Need help choosing home business printer...

[Brian Huether]

My wife has just started a freelance writing/copywriting business.
Basically, she needs a printer that will print excellent letterheads (with
color), brochures, etc. Ideally needs to be a perfect tradeoff between
quality and speed. When I go on google, I find too many options. I don't
need fax, scanner, etc - just an excellent printer that will last years.
Price range is $200-$400.

thanks,

brian

 

[CWatters]

My wife has just started a freelance writing/copywriting business.
Basically, she needs a printer that will print excellent letterheads (with
color), brochures, etc. Ideally needs to be a perfect tradeoff between
quality and speed. When I go on google, I find too many options. I don't
need fax, scanner, etc - just an excellent printer that will last years.
Price range is $200-$400.

Just got myself an HP 6840. Mostly for writing letter and general printing.
Might be worth a look..

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/18972-236251-236261-14438-f51-385457.html

RRP $179

Pro:

Good quality colour and vibrant (can do borderless photos etc)
The draft mode is fast enough and quality is still good enough for most
letters..
Comes with automatic double sided printing (Duplex)
USB, Ethernet and Built in wireless LAN (which I use)
Pigment ink so shouldn't fade
Optional extra 250 sheet paper tray available.

Con:

Output "tray" quite a poor design. Just a support really.
Pigment ink doesn't always work well on plastic (eg OHP films etc). If you
want to print lots of OHP films use a dye based inkjet.
The chip in the HP90 series carts hasn't yet been hacked.

 

[Bill]

My wife has just started a freelance writing/copywriting business.
Basically, she needs a printer that will print excellent letterheads (with
color), brochures, etc. Ideally needs to be a perfect tradeoff between
quality and speed. When I go on google, I find too many options. I don't
need fax, scanner, etc - just an excellent printer that will last years.
Price range is $200-$400.

Since this will be for business clients, she'll probably want a printer
that produces output that doesn't smudge when handled or highlighted.
The best option is a colour laser printer, and they can be found within
her budget, about $400 for the HP 2500 or 2600 series.

An inkjet printer can be found for much less, but the ink is very costly
unless she uses refills. And the only thing the inkjet does better than
a colour laser is glossy photos.

 

[Satoshi]

I am also interested in color laser printer.
I am currently using Canon ink jet printer for printing color flyers.
How good are color laser prints compared with color inkjet prints?

Satoshi

 

[Hecate]

My wife has just started a freelance writing/copywriting business.
Basically, she needs a printer that will print excellent letterheads (with
color), brochures, etc. Ideally needs to be a perfect tradeoff between
quality and speed. When I go on google, I find too many options. I don't
need fax, scanner, etc - just an excellent printer that will last years.
Price range is $200-$400.

Look for a colour laser. The latest Samsung is a bargain which will
even do duplex.

--

Hecate - The Real One
(e-mail address removed)
Fashion: Buying things you don't need, with money
you don't have, to impress people you don't like...

 

[Bill]

I am also interested in color laser printer.
I am currently using Canon ink jet printer for printing color flyers.
How good are color laser prints compared with color inkjet prints?

For graphics and text, the colour lasers are excellent. The toner
doesn't smudge like ink does, and uncoated plain paper is cheaper to
buy. Cost per page with the OEM toner is lower as well.

The only thing lasers don't do well yet, is glossy photos.

 

[satoshi]

Thanks for your information.
After reading your post, I am seriously considering to buy an expensive,
affordable laser color prints.
So now I have more questions.

a) Are there 3rd party color laser toners like the way we see now for ink
jet printers?
b) What brand of color laser printer would you like to recommend?

Satoshi

 

[CWatters]

The only thing lasers don't do well yet, is glossy photos.

Someone told me they dont handle envelopes very well because these days most
are self dhesive. Is that true?

 

[Bill]

Thanks for your information.
After reading your post, I am seriously considering to buy an expensive,
affordable laser color prints.

I'm guessing that's a typo and you meant "inexpensive".

So now I have more questions.

a) Are there 3rd party color laser toners like the way we see now for ink
jet printers?

Yes, but it depends on the toner cartridge as to how easy they are to
open and refill. Some are sealed very well and getting the toner in can
be somewhat difficult. So it all depends on how much effort you want to
put into refilling the cartridges.

The cost per page for OEM toner is low enough (about 5 cents per page
black, and about 15 cents colour) that refilling isn't really a
necessity. But if you're print large volumes, then third party toner is
an option.

Compare that to inkjets where the costs are 10-20 times higher for ink,
and you understand why the higher demand for ink refills.

b) What brand of color laser printer would you like to recommend?

I'd look at the HP 2500/2600 or the Samsung 500 series.

 

[Bill]

Someone told me they dont handle envelopes very well because these days most
are self dhesive. Is that true?

