I have an HP2100TN. I've used HP lasers for years, and I think they are far and away the best and most reliable. I would not consider anything other than an HP laser. You can get brand new ones for under $300 now, and they have a consumer color laser for $600 now. If you want one that will print for the next decade (literally) get the one that's one step up from consumer grade.

My printer is the ancestor of the current HP2400 Series , which is a 1200x1200 DPI engine like mine is. This line has been 2100, 2200, 2300 and now the 2400. A friend of mine got a 2100 around the same time as me and has put 165,000 pages through it and has only needed to buy toner. You get about 5000 pages from the toner cartridge that comes with it and 10,000 or so pages for each additional cartridge.

The options are described by the letters following the model number:

D - duplex
T - 2nd paper tray
N - Ethernet ready (built-in network print server)

So, you can get a 2400N, or 2400DN, or whatever. If I were you, I would get a 2400N or 2400TN (if you need to print on letterhead, the extra tray is nice).

This is a great machine and will last you forever. The best part of this series is the 1200dpi engine. Most affordable printers you will look at will be only 600x600dpi, which is only a quarter of the resolution. The print quality difference at 1200dpi is quite impressive, especially with small type and greyscale images.

This series is fast (30 or 35 ppm; they have two levels), quiet, 1200dpi and has an automatic power saving mode. They are bulletproof reliable. I have literally never had a paper jam or double-feed in over 30,000 pages printed. The envelope feed works 100% of the time and makes printing envelopes a breeze.

Its about a $550 printer and well worth the extra couple hundred over other options.

Hope this helps,

Jim