Looking to get a networkable Laser Printer....suggestions?

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Geshtar

Limp Gawd
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Apr 15, 2004
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My old HP 4m laser has given up the ghost, and so it is time for me to start looking for a new one. I am going to put this on the network so all my computers can print to it. I primarily use black and white printing, but if a color laser is affordable that would would be a nice addition.

I mainly wish to know if there are companies to stay away from due to bad quality/reliability.

Any additional suggestions on things that are worth paying attention to when conducting my search would also be welcome.

Thanks,
 
HP kit is very good and their network printers and imo second to none. Wouldn't touch brother or lexmark personally
 
Firelord said:
Wouldn't touch brother or lexmark personally
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Agreed.

Look into Konica Minolta. I have the 2300DL and I am very happy with it. I got it for about $200 and it's color!!! I've had it for over a year and I am still on the same set of toners.
 
Any particular reason why you want a network printer over a print server or a printer hooked up to some sort of server?
 
Thanks for the replies.

Elleana:
The printer will be in a common area, away from any individual computer so that it can be accessed by multiple people easily (not all the computers are in one room). This means I will need cabling that can go a long distance to reach my switch. I could get one of those little print server dongles that connect to ethernet on one end, and usb on the other, but the less clutter the better. I'm still early in my search, so I will see what the cost tradeoffs are as I research.
 
SarverSystems said:
Agreed.

Look into Konica Minolta. I have the 2300DL and I am very happy with it. I got it for about $200 and it's color!!! I've had it for over a year and I am still on the same set of toners.
Click to expand...

I want to say that the 2300dl had some issues with paper jams. That being said I have one sitting a few feet from me and it hasn't jammed once but I think I read that people did have issues with it. Personaly if you can find a good hp color go for it as I like there network support. The Konica Minolta is a good printer though. Also if you want cheap you can always check if your area has like goverment surplus sales or auctions. I picked up a hp 4100n with extra paper tray for 20 bucks and the toner has like 92% left on it. The thing has yet to reach its first matence mark although the fuser is just starting to wear out. Hell even dropping the money on a fuser I still got a great deal on it. Damn thing is pretty fast too(only a B&W).
 
HP or Dell. I also heard that Samsung laser printers were pretty good...
 
Not sure about the dell printers but Samsung seems to be pretty good for being kinda cheap in price. I haven't messed with them long enought to be able to say yes or no to them. As far as dell printers go remember with samsung, hp, even Minolta you have a ok chance of finding the toner in town.
 
I purchased the Dell 3100CN Color Laser when it was on sale for $349 and free shipping.

It's a hell of a printer for that kind of money, and comes with FULL 4K cartridges. None of this starter cartridge crap.

Make sure you add the 256MB memory upgrade. It's cheap ($50) and you need it if you print full-page high-res color graphics/photo's.

-Larry

Geshtar said:
My old HP 4m laser has given up the ghost, and so it is time for me to start looking for a new one. I am going to put this on the network so all my computers can print to it. I primarily use black and white printing, but if a color laser is affordable that would would be a nice addition.

I mainly wish to know if there are companies to stay away from due to bad quality/reliability.

Any additional suggestions on things that are worth paying attention to when conducting my search would also be welcome.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
 
I concur with the dell option. We have two 3000cn's here at work and a 5100. Very capable.
 
One thing I would be kinda worried about with a Dell is the availability of non-official toner cartridges which can save a lot of money......I'll look into it though.

I've seen a few Dell lasers before...they sorta looked like rebadged Lexmark gear.....
 
I bought my HP 4500DN from our company when we bought a Dell 3000.
Dell is very nice, but the print quality is nowhere near the HP's.
the only things I like about the Dell are the size/weight and the warm up time, only takes a few seconds to warm up, while my HP takes 10-15 minutes.

I also have a Konika Minolta color laser, but it needs a new drum before it will print anything sent to it, but it will still print the test pages and it looks rather good.
 
TechLarry said:
Make sure you add the 256MB memory upgrade. It's cheap ($50) and you need it if you print full-page high-res color graphics/photo's.

-Larry
Click to expand...

I have that issue with our Dell if I try to print a 300dpi full color 8x10. It has 64megs of Ram and won't print, while my HP4500DN with 64megs has no issue with the same file.
 
Xerox man! I have a Xerox Phaser 8550DP-it uses wax instead of ink! Read up on it, it's pretty cool but it's probably a bit too pricy ? But check out the other Phaser printers, the wax is cleaner, cheaper & gives the paper a nice waxy smooth feeling.
 
Most Lasers these days are chipped, and you cannot run third-party cartridges.

The Dell 3100CN actually has an option in the printer settings that says "Allow non-Dell Consumables" or something to that effect.

-Larry

Geshtar said:
One thing I would be kinda worried about with a Dell is the availability of non-official toner cartridges which can save a lot of money......I'll look into it though.

I've seen a few Dell lasers before...they sorta looked like rebadged Lexmark gear.....
Click to expand...
 
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