Suggestions on New Laser Printer

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nick
  • Start date Start date
N

Nick

Hello,


I've got a love-hate relationship with my HP Laserjet 1100
printer. On the plus side, I did get the HP kit to work (after 2 kits)
so my printer doesn't jam nor pull multiple sheets. I also like the
copy feature although do not use it that frequently. The one feature I
really like is that after this printer finishes printing, everything
including the fan stop running. One thing that I really hate about
this printer is that it can't print any sheets evenly and is the
reason I'm looking to buy a new one.
So I have been looking at a few HPs and want to get one in
which after printing the fan turns off either immediately or no more
than 30 seconds later, with either a parallel port connection or
network ready. I ran a few demos and saw that the 1320 takes over 3
minutes for the fan to turn off. The HP 3005 turns off within about 30
seconds but is overkill for a single user. Does anyone have any
suggestions as to what to get? I see sales now for the 1320 so I'm
assuming that HP will be coming out with a replacement real soon, can
anyone confirm when it will be out? Any help would be greatly
appreciated.

Thanks,
Nick
 
Nick said:
Hello,


I've got a love-hate relationship with my HP Laserjet 1100
printer. On the plus side, I did get the HP kit to work (after 2 kits)
so my printer doesn't jam nor pull multiple sheets. I also like the
copy feature although do not use it that frequently. The one feature I
really like is that after this printer finishes printing, everything
including the fan stop running. One thing that I really hate about
this printer is that it can't print any sheets evenly and is the
reason I'm looking to buy a new one.
So I have been looking at a few HPs and want to get one in
which after printing the fan turns off either immediately or no more
than 30 seconds later, with either a parallel port connection or
network ready. I ran a few demos and saw that the 1320 takes over 3
minutes for the fan to turn off. The HP 3005 turns off within about 30
seconds but is overkill for a single user. Does anyone have any
suggestions as to what to get? I see sales now for the 1320 so I'm
assuming that HP will be coming out with a replacement real soon, can
anyone confirm when it will be out? Any help would be greatly
appreciated.
Click to expand...

Personally, my favourite printer is the 1320(n). It's difficult to see where
you're from (probably the US) but in the UK a lot of the pickup problems
reported for this printer a simply due to the tray reducing (if it is
removed) to US letter size which is smaller than A4 (English size) which can
easily be done accidentally. Paper will fit, but it is a squeeze and can
cause irregular pickup.

Small footprint, not much bigger than a 1100! But up to 22 pages per minute.
As little as 8.5seconds to first print! Memory upgrade to 144MB. 16MB fitted
as standard.

Replacing the pickup roller and seperation pad is a doddle anyway! Much much
easier than the 1100.

It's fast and double sided printing is standard. Can't be bad for saving the
environment :-(. Memory can be easily increased from Crucial (where it is
cheap!).

It's not exactly the fan which uses the power on a laser, it's the fuser
unit. The 1320 fuser unit along with other modern HP printers doesn't have
to heat up a massive roller, so it's very quick to heat up, so it can be
turned off as soon as it has stopped a job. On idle, an HP1320 consumes only
4 watts!

A network card in the 1320n means the printer doesn't have to be located
near the PC. And is a great advantage if you are using a wireless laptop:
annoying to have a cord free laptop, yet have to physically connect a
printer to it, if you want to print!
Also it means that you can turn of file and printer sharing (which can be a
security risk) if you are connected to the Internet. All machines can print
directly to the printer.

If you use a Mac, or Windows or quite a few versions of Linux, there are
drivers for you!

Higher capacity toners cartridges (not the original) should contain more
than twice as much useable toner as the original and therefore represent
good value for money.

Beware of getting a sheet partially stuck on the way out. This should NOT be
pulled out. Release the pressure on the fuser roller first! Read the manual
about this. The fuser is expensive to replace and will be damaged if you do
this.

The 1320 has been retired in the UK (and probably in the US?), so you should
be able to pick up a bargain. The 1320n has both usb and 100mbit network
connections

So what are you waiting for? :-)
 
Thanks for the information, however the cooling fan running for over 3
minutes is a deal breaker for me. I need to keep the printer
constantly on since it is attached to my router as a network printer.
I can't understand why some HP models have the fan running for minutes
on end and others it stops dead silent after the print is finished.
 
Nick said:
Thanks for the information, however the cooling fan running for over 3
minutes is a deal breaker for me. I need to keep the printer
constantly on since it is attached to my router as a network printer.
I can't understand why some HP models have the fan running for minutes
on end and others it stops dead silent after the print is finished.
Click to expand...

Do you know the power consumption of a fan?, under a watt. That's one
fortieth the power consumption of the smallest electric light you're likely
to use in your house.

The important thing is that the fuser should switch off. This can be using
as much as a kilowatt (as much as a single bar electric fire).
 
Hi!

The HP LaserJet 10xx series printers (1010, 1012, 1015, 1018, 1020 and
1022n) do not have any fans at all. The only drawback is that they are all
personal laser printers and don't offer more advanced features like
dedicated envelope feeders, automatic duplexers and multiple paper trays.

Of these printers, the LaserJet 1015 has a parallel port. The LaserJet 1022n
has onboard networking. You'd have to buy the 1015 from someone who has them
in stock, refurbished or available secondhand as it is no longer a current
model.

William
 
Nick said:
It's noise that I'm concerned about.

Thanks,
Nick
Click to expand...

I've seen only comments on HP lasers. Have you considered Lexmark
lasers? Would you consider "used"?

Unlike their inkjet printers (which are crap IMHO), Lexmark lasers are
excellent. After all, Lexmark was created when IBM spun off their
entire 'desktop' laser / dot matrix print operation back around 1996,
so they have a solid technological base when it comes to laser
printers. Lexmark Optra T's are the only non-large-format desktop
lasers I know of that can print the entire width of the page
(edge-to-edge) in emulations that permit it (e.g. IPDS), which requires
a full 8.5" width printhead, as opposed to HP's standard 8" printhead.
This comes about because of Lexmark's "mainframe" heritage (IBM's
lasers could always print edge-to-edge), whereas HP made their initial
mark as a PC-based printer.

Check out their Optra T 6xx series, they're dead silent between print
jobs, and utilise power saving features. Down-the-road service
maintenance consists of a maintenance kit required at around 250,000
impressions. Duty cycles are very impressive, and per-impression
operating costs are quite reasonable. The T640 starts new at around
US$600, not bad for a 35 ppm, expandable laser (duplex, network and
multiple tray options). Used ones are even more of a deal, and are
quite viable, as these printers just don't seem to quit. Take a look
at those available on eBay, and compare their usage with their duty
cycles. Some are hardly used, well loaded with duplex, network
connectivity, and multiple trays, and available for a fraction of their
original cost. We've got over 2000 Lexmarks in our organization, of
which many of the older ones (T614/T616/T622) have hit 1 million
impressions. We don't just have Lexmarks, we do have as many HP's, if
not more, but I believe the Lexmarks are a tougher machine. Ok, I
might be a bit biased, but it's based on my experience with laser
printers, which dates back to 1987 with Xerox's 4045/4213 lasers (man,
were lasers expensive back then!). I've currently got a T643dtn
outside my office, and it doesn't make a peep when idle. But I've
still got an HP LaserJet III at home that won't die. It has a fan that
runs constantly (too old for power saving features), so I power it down
between print jobs, However, when it does die, you can bet I'm going to
find me a good, used Lexmark Optra T6xx as a replacement, maybe sooner.
There's lots of life left in most of those puppies.

One thing to remember, normally, the faster the laser, the more noise
it'll make during operation, if that's a concern as well.

Bullitt
 
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