laserjet 4si vs 5si

  • Thread starter Thread starter thomasamillergoogle
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T

thomasamillergoogle

I am in the market to buy a used 4si or 5 si Laserjet. They are selling
in my area for $50-$75.

Which in your opinion is more reliable? Reliability and ease of repair
is important to me, and low cost maintenance. I plan to have the
printer for at least ten more years.

When I go to buy the printer, what are some tests I can do to make sure
that it is working correctly? Please list all the tests you would run
if you were buying a used printer.

Thx!
 
I am in the market to buy a used 4si or 5 si Laserjet. They are selling
in my area for $50-$75.

Which in your opinion is more reliable? Reliability and ease of repair
is important to me, and low cost maintenance. I plan to have the
printer for at least ten more years.

When I go to buy the printer, what are some tests I can do to make sure
that it is working correctly? Please list all the tests you would run
if you were buying a used printer.

Thx!
Click to expand...

Firstly the 5si is newer technology and a faster printer and has more options
than the 4si and i believe the 5si is a better buy.
the 5si has no bad habits and is very reliable but spare parts are readily
available if necessary,.
It will need a maintenance kit fitted every 350,000 pages or thereabouts, the
maintenance interval for a 4si is only 200,000 pages.
350,000 pages is not gospel but just a guide. The 5si is almost the same
printer as the 8100/8150 and has many, but not all, parts in common.
The maintenance kit is easy to install, no need to call a technician. 4si kits
are a little harder to install but can still be done by the user.
The thing to do if you can get to test the printer is.
1. Print a status page, there are two important numbers.
a. Total pages printed
b. Pages since last maintenance
If a. is less than 500,000 you should be OK for at least another 500,000 ( I
have seen these printers with 2,000,000 pages printed and still working fine)
If b. is approaching 250,000 a maintenance kit will be needed soon (50-150,000
pages).
2. Do a paper path test from all trays including the MP tray (tray 1), 50 pages
each tray and see that there are no misfeeds or multiple feeds.
3. Examine the prints for any repeated blemishes and light printing. Remember
though that the toner cartridge may be the cause of such and is user
replaceable.
Plenty of places sell maintenance kits, have a search to see what you will be
up for every 350,000 pages or so.
Tony
 
thanks Tony, I am probably going to concentrate my search on a good
used 5si. Is the 5si known to have better toner efficiency? Based on
the cost per toner cartridge divided by number of pages per cartridge
as the efficiency formula.

Thanks, Tom
 
thanks Tony, I am probably going to concentrate my search on a good
used 5si. Is the 5si known to have better toner efficiency? Based on
the cost per toner cartridge divided by number of pages per cartridge
as the efficiency formula.

Thanks, Tom
Click to expand...


Tony's reply is much appreciated here, too.
I'd say to you, Tom, that with the number of 5Si printers now available
so cheaply I'd not even consider a 4Si. ISTM that there were very many more
5Si sold, so that should you need spare parts you're much more likely to
find a 5Si being broken for spares than a 4Si.
Perhaps you might pay that little extra for a L/J 8000 series and have a
printer that's a little more "future-proof"?
One thing not so far mentioned - make sure the one you buy has a
duplexer. I'm surprised that there are so many of these printers about
second-hand *without* duplexers. I'd have thought that when paying so much
for a new 5Si or 8000 companies would all pay that little extra to have the
convenience they provide.

The best source of info. on these printers that use the WX print engine (or,
indeed, on all HP L/J printers) is probably the "Printerworks" site. Start
here:
http://www.printerworks.com/Printers/LaserJet_5Si_5SiMX_5SiNX.html
or here:
http://www.printerworks.com/DataSheets/laserjet8100.html

You'll discover there the differences between models and which parts and
accessories are interchangeable.
 
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