Replacing my old workhorse LJ4 with a LJ4000 (or LJ4050?)

[Engineer]

We offer a solution to the accordian jam..

http://www.hp-depot.com/default.asp?page=EX-ExitJam&id=5

All new rollers and paper drive gear with detailed instructions..

Works with LaserJet 4, 4+ and 5..

I have bought your solution twice and can testify that it
works well and lasts a long time. The last couple of times
I let my local repair shop do the fixing, and they replaced
the same parts. The problem is that the accordian jam comes
back eventually, and that I have put a lot of miles on this
old LJ4. It always seems to need service right when I am
facing a deadline, forcing me to go to my local Kinkos and
use their printer.

Looking at the prices on eBay, I have decided to get a 4000
or a 4050 (it isn't clear to me what the differece is; does
anyone here know?) and to fix the LJ4 one last time and then
use it only as a spare for when/if the 4000/4050 goes down.

 

[Tony]

I have bought your solution twice and can testify that it
works well and lasts a long time. The last couple of times
I let my local repair shop do the fixing, and they replaced
the same parts. The problem is that the accordian jam comes
back eventually, and that I have put a lot of miles on this
old LJ4. It always seems to need service right when I am
facing a deadline, forcing me to go to my local Kinkos and
use their printer.

Looking at the prices on eBay, I have decided to get a 4000
or a 4050 (it isn't clear to me what the differece is; does
anyone here know?) and to fix the LJ4 one last time and then
use it only as a spare for when/if the 4000/4050 goes down.

The 4000 has a base memory of 4MB (8MB for the network versions).
The 4050 has a base memory of 8MB (16MB for the network versions).
Both have upgradable memory so you may find a second hand printer with more
than the base memory.
The 4050 supports RIP the 4000 does not. RIP needs a minimum of 16MB and allows
multiple copies of one document to be printed with only one PC to printer data
transfer.
Otherwise there is no significant difference.
Tony

 

[Engineer]

The 4000 has a base memory of 4MB (8MB for the network versions).
The 4050 has a base memory of 8MB (16MB for the network versions).
Both have upgradable memory so you may find a second hand printer with more
than the base memory.
The 4050 supports RIP the 4000 does not. RIP needs a minimum of 16MB and allows
multiple copies of one document to be printed with only one PC to printer data
transfer.
Otherwise there is no significant difference.

Thanks! I just read a bunch of reviews, and saw the following comments:

4000: 100MHz processor, 4050: 133MHz processor.

4050 - 8MB, 500-sheet tray

4050T - 8MB, two 250-sheet trays, grabs paper from the second tray before
the first one has completed it's cycle, increasing print speed

4050N - same as 4050, except 16MB, TCP/IP networking

4050NT - same as 4050T, except 16MB, TCP/IP networking

One review claims that The 4000 had one fatal flaw - if the paper
jammed just right, it was impossible to clear all the bits of
paper out without disassembling the printer - and that the 4050
has a redesigned roller and cover so it jams less and is more
accessible when it jams.

In the reviews I read, there was some confusion about whether you
can add the duplexer, 500 sheet tray or envelope feeder to all of
the above models.

 

[Tony]

Thanks! I just read a bunch of reviews, and saw the following comments:

4000: 100MHz processor, 4050: 133MHz processor.

4050 - 8MB, 500-sheet tray

4050T - 8MB, two 250-sheet trays, grabs paper from the second tray before
the first one has completed it's cycle, increasing print speed

4050N - same as 4050, except 16MB, TCP/IP networking

4050NT - same as 4050T, except 16MB, TCP/IP networking

One review claims that The 4000 had one fatal flaw - if the paper
jammed just right, it was impossible to clear all the bits of
paper out without disassembling the printer - and that the 4050
has a redesigned roller and cover so it jams less and is more
accessible when it jams.

In the reviews I read, there was some confusion about whether you
can add the duplexer, 500 sheet tray or envelope feeder to all of
the above models.

I will do some research but my HP manuals do not agree with these reviews.
They say that both are the same speed and the memory sizes are as I posted.
I do not believe you can add a duplexer.
I will certainly look into this further.
Tony

 

[Dewaine Chan]

Agree with Tony on th LJ 4000 & 4050.

