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Need color laser printer experts.

M

Macro2

Diamond Member
Need a color laser printer. $1000-$2000 price range. Plan to do a lot of color printing on it. Color speed is important as well as the cost of consumables.
Of course decent quality.
Any experts out there?
 
i saw in a office max ad a few weeks ago a hp laser jet printer. it was quite nice, it looked nice to me. im not too sure about the quality though. check that site that the above guy posted. let me know which one you decide on as im interested in picking one up myself.
 
I had read that review. Was hoping for some first hand experience. Lexmark gets good marks but the toner is eensive and I hear they break down for instance.

Mac
 
Get a Tektronix Phaser 850 from ebay. Look for low page count. They are the last printers in the Tek line before Xerox bought them out (I used to work for Tek, and I have a 850) They are also the last ones with free black ink for life. I got a 850 DP (duplex) 64 meg memory, and built in Network capable, just put them on your network. Aside from the maintenance tray (every 10000, pages) all you need is ink. Usage varies a lot. Full color photos will suck it, but you can still do at least 100 8x10's on one stick. Way cheaper than ink jet. I paid $1200 (buy it now, screw the action), and another $400 for enough ink to last a while ( I will let you know when I run out) This is the same printer that all Kinkos use (at least one of the ones they use) When I was at Tektronix, we sold then 10,000 or so of these printers. Everybody who has been my printouts are amazed. I also use Kodak photo paper sometimes (10 mil, very heavy), and it never jams, and the output is really photo quality. Forget about 2400x2400 inkjet, this 1200x1200 real DPI will blow them out of the water!! I remember you asked me about this before, and Adul commented that it is a really great printer. Ask around.

Edit: they are rated for about 65,000 pages per month. My used one has 3700 pages printed. (almost a virgin) And one more thing, they are rated to print about 2,500 pages on one set of ink sticks using regular color coverage (5% I think ??)
 
I have the Hp Color Laserjet 2500 There are different models like the 2500L, 2500N, 2500NT etc

The L is the basic model with 1 tray for paper and 64MB of memory. the N adds network (ethernet) support and a paper tray underneath the printer. The TN offers a 3rd tray more memory etc.

I got the L and used an external print server that I picked up a deal on a while back and it works great. 600x600DPI color and black and some image enhancment software built in that supposedly makes color prints look like 2400dpi. You can go parallel, USb, or ethernet with it. the L model has a 125sheet tray the N can hold 375 and the TN875. The Toner cartrages and imaging drum aren't that expensive...if I remember correctly pricegrabber.com has a price set at $75 or so each for the different colors and black runs you $63 or something. It's about $100 for the imaging drum.

I like this printer and it prints everything I need to print very very well. I print some type setting stuff for my father's work where he uses it to burn the plates for a printing buisness. They do Folding cartons and POP displays etc. And they are always happy with the results it gets...usually only B&W is printed for that use though. The color is really sharp and vibrant as well for general use that I do with it.

The only problem I have with it is that warmup time is a bit longer than I would like(16sec). That being said however, it prints quite fast at somewhere around 16ppm B&W and 4ppm color.

it supports these formats too: HP PCL 6, HP PCL 5c, PostScript® 3 emulation
and can print on these media types: paper (plain, letterhead, prepunched, bond, color, rough, preprinted, recycled), transparencies (printed in grayscale), labels, envelopes, and card stock
 
I just took a look at the Tektronics Phaser 850 and it looks like it uses ink? If so then I would avoid it I've always had some sort of trouble with clogs with anything that uses ink. Copurse with maintence you have no trouble. But true laser printers use toner not ink.
 
cmdrdredd: It uses SOLID ink (wax), and it in a class by itself. You need to read up on it a lot, kind of like the purchasing agent for Kinkos, when they bought 10,000 printers. Please don't put it down until you know what you are talking about. I worked for this company for 20 years, and I know these inside and out (I don't work there anymore) They are great.

