Laser vs dot matrix, which one is more cost-effective for office usage?

[Terrified Terry]

Hi all,
In our office we have a HP LaserJet 4100N operating for about 4 years
now. There was one slight problem since we bought - but the warranty
covered that. Since then there is no problem whatsoever with the
printer.
Now recently the toner price has gone up for about 15% in the part of
the globe where the office is located. We are now considering if buying
a dot matrix printer and using it could have proven more
budget-friendly or not. We do not use the printer for anything other
than normal office usage such as image printing.
So is using a dot matrix printer is more cost-effective than using
LaserJet 4100N? If yes, which dot matrix printer should we go for and
how can we find out how many pages can each ribbon print, FYI the
LaserJet toner covers up to 5000 pages each.
Any idea anybody? TIA.

 

[GB]

I wouldn't think so. They only place I see dot matrix being used is in
printing carbon duplicate invoices etc where it uses the impact to make
multiple copies. I'd bet the ink ribbons wouldn't be cheap to maintain
either.

Have you considered after market toner refills? I don't really use enough
toner to worry about it myself so I can't offer specific advice.

 

[measekite]

Gasoline is just too expensive. Going up every week. Give up your car
and get a horse and buggy. It is cheaper to run.

 

[Ron Martell]

Hi all,
In our office we have a HP LaserJet 4100N operating for about 4 years
now. There was one slight problem since we bought - but the warranty
covered that. Since then there is no problem whatsoever with the
printer.
Now recently the toner price has gone up for about 15% in the part of
the globe where the office is located. We are now considering if buying
a dot matrix printer and using it could have proven more
budget-friendly or not. We do not use the printer for anything other
than normal office usage such as image printing.
So is using a dot matrix printer is more cost-effective than using
LaserJet 4100N? If yes, which dot matrix printer should we go for and
how can we find out how many pages can each ribbon print, FYI the
LaserJet toner covers up to 5000 pages each.
Any idea anybody? TIA.

How many pages are you printing per month (e.g.how long does the
average toner cartridge last)?

Can you really afford the increased noise, slower printing, and
reduced print quality of a dot matrix printer?
- Dot matrix printers offer a 150 dpi print quality at best, compared
to the 600 dpi you get with your laser.
- A dot matrix printer would have to print over 800 characters per
second in order to match the 25 page per minute output of the laser
printer.

And if your 4100N is connected directly to your office network then
you are going to have the additional complications of configuring a
computer to act as the print server for the dot matrix.

I think that this is an instance of being "penny wise and dollar
foolish".

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm

 

[Hecate]

Hi all,
In our office we have a HP LaserJet 4100N operating for about 4 years
now. There was one slight problem since we bought - but the warranty
covered that. Since then there is no problem whatsoever with the
printer.
Now recently the toner price has gone up for about 15% in the part of
the globe where the office is located. We are now considering if buying
a dot matrix printer and using it could have proven more
budget-friendly or not. We do not use the printer for anything other
than normal office usage such as image printing.
So is using a dot matrix printer is more cost-effective than using
LaserJet 4100N? If yes, which dot matrix printer should we go for and
how can we find out how many pages can each ribbon print, FYI the
LaserJet toner covers up to 5000 pages each.
Any idea anybody? TIA.

Stick with the laser. If necessary buy a new laser if the costs over
time will work out cheaper. A dot matrix is only really useful for
multipart invoices. Otherwise they're legacy devices which go wrong a
lot more often.

--

Hecate - The Real One
(e-mail address removed)
Fashion: Buying things you don't need, with money
you don't have, to impress people you don't like...

 

[Wolf Kirchmeir]

Hi all,
In our office we have a HP LaserJet 4100N operating for about 4 years
now. There was one slight problem since we bought - but the warranty
covered that. Since then there is no problem whatsoever with the
printer.
Now recently the toner price has gone up for about 15% in the part of
the globe where the office is located. We are now considering if buying
a dot matrix printer and using it could have proven more
budget-friendly or not. We do not use the printer for anything other
than normal office usage such as image printing.
So is using a dot matrix printer is more cost-effective than using
LaserJet 4100N? If yes, which dot matrix printer should we go for and
how can we find out how many pages can each ribbon print, FYI the
LaserJet toner covers up to 5000 pages each.
Any idea anybody? TIA.

Whether you want to print images or not, a dotmatrix printer will not
provide the quality and hence the image that you want to present to your
customers etc. Avoid it, is my advice.

A laser with toner replacement (ie, not the toner + drum cartridge) will
provide the lowest cost, general purpose printing bar none. If you do
not have that type of laser printer, you should investigate cost of
ownership for a new one. Acquistion cost may be higher than for the
cartridge style laser printer, but over the printer's life, costs are
lower, even with a service contract and relatively low usage (ie below
about 1,000 pages/month).

As another poster noted, dotmatrix is sometimes used for carbon copies,
but IMO they aren't any better for that - it's just as easy to rpint
multiple copies of a page as to print a carbon, and may even be cheaper,
considering the prices of multi-part carbon paper these days.

 

[Warren Block]

So is using a dot matrix printer is more cost-effective than using
LaserJet 4100N?

No. Cheap impact printers are slow, and fast impact printers are
expensive and prone to breakage.

And then there's print quality.

And print speed.

And noise.

FYI the LaserJet toner covers up to 5000 pages each.

