Old HP Laser printers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tom Bach
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Tom Bach

Now and then some of the big old HP laser printers show up in the used
market for $100-$300 or so. Is there a source I could go to to find
out what features the different models have, e.g. HP4M, etc.
 
Tom Bach said:
Now and then some of the big old HP laser printers show up in the used
market for $100-$300 or so. Is there a source I could go to to find
out what features the different models have, e.g. HP4M, etc.
Click to expand...

The main feature of old lasers is very expensive toners and/or fusers.
That's if you can still get them. Avoid!
 
The main feature of old lasers is very expensive toners and/or fusers.
That's if you can still get them. Avoid!
Click to expand...

Not my experience. I run HP 4M+ printers mainly. Genuine toners are
around $100 and last 6000 pages. That compares well with modern
printers. I can actually get genuine toners on eBay for half that, and
remanufactured ones even cheaper.

Most fuser faults can be repaired for around $25.
 
The main feature of old lasers is very expensive toners and/or fusers.
That's if you can still get them. Avoid!
Click to expand...

My aunt and I both bought HP IIIP printers back in the late 80's.
Hers is in daily use, while mine is used now primarily for heavy-duty
stuff, like tax returns and manuals. They both still work perfectly.
Although the toner cartridge is now about $90 (less on Ebay) it prints
5,000 pages. Compare that with $90 worth of ink in an inkjet. You
would be lucky to get 500 pages, let alone 5,000. Those old laserjets
were built like tanks, and last accordingly. Nothing like the cheap,
plastic printers of today.
 
Tom said:
Now and then some of the big old HP laser printers show up in the used
market for $100-$300 or so. Is there a source I could go to to find
out what features the different models have, e.g. HP4M, etc.
Click to expand...

You can find the details of these different printers at HP.COM or even
more information including assembly diagrams and part costs at:

http://www.printerworks.com/

and you can find some great troubleshooting stuff at:

http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/

I have several of the big oldies that I use, HPII, HPIID, HPIII, HPIIID
and HP 4 Plus(with duplexer).

Recycled toner cartridges from a local source are inexpensive and reliable.

For a stockpile of spare parts, I just buy an extra printer whenever I
find one cheap.

Jim

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Dick said:
My aunt and I both bought HP IIIP printers back in the late 80's.
Hers is in daily use, while mine is used now primarily for heavy-duty
stuff, like tax returns and manuals. They both still work perfectly.
Although the toner cartridge is now about $90 (less on Ebay) it prints
5,000 pages. Compare that with $90 worth of ink in an inkjet. You
would be lucky to get 500 pages, let alone 5,000. Those old laserjets
were built like tanks, and last accordingly. Nothing like the cheap,
plastic printers of today.
Click to expand...

I agree with the essence of Dick's comments, but I would not buy a HP LJ
older than the 4 Plus. I have plenty of these on my network, and they are
very cheap to operate.

The LJIII is nice if you need a straight paper path, because the back door
opens. This is good for manual feed, like envelopes, much better than LJ4+,
which has a sensor on the back door.

-- Jay
 
<http://www.printerworks.com/Printers/Laser-Printers.html>
<http://www.printertechs.com/refurbished-hp-laser-printer.php> both
sell used HP lasers, these pages have good specs of most models. TPW
in particular has comprehensive part diagrams.
The main feature of old lasers is very expensive toners and/or fusers.
That's if you can still get them. Avoid!
Click to expand...

Rubbish. Older models are very easy and cheap to get compatible toner
carts for. They don't have tricky devices in them to make refills hard
like some newer ones. You can easily get carts for any HP printer ever
made. There really aren't that many different carts, the same ones fit
a whole family of printers.

There are maintenance kits from various repair and parts dealers (like
the above TPW) for the "soft" parts, like rollers, that need to be
replaced occasionally -- you may never need these but it's good to
know. These printers are fixable, not disposable like cheap modern
ones.

I got an HP4M for $50 a few months ago. New (in 1992) it was about
$1800, and the quality shows. Maintenance do far was just wiping the
grime off. I love it....

