets. Colour lasers all-in-1 devices are still very expensive....

On a B&W laser, it should be no problem. I've got a Lexmark Optra E310 from 2000, and it still prints beautifully (if a bit slowly compared to modern printers.) I've gone 5-6 months at a time between uses, no problem at all. With light use, I'm still on the original toner cartridge 11 years in while pricier color printers have come and gone.

Personally, under these circumstances I'd get the cheapest non-WinPrinter (eg with either Postscript or PCL support) B&W laser printer I could find. Treated nicely, they last forever. Here's one such:
Brother HL-2270DW Compact Laser Printer -- no particular endorsement but it was the first sub-$100 model I found which explicitly mentioned PCL or Postscript. The reason you want that is that no matter what happens, future OSes (whether Windows or not) will work with it, while a GDI or WinPrinter will be dependent on the manufacturer updating the drivers for the new or non-Windows OS.

Color lasers have gotten pretty cheap, but there aren't a lot of AIW models yet. They're also a lot less reliable than B&W lasers.

I'm not sure I really see the appeal of AIW models unless you really need computer-free copying. It's a very cheap way to get a sheetfed scanner, but the quality of the scanner is generally poor, and if one part breaks, both parts go.

You either pay for the printer and save on the consumables... or save on the printer and pay for the consumables. If you buy a quality printer it should last forever (see the HP LaserJet 3/4/5/4100 Series's still out there)

My Dell Color Laser 2130cn was the best 150.00 I spent (got a deal from dell using slickdeals)