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Thread ID: 64205	2005-12-07 07:32:00	Buying a colour laser...	Billy T (70)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
410850	2005-12-07 20:25:00	Unfortunately this is still true. Hmmmm......... Canon inkjets do not seem to have that problem, I am on my 4th (BJC600, 610, 620, & S750) and all came with normal capacity ink cartridges, they are transparent so WYSIWYG. I have never met this problem before, though I did suspect that my HP1200 ran out a little sooner than I expected. Do any of these companies actually state in their printed material that the initial cartridges have lower page counts than their replacements? Any comment Godfather? If they fail to make that very clear, it is probably a simple breach of trade decriptions because their claimed page counts will not apply to the printer as supplied. Canon used to have a built in page counter in the BJC series that would have allowed a check to be made, but I've never looked for it on the S750. I'll keep this issue in mind because I would certainly take the issue up if the page count was significantly less than claimed. I know that their numbers are based on an average usage of monochrome and colour, but unless you were doing heavy colour work you should get within ±10% of their claimed figures. It would be a hypothetical question for me anyway, because I am favouring the Fuji and that has a 4000 page colour cartridge. Allowing that the "starter" cartrifges might provide only 2000 pages, given my low colour demand that would just about last me the life of the printer. When they ran out, I would probably be able to buy another colour laser for less than the cost of replacements. (I bought my BJC 610 on sale from Canon at less than the price of four ink cartridges!!) I would still use the HP1200 for straight monochrome work until it died as well. My colour needs are so low in relative terms that I have thought about out-sourcing the colour printing to a local office service bureau, but the inconvenience and time wasted would cost me more than it's worth. My time is what I value most, and I can't charge clients for inefficient office practices. Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
410851	2005-12-07 22:45:00	I purchased a Konica Minolta Magicolour, around $900 inc gst as reviews said it had the best colour and BW reproduction of the lot. Good points... excellent print outs text and graphics, small size for laser, holds decent amount of paper. bad points... sounds like a truck warming up, clanks and rattles when printing pages, comes with 1500-2500 page colour/BW cartridges (don't think the replacement 'full' toner carts are anywhere near the prices someone said though). All round I'm happy, just have to leave the room for a few minutes when I switch the thing on :-)	Shortcircuit (1666)
410852	2005-12-07 23:54:00	Hi Billy ***make sure whatever you get is a 'single pass' printer such that the page speed per minute is the same irrespective of whether it is colour or B&W output. The single pass printers are more reliable (and a lot less messy) than those that use a rotating drum to provide multiple colours. You can usually tell when the colour speeds are 1/4 of the B&W print speeds. Andrew Okay, every model I can find seems to be multiple-pass, that is, they quote a colour print time 4-5 times that for monochrome. Who makes single-pass printers and what model numbers should I look for? I imagine that single-pass prices will be significantly higher than multiple pass because the technology would be more complex. However, I could be wrong, it's been known to happen. :p Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
410853	2005-12-08 00:26:00	I imagine that single-pass prices will be significantly higher than multiple pass because the technology would be more complex. Well, ain't that the truth!! :horrified Found them on PriceSpy, I hadn't noticed them before because thay are well out of my price range and the blinkers came on before I got to them. When they get to sub-$1000 prices I'll look again. I'll have to settle for multiple-pass I'm afraid. Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
410854	2005-12-08 07:10:00	My needs for printing seem very simlar to yours Billy. However the absolute cost of printing for me is but a very small % of the cost of the work, as in a 30 page report would be less than 0.5% of the end charge, even at $1 per page. The inkjet (and 100 GSM paper) gives a high quality output that gets favourable client comments.	godfather (25)
410855	2005-12-08 07:33:00	My needs for printing seem very simlar to yours Billy. However the absolute cost of printing for me is but a very small % of the cost of the work, as in a 30 page report would be less than 0.5% of the end charge, even at $1 per page. The inkjet (and 100 GSM paper) gives a high quality output that gets favourable client comments. Yes I agree with you there GF. Material cost of the report is minimal, and my biggest problem is the time taken for printing, assembling and binding, but I've never been happy with the print quality from inkjets. I use 90 GSM no-watermark white bond for reports and have my letterhead printed on similar quality but getting an adequate standard for photos and graphics has always eluded me. Maybe I'm just too picky. Given that my first colour printer cost $1700 or so in 1994 when $1700 was a fair lump of wallet-filler, $700 or so for a colour laser doesn't seem to bad somehow. What might be helpful would be an opportunity to run trial prints before buying and comparing results, but that is unlikely in today's cash and carry society. Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
410856	2005-12-08 07:45:00	Unless you're printing heaps of pages in one go, I don't see a multi pass printer as being an issue... you just wait a little longer for the pages to come out if they are in colour (still way quicker than an inkjet printing a colour photo!), black and white (text) are monochrome/single pass so they will print quickly. I'd be hard pressed to say that my Konica Minolta is any slower than my HP5550 and whichever way you look at it the printing costs are considerably less than for inkjets. If you're worried about a laser coming packaged with smaller 'starter' toner cartridges be careful when you are buying as a lot of the manufacturers do not disclose this... the only way I found to check was searching through endless overseas reviews. The fact that they do not disclose the 'limited' capacity starter cartridges I don't think would contravene the FTA as the printer is supplied 'ready to use', just how much use you get before having to buy new toner doesn't come into it. It's a bit like saying that if you purchase a car it MUST have a full tank of petrol... just because :-)	Shortcircuit (1666)
410857	2005-12-08 08:50:00	We use a xante at work which I believe is a OKI with different software on it, Paper makes a huge difference with the quality of the print, so does the correct settings. Before running your letterheads through your new purchase, consult with your printer to make sure they used laser compatible inks and paper especially if you are doing high throughput on your letterheads. I have seen nasty results with incorrect inks and nice new laser printers.	plod (107)
410858	2005-12-08 09:04:00	I use 90 GSM no-watermark white bond for reports and have my letterhead printed on similar quality but getting an adequate standard for photos and graphics has always eluded me. Maybe I'm just too picky. I wonder if its the Canon that is the problem, as either of my HP (PSC 750 multi-function and 9300 A3 large format inkjet) give outstanding results on "normal" which is also quite fast. By contrast a Brother printer was appalling, even on "fine" which took minutes per page. And I have examined the print quality with my digital microscope, so its more than a "perception". The graphics are photo-quality as far as my eye is concerned. Even plain 80 GSM paper is quite acceptable on both HPs, but presentation grade or hi-white paper is better.	godfather (25)
410859	2005-12-08 09:44:00	Have you had a look at this IP5200 by Canon.?	Cicero (40)
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