I'm sorry I can't help you with your printers, but I can confirm that laser printers do work because that is what I use. I've taken to using vellum for the patterns that have the really tiny detailed piecing, and have to feed it one or two sheets at a time, but the printer will take the newsprint as well without having to separate the sheets.
You can find vellum cheaper though office supply stores than the craft sites. I wonder if that would work for you?
Sorry for your troubles. That has to be very frustrating.