A3 colour lasers

[Oops_my_bad]

The cheese has asked me to sort out a colour A3 laser printer for some of the technology stuff. Printers aren't exactly my forté here - anyone got any recommendations? I've got anything upto £2500 to spend but dont want to venture too near that figure :twisted:

[Ric_]

Does it have to be laser?

I'm not a fan of colour lasers... I feel that colour reproduction is better on inkjets (particularly photographs) and the TCO is very high for the volumes that are printed in schools.

[RoyG]

I can thoroughly recommend the HP Laserjet5550N - it really does the lot & is pretty bullet-proof. Plus HP's support is pretty good too.

I got a good deal from Misco - click here

RoyG

[john]

For cost per page you cannot beat a colour copier, we won't get A3 Colour Lasers they are just too costly to run.

[BaccyNet]

we bought a HP 5550N as well for our technology dept.

Admittedly it did go wrong within a few months but this was due to misuse rather than a hardware fault. HP did a great job of getting us going again.
Well worth getting the extended warranty on these things, I'd hate to know how much replacement parts are for it

Personal opinion I think photos are better on a high quality inkjet although an A3 full colour page just seems more bright and vibrant on a laser. Again personal opinion

[Oops_my_bad]

OK thanks guys - will have to look into inkjets too maybe? Anything I save can go towards papercut software

[RoyG]

OK thanks guys - will have to look into inkjets too maybe? Anything I save can go towards papercut software

Personal view - go for laser every time. Inkjets can be a pain, depending on level and regularity of use. Use it too little & the jets clog; use it too much & you're always changing expensive cartridges.

RoyG

[richard]

We have a HP Officejet Pro K850DN at my school which we use for special projects. its a great printer and the running coast aren't too bad either.

[contink]

We have a HP Officejet Pro K850DN at my school which we use for special projects. its a great printer and the running coast aren't too bad either.

Worth also noting that the HP10/11 cartridges do have reset chips (not auto type) and the cartridges are static (not printhead mounted) so installing a CIS on them is a piece of cake*... That would further cut your costs and allow greater scope for test prints without costing a fortune.

[richard]

Haven't got round to looking at a CIS system on it yet nor the 5400DN's that we have around the school.

[contink]

Haven't got round to looking at a CIS system on it yet nor the 5400DN's that we have around the school.

if you want any intel on those I have a pretty fair experience now re: K550, and L7X80 models... Only reason I've not played with the K5400's is there's no space and I already have a spare K550 needing a home.

Principals are the same but in truth I've built my own kits and sourced my own chips/cartridges for my CIS's... the ebay CIS kits are a waste of space.

[Diello]

Two Lexmark C912s here - works like a beauty.