Minolta QMS magicolor 2300DL - your experience please

[Silence Seeker]

I am in the market for a home/office color laser printer (got tired of
my EPSON Stylus Color 640...) and my current candidate is the Minolta
QMS magicolor 2300DL. The main plus of this printer is its
features/price ratio: good photo quality for the price and good tech
support.

But as you may all know, there is no such thing as a "perfect
product"... What I am interested to know is whether this printer's
minuses are those that I can live with.

I can live with difficult setup and slow printing.
I cannot live with frequent paper jams or other reliability problems.

Most of the reviews I read were stunningly in favor of this printer.
However, I read a few comments at http://tinyurl.com/ypo34 that raised
an alarm.

Specifically, I was alarmed by the comment that read:
"Jams up a lot. Room needs to be at LEAST 76 degrees Fahrenheit to
print. If the sheet coverage is over 75% ink, the last inch won't fuse
properly. Jams once every 10 sheets due to poor exit design. This is
also after receiving a replacement unit."

Also:
* "Issue with the machine mis-reading remaining toner,
which resulted in many misprints.
* "Appears to not always align the paper correctly"
* "Really noisy. Clunks and bangs. Sounds like a canning factory."

Now... the above comments could be rare incidents or could be
frequent. If these are rare, I can probably take the slight risk
(worst case it can be replaced or returned). But if these reports are
typical, I'd rather pay a little extra (or wait for a winner product)
and save the hassle.

So, have you had one of these nice QMS magicolor 2300DL? What is your
personal experience in terms of RELIABILITY?

Many thanks,
Sam

 

[Silence Seeker]

I am in the market for a home/office color laser printer (got tired of
my EPSON Stylus Color 640...) and my current candidate is the Minolta
QMS magicolor 2300DL. The main plus of this printer is its
features/price ratio: good photo quality for the price and good tech
support.

But as you may all know, there is no such thing as a "perfect
product"... What I am interested to know is whether this printer's
minuses are those that I can live with.

I can live with difficult setup and slow printing.
I cannot live with frequent paper jams or other reliability problems.

Most of the reviews I read were stunningly in favor of this printer.
However, I read a few comments at http://tinyurl.com/ypo34 that raised
an alarm.

Specifically, I was alarmed by the comment that read:
"Jams up a lot. Room needs to be at LEAST 76 degrees Fahrenheit to
print. If the sheet coverage is over 75% ink, the last inch won't fuse
properly. Jams once every 10 sheets due to poor exit design. This is
also after receiving a replacement unit."

Also:
* "Issue with the machine mis-reading remaining toner,
which resulted in many misprints.
* "Appears to not always align the paper correctly"
* "Really noisy. Clunks and bangs. Sounds like a canning factory."

Now... the above comments could be rare incidents or could be
frequent. If these are rare, I can probably take the slight risk
(worst case it can be replaced or returned). But if these reports are
typical, I'd rather pay a little extra (or wait for a winner product)
and save the hassle.

So, have you had one of these nice QMS magicolor 2300DL? What is your
personal experience in terms of RELIABILITY?

Many thanks,
Sam

Nobody has any experience with the QMS magicolor 2300DL?
Strange. I thought this was a popular printer.

Sam

 

[Timothy Lee]

Nobody has any experience with the QMS magicolor 2300DL?
Strange. I thought this was a popular printer.

I had a 2200 which was fine but it had quite a few bits that kept
needing replacing that pushed up the running costs and the manual
sheetfeeder was a bit temperamental. I have replaced it with a solid ink
jobby from Xerox. In a brochure that came yesterday I noticed that Xerox
have a 6100 (?) for less than £400 (sterling) which looks rather
similar to the Samsung for a similar price, both of which have
duplexing. I'm sure it wouldn't do any harm to look at both those
options as well.

 

[Alan Secker]

Nobody has any experience with the QMS magicolor 2300DL?
Strange. I thought this was a popular printer.

Sam

Sam

I have had one of these on my office desk for over a year. We had a
paper detector problem after about a month and it was swapped out
without a murmur. Since then it has behaved superbly, even under
pressurised conditions.

However, the paper path is not flat and there is no rear flap to make it
so. I have put envelopes through it but I would not do so as a rule as
they tend to become 'ironed'. We have three other laser printers here so
that is not a problem.

Recently we purchased a Brother MFC. This scrambled laser payslips which
have a window on one side that is not welded to its edges and catches on
bending around the rollers. I wouldn't dream of putting those through
the Magicolor, just in case. They go through a Laserjet III and a
Brother HL1470N with no problems.

You can get toner to refill the three coloured cartridges (haven't tried
it) but not the black ones. I reckon the drum replacement warning
started after about 15 months but I cannot see why. The prints we get
today are every bit as good as those from day one.

