Computer printers - buying

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ed4copies

ed4copies

Local Chapter Manager
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The topic of supplies for your printers comes up every couple months.

So, here's a guideline for you:

BEFORE YOU BUY any printer, go on-line and research the COST PER COPY.

It is NOT easy.
First, try looking up the owners manual for the printer(s) you are considering. These are usually available on-line and will usually give you the rated yield of the supplies (both color and black-they will be different)

Then, find the cost of the replacement toner cartridges.
DIVIDE:

Example: black cartridge is 22.00 --- you find out the yield is 215 prints
color cartridge is 24.oo -- all three colors together -- yield 185

22/215=10 cents per print for black
24/185=13 cents per print for color

AND if all three colors are together, you will not EXCEED 185, since the whole shootin match needs to be replaced if any ONE color is empty.

Also there are print heads and fuser sections that will need replacement. Again, your manual will tell you when and a web search will tell you how much it will cost and if YOU can do it.

The printer industry can provide you prints for as little as one cent for black and about three cents for color. But, there are machines that cost a quarter for every copy, too. BE CAREFUL, when you shop to replace,

FWIW
 
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ed4copies said:
The topic of supplies for your printers comes up every couple months.

So, here's a guideline for you:

BEFORE YOU BUY any printer, go on-line and research the COST PER COPY.

It is NOT easy.
First, try looking up the owners manual for the printer(s) you are considering. These are usually available on-line and will usually give you the rated yield of the supplies (both color and black-they will be different)

Then, find the cost of the replacement toner cartridges.
DIVIDE:

Example: black cartridge is 22.00 --- you find out the yield is 215 prints
color cartridge is 24.oo -- all three colors together -- yield 185

22/215=10 cents per print for black
24/185=13 cents per print for color

AND if all three colors are together, you will not EXCEED 185, since the whole shootin match needs to be replaced if any ONE color is empty.

Also there are print heads and fuser sections that will need replacement. Again, your manual will tell you when and a web search will tell you how much it will cost and if YOU can do it.

The printer industry can provide you prints for as little as one cent for black and about three cents for color. But, there are machines that cost a quarter for every copy, too. BE CAREFUL, when you shop to replace,

FWIW
Click to expand...

And to add to that, you will find that usually the cheapest printer has the worst consumption and therefore the highest total operating costs. I have bought lexmark printers in the past because they were cheap in initial outlay. However over the life of the printer, the costs more than double some of the higher end printers when you consider consumables cost. Of course this doesn't always hold true and some of the expensive printers remain expensive throughout their lifetime.
 
Yup, printers use the standard "Razor vs blades" marketing strategy.

Make the initial purchase cheap, but get you on the consumables. A time honored strategy used by many companies.

Although I believe there was one printer company that was fighting the trend and keeping the costs of the ink cartridges down. They weren't having much success since people were balking at the slightly higher price of their printers.

Just goes to show, even if it looks like a good deal, it may not be.
 
Ed; Yes! and be very careful if the replaceable print cartridges do not contain the print head. I bought a Canon printer for $87 and about 3 years later I had to replace the print head. This is different from the cartridges. It cost me $47 EGAD
 
SO Ed, what are you recommending? I have a HP 3150 all-in-one laser and a HP Photosmart 8550 inkjet, do I need an upgrade? I use my laser for just about everything.
 
For home and small office use, I don't recommend, these days.

For the "cheapy" printers, there's no return for the time I have to invest. Dozens of new ones come out every month. Then, customers will switch suppliers on a moments notice if they find the toner on-line cheaper.

I USE an HP K500 in my office - its got each color separate and I can buy generic ink, cause I also have a full time technician who is happy to clean my machine when there is not a lot happening here.

Now, however, I also use a $30,000 (Konica Bizhub C450) color unit that I would never need, but we sell them (used), so its good for me to know how to operate it.

I DO recommend looking at HP, because the aftermarket generic supplies are pretty good, since there are so MANY HP's in the field. Lexmark, Epson, Brother-not so great.
But there are MODELS in each line that are very reliable and, if you only run 50 copies per month, who cares about cost. If you run 1000 copies per month, we can talk!!

(Most of what I do involves companies making 50,000 copies per month or more)
 
Interesting you mention this. I have a Brothers HL5370 lazer printer. Prints mono only, paid about $250.00 for it and I use it in my business where we run about 1,800 invoices a month. The high yield toner is 139.00 app. and yields about 6,000 copies.
 
In doing some research today, it appears the info that Dell is publishing in their manuals may be overly optimistic. I don't know WHAT you can do about that.

But, LOTS of people say the Dell 948 does NOT yield (and, I have not found a "published" yield yet).
 
Rollerbob said:
Interesting you mention this. I have a Brothers HL5370 lazer printer. Prints mono only, paid about $250.00 for it and I use it in my business where we run about 1,800 invoices a month. The high yield toner is 139.00 app. and yields about 6,000 copies.
Click to expand...

That's 2.5 cents per copy - not a bad rate for smaller machines.
 
Hey Ed,
What's your opinion of the HP 4050?

I like it. I know it's old and not very fast by today's standards. But I can still get parts though.

Hi yield cartridge stated copies = 20k.
Approx $60 for aftermarket cartridge. (not sure if I'll get than many with aftermarket cartridge.)

Bought 2 for $75 apiece. Actually bought 2 because I figured I would need the 2nd for parts. Both are just humming away without a problem. Don't really need the second, but it's there in case.

I like how those cents compute.
 
Ed, I can tell you from first hand experience that the Dell 948 does not last very long. But it is half the price of a Lexmark/HP cartridge so you have to do the math. I am printing about 2500 pages monthly thanks to my newest hobby and that is on top of what I was already printing. I go through a cartridge (just black) every 10 days on any printer and normally just buy the cheapest. I am currently going through Staples and getting their rewards so the ink is cheaper. I'm just not sure if I want to get another printer which is why I haven't switched to laser yet. I would love to pick up a good used office machine in the near future.
 
rjwolfe3 said:
Ed, I can tell you from first hand experience that the Dell 948 does not last very long. But it is half the price of a Lexmark/HP cartridge so you have to do the math. I am printing about 2500 pages monthly thanks to my newest hobby and that is on top of what I was already printing. I go through a cartridge (just black) every 10 days on any printer and normally just buy the cheapest. I am currently going through Staples and getting their rewards so the ink is cheaper. I'm just not sure if I want to get another printer which is why I haven't switched to laser yet. I would love to pick up a good used office machine in the near future.
Click to expand...

That's a fair amount of printing, Rob. Do you use colors, or just need b&w? (The REAL question here is could your existing color printer be used JUST for color and get a black only for your volume, or is your "volume" printing done in color?)

I'll see what I can find for you after we establish an answer to this.

(You would buy it locally, not from me)
 
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