Yes, you could add a Duplexer to either. They use the same Duplexer which you
could get from Ebay or printer shop. trick with adding the duplexer is that you
have to find the right power cable which has right angle connector at the printer
end. A straight through connector will not let you get the Duplexer in all the
way.

Both LJ 4000 & LJ 4050 come in two version:
1). With 500 Sheet Tray. (So 500 Sheet LJ 4000T & LJ4050T most likely have two
500 Trays).
2). With 250 Sheet Tray.

As for paper jamming, some older Paper Trays have overfilled with the metal
filling at the Tray's torque area. Symptoms will be a groaning noise from the
tray when printing and paper jam. Removing about 1/2 of the metal filling usually
does the trick.

 

[Engineer]

I will do some research but my HP manuals do not agree with these reviews.
They say that both are the same speed and the memory sizes are as I posted.
I do not believe you can add a duplexer.
I will certainly look into this further.
Tony

From http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/1786/hp-laserjet-4050tn.html

"Processing power has been beefed up from 100MHz to 133MHz,
standard memory has doubled to 16Mb and print speed increases
marginally from 16ppm to 17ppm."


from the HP LaserJet 4000/4050/4000N/4050N/4000T/4050T/4000TN/4050TN
Printers Getting Started Guide Manuals:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/bpl03782/bpl03782.pdf
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/bpl03783/bpl03783.pdf
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/bpl06794/bpl06794.pdf
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/bpl06903/bpl06903.pdf
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=bpl03756

"The HP LaserJet 4000 comes standard with 4 MB RAM and one 500-sheet tray.

"The HP LaserJet 4050 comes standard with 8 MB RAM and one 500-sheet tray.

"The HP LaserJet 4000N comes standard with 8 MB RAM, an HP JetDirect print
server card for connecting to a network, and one 500-sheet tray.

"The HP LaserJet 4050N comes standard with 16 MB RAM, a HP JetDirect
10/100Base-TX print server card for connecting to a network, an HP
Fast InfraRed (FIR) Receiver, and one 500-sheet tray.

"The HP LaserJet 4000T comes standard with 4 MB RAM and two 250-sheet trays.

"The HP LaserJet 4050T comes standard with 8 MB RAM and two 250-sheet trays.

"The HP LaserJet 4000TN comes standard with 8 MB RAM, an HP JetDirect print
server card for connecting to a network, and two 250-sheet trays.

"The HP LaserJet 4050TN comes standard with 16 MB RAM, a HP JetDirect
10/100Base-TX print server card for connecting to a network, an HP Fast
InfraRed (FIR) Receiver, and two 250-sheet trays."

There may also be a difference in hard drives between the two.

 

[Tony]

I was wrong about the duplexer, you can add one with the special power cable
that Dewaine mentioned.
The faster processor in the 4050 does not result in faster printing and I can
not find any reference or suggestion that the 4050T is faster than the 4050,
indeed I doubt if that would be the case but would be interested in any
reference so that I could research that. All 4000 and 4050 specs say print
speed is 17ppm. I suspect the faster processor is needed for RIP but I am not
sure.
Dewaine also referred to the paper jam problem, I have not experienced that on
a 4000 but can say that many printers can do this in unusual circumstances
(often because of the way someone attempted to remove a paper jam) the old 5p
and 6P are really good at it.
I suspect the 4050 is the way to go for you and you need to decide what options
you need like memory size, networking, extra trays and duplexer before you buy.
Also look for a printer with a page count of less than 50,000 if you can. That
will hopefully mean that the fuser is in good condition.
Tony

 

[Warren Block]

I was wrong about the duplexer, you can add one with the special power cable
that Dewaine mentioned.
The faster processor in the 4050 does not result in faster printing and I can
not find any reference or suggestion that the 4050T is faster than the 4050,
indeed I doubt if that would be the case but would be interested in any
reference so that I could research that. All 4000 and 4050 specs say print
speed is 17ppm. I suspect the faster processor is needed for RIP but I am not
sure.

Whether the faster processor speeds up print jobs would depend on the
type of print jobs. Typical print jobs are PCL escape codes or bitmaps,
and those are limited by the mechanism's speed at spitting out paper.

If the mechanism is waiting for the processor to render a complex
PostScript program into a bitmap, the faster formatter in the LJ4050
could make a 33% improvement, or maybe more if the faster CPU has larger
caches or other gimmicks in addition to clock speed.