Comparison/Experience Question. HP LaserJet 2840 vs Canon MF8170c?

[Guest]

If I bite the bullet at spend $1000 for a laser all in one I would like to
have personal stories of people's experience with the HP LaserJet 2840 or
Canon MF8170c.

I was over at Office Depot where they had a working HP LaserJet 2840 and an
unconnected Canon MF8170c. I thought that the HP product gave a very good
copy. Reviews indicated that it was not good as a FAX, and it certainly was
not a color FAX. When I got to the spec, there was some nonsense about
manual duplex whatever that was.

Another question I have is: What is the shelf time is for laser toner? One
of my complaints about in jets is that the ink dries in the printheads if it
does not get used. Does toner clump or otherwise go bad sitting in the
cartridge for extended periods?

Bill

 

[Marek Williams]

Another question I have is: What is the shelf time is for laser toner? One
of my complaints about in jets is that the ink dries in the printheads if it
does not get used. Does toner clump or otherwise go bad sitting in the
cartridge for extended periods?

Can't respond to your other questions, but don't worry about shelf
life of laser toner. I have three big Laserjets and I go through 15-20
cartridges a month. Over the years I have probably gone through a
thousand cartridges. I buy all of them on eBay, most very old -- years
and years. Never a problem because of the age of the cartridge. Toner
does not degrade or dry out. In fact, HP warrants their toner
cartridges essentially forever (until it is used up).

But I recommend not buying your toner from HP, unless they are the
only place to get it. And if they are the only place to get it, then
I'd recommend against buying the printer. You want something that uses
toner where there is competition to keep the price down.

 

[me]

Can't respond to your other questions, but don't worry about shelf
life of laser toner. I have three big Laserjets and I go through 15-20
cartridges a month.

Ouch, thats rather a lot! Couldn't you get a larger capacity machine?

Over the years I have probably gone through a
thousand cartridges. I buy all of them on eBay, most very old -- years
and years. Never a problem because of the age of the cartridge. Toner
does not degrade or dry out. In fact, HP warrants their toner
cartridges essentially forever (until it is used up).

The toner for my Canon machine (they stopped making the machine about 5
years ago) doesn't seem to have any expiry date on at all. This is toner
that I just pour into the machine.

 

[Marek Williams]

Ouch, thats rather a lot! Couldn't you get a larger capacity machine?

Yes, but at greater cost per page. I use Laserjet 8000s, rated at 22
ppm duplexed, although I generally get only about 18 ppm in practice.
I could buy faster machines, but why not just buy more 8000s? The
8000s all use the same Canon WX engine cartridge. They're rated at
15,000 pages per cartridge, but I get about 14,000 typically. I can
get OEM grade on eBay (Xerox, Dataproducts, Lexmark) for about $45
including shipping. That makes my cost per page for toner about $.003.
Find me a faster machine that can match that.

Or find me a machine with a toner cartridge than can print enough
additional pages to be worth switching over. Like, the 8100 series
cartridges are rated at 20,000 copies. But the cost per page is
higher, and the benefit is negligible.

Or find me a new machine where there is competition for the toner
cartridges. Sometimes older is better.

And before someone says I need to get a printing press, I am doing
short run textbooks (100-200 copies at a time, max) where the material
changes every 15 minutes and must be edited constantly.

 

[me]

And before someone says I need to get a printing press, I am doing
short run textbooks (100-200 copies at a time, max) where the material
changes every 15 minutes and must be edited constantly.

What about a risograph machine?

 

[Marek Williams]

What about a risograph machine?

An intriguing question!

I have looked at Risograph, and they are very interesting. However,
after doing the math, my current equipment (Laserjet 8000s) is still a
bit cheaper. Plus, with the Laserjet 8000s I have the assurance of
supplies for a very long time. HP sold gazillions of these things.
With the Risograph I'd have to buy OEM because there are no third
party suppliers, and that scares me.

 

[me]

An intriguing question!

I have looked at Risograph, and they are very interesting. However,
after doing the math, my current equipment (Laserjet 8000s) is still a
bit cheaper. Plus, with the Laserjet 8000s I have the assurance of
supplies for a very long time. HP sold gazillions of these things.
With the Risograph I'd have to buy OEM because there are no third
party suppliers, and that scares me.

Fair enough, I know our churches share a Riso machine for weekly parish
news sheets. Personally, most of my usage is on a big old Canon
machine, for which I can pick up OEM consumables at about half the
'official' retail price. Funnily enough, just as I'm typing this
someone called to say they have some toner left from a machine they used
to have. IIRC the 8000 (colour version) series uses the same motor as
the Canon 660