Laserjet 4M replacement, suggestions?

[Danglerb]

After many years of good service I am starting to get some paperjams
(13) and error codes (40) on my Laserjet 4 (or call it a 4M since I put
in a postscript simm), and I am looking at replacing it instead of
repairing it. Since I have a nice 10/100 card, ram simms, and spare
toner cartridges, but do want something a bit newer, I have been
thinking about a Laserjet 5, but I am a bit lost on all the letters.
Laserjet 5M sounds like what I need, and should be compatible with all
my spares, but I am open to any suggestions.

One point on my mind is that this printer is currently on 24/7, but
actually used very lightly, some days nothing, other days 50 pages or
less, so a good low power mode is very desirable.

I have a good sources for used printers, so just about any of the older
models will be very inexpensive to me.

Thanks.

 

[Tony]

After many years of good service I am starting to get some paperjams
(13) and error codes (40) on my Laserjet 4 (or call it a 4M since I put
in a postscript simm), and I am looking at replacing it instead of
repairing it. Since I have a nice 10/100 card, ram simms, and spare
toner cartridges, but do want something a bit newer, I have been
thinking about a Laserjet 5, but I am a bit lost on all the letters.
Laserjet 5M sounds like what I need, and should be compatible with all
my spares, but I am open to any suggestions.

One point on my mind is that this printer is currently on 24/7, but
actually used very lightly, some days nothing, other days 50 pages or
less, so a good low power mode is very desirable.

I have a good sources for used printers, so just about any of the older
models will be very inexpensive to me.

Thanks.

The LJ5 is a good printer, and so far as I know has a low standby current draw.
It is nearly the same as a LJ4+ which uses many different components to the LJ4.
So LJ4 spares will not be much good for a LJ5.
Tony

 

[DB.]

After many years of good service I am starting to get some paperjams
(13) and error codes (40) on my Laserjet 4 (or call it a 4M since I put
in a postscript simm), and I am looking at replacing it instead of
repairing it. Since I have a nice 10/100 card, ram simms, and spare
toner cartridges, but do want something a bit newer, I have been
thinking about a Laserjet 5, but I am a bit lost on all the letters.
Laserjet 5M sounds like what I need, and should be compatible with all
my spares, but I am open to any suggestions.

One point on my mind is that this printer is currently on 24/7, but
actually used very lightly, some days nothing, other days 50 pages or
less, so a good low power mode is very desirable.

I have a good sources for used printers, so just about any of the older
models will be very inexpensive to me.

Thanks.

You should go for the LaserJet 5, or 5M if Postscript is important to
you. This is an excellent printer: as reliable as the L/J4, but faster and
more modern in appearance. They can be picked up quite cheaply today.
You will be able to use the memory from the L/J4 but not, I think, the
Postscript simm (it *may* possibly work, but the L/J5 as supplied came with
a differently-numbered PS simm). You'll be able to use the toner cartridges
you have and your existing 10/100 network card. But that's about all - the
4 & 5 use different fusers, so you won't have a spare.
As to the letters, 5, 5M (postscript) and 5N (with network card) use the
same print engine and are the ones you should be looking at. 5L & 5P should
be avoided at all costs, whilst 5Si (an excellent printer) is generally seen
as being too large for home use.

 

[Danglerb]

Thanks thats pretty much exactly what I needed to hear. The Plus stuff
had me confused the most. 5M is what I will look for then, and it
appears it will also use the same ram simms.

 

[Fred McKenzie]

After many years of good service I am starting to get some paperjams
(13) and error codes (40) on my Laserjet 4 (or call it a 4M since I put
in a postscript simm), and I am looking at replacing it instead of
repairing it. Since I have a nice 10/100 card, ram simms, and spare
toner cartridges, but do want something a bit newer, I have been
thinking about a Laserjet 5, but I am a bit lost on all the letters.
Laserjet 5M sounds like what I need, and should be compatible with all
my spares, but I am open to any suggestions.

One point on my mind is that this printer is currently on 24/7, but
actually used very lightly, some days nothing, other days 50 pages or
less, so a good low power mode is very desirable.

Mike-

A couple years ago where I worked, we replaced an old HP 4M+ with an HP
4200dtn. The 4200 was an extremely nice printer that we used quite
heavily.

The 4200 is slightly larger than the 4M+. Last year we got an HP 2300d
for the boss, which is smaller than the 4M+. I don't recall if it had
PostScript or not, but seemed to be a nice printer for medium duty use.
It has a socket for a network card but the boss used the USB interface
with his Windows machine.

It has been several years since we had the HP 5si MX. It was a great
printer for its time, but large and heavy. We had the duplexer option,
and could print double-sided on 11 X 17 paper.

My experience has been that each printer uses different options. The
network cards are more likely to work on other machines, but there are
several different ones in use.

Fred

 

[Danglerb]

I know HP has continued to refine the same basic design used in the 4
series, making both a heavy use and a cheapo line, but I am even
cheaper. For between $20 and $40 I expect to pick up a 5M in excellent
condition with a full toner cartridge, and make use of the toner
cartridge I am using now, plus the spare I have unopened. If it doesn't
have as good of a network card as the one I have now, I just swap mine
in.

Kinda big, kinda heavy, vs cheap, very cheap.

 

[Alan]

After many years of good service I am starting to get some paperjams
(13) and error codes (40) on my Laserjet 4 (or call it a 4M since I put
in a postscript simm), and I am looking at replacing it instead of
repairing it. Since I have a nice 10/100 card, ram simms, and spare
toner cartridges, but do want something a bit newer, I have been
thinking about a Laserjet 5, but I am a bit lost on all the letters.
Laserjet 5M sounds like what I need, and should be compatible with all
my spares, but I am open to any suggestions.

The toner carts, RAM and network cards are compatible between 4 and 5,
but not the PS SIMM -- this has to be customised for the specific
hardware. If you get a 5M it'll come with PS, otherwise you can find
PS SIMMS on Ebay for $15-20 (and sell your old one for about the
same).
Part numbers for PS SIMMS (just plug that into Ebay search):
HP4: C2080A
HP4 Plus: C3129A
HP5: C3918A.