Printer TCO

[Wirral_Wonderer]

I am looking for a new Printer for the Tech dept. They need A3, but I don't want to spend £1200 on it!

 

I am looking at a HP CP3505 for A4 and a "Supervised" HP 2800 Business Inkjet for A3.

 

Does any one have any better suggestions?

 

Thanks

[Busybub]

Might be worth looking into one of the Epson models with a continuous ink system. Would save you a fortune in the future.

[Sylv3r]

Might be worth looking into one of the Epson models with a continuous ink system. Would save you a fortune in the future.

 

We got one of these from ISub - the UK's leading dye sublimation printing company and the technology department love it.

[contink]

We got one of these from ISub - the UK's leading dye sublimation printing company and the technology department love it.

Dye Sublimation (or Dyesub as it's often called) is really only of any use if you want to use it for cloth or item printing (eg: mugs, etc..) In addition the ink for the dyesub printer is heavily royalty suplemented so you spend a small fortune.

 

It's help to know what sort of usage you're looking for with this printer, is it art materials, photo quality images? and what sort of consumables budget do the department in question have available or experience of.

 

If you get a short list I can help you with the TCO if you can provide a detailed consumables use stats (pages @ 5% coverage, drum swap, etc...)

 

From there I (and doubtless others) can provide a bit more targeted info for your particular need.

[imiddleton25]

we had this same issue this time last year and eventually went with a sharp mx2300n colour copier at 0.5ppp mono and 4.9ppp full colour we lease the copier at £58 per month.Comes with full scanning and printing from usb memory sticks also. Also gives us a backup copier if we need one in an emergency.

[Wirral_Wonderer]

Thanks for the responses.

 

Currently they have an extremely poorly inkjet. I am investigating the costs of small colour copiers for various departments; however this is taking a very long time!

 

In the meantime I need to update their current printing solution.

 

They need A3, and they will only be printing onto paper or card, no textiles or cakes etc!

 

I do like the CISS solution, but is it very messy to maintain?

 

Is it cheaper to run than a colour laser?

 

Thanks

[contink]

They need A3, and they will only be printing onto paper or card, no textiles or cakes etc!

Ok.. next question, what sort and weight of card do you have in mind? 160gsm style light weight stuff or heavier 220 - 280?

 

The latter will tend to reduce your options quite a bit.

 

At the moment I'd hazzard a guess that an Epson 1400 might be in the right area as it's dyebase, less prone to clogging and can handle card slightly better than an HP K850 or HP K8600 unless you want to be messing with the manual feed path for thick cards.

 

CIS kits are available and the dyebase inks make it cheaper than pigment versions which for Epsons are quite expensive. The additional benefit is that dyebase takes longer to clog and as a result can sit for longer periods. This is compared to say an 1800 or 2400 which use pigment and clog quite quickly.

 

I'm doing a lot with K850 and K8600 units myself and they work well (do a search for all the preceding comments on those)

 

I do like the CISS solution, but is it very messy to maintain?

It depends entirely on which solution you go for.. The balanced pressure systems tend to be low volume (100ml typically) for each ink colour and require a little care when refilling. Depending on the printer you opt for you could get a standard dip tube type system and there are some new kits being developed that use fully enclosed bags but it's early days there.

 

If you want some feedback on options, feel free to drop me a PM..

 

Is it cheaper to run than a colour laser?

Money wise... Heck yes! but in terms of man hours learning the ropes and securing the systems you need to allow some time and learning curve experiences.

 

Once you've got the basics down though it costs next to nothing.. literally 0.2p for a standard page of A4 text and around 2 or 3p for a full colour A4 picture, once you've paid off the initial kit cost obviously

[FN-GM]

Might be worth looking into one of the Epson models with a continuous ink system. Would save you a fortune in the future.

 

Noooom you will regret it awful printers

[contink]

Noooom you will regret it awful printers

 

There's rather a large number of Epson printers FN.. which one(s) have you had problems with?