Laser printer with quality comparable to inkjet.

[Joseph Chamberlain]

Dear members:

After some frustrating attempts I am just about ready to give up my inkjet
and move to a laser printer. I have tried to use my inkjet to print some
business cards, product brochures and some other promotional material for my
small business but haven't been able to find the right type of paper for
inkjets.

I have tried Epson's Double-sided Matte but the finish is not the one I want
to use. Epson's photo papers are nice (specially the Premium Semifloss photo
paper) but they print on one side only and the thickness is not ideal (too
thin). I have contacted representatives from various paper companies and
been told that card stock with a glossy cover used typically for brochures
is not recommended inkjets. I tried a sample to give it a try but the
results were nothing short of horrible.

It seems these types of papers are only available for laser printers as they
coating is not appropriate for absorbing the inks from inkjet printers.

This being the case, what laser printer would you recommend that would
approach the quality of an inkjet printer when printing such files as photos
and images ? I understand lasers utilize different technology and they
simply can't produce the same photo quality output produced by inkjets. I am
looking for laser printers that can at least approach the image quality from
inkjets and print on a variety of different paper types and thicknesses.

Any suggestions ?

This printer will be used in a small business so cost is an issue. I don't
intend to print large numbers of copies but the material will be printed in
color and hopefully with photo or near photo quality. What printer can
handle this task ? What resolution is one able to find these days from a
laser color printer that will produce good quality near photo output ?

Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions.

Best regards,

Joseph Chamberlain

 

[Fenrir Enterprises]

Dear members:

After some frustrating attempts I am just about ready to give up my inkjet
and move to a laser printer. I have tried to use my inkjet to print some
business cards, product brochures and some other promotional material for my
small business but haven't been able to find the right type of paper for
inkjets.

I have tried Epson's Double-sided Matte but the finish is not the one I want
to use. Epson's photo papers are nice (specially the Premium Semifloss photo
paper) but they print on one side only and the thickness is not ideal (too
thin). I have contacted representatives from various paper companies and
been told that card stock with a glossy cover used typically for brochures
is not recommended inkjets. I tried a sample to give it a try but the
results were nothing short of horrible.

Epson's Ultra Premium Glossy Photo Paper ($20/30 sheets...) is harder
to find (Staples has it), but is incredibly thick and heavy. Only
one-sided printable, but if you use Epson's Photo Stickers on the
back, you wind up with a double sided glossy sheet. This comes out to
be rather expensive though. Since I only do one-sided printing
business cards, I simply use the cheapest full-sheet labels I can find
(I once got about 700 on clearance so I'm not likely to run out soon)
and stick them to the back before cutting out the cards in order to
get rid of the Epson logo on the back. This paper has the disadvantage
of being horribly expensive, and, while decently water resistant,
soaks up the oils from my leather wallet so it needs to be clearcoat
sprayed for durability.

Since the paper and Epson ink are so expensive, I switched to using my
HP printer with HP Premium Plus photo paper, which can be gotten far
cheaper ($30 or less/50 sheets, often buy-one-get-one-free at Office
Depot) and do the same thing. With my 1100D printer with 10/11 ink
cartridges, it's got /zero/ water resistance until sprayed, but with a
few heavy coats of Krylon you can soak them in water and not have them
run or fall apart. The full sheet labels I use are less water
resistant but still stand up well, the combination of photo paper and
labels far better than the glossy HP laser cardstock that I tried a
few times with a color copier, which melts pretty fast in water.

It seems these types of papers are only available for laser printers as they
coating is not appropriate for absorbing the inks from inkjet printers.

This being the case, what laser printer would you recommend that would
approach the quality of an inkjet printer when printing such files as photos
and images ? I understand lasers utilize different technology and they
simply can't produce the same photo quality output produced by inkjets. I am
looking for laser printers that can at least approach the image quality from
inkjets and print on a variety of different paper types and thicknesses.

Any suggestions ?

This printer will be used in a small business so cost is an issue. I don't
intend to print large numbers of copies but the material will be printed in
color and hopefully with photo or near photo quality. What printer can
handle this task ? What resolution is one able to find these days from a
laser color printer that will produce good quality near photo output ?

Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions.

Best regards,

Joseph Chamberlain

No laser printer will have the high gloss high resolution shiny output
that a photo paper with photo inks will provide, but color lasers are
far better than they used to be at photo reproduction. Okidata has a
few models out now that do nice photos, my suggestion would be to take
some of the paper that you plan to use to an office supply store and
print the 'demo page' onto it to see how it looks.

---

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.

 

[Fred McKenzie]

After some frustrating attempts I am just about ready to give up my inkjet
and move to a laser printer. I have tried to use my inkjet to print some
business cards, product brochures and some other promotional material for my
small business but haven't been able to find the right type of paper for
inkjets.

Joseph-

Laser glossy paper is available, even double-sided if you search.
However, you will be disappointed in glossy photos made on a Laser
Printer.

Consider how the ink on Xerox copies will stick to some plastics (such as
the inside front cover of a notebook). The same is true for the ink used
with color laser printers.

With those two exceptions, most uses you might have will be better on a
color laser printer. For one thing, they are usually faster than
inkjets. Consider how long it might take to print a hundred copies of a
flyer on your inkjet. With a printer capable of double-sided printing
(duplex), it takes a little longer, but the laser printer most likely will
still win a speed contest.

A set of toner cartridges for a color laser printer will most likely be
more expensive than a set of inkjet cartridges. However, the toner may
make a thousand or so prints while the ink cartridges will only print a
hundred or so.

Laser prints are waterproof. Inkjet prints vary, depending on the brand
and formulation of the ink.

I don't know of any fade resistance tests for laser toners, but they are
likely to be as good or better than most inkjet inks. My guess is that
laser toner is on a par with good chemical photographs, but not as good as
Epson's pigmented ink.

I've printed business cards on both inkjet and laser Avery forms and
prefer the ones made on the laser printer. However, some printers (such
as the old Apple 12-600) would not fuse the toner when printing on card
stock. Be sure you get a laser printer capable of printing on such thick
paper.

Keep your inkjet for those glossy photographs.

Fred

 

[Stanley Krute]

Hi Joseph

The only color laser output I've seen that approaches --
that's approaches, not equals -- inkjet prints comes from
$60,000 Xerox 6060 that printers and copy shops have.

I print business cards on an Epson 960 on ColorLife
paper, an Epson R800 on heavier stock,
and an HP DesignJet 130 on Prem. Plus Photo
Satin paper . The Epson ColorLife paper's a tad thin, but not bad,
and all three printers make biz cards that are beautiful in a way
that NO laser output at ANY price can equal. These are
full-color biz cards with gorgeous card-filling photos. I
also print magnet cards, using Office Depot glossy magnet
paper, on the inkjets.

That said: I just today set up a Konica Minolta
Magicolor 2450 that I purchased specifically for
printing brochures and flyers. Has a reasonable quality of
photo output. Price is around $500, though you need
to spend another $85 or so for a 512MB memory
upgrade. Not comparable to inkjet output, but quite
excellent for an inexpensive color laser.

I'll keep using inkjets for biz cards. They look SO GOOD.
Nothing else comes close.

-- stan

ps -- I've also set up two local food businesses with R800's for
printing food labels. We get glossy labels from WorldLabel.com.
The resulting labels are gorgeous, nicer than any other food label I've ever
seen: brilliant colors, and no dang halftone screen dots.