Decent Staff Room printer suggestions please

[klop]

Hi all, could you please suggest a decent staff room printer for us?

 

We've about 50 staff members with laptops - i'd like them all to be able to print to this printer - and the three PCs in the staff room at present. Clearly it will be very rare that anything like that amount will be trying to use it at any one time - 3 or 4 tops normally.

 

I'd like a laser (i think), with a quick'ish first page and colour.

 

Be good to know a rough price for printing costs too?

 

All advice very welcome!

 

Thanks

[feizhou]

We have had very good experiences with the HP 2600N for each year group with four classes of 30 pupils. Only problem being that model is rather old. Look for something that supports ethernet and comes with a duplexer. Or you can perhaps look into managed/leased heavy duty printers from say Ricoh? Not sure if they have that kind of service in the UK but we use that over here too for our office. I don't have numbers but reports from elsewhere seem to indicate that the latter can be really competitive - costs less, better print out, faster printing but you need some space for the leased beast.

[Tcsltd]

Klop

 

We have some really good cash back/warranty offers on Brother Colour Laser printers at the moment, PM me your email address if you want me to send you over some costings.

 

Thanks

[SiliconAlley_Karen]

Hi Klop

 

Have sent you some information on PM. Hope it helps.

[glennda]

We have had very good experiences with the HP 2600N for each year group with four classes of 30 pupils. Only problem being that model is rather old. Look for something that supports ethernet and comes with a duplexer. Or you can perhaps look into managed/leased heavy duty printers from say Ricoh? Not sure if they have that kind of service in the UK but we use that over here too for our office. I don't have numbers but reports from elsewhere seem to indicate that the latter can be really competitive - costs less, better print out, faster printing but you need some space for the leased beast.

 

I would avoid an Hp2600!! there are multiple threads on here about how these printers are awful! (well the drivers anyway) I would say maybe try the photocopier route as running costs are so much less etc

[MatthewL]

Photocopier route, something like a Sharp MX5000n.

[feizhou]

I would avoid an Hp2600!! there are multiple threads on here about how these printers are awful! (well the drivers anyway) I would say maybe try the photocopier route as running costs are so much less etc

 

Really? I have not had any driver problems with the HP2600N (besides, you cannot buy them anymore) but then they are connected logically via Windows 2000 Server so maybe the drivers are just well behaved on Windows 2000 Server. They have been in use for five years over here and the only nuisance they have given me is the need to clean the mirror array which takes about 45 minutes per printer.

[mjs_mjs]

we have konica minolta bizhub 360's i think (2 of) in our staff room. there photocopiers but linked to ad so users can scan stright to e-mail and print ect.

[glennda]

Really? I have not had any driver problems with the HP2600N (besides, you cannot buy them anymore) but then they are connected logically via Windows 2000 Server so maybe the drivers are just well behaved on Windows 2000 Server. They have been in use for five years over here and the only nuisance they have given me is the need to clean the mirror array which takes about 45 minutes per printer.

 

they probly use different drivers on 2000 but there are multiple threads about the awfulness of these printers Hp 2600n Printer problems http://www.edugeek.net/forums/hardware/61879-hp-2600-wont-work-network.html

 

They just tend to crash the spooler service on the local machine and it doesnt start again!

[feizhou]

they probly use different drivers on 2000 but there are multiple threads about the awfulness of these printers Hp 2600n Printer problems http://www.edugeek.net/forums/hardware/61879-hp-2600-wont-work-network.html

 

They just tend to crash the spooler service on the local machine and it doesnt start again!

 

Oh, I believe I have had at least one experience of the spooler service blowing up...I wonder if it is the pcl6 drivers...anyway, I don't have that as a constant problem and these HP 2600N are probably due for replacement unless the dude helping me out actually goes to China and get transfer belt film to fix up these aging machines for real cheap. Thanks for the heads up. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I had problems too with the pcl6 drivers for the HP 4005 CP. Switched back to pcl5 and now I am happy as a fish in water.