printer for university

[NotUrsula]

Best indicator is how much he prints schoolwork for his own use at home. One of the things I have found that I do, and DS does as well, is that often you think you have something complicated formatted correctly , but if you try to print it out it turns out to look off. I always print a hard copy of anything with complicated formatting before I consider it properly done, because sometimes formatting acts differently when printed, and the preview is not always reliable. He took a printer AND a printer cable with him when he went to school, and used it quite a bit, though for larger items he usually used the Library printers and his campus printing allowance. (That wifi printer restriction is common for some reason; a cable is a very good idea in on-campus housing.)

Printers often also come in handy for forms that need to be printed out and actually signed, or for patterns if you are creating something.

 

[FigmentSpark]

My son does most of his current work on line. It's the prof who wants a hardcopy of the paper finished a 2am the night before that concerns me.

Also, I hadn't thought about the wired vs wireless. That's a good point.

Lots of good info here. Thanks.

 

[smokeyblue]

I have laser black and white Brother multifunction unit that I got from office max for either $125 or $150. It has been excellent. The toner cartridge it came with lasted for a very long time under heavy use. There after, I bought two refilled toner cartridge replacements from Amazon for $16 and with occasional use I haven't had to use the second replacement yet after owning the printer 3 years.

 

[clh2]

My daughter lasted less than a week without a printer. (There was not a public use printer in her dorm.).

We already had a printer picked out “just in case” and if I recall bought it from Amazon, and she had it in two days.

 

[China Expat]

My son rarely needed a printer and just used the one in the student center when needed.

 

[AustinTink]

We sent a printer with my son to the dorm. He likes to work late at night and those hours were not in sync with the printing locations at the school. He used his printer fairly often. One bonus: He has never had to buy paper or ink. Between all the kids who have asked to borrow his printer throughout the years at school, he has gotten them to supply paper and ink as payment. They were happy to oblige as long as they knew they could go to his room and print at 2 am whenever they wanted.

 

[kymom99]

My son does most of his current work on line. It's the prof who wants a hardcopy of the paper finished a 2am the night before that concerns me.

Also, I hadn't thought about the wired vs wireless. That's a good point.

Lots of good info here. Thanks.

On the topic of WiFi, my sons school does not allow them to use the WiFi for their TVs either.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Oh, so no smart TVs with access to Netflix?

Actually, my DS said he's not taking his TV to res... too distracting, he says, but he doesn't watch much TV now. What he does is go on Netflix and Disney+ on his Macbook and sit in his room watching 'tv' that way.

I wonder if the school will be watching for large bandwidth going to computers that way?

 

[mjkacmom]

All of my kids watched Netflix in their dorms.

 

[NYCgrrl]

This really isn't a question to ask others online since the age of the dorms, location, etc. are widely different from one school in a university and dorm to another. Unless of course this is a brand new school from classrooms to residences built before the 90s.

Checking the brochures, pamphlets, and newsletters received is the way to go. You also might have access to the school's parent and student forums where all these types of questions can be answered w/ certainty.

 

[NotUrsula]

Oh, so no smart TVs with access to Netflix?

Actually, my DS said he's not taking his TV to res... too distracting, he says, but he doesn't watch much TV now. What he does is go on Netflix and Disney+ on his Macbook and sit in his room watching 'tv' that way.

I wonder if the school will be watching for large bandwidth going to computers that way?

Yes, you can normally use smart TVs, but you have to hardwire them (and at my DS' school, game consoles, too.) The reason is that with so many wireless devices in close proximity, the network struggles to deliver in most cases. Many schools have decided that the boundary is portability: if it is a device you normally carry around with you it can use wireless, but if it is something that normally is used in a specific location, they want you to wire it.

Normally what this means in terms of wiring is a USB printer cable, 2 or more HDMI cables, a good Ethernet cable and possibly an HDMI splitter switch box (if the TV has limited HDMI ports.)

Depending on coursework, something that can come in very handy is a larg-ish desktop monitor. (I know students who brought those instead of TVs, and used them for streaming, too.) Some tasks are made much easier by having 2 monitor screens available at once, and tablets are often awkward for that.

 

[Imzadi]

Many inexpensive B&W laser printers are now a viable option and the dry ink doesn't tend to clog like inkjet printers do if you only print infrequently.

Yes, a secondary thing to consider is the type of printer ink.Inkjet printers use fluid printer ink, whereas laser printers tend to use dry, powder ink. If an inkjet printer isn't used frequently, the bottoms of the printer cartridges and the print head, (the holder for the printer cartridges and where the ink flows out of onto the paper), dries up and clogs. Sometimes, one can use rubbing alcohol/hand sanitizer to break up and dissolve the dried up clogs. However, we now need hand sanitizer as actual hand sanitizer, and that may be in short supply. And it's iffy on when/if it will work on the clogs.