My recommendation: unless it's free, don't get an HPIII or older
model. HP4 and later are only a little more expensive, but are better
specced (600 dpi, faster), and of course a bit less old.
The plain numbers (HP4, HP5, HP6) are the standard ones, designed for
office use. The "M" models are Mac compatible; meaning they have
PostScript, which is very nice for PCs too. The "L" are "Light",
small, non-heavy duty use. The 4L is fine (for 50 or so pages a day,
say), the 5L and 6L are notorious for jams. The "P" are "personal", in
between the plain and L; mostly okay. The "Plus" are a bit faster and
have a few more features -- the 4+ is nice because it has a sleep mode
that earlier models didn't (pretty standard now). Other models (S, eg)
are usually for very heavy duty, maybe duplexing (print both sides).
Probably overkill for home use, but if you have the space and it's
cheap, get one.
Look for one with a Jetdirect card, which will allow ethernet
connection, as well as parallel. Shouldn't cost much more. Also the
amount of installed RAM -- it's not expensive to buy used on eBay, you
should have at least 6MB.
 
Alan said:
<http://www.printerworks.com/Printers/Laser-Printers.html>
<http://www.printertechs.com/refurbished-hp-laser-printer.php> both
sell used HP lasers, these pages have good specs of most models. TPW
in particular has comprehensive part diagrams.


Rubbish. Older models are very easy and cheap to get compatible toner
carts for. They don't have tricky devices in them to make refills hard
like some newer ones. You can easily get carts for any HP printer ever
made. There really aren't that many different carts, the same ones fit
a whole family of printers.

There are maintenance kits from various repair and parts dealers (like
the above TPW) for the "soft" parts, like rollers, that need to be
replaced occasionally -- you may never need these but it's good to
know. These printers are fixable, not disposable like cheap modern
ones.

I got an HP4M for $50 a few months ago. New (in 1992) it was about
$1800, and the quality shows. Maintenance do far was just wiping the
grime off. I love it....

My recommendation: unless it's free, don't get an HPIII or older
model. HP4 and later are only a little more expensive, but are better
specced (600 dpi, faster), and of course a bit less old.
The plain numbers (HP4, HP5, HP6) are the standard ones, designed for
office use. The "M" models are Mac compatible; meaning they have
PostScript, which is very nice for PCs too. The "L" are "Light",
small, non-heavy duty use. The 4L is fine (for 50 or so pages a day,
say), the 5L and 6L are notorious for jams. The "P" are "personal", in
between the plain and L; mostly okay. The "Plus" are a bit faster and
have a few more features -- the 4+ is nice because it has a sleep mode
that earlier models didn't (pretty standard now). Other models (S, eg)
are usually for very heavy duty, maybe duplexing (print both sides).
Probably overkill for home use, but if you have the space and it's
cheap, get one.
Look for one with a Jetdirect card, which will allow ethernet
connection, as well as parallel. Shouldn't cost much more. Also the
amount of installed RAM -- it's not expensive to buy used on eBay, you
should have at least 6MB.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that info, it's very helpful. Do any of these HP models accept
standard RAM, or do they require proprietary HP memory?
 
The main feature of old lasers is very expensive toners and/or fusers.
That's if you can still get them. Avoid!
Click to expand...
Thats due to the fact that when you replace the toner, you basicaly have a new
printer.

I'll take a used HP 5 over a new laser anyday of the week.
 
Thanks for that info, it's very helpful. Do any of these HP models accept
standard RAM, or do they require proprietary HP memory?
Click to expand...
The LJ 5 i have is using 64 MB of standard 72 pin EDO
 
Having had several older HPs I agree with all previous favourable comments
and find Printerworks to be an excellent source of information.
I would also recommend looking into older Lexmarks.(IBM's house brand
rebadged)
I was fortunate enough to acquire a Lexmark Optra R from Ebay for a low
price and after two months with it I'm delighted.
It came with a network card and that is also something I highly recommend.
Many of us now have routers owing to our faster (ADSL - cable ) connections
and what a joy it is not to have to a "constantly on" computer attached to a
printer in order to make use of it.
Now, no matter which computer I use I have access to the printer whether I
have other computers running or not.
By the way, I paid about $70. US for it and I think Lexmarks tend to be
somewhat cheaper owing to lesser recognition.
 
