Finding a laser printer for my grandmother

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1

So, as a tech support for my family, and my grandmother in particular, I've decided throw away the junk Epson inkjet she owns because I'm tired of fixing that steaming pile of shit (much like most cheap inkjets). We have decided that she would need:

  • A monolaser (she never uses colors)
  • A scanner

I would personally prefer to keep the scanner separate from the printer, and just have a simple and reliable monolaser that has less reasons to break. Unfortunately, it pretty much needs to be a monolaser/scanner combo because of space limitations. 

My grandmother uses a Mac Mini, so it may be a good idea to purchase a relatively new model because of driver support.

Question #1: Which brands are considered the most reliable? I have heard good things about HP and Brother, but I haven't done the obligatory research yet (doing it now actually)

Question #2: This is a budget question. I need to nail down a budget and I'm wondering at what price points I should put myself in order to obtain a 95% reliable monolaser. A couple of paper jams here and there is fine, I have learned to expect that from most printers.

2

HP has best compatibility. Laser printers make more sense for less-than-frequent users, because inkjets need frequent use or they clog up. An HP laserjet will last a very long time and work perfectly fine with refilled cartridges. I still think they are the best choice.

As for scanners, I like Epson and Canon scanners, even though they are often a nightmare to get to talk over a network to my linux machines. I use a big Canon copier/scanner at the office, it's very fast and has good image quality, and I use an Epson Perfection scanner for photo work, because I still use film, and the image quality of those things is really good, but they are slowish. Both have Mac drivers and software available. I don't like HP scanners, I find they are too dark and don't resolve as much detail.

3

Had an identical requirement for my Grandmother, went for a Samsung in the end. 

Check out my blog on this here:

http://jaredhuet.com/2014/02/16/what-printer-do-you-buy-for-your-grandmother/