2010 A3 Ink jet Recommendations

[ChrisH]

Once again I am looking for a decent A3 Ink Jet Printer for the Technology Dept. The HP K8600 we got last year has not been well received. We have a 2800DTN in another room that is still running strong so I am looking for something that is going to be reliable. They need ink jet for the packaging they make as as toner just crumbles when creased/folded etc.

 

Cheers

 

Chris

[enjay]

I've got my eye on a Brother DCP6690CW, networked A3 printer and scanner for about £250.

[Tcsltd]

We have some great offer on Brother at the minute and if you are interested in the DCP6690CW I can do these for £210.00 ex vat at the minute with free delivery!! . If you want full specs drop me an email.

[contink]

Epson Photo 1400's seem to have stayed the course rather well and because they have been around for a while now there's everything you need to install CIS systems, waste kits and reset waste counters so maintenance, consumables, etc... can be kept low...

 

I wouldn't touch anything HP now.... quality, especially in drivers has gone downhill and the switch to pigment inks in the 8500, etc... means the printheads clog in most school environments...

[dhicks]

The HP K8600 we got last year has not been well received.

 

In what way? Ours is going okay - we have it set up to print A3 on paper and acetate. It proved fiddly to switch between A4 and A3 (A4 paper, for some reason, needed to be put slightly away from the edge of the paper guide to feed in straight - fiddly) so we have another A4 printer to do A4 prints. It seems to have trouble feeding glossy photo paper properly - glossy stuff seems to stick rather, and the paper feed rollers don't have enough grip on them. I've tried re-coating them with WD-40, but that didn't seem to last very long. We've now taken to using cartridge paper instead of "proper" photo paper, which seems to be working a treat so far and is a lot cheaper.

 

We have a 2800DTN in another room that is still running strong so I am looking for something that is going to be reliable.

 

The lid on ours proved rather flimsy and broke, leaving the printer giving "lid open" messages the whole time.

 

--

David Hicks

[john]

We've just been doing this and after having used some of that Brothers baby A4 models in a local firm, I decided against them as they don't play too well on a full corperate network, they wanted too much junk on each workstation to make them worthwhile, and HPs ink offerings were poor.

 

In the end I bought a new HP Colour LaserJet, was a very good price for it and so far so good everyone is happy.

[ChrisH]

In what way? Ours is going okay - we have it set up to print A3 on paper and acetate. It proved fiddly to switch between A4 and A3 (A4 paper, for some reason, needed to be put slightly away from the edge of the paper guide to feed in straight - fiddly) so we have another A4 printer to do A4 prints. It seems to have trouble feeding glossy photo paper properly - glossy stuff seems to stick rather, and the paper feed rollers don't have enough grip on them. I've tried re-coating them with WD-40, but that didn't seem to last very long. We've now taken to using cartridge paper instead of "proper" photo paper, which seems to be working a treat so far and is a lot cheaper.

 

 

 

The lid on ours proved rather flimsy and broke, leaving the printer giving "lid open" messages the whole time.

 

--

David Hicks

 

The paper feed has been the biggest pain as well as speed/reliability.

 

We've just been doing this and after having used some of that Brothers baby A4 models in a local firm, I decided against them as they don't play too well on a full corperate network, they wanted too much junk on each workstation to make them worthwhile, and HPs ink offerings were poor.

 

In the end I bought a new HP Colour LaserJet, was a very good price for it and so far so good everyone is happy.

 

We have a LJ 5550 in the main classroom which is good for their other stuff but they want ink jet for graphics, for when they are doing packaging as all the toner breaks up when folded etc.

 

@Contink

 

I would love to hear more about about that setup? Does the network version behave properly with a windows print server (ie not a pain like a HP 2600) and I would like more information on the CIS stuff as well. If you could post/pm the info I would be very grateful.

[contink]

The paper feed has been the biggest pain as well as speed/reliability.

It always is and in almost all cases it's resolved by using cheap, paper without the finishing residues that more expensive papers use...

 

@Contink

I would love to hear more about about that setup? Does the network version behave properly with a windows print server (ie not a pain like a HP 2600) and I would like more information on the CIS stuff as well. If you could post/pm the info I would be very grateful.

If you're referring to a Photo 1400 then the printer itself doesn't have a built in printserver that I'm aware of... Any standard Print Server will do the job though or you could hook up to a machine dedicated to them (but enough grandma egg sucking lessons ).

