Colour Printing.. what is better ?

[Grommit]

Hi

Colour Printing... What would you say is better and more cost effective

HP Businessjet 1200D £90 Printer and £15 per ink cartridge x 4 = £60

HP Laserjet 2600 £160 peinter and £50 per toner x 4 = £200

This is for are and Laser Quality in not necessary.. what would you choose ?

[tosca925]

We are using the 2600 in a couple of offices and have been very pleased with them.

[NetworkGeezer]

@Grommit
you have just pust down the unit costs of consumables without saying how long each cartrige lasts.

I suspec the laser toner lasts longer.

[benIT]

An very important factor people forget is that in schools they have long breaks - a month or so at times....

Toners dont dry up so will work straight off in september, the old system our school had ment department inkjet printers had to have new inks each september !! Add that cost to the comparison.

Also speed, albeit with correct restrictions in place, I found if they click print, speedy print output ment no fuss no resend 10 more times because its not printed straight away !! granted this can prevented and be setup with print credits, programs and the like, but all helps

We now use some colour copiers on the network for main print areas -

then we use a dell 3100 colour laser where colour is required.

these print 6,000 copies per toner change (or more if they dont use all colours)

4 toners at £45 each

Speed - 25 PPM Colour

A very cheap option at 3p per sheet and printer cost at £209

[pinemarten]

we have 4 2600's and I have been refilling toners using this toner;
http://www.refilltoner.com/MachinePr...2600+%2F+2600n
results are good -well good enough for kids' work anyway;-)

melt and pour technique -easy (tool in starter kit) - try not to sneeze while you're doing it and empty cartridge waste tank on every refill.

don't bother with the plugs, use ducktape instead, but stick it down well
reset printer to override out to disregard chip;
1. From the main menu, press (RIGHT ARROW) to System setup and press (SELECT).
2. Press (RIGHT ARROW) to Print quality and press (SELECT).
3. Press (RIGHT ARROW) to Replace supplies and press (SELECT).
4. Press (RIGHT ARROW) to Override out and press (SELECT).
5. Press (SELECT).

makes a cheap to run printer even cheaper ...

[steve]

I'm intending to switch as many people to lasers as possible this year.

Another couple of reasons fot this other than cost are:

Stock / purchasing - don't have to buy hundereds of carts every year.
Time - only need to replace 1 toner instead of 10 visits for inks.

[linuxgirlie]

I would always go for the lasers, I love HP but bought there top of the range Business Inkjets and we have had nothing but trouble, and the cartridges run out all the tiime! I also agree with the fact that toners do 'dry up' and have had to replace quite a few because of this problem.

If you are on a strict budget I would buy the inkjet and stomach the after cost.
Otherwise buy a laser!

Jo

[contink]

HP Businessjet 1200D £90 Printer and £15 per ink cartridge x 4 = £60

HP Laserjet 2600 £160 peinter and £50 per toner x 4 = £200

I mention these a fair bit but also worth considering a CIS (continuous ink supply) instead of just accepting cartridges as the only way to handle consumable costs.

That said the ink drying/clogging issue is a real one and needs to be factored in. As a result something like an Epson D88 or any other pigment based inkjet is generally to be avoided (Epson 2400, 1800, etc..).. HP's like the K550 are dyebase so less prone to clogging but do require more TLC for paper handling.

The best way to reduce issues caused by non use though is to install a small utility that schedules regular prints that exercise the printer and stop it clogging up. Does of course mean that the printer needs to be on all holiday (especially over the summer) and machine(s) on to handle the scheduling also. Has worked very well for one school I've used CIS's in for the past 3 years so it's tried and tested.

For other CIS issues do a search on here for "continuous ink printer" rather than repeat all over again

[Ric_]

From personal experience, I have been very impressed by the Business Inkjets and never (touch wood) had an ink drying or clogging experience.

I've used the HP LaserJet 4600 series colour printers as well. I guess it may be a personal preference but I preferred the colour tone of the inkjets over these.

I have also found the TCO of the Business Inkjets to be at least on a par with the lasers once you factor in print heads, drums and other maintenance costs. I do limit colour printing with quotas though.

[Dos_Box]

HP Business Inkjets get my vote too. Lasers are simply too expensive, and the inkjets also give far better printing for exacting jobs.

[SimpleSi]

I've had nothing but trouble with colour lasers (but haven't been in school that's bought one for a while.)

The last head to buy one (so good he though after a month that he bought another) now has one borked (after having it mended) and the other only works is the secretary gives it a hug

All the others have clonked themselves into the ground within 3 years - and because none of the schools could order spare consumables (are the lasers I've worked with the only ones with fusers etc that need replacing as well as the toner )within reasonable timescales, then people couldn't print for weeks

I'm a firm believer in the Business Inkjets (1200Ds are back in the shops again ) and believe that the overall experience/reliability/low cost of maintenance (occasional print head needs replacing ) makes them the "best" option (but I like the quality of a laser )

The USB only HP1000 without duplexer was a mistake by HP. I just hope the 1200Ds are back in production and we are not just seeing the batch end

I've had 2 break (Out of about 25 in 4 years) and I'm just retiring a 2230 next week because it doesn't pick up paper very well.

regards

Simon

[Quackers]

HP Business Inkjets get my vote too. Lasers are simply too expensive, and the inkjets also give far better printing for exacting jobs.

This is my view too. We have changed all our Laser's to K550's Inkjets. Our Colour laser(s) were costing far to much to run. The K550 is working out at less than 3p a page, does not have to warm up, provides better quality photo's, is fast (VERY FAST), and cost us £136 a printer with the built in print server! Only thing i have found is they do not like really cheap paper, likes to eat that.

[ChrisH]

Im using HP Business inkjets as well.

[bazM]

This may help with your deciding, they don't rate the 2600 much.

http://tomshardware.co.uk/2007/02/02...printers_2_uk/

[Lee_K_81]

This may help with your deciding, they don't rate the 2600 much.

http://tomshardware.co.uk/2007/02/02...printers_2_uk/

He seems to be quite biased towards inkjets and not all of what he says is applicable here. I pay ~£180 for a 2600N, the toners that come with it are "sample" or "starter" toners i.e. only half full. toners are ~£35 each. Giving a replacement cost of ~£142 for all 4.

On a negative side, it does seem to eat toners, but that could well be because ourstaff like to print memos (i dont know whats wrong with email) with pretty full colour pictures on them.