Laser is MUCH faster and generally tends to be a little more permanent. Lasers — at least above the entry-level models — can also duplex automatically. And don’t buy: lease.

We run a Xerox DocuColor (not sure of the exact model) which performs pretty well and may suit your needs.

Your unit cost with color Laser will be better than inkjet and faster output. The inkjets kill you with the cost of ink.

ChrisL

What they all said. Laser will be cheaper and faster than inkjet, although quality won’t be as good for images. It will still be good enough for most purposes, unless the business is, say, photography.

I’m very happy with my Xerox Phaser 7300 DN, for instance, though I recall hearing that Hoefler/Frere-Jones have had some problems with theirs.

Regards,

T

We use a Xerox Phaser 7760. Good little machine - great color, fast and many formats available.

—
Mike

I would like mention a service that I’ve used before which saved me from buying the wrong printer, therefore saving me not only a lot of money but a huge amount of frustration and unhappiness. The service doesn’t cost much and could save you a bundle too.

http://www.printershowcase.com/testdrive.asp

First, you should know that there is no requirement that you buy your printer from them; this is merely a service they offer. While they have very good pricing on the printers they sell, if you buy a large printer the shipping costs may eat up your savings quickly. Besides that, if you buy from your local dealer you’ll have better service if you have problems.

Look at the specs of all the printers they have in stock — they have a good variety of name brands and models available and they have all the specs online. Narrow your choice down to three, then send them your test file(s) and instructions with payment ($29.95).

You may be surprised at what you get back — I was. In my test, the printer which I expected would have the best quality (a popular internationally-known brand which I strongly favored) was the worst by a long shot.

I ended up buying a printer brand I had never had any experience with because of those tests. If not for those tests, I would never have had an opportunity to compare the brands. It’s really a useful service these folks are offering to the buying public.

George

It depends on your budget. An inkjet printer may seem cheap to purchase - but start adding up all the ink cartridges and it becomes very expensive. Also, most 8.5 x 11 inkjets only pring 8 x 10 - or really 9.5, only way to fool them - buy legal paper and a good trimmer.

Laser is also expensive - but prices have come down. I own an Okidata (and by the way, was much cheaper to own it outright than lease it. Also, maintenance is easy, and if I have a problem, I can call “AMERICANS” who talk me through the problem - and it works!) My problem with Okidata is it is not as intelligent as a Hewlett Packard - it complains if the wrong size paper is in a tray, belly aches when it says it needs a new drum (Okidata needs 4 drums and 4 toner cartridges - but it does give a lot of impressions and almost perfect color matching to our printer’s final products.)

Our fun laser printer is a HP. 8.5x11. Does a nice job - pretty pictures. However, it has no drums (yahooo) but it does have 4 cartridges, each one is about 100 bucks. I did a small 8.5 x 11 job for a friend, and spent $1,000 on cartridges.

For what the manufacturers charge for cartridges they really could be more like Gilette of the 1950s, and give the machine away for free.

BTW - my first color printer 11x17 was a Hewlett Packard. It was used, I got it on Ebay. It was a workhorse. When I decided it was time for a clean, color printer - I sold it on Ebay to a guy in Texas. He loved it. It was in great shape, and it’s still going strong.

If you know how to take care of your equipment it can last a very long time.

So all you have to figure out is what your budget is to buy, and... how much toner and drums cost. You may also want to consider accessories — though so many companies now make the duplexer right into the machine these days.

I wish I had the money and space for a large machine that could staple and collate — hey we all have dreams.

Good luck - and please, share your decision with us. We’d love to hear about it.