Laser printer a good investment?

[holler21]

Hey all -

I'm considering purchasing a black/white laser printer.  It's nothing too special, about $115.  I currently have a 4-year -old HP deskjet which does a nice job, but as you probably know, the ink from an inkjet smears if you highlight the text.

I think it may be worth droppin the dough if I'd get good use out of it...is it wise or would it just be better to have to pay $0.10 per page at the library?

Any thoughts?

[nonamesleftforme]

I would do it.  I bought one on ebay for $80 and it's worth the print quality.  You won't need to print cases (WestLaw & Lexis will pay for that) but it will serve you well for papers. 

[holler21]

Thanks for the advice - out of curiosity how often would you say that you used it?

[tacojohn]

If your school does not have a free print quota (or a prepaid one you're required to buy in a student fee), then definitely get a nice laser printer.  If your school does have some sort of free printing, check what the quota is.  We have over 1,000 pages per semester (not including Wexis printing) and can print anywhere on campus.  Also check with career services about printing resumes.  If they have a nice laser that students can use either free or for a small fee, and you have a decent print quota, you might want to consider saving the money and getting a deskjet.  If you're paying per page at the library or you need a higher quality of printer, then the laser is the way to go.

[slacker]

I've got one with a fax, which has been helpful. I'd rather print resumes/letters at home than doing them at the career center. It's been useful when printing and reprinting memo drafts.

I agree on the Westlaw/Lexis for cases. Always take advantage of that.

[JD_MSA]

Check local computer-repair shops, too.  I walked into one to get my laptop fixed and left with a fixed laptop and a used laser printer for $40. 

[holler21]

Good idea on the local computer shops!!

[LostMyMonkeys]

Lexis and Westlaw are only free if you print them to campus. Which I can do from home but unless you are at school to pick them up... well, if you are at home and you want to read them immediately, then you are going to have to pay for it yourself. I've printed them from home before but sent them to the school printers and pick them up the next morning. So just be aware of that.

I use a regular ol deskjet, and do a minimal amount of printing. I use my $15 a semester allowance at school as well (never gone over, and it all rolls into the next semester). So it all depends. I would invest in stock from the the companies that make the ink cartriges though. I go through many of those. And I take them back to Office Max to recylce them and get a free pack of paper. I go through them about 1/1.

[wblaw]

It's absolutely worth it.  I'd also suggest looking into a multifunction print/scan/fax/copy.

Scan:  Some professors give paper handouts, it's handy to scan those and have those in your OneNote notes.

Copy:  If you're going to be travelling (either say reading while commuting mass transit, or travelling if you're say a part time student) it's sweet to be able to just read your copies of the assignments instead of dragging along a 1000 page casebook.

Print: Of course is handy if you're working on writing assignments at home, or just want to print lexis/westlaw at home. 

 

[J D]

Lexis and Westlaw are only free if you print them to campus.

I don't know the details re: how it works at your school, but at mine, this is certainly not the case: we have our passwords, and our unlimited access, anytime, anywhere.  Besides, there's literally nothing to stop one from just copying the materials from the web browser, pasting them into Word, and then printing.  Though I'm sure the good people at West and Lexis are even now trying to find a way to prevent this.