[legoman]

Laser printer all the way. Cost per page is a fraction of inkjet and you are not running out every week getting a new cartridge. The only thing to watch out for is sticker shock for the toner cartridge (e.g. $100, but then again it prints 5,000+pages).

 

[fractus2]

I'm interested in getting a printer also. Can someone comment on this article excerpt on laser printer consumables (complete article)?

"During the lifetime of the printer, the drum needs to be periodically replaced as its surface wears out and print quality deteriorates. The cartridge is the other big consumable item in a laser printer. Its lifetime depending on the quantity of toner it contains. When the toner runs out, the cartridge is replaced. Sometimes the toner cartridge and the OPC drum are housed separately, but in the worst case, the drum is located inside the cartridge. This means that when the toner runs out, the whole drum containing the OPC cartridge needs to be replaced, which adds considerably to the running costs of the printer and produces large amounts of waste."

Are there many laster printers where the drum is located in the print cartridge? The article is old (Jan '02).

Thanks.

 

[jessica00]

HP IIIc runnin strong on a print server

laser > ink
i want a dot matrix printer tho, those are the shiznit

 

[wallijonn]

on the large HPIII, HP4, HP5, I found that the drum had to be replaced after about 50,000 to 200,000 pages printed. (If by the drum they meant the fusing assembly). It was a lot less on HPIIs because there was always current going to the fusing assmebly, it always was hot, the unit was never turned off, there was no electricity saving circuitry.

if you are printing 50,000 pages a year (or every 2 months), chances are you are a business, and as such it is a normal expense, and should be readily able to afford it.

I never use refilled laser toners. they do not work well. at least the HP refilled toners use real HP toner "ink", not the finer granulated "ink" in most refurbs. the refurbs tended to "leak", the drum/roller in it was seldom replaced, whereas the HPs were rebuilt, if necessary (and chances are that they would be).

 

[legoman]

Quote:

Originally posted by jessica00 HP IIIc runnin strong on a print server laser > ink i want a dot matrix printer tho, those are the shiznit

Maybe if people in the 80s hat Ety ear plugs, dot matrix printers would have never disappeared

 

[CaptBubba]

Quote:

Originally posted by jessica00 i want a dot matrix printer tho, those are the shiznit

Heh, I still have a working one.

My grandmother still uses one! BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTT, whirrrrr, BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTT

 

[D-EJ915]

hey, printer ribbon is cheap-as-ass lol, anyway, I'd get a laser printer, they print about 1,000+ sheets before needing new toner

 

[vwap]

Quote:

Originally posted by D-EJ915 hey, printer ribbon is cheap-as-ass lol, anyway, I'd get a laser printer, they print about 1,000+ sheets before needing new toner

If my laser printer printed 1000 sheets per toner cartridge, I'd take it and heave it out the roof of my apartment complex.

Expect a good laser printer to be rated for ~5000 pages on one cartridge. While this by no means shows whether or not a printer is "good," at least you'll expect to not be shelling out $100 every two months on toner that's inefficiently used...


EDIT: Well.. depending on how many pages you're printing, maybe you'll be swapping cartridges every few days..

 

[CaptBubba]

More like every few years.

 

[D-EJ915]

basically, if you print a lot of non-color stuff, get a laser, laser-color's are ok, but inkjet color looks better

 

[vwap]

Quote:

Originally posted by D-EJ915 laser-color's are ok, but inkjet color looks better

Not to mention more affordable for the run of the mill consumer printing out vacation photos

 

[averydonovan]

Quote:

Originally posted by CaptBubba Text=laser. Injets are too damned expensive. Cockeyed.com did a thing about injet cartridges, and figured it cost about 22cents a page to print black My family has a 9 year old HP Laserjet 4L which still functions flawlessly. If there current lasers are like the old ones, they will serve you well.

Got that same printer, it was given to me almost 4 years ago after sitting in someone's storage shed for a couple years. Still fired right up and I got another year out of the toner cartridge before I had to replace it. I still am using my toner cartridge I got in mid-2000, with around 6000 pages printed (roughly 4000 were printed in econo-mode). I don't do much printing now, and in the last year, but at least toner doesn't really dry out so it is perfectly usable even if I don't print anything for months at a time. Oh, and this cartridge was rated for 3000 pages, too. The only disadvantage of that printer other than the 300dpi resolution is that the toner and image drum are in one cartridge, making it more expensive to replace. But no inkjet can touch a $70 cartridge that has printed that much and is still going.

Hopefully the new HP's are like the old ones, because if so you'd do good by getting one.

Well, except the upright models, which I believe are the 6L and 1100si or something. Those things like to feed two or three pages at a time and jam alot

 

[vwap]

Quote:

Originally posted by donovansmith Well, except the upright models, which I believe are the 6L and 1100si or something. Those things like to feed two or three pages at a time and jam alot

Yeah.. if I could afford one, I'd totally go for the HP 2200dn or the 4200dn, but alas, I don't do enough printing to justify dropping that amount of cash on a printer...