Can a KonicaMinolta/QMS 1350W laser printer be used with an external JetDirect 300?

[Mike O'Donnell]

(I apologize if this is posted twice)

I have an existing inkjet printer on the parallel port a JetDirect 300
10/100 print server (I'm running Windows XP). The printer is about 10
years old and giving me some problems and I'm looking to replace it with a
low end black and white laser. Staples has the Minolta/QMS 1350W on sale
this week for $89 (no rebate) and I'm wondering if this will work with the
JetDirect. The specs say the printer is networkable with their network
interface, but by the time I purchase their interface for $100, I could
just
go ahead and get a low end HP..

I've sent and email to Minolta tech support, but haven't heard anything
back.

Another option is the Brother HL2040. It's $79 at Officemax, but that's
after $70 of mail in rebates.

I have done some Google searching, but haven't seen a definitive answer.

Any information would be appreciated.

- Mike O.

 

[measekite]

(I apologize if this is posted twice)

I have an existing inkjet printer on the parallel port a JetDirect 300
10/100 print server (I'm running Windows XP). The printer is about 10
years old and giving me some problems and I'm looking to replace it with a
low end black and white laser. Staples has the Minolta/QMS 1350W on sale
this week for $89 (no rebate) and I'm wondering if this will work with the
JetDirect. The specs say the printer is networkable with their network
interface, but by the time I purchase their interface for $100, I could
just
go ahead and get a low end HP..

If you do not hear back from Minolta then consider they sent you an
invisible email telling you to buy an HP.

 

[Mike O'Donnell]

After I posted the original message, I did some more searching and found the
CNet reviews. The user ratings for the Minolta seemed at the extremes;
either high or low, average was 5.8. It was interesting that some of the
lows were blasting the Minolta for not working with a network print server,
and some of the highs were praising how well it works with network print
servers...

The Brother 2040 got somewhat better user reviews. Still highs and lows,
but the average was around 7.4. The brother cartridges are also somewhat
less expensive.

Now to muddy it even more, I'm looking at the brother 2070. It's not much
more $$, and it's faster, uses PCL6, has double the memory (16M) and it
comes with built in network interface. However, it's resolution is 600x300,
whereas the 2040 and Minolta are 1200x1200..

I'd like to get an HP, at least that's generally a proven quality, and the
toner availability is likely to be more widespread. The problem is that the
low end HP's only use USB and my JetDirect is a parallel only. By the time
I move up to an HP with a parallel port or built in networking, it's out of
my current price range...

- Mike O.

 

[me]

The Brother 2040 got somewhat better user reviews. Still highs and lows,
but the average was around 7.4. The brother cartridges are also somewhat
less expensive.

Now to muddy it even more, I'm looking at the brother 2070. It's not much
more $$, and it's faster, uses PCL6, has double the memory (16M) and it
comes with built in network interface. However, it's resolution is 600x300,
whereas the 2040 and Minolta are 1200x1200..

I'd like to get an HP, at least that's generally a proven quality, and the
toner availability is likely to be more widespread. The problem is that the
low end HP's only use USB and my JetDirect is a parallel only. By the time
I move up to an HP with a parallel port or built in networking, it's out of
my current price range...

A reply from Minolta would certainly help. 1350W has an ominous W at
the end of it implying that it is a windows/gdi printer, so the host
machine has to do the processing work. If there are any non-windows
machines on the network that might cause complications.

Does the jetdirect have network ports on it, you say it is parallel
only. If you get a USB one could it not become visible on the network
like that.

I wouldn't be too concerned about resolution on a black and white laser
the HPIIP I had 15/16 years ago was a 300 dpi and that was more than
sufficient.

 

[mso999]

A reply from Minolta would certainly help. 1350W has an ominous W at
the end of it implying that it is a windows/gdi printer, so the host
machine has to do the processing work. If there are any non-windows
machines on the network that might cause complications.

Does the jetdirect have network ports on it, you say it is parallel
only. If you get a USB one could it not become visible on the network
like that.

I wouldn't be too concerned about resolution on a black and white laser
the HPIIP I had 15/16 years ago was a 300 dpi and that was more than
sufficient.

The 1350W is a Windows GDI printer. The other machines that would
print to it are all Windows XP, so that's not a problem. The main
question I have is whether it will print properly through the network.
Minolta has their own network interface, but I don't know if the
printer will work with a non-minolta network print server. From some
information I've found, some say it will and others say it wont..

The JetDirect is a model 300. It has a 10/100 network interface and a
parallel connection.

The resolution isn't as major as an issue, but

- Mike O.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

I have one of these (Minolta 1350W) sitting in its box, as I haven't
needed to use it yet. When I read the reviews the one complaint I found
was it tended to band when printing images. One use I had planned for
it was high res greyscale images when I wanted a "screened" image, but
that may not work well if this thing bands. Banding is often the result
of the manner in which the toner is made available to the OPC drum.
Also be aware that when you refill (if you refill) the toner cart, it
kicks the printer down to about 1/4th the speed.

Can't comment on whether it will behave with your other peripherals or not.

Art

 

[Mike O'Donnell]

After some more research, as well as seeing samples of the various models at
the local stores, it looks like I'm going with the Brother 5140. It's more
money, but I'll end up with a PCL6 language (no GDI, so it shouldn't have
any issues with a network print server), expandable memory, potential for
additional tray, and a straight through paper path for envelopes and cards.
The toner cost also seems significantly lower and more available than the
Minolta. It also got pretty good reviews in the various areas (Cnet, PCMag,
etc.).
One of the local stores (MicroCenter) is running it at $199 with a $20
rebate. I found it down to $163 on the net, so I'm going to hit some of the
local stores to see if they'll price match.

- Mike O.

 

[Martijn]

Mike,

The Konica Minolta Pagepro 1350W can be used with the SEH Baseline 650
optional pocket print server to connect your printer to the network.

It's on the Qshop website (go to Q-shop.com, Accessories, Pagepro 1300)

 

[mso999]

If you do not hear back from Minolta then consider they sent you an
invisible email telling you to buy an HP.

Last night I received an email from Minolta tech support. The pointed
me to page on HP's web site that says that except for the newest
models, JetDirect print servers do NOT work with GDI printers.

The link they provided was:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=bpj05167

Their suggestion was to attach the printer to a PC and share it that
way. That's not really an option for what I want to do. Besides, as
I've posted in another message, it looks like I'm going with a
different printer anyway.
- Mike

 

[mso999]

Thanks for the reply.

I know the printer can be used with Minolta's print server; I was
looking to re-use an external JetDirect that I already have. According
to HP, that isn't possible with GDI based printers. However, I've
since decided on a different printer anyway (Brother 5140)

- Mike O.

 

[Mark]

Thanks for the reply.

I know the printer can be used with Minolta's print server; I was
looking to re-use an external JetDirect that I already have. According
to HP, that isn't possible with GDI based printers. However, I've
since decided on a different printer anyway (Brother 5140)

- Mike O.

BTW- I have had good luck with the 5140. I have about 25 of them now. The
drums don't seem to have the problems of the 1440.

Mark

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Sounds like a better deal. Brother has it's "reputation" to deal with
as well, so hard to say what your experience will be, but I hope it
works well for you.

Here in Canada, the Brothers were considerably more expensive than the
Minolta at the time i picked mine up.

Art