Some self-adhesive envelopes can be a problem as the fuser inside laser
printers gets very hot causing the sealant to "melt" and seal the
envelope closed.

However, it's easy enough to find and purchase envelopes that work fine
in a laser printer at any business supply store like Staples. I know we
have boxes of them at my work from at least three different suppliers.
Just make sure the box says "compatible with laser printers" or similar
on it. The sealant they use withstands the heat from the fuser.

And if you do buy a laser printer, make sure you use only uncoated plain
paper (sometimes called copier paper). Don't use the multi-purpose
papers as they all have a coating on them which produces extra dust that
can cause problems with the cartridges and drums. Lasers don't need any
kind of special paper as the toner bonds very well to plain paper. Even
if a salesman says it's safe for lasers and costs the same, ignore him
and buy the plain paper.

 

[satoshi]

Thanks Bill,

I was always under the impression that color laser printing could cost a
fortune.
I will look into buying HP unit in very near future.

Thanks again for your important information.

Regards,

Satoshi

 

[Bill]

Thanks Bill,

I was always under the impression that color laser printing could cost a
fortune.

Just remember that the upfront cost of toner is high, so it seems to
cost a lot when you replace the toner carts.

But the toner lasts for several thousands pages at 5% coverage. When you
do the math, it works out to about 5 cents per cartridge, so less than
15 cents for all three colours (in Canadian funds by the way).

I will look into buying HP unit in very near future.

Thanks again for your important information.

No problem. Let us know what you get and how you like it.

 

[Ron Cohen]

Text usage is generally based upon 1500 10pt characters and color based on
5% coverage would be 4 5/8 sq inches which isn't a lot. Heavier coverage per
sheet and the costs go up while the page yield comes down. As with ink
refills the availability of third party toner would significantly reduce per
page costs.

 

[Bill]

Text usage is generally based upon 1500 10pt characters and color based on
5% coverage would be 4 5/8 sq inches which isn't a lot. Heavier coverage per
sheet and the costs go up while the page yield comes down. As with ink
refills the availability of third party toner would significantly reduce per
page costs.

While it's obviously true that page yields drop with more coverage, the
comparisons are equal. Based on a 5% coverage with toner, it also holds
true for ink coverage and costs. In the end, the net costs for toner is
much cheaper than ink.

We all know the inkjet companies are making their money on the
consumables, while laser companies are splitting the difference.

My point is ink costs are ridiculously high, while toner costs are more
reasonable. Sure you can drop per page costs with third-party toner, but
as I said before, it's not really necessary.

 

[Stevelee]

Thanks for your information.
After reading your post, I am seriously considering to buy an expensive,
affordable laser color prints.
So now I have more questions.

If I understand it correctly color laser printers do not produce colors
with a very wide gamut. That means the colors are less vibrant/dynamic
and saturated. I used to have a HP color laser printer at work place that
I can print anything freely. I quickly learned that it is no match to
the colors of a Canon inkjet printer.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

A few questions:

Usage: How many pages a day/week/month

Permanence: How important is water proof and or fade proof prints?

Paper types: Are a variety of paper types required, or will most be bond
paper

Single or double sided?

Will printer have other use beyond text and color letterhead?
(Photographs?)

Art

 

[Arthur Entlich]

They have all come down tremendously in price over the last year.
However, costs of consumables are quite high, using the same business
model as used for inkjet printers.

Art

 

[me]

Thanks for your information.
After reading your post, I am seriously considering to buy an expensive,
affordable laser color prints.
So now I have more questions.

a) Are there 3rd party color laser toners like the way we see now for ink
jet printers?
b) What brand of color laser printer would you like to recommend?

There is a limited market in third party toners, I've never tried on in
a colour laser, only in my old HP IIIp (and IIp before that) but I
haven't had any problem with them.

The question has to be how much printing do you intend to do. The
cheaper printers generally cost more to run. Generally a laser comes
with enough toner for 1-2000 pages. That might be sufficient for you
for a year or more in which case you can consider the cheap colour
lasers - there are a number available for £200, so presumably less than
US$300. Personally, if I was after a colour laser now, I would look at
Kyocera, their A4 colour laser is about £1,000 but the running costs are
lower.

 

[me]

If I understand it correctly color laser printers do not produce colors
with a very wide gamut. That means the colors are less vibrant/dynamic
and saturated. I used to have a HP color laser printer at work place that
I can print anything freely. I quickly learned that it is no match to
the colors of a Canon inkjet printer.

Take a piece of decent laser paper (eg Xerox colortech 100 gsm) which
costs less than 2p (£0.02) per sheet and tell a colour laser to print on
its thick card setting (or whatever it is for the particular model) now
do the same thing with the top of the range glossy paper in an inkjet.
Is the extra expense really justified?