Need help choosing home business printer...

My wife has just started a freelance writing/copywriting business.
Basically, she needs a printer that will print excellent letterheads (with
color), brochures, etc. Ideally needs to be a perfect tradeoff between
quality and speed. When I go on google, I find too many options. I don't
need fax, scanner, etc - just an excellent printer that will last years.
Price range is $200-$400.

thanks,

brian

"Brian Huether" <bhuetherNO@comcastSPAM.net> wrote in message
news:NeCdncDPvdG6JlvfRVn-tA@comcast.com...
> My wife has just started a freelance writing/copywriting business.
> Basically, she needs a printer that will print excellent letterheads (with
> color), brochures, etc. Ideally needs to be a perfect tradeoff between
> quality and speed. When I go on google, I find too many options. I don't
> need fax, scanner, etc - just an excellent printer that will last years.
> Price range is $200-$400.

Just got myself an HP 6840. Mostly for writing letter and general printing.
Might be worth a look..

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/e...f51-385457.html

RRP $179

Pro:

Good quality colour and vibrant (can do borderless photos etc)
The draft mode is fast enough and quality is still good enough for most
letters..
Comes with automatic double sided printing (Duplex)
USB, Ethernet and Built in wireless LAN (which I use)
Pigment ink so shouldn't fade
Optional extra 250 sheet paper tray available.

Con:

Output "tray" quite a poor design. Just a support really.
Pigment ink doesn't always work well on plastic (eg OHP films etc). If you
want to print lots of OHP films use a dye based inkjet.
The chip in the HP90 series carts hasn't yet been hacked.

Brian Huether wrote:

>My wife has just started a freelance writing/copywriting business.
>Basically, she needs a printer that will print excellent letterheads (with
>color), brochures, etc. Ideally needs to be a perfect tradeoff between
>quality and speed. When I go on google, I find too many options. I don't
>need fax, scanner, etc - just an excellent printer that will last years.
>Price range is $200-$400.

Since this will be for business clients, she'll probably want a printer
that produces output that doesn't smudge when handled or highlighted.
The best option is a colour laser printer, and they can be found within
her budget, about $400 for the HP 2500 or 2600 series.

An inkjet printer can be found for much less, but the ink is very costly
unless she uses refills. And the only thing the inkjet does better than
a colour laser is glossy photos.

I am also interested in color laser printer.
I am currently using Canon ink jet printer for printing color flyers.
How good are color laser prints compared with color inkjet prints?

Satoshi



"CWatters" <colin.watters@pandoraBOX.be> wrote in message
news:vKAxe.135742$uH4.7139418@phobos.telenet-ops.be...
>
> "Brian Huether" <bhuetherNO@comcastSPAM.net> wrote in message
> news:NeCdncDPvdG6JlvfRVn-tA@comcast.com...
>> My wife has just started a freelance writing/copywriting business.
>> Basically, she needs a printer that will print excellent letterheads
>> (with
>> color), brochures, etc. Ideally needs to be a perfect tradeoff between
>> quality and speed. When I go on google, I find too many options. I don't
>> need fax, scanner, etc - just an excellent printer that will last years.
>> Price range is $200-$400.
>
> Just got myself an HP 6840. Mostly for writing letter and general
> printing.
> Might be worth a look..
>
> http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/e...f51-385457.html
>
> RRP $179
>
> Pro:
>
> Good quality colour and vibrant (can do borderless photos etc)
> The draft mode is fast enough and quality is still good enough for most
> letters..
> Comes with automatic double sided printing (Duplex)
> USB, Ethernet and Built in wireless LAN (which I use)
> Pigment ink so shouldn't fade
> Optional extra 250 sheet paper tray available.
>
> Con:
>
> Output "tray" quite a poor design. Just a support really.
> Pigment ink doesn't always work well on plastic (eg OHP films etc). If you
> want to print lots of OHP films use a dye based inkjet.
> The chip in the HP90 series carts hasn't yet been hacked.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

On Sat, 2 Jul 2005 12:08:02 -0400, "Brian Huether"
<bhuetherNO@comcastSPAM.net> wrote:

>My wife has just started a freelance writing/copywriting business.
>Basically, she needs a printer that will print excellent letterheads (with
>color), brochures, etc. Ideally needs to be a perfect tradeoff between
>quality and speed. When I go on google, I find too many options. I don't
>need fax, scanner, etc - just an excellent printer that will last years.
>Price range is $200-$400.
>
Look for a colour laser. The latest Samsung is a bargain which will
even do duplex.