HP rates the C8061A toner for 6000 pages. But you should be buying the
C8061X, which is rated at 10,000 pages.

At HP's prices, the per-page costs work out to

C8061A 1.65 cents

C8061X 1.29 cents

That looks like 22% savings. Given your 15% increase, you'll still save
7% over what you used to pay.

 

[zakezuke]

We are now considering if buying a dot matrix printer and using it
could have

proven more budget-friendly or not.

I've owned a few dot matrix printers, the last one I owned was a
Panasonic 24pin color with a quiet mode and had extra foam padding. I
think it was a KX-2124 but it's been so long I can't remember. It me
it was one of the last great dot matrix printers with nice on screen
LCD config. The ribbons were about $10 a pop for the Black but it's
hard for me to estimate the page yield but I seem to remember it was
more massive than the lasers I owned at the time. In a pinch I used
wd-40 to help extend the ribbon life.

Buying a new dot matrix will likely run you $400. A OKI Microline 320
Turbo 9pin for example fetches $380 at my local shop. I see these
still used on pre-printed carbon copy forms fan fold forms. The ribbon
would run about $10 each with an estimated yield of 3,000,000
characters... but it's been my experience that you can continue using
the same ribbon beyond the estimated yield so long as you don't mind a
loss in contrast. But the offical yield if printing solid text would
likely be 500-1000 pages or so based on my estimate of between 70*60
caracters per page to 60*60 cpp.

There is a speed advantage to printing short bursts of info such as the
date and price of a few items. Even with printing with the native font
full page text is sluggish at best. The OKI 320 is a favorite as it
prints at 435cps but that's using draft looks like crappy dot matrix
mode. There is a power saving advantage as no fuser is required. But
there is the noise factor. The OKI is loud as heck.

 

[Terrified Terry]

Thanks a lot for replying.

I wouldn't think so. They only place I see dot matrix being used is in
printing carbon duplicate invoices etc where it uses the impact to make
multiple copies. I'd bet the ink ribbons wouldn't be cheap to maintain
either.

Have you considered after market toner refills? I don't really use enough
toner to worry about it myself so I can't offer specific advice.

Well till yesterday we did not, the refiller guy we contacted today
says it will cost only 1/5th of buying a new toner. But since this is
an expensive printer - we are wondering if using refilled ones will
damange the printer or not.

 

[BILL]

Gasoline is just too expensive. Going up every week. Give up your car
and get a horse and buggy. It is cheaper to run.

Dot Matrix printers are used a lot for Sales Dockets etc, on continuous flow
paper.

They are Very Noisy slow and produce bad print outs.


A Laser is the Only way to go, the cheapest printer to run..

 

[Arthur Entlich]

The two most popular POS printers are dot matrix and thermal matrix.
The thermal use special paper pretty much identical to the old thermal
paper used in fax machines.

The advantage of the thermal is that there is no "ink" or ribbon
required. The head pins heat and darken the special surface of the
paper. It is fast, and relatively cheap (all the consumable cost is the
paper) and it is very quiet and reliable.

The disadvantages are that the chemical reaction tends to not be
permanent. The image tends to fade fairly rapidly, especially in sun,
it requires the special coated paper, the paper has a slick feel to it
and it tends to remain curled. If it gets wet, hot etc, it can easily
become unreadable. It is not good for multiple copies (each needs to be
printed individually).

The second type is dot matrix. The main advantage is that multiple
copies, up to 3 or even 4 thicknesses can be printed on "carbonless"
paper at the same time, The top copy is usually printed with an ink
ribbon, which is fairly permanent. The copies may be less so, depending
upon the type of chemistry used in the paper.

Costs can be higher, because they require an inked ribbon, are less
reliable due to the mechanical aspect of the head, they tend to be noisy
and can be slow (however time is made up by multiple copies printed at
one time), and are usually fairly low resolution, so forms are usually
preprinted and the information is filled into the form.

Replacing the ink ribbon sometimes is complex or time consuming in a
retail environment, and is usually left to off hours. The carbonless
paper chemistry may have an odor and may not be fully environmentally
safe. Some recyclers don't like it added to waste paper. The copies
are subject to physical damage from creasing or pressure.

If the forms need to updated or altered, there may be a lot of waste to
toss out, and programing the dot matrix printer to new forms may be time
consuming or costly. If using continuous tractor feed paper, they can
sometimes go out of alignment and the printing will not be entered in
the correct place. Sometimes the rear copies will not align with the
front copy, making them difficult to read.

Laser printers cannot print multiple copies at once, but they can be
programmed easily to print filled in forms in serial. So, copies can be
printed in a row. The printer can also produce high resolution output,
and can print the form at the same time as the unique information. They
use regular paper, and can handle both white and colored without
problems. Attached to a computer, the unique information can be held in
a database for printing after hours, if required, since printing 3 or
four copies may be too slow during the retail day. Preprinted forms
could be used if it will speed the process, or if a great deal of
information needs to be printed, or colored inks are required. In
general, laser printers have poorer alignment (registration) than a
tractor feed dot matrix. Laser copies are pretty much fade-free.

Cost of laser printers can be cut considerably by using refill or 3rd
party cartridges. In most cases these will be of nearly equivalent
quality, and will be guaranteed by reputable companies. Most cartridges
which incorporate the image drum are good for several refills before the
drum ages enough to make the image degraded, some can be replaced or
recoated. Laser printers may produce some ozone in a contained environment.



Art