I have had to replace it finally because it got an issue where it kept thinking the paper was jammed or empty (it wouldn't tell me which) even when it wasn't. But that isn't anything to do with inkjet Vs laser.
I did replace it with a Brother laser printer simply because it was very cheap (and I don't need colour).
Annoyingly the Brother app uses the old temporary AP WiFi pairing method which doesn't at all work on modern Android because it constantly detects no internet access and disconnects no matter what you do.
So instead I had to tediously enter my WiFi password using up and down arrows and a 30 character display. Like 01234567890abcd next 01234567890abcdefghij next 0123... Seriously tedious but it's lucky they had the option otherwise I'd have had to return it.
That's a problem, actually, because lasting so long, the parts got scarce in the meantime. Scarce and expensive. It probably would've been more cost-effective to consider the belt a critical failure and replace it with new, but I just hate the notion of throwing this monstrous machine (it weighs like 70 lbs) in the trash for want of a 5-lb part.
That said, it should now be all set for another 10-15 years of service. It's still running the 2009-copyright firmware that was on it from the factory, and I will never let it "upgrade".
I bought a Inkjet Brother Printer about 8+ years ago and I have refilled the ink-tank just once after the first installation. I think a full-tank last about 5 years. I’m about to add a Brother Laser Printer too.
Oh! I also print for the neighbors pretty regularly (I live in a large gated neighborhood). Their kids needs some good colorful print for school, I do it for them. I’m the guy who keeps unexpected things that comes in handy. I’m happy with that.
Be careful. Brother is doing shaddy things this days, like lowering printing quality, or not printing, if a non-Brother toner is detected. E.g. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NzaRVEzYuz8 for a toner hack that shouln't be needed.
As far as I know they're still not doing any nonsense to force you to use their toner - but even if they did I probably wouldn't care as the original toner is cheap enough that I just can't be arsed to figure out good compatible ones.
"Brother printers do not intentionally degrade print quality based on whether a Brother Genuine or third-party ink/ toner cartridge is used."
https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/06/brother_firmware_upda...
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/brother-denies-using...
I think this is the one https://store.brother.ee/devices/laser/dcp/dcpt710w
Suggestion: Keep your printer clean, and covered while not using.
Few people seem to realize that ink is incredibly cheap. You just need to buy it third party. The most expensive part of an ink cartridge is the chips used to DRM them to lock you in
Now I have a cheap Brother laser printer for those few times I need to print something. It's over 5 years old, prints around a dozen or two pages a year and works fine every time I turn it on.
(Hopefully some day I won't need a printer at all, but sometimes it comes in handy, like when I needed to update my property tax records, my choices were either to go in to the office or mail them a signed paper form -- scanned or faxed forms were not permitted)