Thanks for that info, it's very helpful. Do any of these HP models accept
standard RAM, or do they require proprietary HP memory?
Click to expand...

They vary. The HP4+/4M+ use the same memory you get in old IBM PS/2,
which can usually be picked up for next to nothing. Fairly standard 72
pin SIMMs.
 
Thanks for that info, it's very helpful. Do any of these HP models accept
standard RAM, or do they require proprietary HP memory?
Click to expand...

HP4 and later use more or less standard RAM. See
<http://www.shawnbehrens.de/hpmem.htm>
Check this to be sure of the specs.
I see printer RAM "pulls" on EBay pretty frequently, probably the best
place to get it if you need unless you have a computer junk shop
nearby. Also, you can get a plain 4 or 5 and buy the appropriate
PostScript SIMM (and some more RAM) to make it a PS printer.
Have a look at the EBay sellers "laserjet4you", "bobtechprinters" and
"avi14". They have a lot of auctions of that kind of stuff. (Have
never bought from them, but at least useful for the photos and model
numbers.)
 
Bob Eager said:
Not my experience. I run HP 4M+ printers mainly. Genuine toners are
around $100 and last 6000 pages. That compares well with modern
printers. I can actually get genuine toners on eBay for half that, and
remanufactured ones even cheaper.

Most fuser faults can be repaired for around $25.
Click to expand...

Have you found the re-manufactured ones OK?
 
I find it very easy to get ram for LJ4+, but ram for LJ4 is very scarce and
I look at ebay (UK) daily.
 
Have you found the re-manufactured ones OK?
Click to expand...

Given the price I've been able to get real HP ones, I haven't bothered.
I did buy one used HP4 that was noisy, and it turned out to be the toner
cartridge..
 
The main feature of old lasers is very expensive toners and/or fusers.
That's if you can still get them. Avoid!
Click to expand...

You haven't clue of what your talking about.. Some of the old HP's
such as the LJ III, LJ5's and LJ5's have some of the lowest repair
costs and toner costs around. The machines are built like tanks, have
been around for years and the aftermarket folks have a good handle on
them. Do some research before you post misinformation about something
you know nothing about.

Frank
 
ATK said:
Have you found the re-manufactured ones OK?
Click to expand...

We have an old HP IIIp which just sits here for sort of emergency
backup, or has been in that position for the last four or five years,
prior to that its had remanufactured cartridges with no problems (has
one in it now) never had a problem with them but had lots of problems
with inkjet compatibles.
 
Quoth Alan ...
Also, you can get a plain 4 or 5 and buy the appropriate
PostScript SIMM (and some more RAM) to make it a PS printer.
Click to expand...

I have a mixed network - mainly Macs but also one pc (running NT 4)
and I would be delighted to turn a recently bought LJ4 with a
JetDirect card into a Mac compatible postscript printer, I wonder if
anyone please would tell me a bit more about this, I did not know it
was possible.

1. do I need more than one postscript module?
2. will i install in the SIMM slots?
3. does the postcript works well, I mean, will it work as good
preinstalled postscript.
4. I asume it is postscript 2, but is it emulation, or genuine Adobe
postscript?
4. I do not have the manual for the printer, are any you aware of a
where I might find one in PDF format?

Any help would be most appreciated, thank you
Mike Anderson
 
1. do I need more than one postscript module?
No.

2. will i install in the SIMM slots?
Click to expand...

Yes. It goes in any spare SIMM slot (so you may end up with a bit less
memory).
3. does the postcript works well, I mean, will it work as good
preinstalled postscript.
Click to expand...

It's the same as the preinstalled PostScript.
4. I asume it is postscript 2, but is it emulation, or genuine Adobe
postscript?
Click to expand...

Adobe. Says so on the chip on the SIMM!
4. I do not have the manual for the printer, are any you aware of a
where I might find one in PDF format?
Click to expand...

Such a thing does not exist. Email me for a couple of things that may
help.
 
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