We have a low-end HP color laserjet at work. The toner cartridges have a chip attached to them that counts the number of pages you print. When the page count hits a predetermined limit, it tells you the toner is out and refuses to print until you replace the cartridge. A page with one letter on it still counts as a page (even though it uses no toner)... At $100 per cartridge (and 4 cartridges), a toner refill costs more than the whole printer did, and you're throwing out half-full cartridges. Very maddening.

We also got a lower-end black-and-white HP (in the $150 price range) and it would slightly shrink each page it printed, which caused us alignment trouble when printing on pre-printed forms (such as cheques, label sheets, etc). Not recommended. Plus it didn't come with a USB cable to hook it up to the computer, which meant an extra trip to the store to get one.

Having said that, I have an ancient HP laserjet 4000N at home that's great - super fast and reliable.

I think that the recurring-revenue model that's always been used for inkjet ink is starting to become the norm for laser printers now - the printers are almost free (<$200) and the supplies are where they make their money.

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1989 250TD Wagon 5-speed, 160,000mi ::: Dark gray metallic / black cloth
1984 190D-2.2 5-speed, 287,000mi ::: Silver-blue metallic / black MB-tex ::: SOLD