I don’t have any printer whatsoever & asking you all for purchase advice.....

[jewelbiz]

using WiFi here only...

What should I buy?

truthfully 100% of the time I use my iPad for everything especially eBay although I have a brand new MacBook Air I haven’t got used to using yet.

Can buy any printer 🖨 I Think I need.

My last printer bought 6 years ago, Epson R 2880, I splurged on $750. Thinking I was going to print out my Art photography which I never did.  Had accident was in hospital 3 1/2 months and my new, at the time printer,  was left on when ambulance took me and completely burnt out as you can’t leave a printer on not ever printing.

Don't have printer for eBay labels or anything at all...

I will go & buy it at B & H Photo where I always & buy all my photography equipment.

Thank you 🙏 in Advance for sharing your advice.

[slippinjimmy]

Buy a cheap laser printer. The +/- $100 Brother monochrome printers would be completely suitable for your use. A lot of the new printers have wireless connectivity.

Consumables for Brother are cheap relative to some other brands.

[oaklandmaryland]

make sure you get one that is very recently on the market as the new computers (I have MacPro desktop) and had to buy new printer as the old printer software wouldn't transfer to and from the computer. Printers get obsolete very quickly. I got an HP Envy and love it. They go on sale freqenctly at Costco if you belong. Don't buy the warranty.

[chapeau-noir]

My opinion:  First think about what you're going to use the printer for.  If you're JUST going to print eBay labels and you sell a lot, I'd go with a thermal printer. If you just want an all-rounder that prints in black and white, go for a laser (@slippinjimmy's advice about Brother is a very good choice).  If you think you'll start up printing photographs again, then I'd research something that will do that, plus ordinary gray scale tasks.

The best all-rounder if you're not doing photography or art IMHO is a black/white laser printer.   Right now I have a Brother colour laser printer and a Zebra thermal printer.  My old Brother laser gray scale is still chugging along 10 years later and I've only had to change the cartridge twice.

[jewelbiz]

Thank you all...I appreciate your input.

I finally brought myself to sell the gigantic expensive Epson R 2880 for parts here on eBay last month for $225.  I had invested so much of myself emotionally buying the costly art printer that although it was forever broken I just couldn’t get rid of the Art Photography dream of printing out my photos and giving them away as gifts. 
It was so enormous a printer & took up so much space.
It needed its own table.

[vintagecraze50]

I run an Epson from my IPAD and you have to download the app in order for the printer to connect to your device. Works fantastic. Epson XP-7100. EXCELLENT COMBO printer with two sided copy and scanner. Once you get how to get the thing connected with the app,  it works great. Took me a bit and almost threw my iPad out the window.

[wastingtime101]

What volume of labels do you need to print?

Will you print anything besides shipping labels?

How much physical space do you have?

What price range are you looking at for the printer?

What price range are you looking at for maintenance (ink, toner, labels)?

Those are some of the questions you need to ask yourself before you make this kind of purchase.

Thermal printers are great but there really isn't much in the way of wi-fi compatibility. They're also very expensive.

Laser printers are cost effective for shipping labels using only black toner, but they are typically on the large side. The prices go up if you want a color option.

Ink jets you can get a compact size but brand name ink is expensive and if you use generic or refillable ink you will void the printer's warranty. There are some ink jets out there with more affordable ink options though I don't know any off the top of my head you would have to research them. Different models will require different numbers of ink cartridges to run so pay attention to that, too.

My last 2 printers have been Canons because they do an excellent job with photos which I print semi-regularly. A thermal printer is on my wish list, however I'm waiting for a wi fi option that's compatible with Apple devices and can print 4x6 labels.

[mvls1]

You should look at the new Epson ecotank inkjet printers. We got one a little over 2 years ago and have been very happy with it. In the 2 years we have printed over 5000 labels and an additional 5000+ color/black and white pages. We print everything eBay related on it and have NEVER bought any ink for it yet. We are still working on the original ink bottles that came with the printer. Soooo happy with the not having to continuously buy ink cartridges! New bottles of ink run $52 total for all 4 (black+colors). The quality is good for everything we do. We got the Epson ecotank 4750. It copies 2 sided, scans, faxes, has Wi-Fi printing and a document feeder. They have new models out now and run around $240-300. At 5000 printed sheets (paper and ink) should run you about $50 and best of all no more ink cartridges!

[wastingtime101]

 

[mam98031]

I really like Brother's Laser Printers.  My last one [replaced last week] was monochrome and lasted me for close to 12 or 14 years.  Last week my husband surprised me with a new all in one printer / copier / scanner / fax machine.  And it is color.  OMG I am one happy girl.  

It is a laser printer too.  Wifi enabled as we need that too.  It is an MFC-L8900CDW.  And the good news it costs a couple hundred LESS than your last printer.

But it just all depends on your needs.  There are lesser expensive Wifi enabled Brother's laser printers that are monochrome.  

I would recommend sticking with laser printers as the ink is so much less expensive and last longer than ink jets.  And those costs can really add up so it is important to consider the cost of supplies when you determine what your needs are.

[b86fiero]

I also have a HP Envy and it is a workhorse of a printer.

To avoid buying color ink cartridges when I only print black & white labels, invoices, financial reports I figured out this simple trick years ago and have not purchased color ink since then.

When you set up the printer and install the color and black ink cartridges run the alignment page and make a few copies for future use.

When notified you need to change ink cartridges only change the black ink.

[b86fiero]

sorry - eBay glitch booted me in mid reply - again.

After installing the new black ink cartridge (leaving the old empty color cartridge in the machine) let the machine run its recognition program and run an alignment sheet.  It will come out in black only.

Take one of the original alignment sheets you ran with the color ink and place it in the machine to scan.  I leave one in there and only take it out if I need to copy something.

Anyone using color ink at this time can just run an alignment sheet and use it the same way in the future.

I have not purchased a color ink cartridge in about 8 years.  Big savings on ink.

[mvls1]

We also have a brother monochrome laser printer in my office at work. It is very reliable and works great but the toner cartridges when needed are more than the 4 ink bottles for our new home Epson ecotank. Also, when it is time to replace the laser drum unit they are more expensive than just getting a new brother laser jet. So at that time we will just get a new one. That way we get a new machine, new warranty, new toner & new drum unit.

[mam98031]

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@mvls1 wrote:

We also have a brother monochrome laser printer in my office at work. It is very reliable and works great but the toner cartridges when needed are more than the 4 ink bottles for our new home Epson ecotank. Also, when it is time to replace the laser drum unit they are more expensive than just getting a new brother laser jet. So at that time we will just get a new one. That way we get a new machine, new warranty, new toner & new drum unit.

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@mvls1 

You may consider making sure you by the HIGH yield toner cartridges.  They cost a little more, but they do save you money as you get more bang for your buck.  

Also buy on Ebay.  It is a whole lot less expensive.  It is where I get my drums [as needed] and my cartridges.  I've save a lot of money over the years from buying at the local stores.

[mvls1]

With any inkjet you need to remember to run the ink nozzle cleaning function periodically to ensure the nozzles remain clean and don't get plugged with dried ink. If you print mostly labels just print some color pages now and then. That should help keep the color nozzles clean. After 2 years we are down to about 1/2 left in our color ink tanks.

My brother got an Epson ecotank a year ago. He called me last week said he can't believe his ink tanks show only 1/4 used. He also sells on eBay and is very happy with his printer.