Advice for purchase of printer

[itsmystie]

Hello!

i need a laser colour printer but i don't know which model to purchase. my volume of printing is about 5000 per month. the printer will be connected to a standalone PC. i need a printer whose cost per page is the lowest possible. automatic duplex is not a priority. my budget is limited to $700. any recommendations please?

 

[ski]

Here's a recent test of 4 color laser printers. The HP Color Laser 3600 appears to be the best performer, and it costs approx. $540 at Newegg.

http://www6.tomshardware.com/2006/06/22/color_laser_printers/index.html

 

[NoCalAdmin]

I just puchased 3 of those HP's for my office and they are very good printers....good choice

Tom

 

[cdogg]

And just so you're aware, the HP Color LJ 3800 is the next step up (costs less than $900). May want to have a look around for the best price before you decide on a lower model.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[NoCalAdmin]

unfortunely for me budget rules more often than technology... but cdogg is right.

I still would stay with an HP....

Tom

 

[itsmystie]

Anybody can please tell me what's the capacity of the starter toner supplied with the 3600? I've searched for a detailed specs for it but didn't find any.

 

[cdogg]

Have you tried calling HP sales or checked their parts website?

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[LawnBoy]

From experience, the starter toner is not a full cartridge. How many prints you get depends on the density of the print jobs.

 

[itsmystie]

Hello friends!

I've still not made up my mind as to which printer to buy. In my country the HP 3600 is much more expensive than the price at newegg. Since i won't need colour that much often, i'm planning to go on a laser monochrome (HP 2420) and a budget inkjet (not yet decided, but most probably will be one from Lexmark). Anyone ever used the 2420? And one thing please clear for me: the cost per page given on the manufacturer's / reviewers' sites, are they accurate? Are they based on the long term cost of the printer or only on purchase price?

 

[NoCalAdmin]

we ahve three of these and the staff loves them........

on sale.......
it is a refurb, but whatever.......

http://www.pcconnection.com/ProductDetail?Sku=5818792

Tom

 

[wahnula]

itsmystie,

My advice would be to look at Konica-Minolta's 2530 DL or older model 2430 DL. These workhorses printed many thousands of documents apiece this past year and although I dd have a problem with one, that is when the other side of the purchase decision comes forth. We were not chastised by CS for doing something wrong, did not feel like he was trying to get us off the line, and had a BRAND NEW model delivered to replace a jammed year-old model. Since we just bought & installed a set of pricey high-capaciy toners, he told us to keep them for our trouble. I cannot remember a better CS experience.

Quality of tech support is a major influence on my buying process, and I will be buying more KM's due the pleasanr CSRs and swift reslolution of my problem.

Tony

 

[itsmystie]

Hello Tony!

Konika-Minolta printers are not available where I live. And buying them online is far much too expensive considering shipping costs. Here we have the choice between HP, Lexmark, Epson, Canon, Xerox, Samsung and Brother only. And on top of that the models we have available here are very limited. In fact all retail outlets don't even stock models beyond $145. If we have to buy a heavy-duty printer, we have to come with our models and then they are going to contact the distributors to know if they are available!!! And for sure here we don't get quality tech support so better choose a printer so that you don't have to contact tech support for the longest time possible.

 

[felixc]

I just purchased a Samsung ML2510 for $99. cdn. Cartridges are combining toner and drum and are at $90. for 3k copies. Great prints at 3 cents per copy.

It replaced a Brother HL-1435 that performed very well too, but with a drum at $200. and the toner at $120., the cost per copy was becoming too high.

 

[JimInKS]

For a color inkjet for moderate volume I would look at the Canon Pixma ip4300
at newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16828102038

For a good workgroup printer I like the Brother HL5250DN
has networking and duplex built in.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16828113212

or you can save a little and just get the HL5250

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16828113211