recommendations: laser mono w/duplex

[leegold]

I' looking for a great printer for text printing.
No color printers please.

I don't want to have to change ink often and i think I want a laser. I also
want it to be able to print on both sides of the paper.

It's going to be in a home setting - so I'm looking for the lowest price
models that can do this. After having many inkjets I want something more
"serious". Any ideas appreciated.

 

[Tony]

I' looking for a great printer for text printing.
No color printers please.

I don't want to have to change ink often and i think I want a laser. I also
want it to be able to print on both sides of the paper.

It's going to be in a home setting - so I'm looking for the lowest price
models that can do this. After having many inkjets I want something more
"serious". Any ideas appreciated.

You may want to consider a used HP LJ4000 or 4050 with optional duplexer or
LJ2200 with built in duplexer.
These are available at reasonable prices. Both are excellent workhorses and
very reliable.
Tony

 

[Chapman Flack]

No color printers please.
I don't want to have to change ink often and i think I want a laser. I also
want it to be able to print on both sides of the paper.
It's going to be in a home setting - so I'm looking for the lowest price
models that can do this. After having many inkjets I want something more
"serious". Any ideas appreciated.

I looked seriously at the Panasonic KX-P7105 laser for just those
reasons. (NOT the 7100, which is a Winprinter). Duplexing is standard.
PCL is standard, Adobe PostScript can be added as an option (and gives
you a real PostScript printer, not an OS-based RIP), and the printer
without the PostScript ROM is well under $200 new.

I didn't buy it because it turns out that same money can get you into
some very high quality used color lasers, and by setting them to print
grayscale by default you can easily get fast cheap mono printing for
the bulk of your work, never
using any color toner, but still enable color for occasional jobs where
you might want it. For me that was an ideal combination, but if you are
really opposed to color or you must have new, I'd look at the Panasonic.

 

[Marek Williams]

I' looking for a great printer for text printing.
No color printers please.

I don't want to have to change ink often and i think I want a laser. I also
want it to be able to print on both sides of the paper.

It's going to be in a home setting - so I'm looking for the lowest price
models that can do this. After having many inkjets I want something more
"serious". Any ideas appreciated.

A used HP Laserjet 4M+ or 4+. The "M" means it has Postscript. Options
include extra 500-sheet tray, network interface, and duplexer. All the
options are available separately.

This printer has not been sold new for at least a decade. But HP sold
a gazillion of them, and they run forever. I'm serious. A million
copies is not unheard of. Also, they use about the cheapest toner out
there. Cost per page is under a quarter of a cent. I recently bought
four cartridges (good for 4-5,000 copies) for $11 each. And because of
the popularity there are always parts and maintenance items available,
usually after-market at cheap prices. And, in spite of their age,
brand new lasers do not produce better quality output than the 600 dpi
with resoultion enhancement that the 4M+ or 4+ offers.

You should be able to score one with the options you want on eBay for
$100-150.

 

[Steve Ward]

Marek,

Thanks for the info about the LaserJet 4+ and 4M+. I might look into
getting one myself to free up a little desk space that my 8000DN is using.

Speaking of the 8000DN, I'd like to ask you some questions I have about
it. Please contact me by e-mail, and be sure to remove the spamm from
my e-mail address.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

- Steve

 

[Mike O'Donnell]

I' looking for a great printer for text printing.
No color printers please.

I don't want to have to change ink often and i think I want a laser. I
also
want it to be able to print on both sides of the paper.

It's going to be in a home setting - so I'm looking for the lowest price
models that can do this. After having many inkjets I want something more
"serious". Any ideas appreciated.

I few months ago I purchased a Brother HL5140. It's not duplex, but the
5150D appears to be the same printer with the duplex. My printer is hooked
up to an external JetDirect 170 with a parallel cable to the printer. It's
21PPM, PCL6, and has a flip out single sheet feed, and 250 sheet tray, and
there is an optional lower second 250 sheet tray available.

One of the things I checked out before I purchased was the cost, capacity
and availability of the toner, fuser, etc. The Brother supplies seemed to
be fairly low price and redily available from several local sources. Some
of the other printers in the same price range will kill you on the supplies.

My 5140 was about $160 on sale at Micro Center, after a rebate. I think the
5150D goes around $230. There's also a 5170 that has the duplex and network
interface, I think around $270.

(I don't work for Brother or have any other connection to their products,
except as a customer)

Mike O.