 

Regarding CIS's... I'd look to Rihac.co.uk for the kits and me for the inks (subtle self-promotion there doncha think )... but in all seriousness Rihac has excellent documentation and support based primarily in Australia and if you get stuck I know more than is positively healthy so I can always help out too.

 

Waste kit wise there is only me (as OctoInkjet) unless you want to pay for cheap shoddy copy cr*p from eBay sellers happy to steal my copy and resell it without the graft (not bitter or anything )

 

If you want heavier duty reservoirs I can help with 250ml bottles (with around 210 useable capacity) and some tricks on securing the bottles to avoid most unwanted attention (kids rarely touch them to be honest).

 

PM me if you want more intel anyways... On a side note, avoid R1900, R2880, or similar printers unless you want to go to the R3800+ as they cost the earth unless you know where to get the compatible inks and cartridges (which I "might" ).

 

Long day... hope that lot makes some sense though...

[ChrisH]

Hmm I wanted a all in one solution really regarding the networking. Thanks for the information on the other stuff though I may get back to you on that.

[tom_newton]

@john - they're ok if you don't need scanning on every desktop, there's a MUCH more lightweight (megs, not 100s of megs) driver for just print. Network scanning si a bit of a chore, but other than that, the one that nice vicki lady sent us is a breath of fresh air compared to that poxy poxy %$!£ lexmark.

 

@TcsLtd - go on... quote me up an inexpensive A3 printer (only really need print, and low vol) - the chief accounts wesp (Nic) is getting her own lair soon, and will want to furnish it with something large enough to print the sales analysis in >6pt

[john]

@TcsLtd - go on... quote me up an inexpensive A3 printer (only really need print, and low vol) - the chief accounts wesp (Nic) is getting her own lair soon, and will want to furnish it with something large enough to print the sales analysis in >6pt

Makes note not to buy any more smoothwall stuff if they need A3 paper and 6pt font to print a months sales on one page

 

Back to topic.... Interesting the toner breaking up, never considered that and we are doing boxes on our new HP, wonder if the new ColourSphere toner has less "breakage" than the older stuff in the 5500? I can't remember the model but Vicki at TCSLtd will know it as shes priced me on some toners

[tom_newton]

Makes note not to buy any more smoothwall stuff if they need A3 paper and 6pt font to print a months sales on one page

 

Tell that to accounts wasp! She wants so much detail... she even has a mug that says "I spreadsheets"!

[Tcsltd]

@john - they're ok if you don't need scanning on every desktop, there's a MUCH more lightweight (megs, not 100s of megs) driver for just print. Network scanning si a bit of a chore, but other than that, the one that nice vicki lady sent us is a breath of fresh air compared to that poxy poxy %$!£ lexmark.

 

@TcsLtd - go on... quote me up an inexpensive A3 printer (only really need print, and low vol) - the chief accounts wesp (Nic) is getting her own lair soon, and will want to furnish it with something large enough to print the sales analysis in >6pt

 

Tom do you want an Inkjet?? Glad your pleased with the Brother printer....Gonna have some good deals on Brother Colour lasers for the Edugeek conference..!!

[ChrisH]

One last bump on this. Has anyone got any other recommendations for an A3 Ink jet? We don't mind the more expensive variety as long as it is decent and network ready.

[p858snake]

What type of packaging do they need to print onto?

 

Have you thought about giving the department a network attached photocopier and just sticking it in the departmental staffroom?

* Consolidate their printers into one machine (If wanted)

* more economical to print (Cost and Toner wise)

* only need the one set of toner for the department (Unless you keep a standard printer in the classroom)

* Can hold multiple types of paper sizes (A4, A3 etc)

[timbo343]

We bought a Canon A3 printer (the Canon Pixma IX4000) from... Amazon for £210. It is part of the Photoclub and is a great A3 Printer. The results are fantastic.

[ChrisH]

What type of packaging do they need to print onto?

 

Have you thought about giving the department a network attached photocopier and just sticking it in the departmental staffroom?

* Consolidate their printers into one machine (If wanted)

* more economical to print (Cost and Toner wise)

* only need the one set of toner for the department (Unless you keep a standard printer in the classroom)

* Can hold multiple types of paper sizes (A4, A3 etc)

 

Toner is out of the question as it crumbles when folded as previously stated.

I will look into the Pixma, cheers.

[p858snake]

depending on the toner you get and what you print onto, if its pain a3 paper it should be fine in most cases.

[ChrisH]

Has anyone had any experience of HP PhotoSmart Pro B9180?