# Help me buy a new multi-function laser printer (2021 version) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2021, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-new-multi-function-laser-printer-2021-version/941159 "2021-05-01T14:41:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-new-multi-function-laser-printer-2021-version/941159/21 "2021-05-03T05:34:36Z")
> [@metonymic](#): > > (and my last midrange laser printer’s colour output was disappointing) The color is handy for printing color documents which use text color and shading for emphasis. We haven’t bought a color laser for a long time, which is why I haven’t contributed, but I can’t help but remember the review of one we were looking at 10 years ago: > pictures are recognizable ---
**Author:** ![metonymic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@metonymic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/metonymic)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-new-multi-function-laser-printer-2021-version/941159/22 "2021-05-03T13:06:59Z")
hah! That’s perfect 😅 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-new-multi-function-laser-printer-2021-version/941159/23 "2021-05-03T15:14:24Z")
Honestly, what I want to print is “colored graphs”, not “photographs”. So “pictures are recognizable” is probably adequate for my desires. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-new-multi-function-laser-printer-2021-version/941159/24 "2021-05-03T16:36:02Z")
We use the HP M479 at my work and it seems fairly reliable. If you need something beefier the M575 is its big brother. It’s bigger in just about everything: size, cost, and intended workload. ---
**Author:** ![metonymic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@metonymic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/metonymic)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-new-multi-function-laser-printer-2021-version/941159/25 "2021-05-03T19:56:01Z")
That makes sense. I don’t think I ever printed photos, but I did print illustrations and other graphics for various documents and projects – the ideal use for me would have been sell sheets or quick promo fliers, but the saturation and smoothness, and overall quality of the print was just not good enough. I do think graphs looked fine though! Anyway, my old printer was new in 2011, presumably things have improved since then even in midrange printers. ---
**Author:** ![Crankyhillbilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Crankyhillbilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crankyhillbilly)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-new-multi-function-laser-printer-2021-version/941159/26 "2021-05-03T20:20:14Z")
There may be nothing wrong with the one you have and the new will have the same problem if so. Make sure you have it set for the right kind of paper. If it is having problems on envelopes and heavier paper then you need to change the paper type so that it goes through slower. The fuser is a heater with a halogen bulb and heavier paper pulls more heat out of it and it can’t recover fast enough so after a couple of pages it isn’t hot enough to properly fuse the toner to the page. This is usually the problem when you have deterioration after a couple of pages. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-new-multi-function-laser-printer-2021-version/941159/27 "2021-05-03T22:11:04Z")
What’s wrong with mine is that we need to reboot it more and more often. We used to just always leave it on, and it always worked. For a couple of months we’ve needed to reboot it every time we print. Last time we needed to reboot it about five times before it would talk to the network. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-new-multi-function-laser-printer-2021-version/941159.md?page=1)