Edit: Here is one review of many. http://www.vnunet.com/Products/Hardware/105712
 
I found this... Butt hell if you can figure out how to use it. Seems informative, but after about fifteen minutes, I still couldn't find a review... I also have used the above mentioned Phaser printer, but not nearly as much and have been very pleased with it's output. Though I am not sure the ink is wax... It is solid though... Kinda like dye sublimation...
 
Markfw900,
I remember you. Appreciate your response. Thing is that I have to spend some money before the end of the year for business purposes.
I see you can still buy one of these printers on E-bay. Free black ink for life sounds good to me.
BTW, is Xerox still making a model of solid ink printer?
1. How does the picture quality compare to a regular color laser?
2. Speed is very important. How many pages a minute does this printer put out compared to a regular color laser? Most of the graphics tests I see, the color lasers put out about 1-3 pages a minute. I guess they are doing a 8 x10. I do a lot of color brochures with maybe 1/2 to 1/3 coverage with a picture and the rest print. Would like to get at least 2 or more pages a minute. More the better.
3. Are the colors color fast (don'tfade) ?
4. Waterproof, no streaking?
5. will it print on glossy paper (like magazine type paper). Inkjets won't, btw, it never dries.

Thanks, Mac
 
I used to administer a Minolta/QMS Magicolor 2200 (which is in your price range).

Pros: Excellent printing quality, with pictures 80% as good as an inkjet. Color graphics is where it really excels.
Cons: The drivers and administration are a pain, and I have worked with a Magicolor 2 now as well, and it's even worse.
 
I would go with the HP Color Laserjet 4600. Prints at 17 ppm black and 16ppm color. Toner is pretty expensive but they are fairly big and they last quite a while. Its a very good machine. I have sold quite a few of them, much more than any other color laser printer.
 
RE:"would go with the HP Color Laserjet 4600. Prints at 17 ppm black and 16ppm color. Toner is pretty expensive but they are fairly big and they last quite a while. Its a very good machine. I have sold quite a few of them, much more than any other color laser printer."

I looked at one of those at Staples. They are fast at the full color test. About 3 ppm according to PC world testing. They did say the pictures looked a little faded. My main concern is the comsumables as I read where you end up throwing away good toner. Past experience tells me not to trust HP when it comes to consumables?
 
Macro2:
BTW, is Xerox still making a model of solid ink printer?,

Yes, the 8200, but no free ink for life. When they bought the Tektronix printer division, they decide not to continue the polocy, so the 850 is the last one with that deal.

1. How does the picture quality compare to a regular color laser?

I haven't used any other color lasers, except the Phaser 750, which is a regular laser, but the printouts are the same as far as I can see. The 850 seems to have a little edge on quality.

2. Speed is very important. How many pages a minute does this printer put out compared to a regular color laser? Most of the graphics tests I see, the color lasers put out about 1-3 pages a minute. I guess they are doing a 8 x10. I do a lot of color brochures with maybe 1/2 to 1/3 coverage with a picture and the rest print. Would like to get at least 2 or more pages a minute. More the better.

Rated speed is 14 ppm black, and 4 ppm color. 1200 DPI photo is NOT that fast though. If you are really interested, let me know, and when I get home tonight, maybe I can put a stopwatch on it. According to some of the reviews, it seemed to comply with those. I can't find any really good reviews right now, but it won printer of the year award I think.

3. Are the colors color fast (don'tfade) ?

They are supposed to be better than others. On Sept 11th, we all printed out flags and put them in our cars. My Phaser printout lasted 3 times longer than the other ones I observed.

4. Waterproof, no streaking?

Definitely waterproof, if the paper can stand up you could imerse it in water, it feels like wax when done, and looks like a photo on regular paper.

5. will it print on glossy paper (like magazine type paper). Inkjets won't, btw, it never dries.

Not only will it print on glossy, it looks even better. I printed on 10 mil paper, and had NO problems.

Edit: A PCworld review on the 850: http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,15359,00.asp Only I disagree about the picture quality. Send me your mailing address, and I will send you a picture.
 
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