Hewlett Packard LaserJet 1012 Laser Printer

Pros: Great price, 15ppm!, Quiet, Long toner life, Sturdy, Fresh look, Double input trays
Cons: $70 toner pack, Printer cable not included, Umm... monochrome only

Why a Laser Printer? I had been a staunch supporter of Inkjet printers for years. Inkjets were cheap, printed in color, and got the job done, albeit at their own relatively stodgy pace. Besides, I always considered laser printers to be ...

Pros: Small size, low cost, print quality
Cons: Overheats when a large number of copies made at one time

The HP 1012 has been sitting on my desk for a couple months now. As of May 2004 it has churned out a couple hundred error-free, smudge-free, crinkle-free etc. pages. I power-up the unit only when I need to print. I have left it on for several hours ...

Pros: Size, Speed, Low initial Cost
Cons: Cost of replacement toner cartridge and no USB cable

I've been a inkjet printer user for the past 5 years. Been pretty happy with them also. My only complaint has been the ink usage. That's where the laser comes in the picture. Not needing a high volume laser unit I searched around for a laser that had ...

Pros: Low Price. Fast. Reliable. Compact
Cons: Nothing major

This printer is fast, small and hard to beat with such a low price at $180. One nice feature I like this printer is it does have a ON/OFF switch on the back. The old models like 1200 or 1000 have no ON/OFF switch and spend most of day in "sleep mode" ...

Pros: Incredibly fast printing. Quiet operation. Clean prints. No wasted inkjet charging.
Cons: Instructions for installation were bad. Easy to muddle through though with no fatal consequences.

After wasting time, money and energy on several color inkjet printers and those expensive little cartridges that always run out right before you really need to print something, I finally decided that I'd had enough of the whole "razor and razorblades" ...

Pros: If you don't need color printing, this is the best value printer.
Cons: Pricey cartridge. USB cable is a separate purchase.

I just got this printer and it's running great. Installation was relatively easy. The printing is fast, crisp and clear. If one were to be super-picky, I'm sure there's a difference in quality between this bargain printer and top-line laserjets. However, the 1012 should fulfil the demands of even most business users.

The printer's design is great too, a sort of hybrid of laserjet and inkjet. The size is compact, but there are conveniently two separate trays (manual and auto) and an output tray on top.

Not many drawbacks. Obviously, there's no color printing if one needs that. Also, the trays probably wouldn't be able to hold high volumes (100-150+ sheets)

I purchased this printer from HP's own web site (www.hpshopping.com), which had the best deal at the time because of a rebate. Shipping was fast (FedEx) as well.

Pros: Fast printing, clean driver install, works with USB print server appliances.
Cons: None. Will cause landfills to rapidly over-flow with ink-jet printers.

As a veteran Network Admin I've used just about every laser printer ever invented, and this one is one of the best bargains out there.

I currently have half a dozen of these little beauties installed for users, and they all love them. The drivers are clean, easy to install, and work with Citrix/Terminal Services right out of the box. The printer is fast, reliable, quiet, and so far hasn't jammed once. I throw my 1012's on a $70 print server gadget that has USB 2 and I've got an office shared laser for less than $250, and it worls flawless.

I've been ordering mine from Staples which has been running an instant $50 off promotion which means this printer costs $150. Considering all the money we've been wasting on ink the 1012 is a godsend and pays for itself when it's taken out of the box. Strongly, strongly, recommended.

Pros: Fast, quiet, inexpensive printing. Sleek design.
Cons: On/off is hard to find at first since it is in the back.

Super quick setup. Really quiet operation. Prints RIGHT AWAY, no need to wait for toner to heat up. Nice small, sleek profile. Even the 600dpi setting prints out really nice black and white photos. We are tremendously happy with it. We had an hp deskjet (which we were very happy with) prior to getting this laser printer. The difference, in speed, print quality, noise level, paper-jam rate is phenomenal! We love the HP LaserJet 1012.
What we don't like about it is the back. The power cord and USB connection are on opposite sides, so it makes for a little but of a messier desk. Also the on/off is on the back and a bit hard to find until you get used to it.
(FYI: We also had to buy a USB hub so that we could plug the printer into the back of our 2 year old computer. Our computer only had 2 USB ports.)

Pros: Quick,clear,quality reports.
Cons: Still looking to find one.

If you aren't into greeting cards and are looking for a personal work horse printer. Look no further. HP 1012 produces clear, crisp quality reports and better then average rate of speed. I have never a moments regret for this purchase.

Pros: Fast, easy setup, quiet
Cons: Paper quite hot when it comes out (too fast?)

All I wanted was a basic black and white laser printer. This is it. USB connection, easy to install the toner cartridge. Just got it today and set it up in about 10 minutes. It even offers some basic manual duplexing, just fancy enough to suit my purposes.

So far, it's quiet, very fast, and has a tiny footprint. It even features a power button (mysteriously missing from some of the other HP models).

Who knows what the future may bring (jams? breakdowns? toner problems?) But thus far this is just what I wanted.