I have a great Canon multifunction color inkjet printer. But, I used it so infrequently, that when I finally want to get it up and working again, I will have to replace all the ink cartridges and the print head - which normally isn't something that needs to be replaced. I basically use it for scanning old photos & documents now into my computer. No printing. But, if I don't need a high quality, perfect scan, I just use my cell phone to take a photo of the document.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Yes, you can normally use smart TVs, but you have to hardwire them (and at my DS' school, game consoles, too.) The reason is that with so many wireless devices in close proximity, the network struggles to deliver in most cases. Many schools have decided that the boundary is portability: if it is a device you normally carry around with you it can use wireless, but if it is something that normally is used in a specific location, they want you to wire it.

Normally what this means in terms of wiring is a USB printer cable, 2 or more HDMI cables, a good Ethernet cable and possibly an HDMI splitter switch box (if the TV has limited HDMI ports.)

Depending on coursework, something that can come in very handy is a larg-ish desktop monitor. (I know students who brought those instead of TVs, and used them for streaming, too.) Some tasks are made much easier by having 2 monitor screens available at once, and tablets are often awkward for that.

oh that makes sense. Of course. My son does have two monitors, so that might be his choice, for sure.

That reminds me, one of the things the school said to bring is a landline phone. I’d be shocked if any of these kids didn’t have a cell phone, so I wonder why they need a landline phone.

 

[CGB]

I bought an earlier version of this printer for my son when he decided he needed a printer in his dorm room. He used it all through his undergrad and graduate studies. It's currently $69.99 at Amazon. (Cheaper than I paid!) Also, you can buy off-brand toner cartridges for like $12 and they last a long time (depending on how much is printed, of course.)

Brother HL-L2300D Monochrome Laser Printer with Duplex Printing

 

[FigmentSpark]

Yes, a secondary thing to consider is the type of printer ink.Inkjet printers use fluid printer ink, whereas laser printers tend to use dry, powder ink. If an inkjet printer isn't used frequently, the bottoms of the printer cartridges and the print head, (the holder for the printer cartridges and where the ink flows out of onto the paper), dries up and clogs. Sometimes, one can use rubbing alcohol/hand sanitizer to break up and dissolve the dried up clogs. However, we now need hand sanitizer as actual hand sanitizer, and that may be in short supply. And it's iffy on when/if it will work on the clogs.

I have a great Canon multifunction color inkjet printer. But, I used it so infrequently, that when I finally want to get it up and working again, I will have to replace all the ink cartridges and the print head - which normally isn't something that needs to be replaced. I basically use it for scanning old photos & documents now into my computer. No printing. But, if I don't need a high quality, perfect scan, I just use my cell phone to take a photo of the document.

I knew about the problem of inks drying up, but I didn't realize that was mostly for inkjets. Good point. Laser printers don't have that problem?

I have a travel inkjet that I take to WDW once a year. And once a year I have to replace either the color or the black cartridge, so they must last about 2 years. Good news for me is that at least I can alternate each year. I didn't know about the hand sanitizer trick, though. That could have saved me a lot of money out of my vacation fund, lol.

 

[tvguy]

The best advice is to check the "What To Bring" list on your children's University website.
I'm a bit out of touch as my youngest graduated in 2015. But checking the six Universities my two kids applied to (including the two they attended) and all six recommend a printer, including the one my daughter went to that had a large computer lab and printer center.

 

[Imzadi]

I knew about the problem of inks drying up, but I didn't realize that was mostly for inkjets. Good point. Laser printers don't have that problem?

As far as I know, laser printers tend to use dry powder as their "ink." It's already dry, so not the same problem. For black & white printers, it's often the same powder that is in the old, big copier machines that used to take up a whole room by itself, and fax machines. In fact, my black & white laser printer was made by the Brother company, and it uses the exact same black toner cartridge that an old Brother fax machine used. When I do a search for a refill cartridge, if I do a search for it by the fax machine model number instead of by the printer model number, I'm often able to buy the cartridge for a few dollars less!

 

[tvguy]

it's often the same powder that is in the old, big copier machines that used to take up a whole room by itself, and fax machines. I

Still around except the hip folks call them "Business Hubs" now.

 

[_19disnA]

I knew about the problem of inks drying up, but I didn't realize that was mostly for inkjets. Good point. Laser printers don't have that problem?

Correct, inkjet printers use a liquid ink and that is what dries and tends to clog the spray head if not used frequently. Laser printers use a dry powder that is fused onto the paper using heat when printing, no liquids involved.

 

[KristiMc]

My son just finished his freshman year. He had no need for his own printer. If there was something he needed to print he could send it to the printer in the computer lab of his dorm or to any other printer on campus for a small fee. The printer in his major building was free to use.