Colour printer with cartridge to deliver high page yields

[mikeymikec]

I'm looking at Epson because I trust them when it comes to inkjet printers, but I don't have much experience with laser printers except the basics.

At the moment I'm looking at the Epson WorkForce Pro WP-4525 DNF (about £200) because when I compare its expected cartridge page yields to other Epson inkjets and lasers (£40 black cartridge estimated 3400 pages), I have to go for a laser printer ten times the price before the page yields represent better value.

Colour printing is required. Scanning/copying can potentially be done without if it represents much better value for money.

Any suggestions? In the back of my mind I'm thinking that fast printing + good consumable value = laser printer, so this WorkForce Pro inkjet keeps making me think that there's an enormous gotcha somewhere (I strongly suspect Epson's quoted print speeds as I know they're the stuff of fantasy in their low-end inkjet products).

 

[Lemon law]

To Mikeymikec,

1. I have to first question two things. (a) At 200 British pounds, or almost $400 USD, your ink jet choice is not exactly economical in terms of initial purchase price. (2) So you will have to print a lot of pages in color just to make up for the shortfall. And then to add insult to injury you quote the prices of the just the black inkjet cartridge when at least at least 3 other colors are required for color printing without asking those prices.

2. Then you seeming operate under a totally false assumption, as if there were some law that your only options are limited to either an ink jet or a monochrome laser. As I ask and am also poster child of having, both a laser, and an inkjet all networked together. So if I want to print in color to my wife's inkjet hooked up to her computer, I can do so. And my wife can print in black and white to my laser hooked up to only my computer. So we can both pick the right tool for the right print job.

As I have three other things to say. My wife's inkjet is really really slow per page, maybe it will get a little faster in draft mode, but the out put quality fine detail becomes almost totally unreadable. But my laser's output will proceed at 20 pages per minute while retaining all the fine detail. And because my laser in an all in one, I can fax, scan, copy, and print using my laser monochrome laser. And even getter than that, when I scan, using my monochrome laser, the scan is in color. As I can transfer the file to my wife's inkjet and print it color.

 

[mikeymikec]

Thanks for your response, it was well thought out and just what I needed to challenge my logic, as well as giving me an idea once I check/consider a few things.

1. I used the Epson site to get a rough estimate of the price of cartridges (usually they're higher than other suppliers because Epson try to sell them themselves), so I have seen/checked the prices of the other cartridges (with other suppliers also). I mainly went with the black because I think it'll be the black that gets used the most by far.

2. I'm not sure what you're trying to say here, though I think you're suggesting both.

I've considered getting both, but from a cost perspective, that £200 inkjet (assuming it lasts) beats a cheap-ish monochrome laser like say the AcuLaser M1400 easily, with a high-capacity toner cartridge for £100 that can do approx. 2,200 pages. The question I guess is whether the high-speed printing would be that useful. There's also the question of space taken up with two printers.

 

[SKORPI0]

As title of topic suggest, I'd go with a continuous ink supply system (CISS) if you're printing a lot. I have one for my Epson Artisan 835 and cannot tell the difference between OEM and the CISS. Savings are usually 90%. Remember printer manufacturers make money on the ink/toner not the cost of printer itself.