Laser printer recommendations? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Dee8go · #1 10-18-2007, 02:21 PM

I'll have to buy some new office equipment for my new venture. One item will bea laser printer. Any recommendations for something in the $200-$300.00 range? I'm thinking HP is probably the way to go for laser printers. Any of you guys have a strong opinion on this?

How about All-in-one printer, fax, scanners?

300EVIL · #2 10-18-2007, 02:36 PM

Canon and HP are the best. Are you looking for color laser or just black and white? How many prints do you plan on making a month and is speed important to you? If you want something that copies and scans too, let me know, I'll set you up right.

Dee8go · #3 10-18-2007, 02:52 PM

I forgot that you sell these, Evil. I don't need color, just B&W. Speed's not that important and the monthly duty cycle should be pretty low. I'll know better what I might need after I see the new boss next week.

Thanks.

G-Benz · #4 10-18-2007, 02:59 PM

I'm happy with my HP printer...it's networked at home so all the PCs have access to it. Reliable so far at year three of ownership....purchased as a refurb.

It would fit your price range but...it IS a consumer model. There is a reason that there are offerings for consumers and businesses.

If you plan on print volumes generated by a typical small business, you'd be replacing cartridges daily! A significant expense IMHO even if you can get the cartridges recharged. I'm not sure the printer would hold up to the heavy usage either.

Dee8go · #5 10-18-2007, 03:04 PM

Thanks. I'm hoping I won't be doing that much printing. Hopefully, I'll be out selling a lot more than I am sitting in my office needing a printer.

I'm enjoying all the time I have on the forum this week before I have to start really working for a living again next week.

MTI · #6 10-18-2007, 03:33 PM

HP Laserjets have a similar reputation as Mercedes. When the Laserjets first came out, based on the Canon print engines, they were the industry standard for duty cycle and peformance, at a price.

When HP started creating cheaper consumer models after the LJ5, things really went downhill fast. Ask anyone that got stuck with an LJ 1100 or 1100a.

Other companies, like Brother and Samsung make great low volume home lasers, some with built in networking and Macintosh support.

Dee8go · #7 10-18-2007, 03:38 PM

I've had an HP LJ II sitting in my basement for 18 years. It hasn't worked in the last 16 of those. Everytime I start to throw it away, all I can see is the $1200.00 I spent on the damned thing.

Stoneseller · #8 10-18-2007, 03:52 PM

Funny coincidence. I just bought a new printer for home on Tuesday.
I'm very loyal to HP. I wanted to be able to copy & scan as well. In color.
I bought the HP CM1017. The list price is pretty steep, $699.00, but if you go to Office Depot in person by this Saturday, there are 2 rebates. One is an instant $225.00, making it $475 out the door. Then you get a $150 mail in rebate on top of that. It's one heck of a nice color laser for $325. Holds 250 sheets total. Check it out.
David
** edit** it also has multiple memory card slots, so you can look at & print from most common camera card formats without even turning on your computer. Pretty slick

123c · #9 10-18-2007, 04:04 PM

All I can say, is stay away from Staples, I got into it with them over their price matching scam that they have.

sixto · #10 10-18-2007, 04:06 PM

I have a LJ 4P I got new in the early 90s. It'll print a perfect page after sitting for 6 months. No way I'll use anything but HP toner cartridges (made by Canon?). Compare that to inkjets that won't print right after sitting for a couple of weeks. Who wants to pay for HP ink cartridges with that won't keep?

The best feature is no power switch. Turns on when you print, turns off when it's done. Why aren't more devices like that?

Sixto
87 300D

cornblatt · #11 10-18-2007, 06:39 PM

We have a low-end HP color laserjet at work. The toner cartridges have a chip attached to them that counts the number of pages you print. When the page count hits a predetermined limit, it tells you the toner is out and refuses to print until you replace the cartridge. A page with one letter on it still counts as a page (even though it uses no toner)... At $100 per cartridge (and 4 cartridges), a toner refill costs more than the whole printer did, and you're throwing out half-full cartridges. Very maddening.

We also got a lower-end black-and-white HP (in the $150 price range) and it would slightly shrink each page it printed, which caused us alignment trouble when printing on pre-printed forms (such as cheques, label sheets, etc). Not recommended. Plus it didn't come with a USB cable to hook it up to the computer, which meant an extra trip to the store to get one.

Having said that, I have an ancient HP laserjet 4000N at home that's great - super fast and reliable.

I think that the recurring-revenue model that's always been used for inkjet ink is starting to become the norm for laser printers now - the printers are almost free (<$200) and the supplies are where they make their money.

Dee8go · #12 10-18-2007, 06:54 PM

That's good to know, Cornblatt. Thanks for mentioning that about the page-counting chip on the cartridges. That sucks!

My 18 year old HP IIP only used one cartridge in the two years it was operational. I think it would have been okay had my daughter not fed all of my pocket change into it. It never worked right after that.

cornblatt · #13 10-18-2007, 07:18 PM

You can buy replacement chips and stick them to your existing cartridges, but it seems like an unnecessary hassle (do a web search for "HP laserjet smartchip" and you'll find them).

I don't mean to speak negatively of HP; I'd imagine that other manufacturers have adopted the same practices. But, if you can find a printer without one of these chips, it would probably save you money in the long run.

Palangi · #14 10-18-2007, 08:02 PM

I think pretty much all of the color laser printers and most of the B/W printers will have chipped cartridges. Originally called CRUM chips (Consumer Replaceable Unit Monitor). Originally a Xerox patent, I believe, now probably expired.

One series that doesn't seem to have chipped cartridges is the HP 1000 series (1010, 1012, 1020, etc). Nice little low volume printers. Usually you can find one on sale for $100 or so. Two drawbacks though: 1). Cost per page is higher on the low-end printers like these. 2). It doesn't tell you when the cartridge is empty. You find out it's empty when the pages start coming out blank.

LUVMBDiesels · #15 10-18-2007, 08:34 PM

If I were you I would go on ebay and find a Laserjet III or Laserjet4. The new stuff HP is putting out is not as good as the old stuff. my old LJ IIIP is a great printer (I used to sell them back in the '90s) but it cost well over a thousand bucks. It was also made in California and is built like a tank. It must weigh 30 pounds.

Fast forward to today. I have a consulting customer who just bought five HP 1022 laserjets. They are garbage. They are made in China and must weigh 3 pounds. She has had to send two of them back and the remaining three originals are getting worse with everyday. Carly really messed up HP.

To tell you the truth, I don't know what new printer to recommend.
I have a 9 year old Rx80i multifunction printer/scanner/FAX and I love it. I also bought a new one three years ago that is another hunk of junk.

No offense to anybody who loves HP, but I can't recommend them.

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