The process of changing the cleanest cartridges is the cleanest of any
laser printer (except the LJIII) I have encountered. Incredible value
for money and easy to install. I'm toying with buying a second one right
now as we need another printer.

HTH

Alan Secker

 

[Alan Secker]

..... I wouldn't dream of putting those through

Actually, we just did. We needed to test it just in case we
became desperate. It passed with flying colours. I'm still
trying to justify the extra cost over a mono laser but it's
very tempting at the latest prices.

Alan

 

[Silence Seeker]

I have had one of these on my office desk for over a year. We had a
paper detector problem after about a month and it was swapped out
without a murmur. Since then it has behaved superbly, even under
pressurised conditions.

However, the paper path is not flat and there is no rear flap to make it
so. I have put envelopes through it but I would not do so as a rule as
they tend to become 'ironed'. We have three other laser printers here so
that is not a problem.

Recently we purchased a Brother MFC. This scrambled laser payslips which
have a window on one side that is not welded to its edges and catches on
bending around the rollers. I wouldn't dream of putting those through
the Magicolor, just in case. They go through a Laserjet III and a
Brother HL1470N with no problems.

You can get toner to refill the three coloured cartridges (haven't tried
it) but not the black ones. I reckon the drum replacement warning
started after about 15 months but I cannot see why. The prints we get
today are every bit as good as those from day one.

The process of changing the cleanest cartridges is the cleanest of any
laser printer (except the LJIII) I have encountered. Incredible value
for money and easy to install. I'm toying with buying a second one right
now as we need another printer.

.... I wouldn't dream of putting those through

Actually, we just did. We needed to test it just in case we
became desperate. It passed with flying colours. I'm still
trying to justify the extra cost over a mono laser but it's
very tempting at the latest prices.

Alan, thank you very much for your detailed report. You guessed
correctly - the paper feed is what scares me the most. I still can't
forget the big disappointment I had when I bought my first laser
printer, an HP LaserJet 5L for $500 back then. It jammed a lot and
there was nothing I could do about it. I ended up giving it away and
using (till this day) an LaserJet 4L instead - with amazingly stable
and flawless operation. They just don't make them this way anymore. I
can't trust tempting brochures and specifications anymore... That is
why I need people's experience over reasonable amount of time.

I absolutely need *color* laser printing. But the reliability problems
that read in your post and Timothy's post scare me. I know I can go
through the hassle of exchanging it during the warranty period, but I
prefer a product that has warranty only as a formality - like many
good products I bought in the past (JP LJ 4L, my Sony TV, DENON
receiver, etc.).

All in all, after going through the paper detector problem and the
drum replacment warning, would you view this printer as reliable as
other laser printers you've had experience with?

Thanks,
Sam

 

[Silence Seeker]

I had a 2200 which was fine but it had quite a few bits that kept
needing replacing that pushed up the running costs and the manual
sheetfeeder was a bit temperamental. I have replaced it with a solid ink

What kind of "bits"? Actual mechanical parts or just consumbles?

jobby from Xerox. In a brochure that came yesterday I noticed that Xerox
have a 6100 (?) for less than £400 (sterling) which looks rather
similar to the Samsung for a similar price, both of which have
duplexing. I'm sure it wouldn't do any harm to look at both those
options as well.

I will certainly look at those options. Thank you very much, Timothy.

Sam.

 

[Upscale]

I absolutely need *color* laser printing. But the reliability problems
that read in your post and Timothy's post scare me. I know I can go
through the hassle of exchanging it during the warranty period, but I
prefer a product that has warranty only as a formality - like many
good products I bought in the past (JP LJ 4L, my Sony TV, DENON
receiver, etc.).

Let me recommend a Xerox solid ink printer. I have the Xerox 8200DP solid
ink printer I purchased about 18 months ago. It is the most reliable, easy
to use printer I have ever seen. Toner handling and use is a snap and
practically impossible to screw up. It has close to a straight paper through
path for hand fed really thick paper. The only downside that I've come
across is that it's not a wide format printer. I believe the current
incarnation of this printer is now the 8400 and considerably cheaper than
what I paid at the time ($3500 Canadian). I urge you to go to a Xerox dealer
and check one out. The engineering of this printer is exceptional and even
the heavy duty cardboard box for shipping and unpacking has been specially
engineered.

 

[Timothy Lee]

What kind of "bits"? Actual mechanical parts or just consumbles?

Fuser oil rollers, OPC drum kits etc that needed replacing about as
often as the toner.

 

[Timothy Lee]

All in all, after going through the paper detector problem and the
drum replacment warning, would you view this printer as reliable as
other laser printers you've had experience with?

I'd say my Xerox is much better than the QMS was, certainly with their
solid ink jobby its all very straight forward, adding ink is dead easy
and there isn't a lot else that needs replacing.