[sje789]

I just bought an iMac and I'm shopping for an inexpensive laser.
The low-end Brother sounds good enough. Is it worth almost $100 more for the postscript support in the Lexmark?
My printing will be mostly MS Word, web pages, some PDFs.
For that matter do I need laser. What is the difference between a laser printer and an inkjet that both list resolutions of 600dpi?
Isn't the laser's print quality still better?
Laser toner is cheaper overall, right?

If I want to put either printer on an ethernet network later I just need to buy the network card from the manufacturer and a hub. Right?

Generally I HATE inkjet printers. They are slow and much more expensive to maintain over the long-term.

I use the laser printer Brother HL-1050 and have had no real complaints in the last ten months (before that I was a Mac newbie so I didn't really know exactly what I was doing). Toners cost avg $30 each and lasts over 3,500 pages, which isn't bad. It runs 10 ppm so for my scripts, it's purty good for a home office printer.

You can order a Brother print server for use over a network, but I found it a tad pricey (over $300, I think).

If you have only TWO on the network, here's a nice workaround: On the printer (Brother 1050 anyway) there are two ports--parallel and USB. Connect your printer via one computer's USB port and via the parallel-to-USB adapter to the other computer. PowerPrint 5.0 is fantastic in this regard. You would not need a print server, then.

BUT if you want a network-ready printer, be prepared to pay more (as in $300 extra).

I may be wrong, but I think PowerPrint has come out with something that would enable a network of USB Macs share the SAME printer. If so, that may be the best bet for you.

Hope this helps.