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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
410840	2005-12-07 07:32:00	Hi Team I need to buy a SOHO colour laser for my office. My requirements are simple enough, I need clear monochrome printing, colour quality good enough to print photos on plain paper to business report standard, and a price under $800 excl gst. I'd like network capability too, but that can be an add-on for the future if necessary. I fancy a Canon, firstly because I like Canon printers and they have treated me well over the years, but also because I am led to believe that their colour printing engines are used in some other well known brands. I also recall seeing a very positive report on a Fuji-Xerox printer as well. I could have sworn PCW did a review of a small number of colour lasers some time this year but I can't find it and Google is not being my friend at the moment. Does anybody have such a machine of their own, or any experience with them? Your advice would be appreciated. Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
410841	2005-12-07 07:43:00	A friend of mine uses a couple of Oki colour lasers at his workplace - and they've been very good. They were $1400 about a year ago.	somebody (208)
410842	2005-12-07 08:41:00	[QUOTE=Billy T]Hi Team ...I could have sworn PCW did a review of a small number of colour lasers some time this year but I can't find it and Google is not being my friend at the moment.... I'll be your friend for this purpose Billy. :p :) NZPCWorld July 2005, pages 49 - 55. "A Colour laser on every desk". Article and testing by Bruce Buckman. Cheers.	xxll (5902)
410843	2005-12-07 08:58:00	Found it!! :thumbs: :thumbs: Thanks xxll, it was away in the archives, now back on desk. Not only have you saved my bacon, I now have incontravertible proof that my memory does work, so now I can go tell my kids to stop planning the retirement home for me. :p Cheers Billy 8-{) :D	Billy T (70)
410844	2005-12-07 09:05:00	Hi Billy New or used? And what sort of volume are you talking about? Either way, 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. You are right about the Canon engines - historicaly the HP laser printers (especially the B&W) used Canon engines but I'm not so sure that is the case nowadays. If you are buying a new printer be aware that there are usually very limited warranties with the printers in this price range and you don't get the same cartridge yields (or large paper trays) as you would with some of the higher capacity models. Lastly, check the maintenance cycles for the various printers you are considering and the cost of replacement maintenance kits. Have you considered using a Canon inkjet for the photos and a monochrome laser printer for your B&W reports? Depening on the mix I often find this is the most economical way to proceed, but that's just my opinion and based on my printing requirements.... Andrew	andrew93 (249)
410845	2005-12-07 09:13:00	And just remember that the printer cost is only the "deposit", as a set of toner cartridges usually equals or exceeds the original purchase price... which has a "starter set" of toner cartridges. A multi-pass low cost ~$600 Konica colour laser costs ~$800 for a replacement set of toner cartridges (4,500 pages capacity) as an example.	godfather (25)
410846	2005-12-07 09:17:00	And just remember that the printer cost is only the "deposit", as a set of toner cartridges usually equals or exceeds the original purchase price... which has a "starter set" of toner cartridges. A multi-pass low cost ~$600 Konica colour laser costs ~$800 for a replacement set of toner cartridges (4,500 pages capacity) as an example. I 2nd that!	andrew93 (249)
410847	2005-12-07 09:22:00	Hi Andrew Volumes are low, and I currently use an HP1200 mono laser and a Canon S750 inkjet . The problem is that I have an ever increasing requirement for mixed colour-graphics and photos in my reports . Where possible I put the colour pages as appendices and print them last on the inkjet, but when I have to mix text and images I have to set up two copies, one with no text and one with no images . I print the images first then rerun the pages through the laser to insert the text . Doing it all on the inkjet is too expensive for ink consumption, printing is too slow, and the print quality isn't up to professional standards . Bruce's editor's choice (Fuji Xerox C525A) looks good, but PriceSpy seems to only have the C525 . Maybe it's the same thing, but I'll have to investigate . I like the USB/ethernet/parallel options too . Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
410848	2005-12-07 09:29:00	And just remember that the printer cost is only the "deposit", as a set of toner cartridges usually equals or exceeds the original purchase price . . . which has a "starter set" of toner cartridges . So, the starter cartridges are short life are they? :( Sounds like the old inkjet scam . Funny Bruce didn't mention that, because it sure alters the economics . I'll watch out for it, but the CGA will catch them if they don't declare the shorter initial life clearly at time of purchase . I buy as a private individual whenever I can to maintain my consumer rights . The Disputes Tribunal would be an alternative option if I had to buy through my company . Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
410849	2005-12-07 10:11:00	So, the starter cartridges are short life are they? :( Sounds like the old inkjet scam. Funny Bruce didn't mention that, because it sure alters the economics. Unfortunately this is still true.	andrew93 (249)
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