--

Hecate - The Real One
Hecate@newsguy.com
Fashion: Buying things you don't need, with money
you don't have, to impress people you don't like...

Satoshi wrote:

>I am also interested in color laser printer.
>I am currently using Canon ink jet printer for printing color flyers.
>How good are color laser prints compared with color inkjet prints?

For graphics and text, the colour lasers are excellent. The toner
doesn't smudge like ink does, and uncoated plain paper is cheaper to
buy. Cost per page with the OEM toner is lower as well.

The only thing lasers don't do well yet, is glossy photos.

Thanks for your information.
After reading your post, I am seriously considering to buy an expensive,
affordable laser color prints.
So now I have more questions.

a) Are there 3rd party color laser toners like the way we see now for ink
jet printers?
b) What brand of color laser printer would you like to recommend?

Satoshi



"Bill" <bill@c.a> wrote in message newsO2dnQ6kyf-AoVXfRVn-uA@golden.net...
> Satoshi wrote:
>
>>I am also interested in color laser printer.
>>I am currently using Canon ink jet printer for printing color flyers.
>>How good are color laser prints compared with color inkjet prints?
>
> For graphics and text, the colour lasers are excellent. The toner
> doesn't smudge like ink does, and uncoated plain paper is cheaper to
> buy. Cost per page with the OEM toner is lower as well.
>
> The only thing lasers don't do well yet, is glossy photos.

"Bill" <bill@c.a> wrote in message newsO2dnQ6kyf-AoVXfRVn-uA@golden.net...
> The only thing lasers don't do well yet, is glossy photos.

Someone told me they dont handle envelopes very well because these days most
are self dhesive. Is that true?

satoshi wrote:

>Thanks for your information.
>After reading your post, I am seriously considering to buy an expensive,
>affordable laser color prints.

I'm guessing that's a typo and you meant "inexpensive".


>So now I have more questions.
>
>a) Are there 3rd party color laser toners like the way we see now for ink
>jet printers?

Yes, but it depends on the toner cartridge as to how easy they are to
open and refill. Some are sealed very well and getting the toner in can
be somewhat difficult. So it all depends on how much effort you want to
put into refilling the cartridges.

The cost per page for OEM toner is low enough (about 5 cents per page
black, and about 15 cents colour) that refilling isn't really a
necessity. But if you're print large volumes, then third party toner is
an option.

Compare that to inkjets where the costs are 10-20 times higher for ink,
and you understand why the higher demand for ink refills.

>b) What brand of color laser printer would you like to recommend?

I'd look at the HP 2500/2600 or the Samsung 500 series.

CWatters wrote:

>"Bill" <bill@c.a> wrote in message newsO2dnQ6kyf-AoVXfRVn-uA@golden.net...
>> The only thing lasers don't do well yet, is glossy photos.
>
>Someone told me they dont handle envelopes very well because these days most
>are self dhesive. Is that true?

Some self-adhesive envelopes can be a problem as the fuser inside laser
printers gets very hot causing the sealant to "melt" and seal the
envelope closed.

However, it's easy enough to find and purchase envelopes that work fine
in a laser printer at any business supply store like Staples. I know we
have boxes of them at my work from at least three different suppliers.
Just make sure the box says "compatible with laser printers" or similar
on it. The sealant they use withstands the heat from the fuser.

And if you do buy a laser printer, make sure you use only uncoated plain
paper (sometimes called copier paper). Don't use the multi-purpose
papers as they all have a coating on them which produces extra dust that
can cause problems with the cartridges and drums. Lasers don't need any
kind of special paper as the toner bonds very well to plain paper. Even
if a salesman says it's safe for lasers and costs the same, ignore him
and buy the plain paper.