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B&W printing: after how many prints it pays to get laser

G

Ghouler

Senior member
I wonder if lazer or ink printer is the way to go for me.

I am printing out about 1000 pages a month.

I am about to buy a printer that will be used for up to 18 months, not longer.
Speed of printing is not that important and any current printout quality will do.

So it all boils down to the full price of:

-a printer
-toner/ink for roughly 18,000 printouts

So what's my best option?

 
To Ghouler,

If color is unneeded or unimportant--get a cheap HP or Samsung monochrome Laser. See one or two page back threads on this forum page for recommendations on which one
to get.

Its possible through refilling to beat a laser with an inkjet--but you best have a unchipped Canon inkjet and know what you are doing--and unchipped Canons are getting hard
to find.
 
You can also refill the new Canon Pixmas - look around for specific ink forumlations. Hard to beat the iP4200 if you are willing to refill yourself. Otherwise, look for one from the original Pixma line like the iP3000 or 4000. Very cheap when using clone ink tanks from places like http://www.swiftink.com (obligatory plug).

The new Brother MFCs (420/620/640, etc) use passive ink tanks so cost should be reasonable there too and clone tanks are available (at the link above among others).

There is also the new HP K550 which uses passive, separate ink tanks which have already been cloned. If photo printing isn't that important, it's output is more than adequate. Has one of (if not the highest) the highest duty cycles of any inkjet under $200. - something like 7500 pages per month... It should run cheap and last about forever for most people. The only thing I can find fault with is the U-shape paper path which can put some media (labels, heavy glossy photo stock, etc.) thru the wringer, literally...

.bh.
 
Thanks for all your replies!

I have realized some cheap lazer printers do not use lazers but LEDs instead.
While this is clearlly stated with some models (cheap Brother printers) it is not given away with e.g. HP printers. ..

I am not sure if this matters so much. In fact I need 1000 prints a month. The lowest duty cycle rating I found was 3000 prints (HP1018) This is 3x more then I need anyway and it is the cheapest option available to me (Europe) at euro 130...

According to specs it can print on various media (cards, envelopes etc). Not sure about this V-shaped vs U-shaped paths you guys are talking about but I presume if it is good for other media it should be V-shaped, am I right?

Anyone has some thoughts about HP1018? It has 2MB memory. Does it matter? I am to print out up to 10 pages long documents up to 10X in one run. With a few B&W pictures. Will 2 MB memory limit me at all?
 
Most printers that are called "laser" use a semiconductor laser (laser LED) these days to sensitize the drum via a rotating mirror. I don't know if there were "laser" printers prior to the advent of the laser LED, but if there were, then they would have used a "real" low power laser for the purpose. Okidata printers used to use a row of LCD "windows" (acting like shutters) that open to allow a strong light source (could be the same laser LED w/ mirror) to sensitize the drum - now they use an array of ultra-bright LEDs to directly sensitize the drum. Theoretically the Okidata system could be more accurate and reliable as it relies on no moving parts - the only limitation is on how small LEDs can be made for improving resolution. You'll have to rely on reviews and word of mouth to let you know whether the promise of the Oki technology is being realized in their products.

Plain paper and other thin stocks aren't phased by U-shaped paper paths. It's the thicker stock and labels that can be problematic. Most laser printers offer a "straight" paper path for special stocks (often one sheet at a time, manual feed) as well as a U-shape for normal paper (bottom paper cassettes). Many of the Canon Pixmas offer dual paper paths as well, with a bottom cassette for plain paper and other thin stocks and a fairly straight path from the bin that can deal with most any media - I have put 110 lb. card stock and even slightly thicker photo stock thru my iP3000 successfully. The spec sheet for each model will point out the paper feed options available on the printer. Just pick one to match your media usages.

.bh.
 
Originally posted by: Zepper
It's the thicker stock and labels that can be problematic. Most laser printers offer a "straight" paper path for special stocks (often one sheet at a time, manual feed) as well as a U-shape for normal paper (bottom paper cassettes). ...
Click to expand...

That is an excellent point. I have both a laser (a good H-P 4000) and an ink spitter. There is a point where the laser cannot properly fuse heavy stock. Usually above 60 lb. What happens is that the fuser is not hot enough to do the job, say, on 110 lb. stock. As a result, the unfused or partially fused toner smears all over the place. Makes a mess.

But, I do all my enevlopes on the laser because it is much better for resisting smearing from rain etc. which can effect mailings.

Basically Zepper's advice is excellent.

 
Thanks guys, in the end I got HP 1018. I decided anything better than this would be really an overkill. I do not need as many various media support. Printing envelopes and greeting cards is allright. Thanks for all your help!
 
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