External links in bold

this page needs a few more photo printers.

Pretty much every product has pros and cons.

about XL (hi-yield) Print Cartridges

• you are bothered less often to buy ink/toner
• you get to print more pages
• the cost/page is lower. The lower the cost the better. (to get this you divide the total cost of the ink/toker by the page yield of the ink/toner)

• it costs more
• you may have to plan in advance for your purchase of the ink/toner (save up money).

glossary:

duplexer(d)

means double-sided printing and usually has a d on the end of the model number.

wireless

usually means 802.11b/g. once in a while they throw in bluetooth too. If I am not mistaken, this feature may make it a workgroup printer.

ethernet(n)

wired ethernet 10/100Mbps network connection for sharing printers, usually with gray, yellow, or blue network cables. different colors available. often denoted on model numbers by appending an n.

cd/dvd printing

usually means you can insert a cd or dvd into the printer and it will print ink directly onto the DVD. there is usually a program for doing this. you will have to look at your manual to determine the exact type of inkjet printable media you need to get. I suggest you start looking at mediasupply.com for cd or dvd to get the media.

workgroup printer

This type of printer can be shared with multiple people over a network (wired or wireless) without using File and Printer Sharing on your network (which is a plus), but that may only be applicable with Officejet Pro's and LaserJets and other printers that call themselves workgroup printers. Typically they are shared over ethernet (wired 10/100Mbps network connection). Often these printers have lower cost/page, but not always.

cost per page (¢/pg)

cost/page can be calculated by looking up the cartridges/toner/consumeables on the manufacuter's web site and finding the page yeild. Use the lowest (minimum) page count, which is usually color.
color_cost_per_page=TOTAL_cost_of_set_of_cartridges/number_of_pages_per_color_cartridge or black_cost_per_page=cost_of_black_cartridges/number_of_pages_per_black_cartridge
reason being you need both calculations for a color printer (you may choose to print only in black), and for mono printers you only need the black calculation.

duty cycle

the maximum number of pages per month that the printer can handle.

facctors to consider when buying a printer (be smart)

I used to say the more you pay for a printer, the less cost per page you will have and the less problems you will have.

questions to ask yourself:

• Are you going to be printing a lot or a little? how much is a lot?
• Are you going to be sharing this printer over a network? Some printers like the okidata printers work best using a static IP.
• Would you prefer a wireless printer? If the printer is only wired, you can always get a Linksys WET610N (it may be called a Wireless Bridge or it may be called a Wireless N Gaming and Video Adapter, but it is really a wireless ethernet bridge, and it turns any wired connection into a wireless connection, whether it's a static IP or DHCP)
• Do you need an All-in-one/Multi-Function-Printer (scanner/printer/copier/fax)?
• What kinds of paper do you plan on printing on? things to avoid:
  • business card stock - it breaks up in lasers, and jams them, and getting the pieces out is a pain. probably same thing with anything with a duplexer also. I would avoid using this in any modern printer, since just about all of them have a duplexer now, and then there's the consideration of the paper paths.
  • inkjet paper in laser printers - inkjet paper has plastic in it, which gets melted on the fuser, and makes a big mess. time for a new fuser and a service call...
  • thick label stock such as cd labels - cd labels get stuck in car's cd players and melt in the player and jam it. use a cd pen or a printer that can print directly onto cd's and inkjet-printable media (it's available from mediasupply.com). the thick label stock will probably cause older printers to misfeed. they also don't align well.
  • it's ok to use copier paper in inkjets and inkjet paper in inkjets. but you will get better results if you use inkjet paper (and the inkjet paper costs more, so if you are looking to save costs, use boxes of copier paper...)
• Do you plan on doing photos?
• How many people do you need to service with the printer?
• Are you going to want to save money by doing black-only printing?
• When you are doing copies, do you need to do blow-ups and reductions? for instance, for getting passports and copies of birth certificates for a drivers license, or ID card?
• How much paper do you want to be able to put in an input tray?
• If your printer output is marketing materials such as for Real Estate, consider the fact that most inkjet printer's ink runs in the rain. though it's more costly, more durable solutions are:
  • Color HP OfficeJet Pro 8000/8500 series inkjet printer
    • 4-color.
    • ink does not run if page gets wet, unlike other inkjet printers.
    • handles the sun.
    • survives Vinyl pocket folders.
    • Does photos.
    • saves you lots of money in toner at 1.6¢/pg blk or 8¢/pg color, inexpensive power, wireless, wires, fax, all-in-one, 15000pgs/mo duty cycle. most inkjets run if pages get wet and cost 2×-3× per page.
  • Color Dye Sublimation (Xerox, other mfr's), VERY expensive, Excellent quality color reproduction
    • 4-color, uses one-time sheets.
    • don't know if it repels rain. just might.
    • don't know if it can handle the sun.
    • survival of image these days in Vinyl pocket folders is unknown.
    • made for doing photos.
    • very expensive printer ($20,000-40,000?), expensive consumables.
    • probably low duty cycle
  • Color Workgroup Wax (Xerox Phaser Printers) at 10¢/pg.
    • 4-color
    • wax repels water/rain. wax now soaks into paper, probably protecting the paper, but since the entire image isn't color, some of the paper will be white, thus vulnerable
    • formulated wax now can handle the sun.
    • survival of image these days in Vinyl pocket folders is unknown.
    • Does photos quite well.
    • saves you lots of money in wax at 10¢/pg (but may make up for it in power costs)
    • 120,000impressions/mo duty cycle
  • Color Workgroup Laser Printer
    • 4-color
    • toner sits on top of paper. doesn't wash out in the rain.
    • in time past, didn't handle the sun. looks pretty good now.
    • toner sticks to Vinyl pocket folders is unknown.
    • some do photos well, but reviewers have things to say about color lasers in this regard. Things seem to be getting better.
    • expensive toner at 22¢/pg, expensive power costs
    • 100,000pg/mo duty cycle
• How often do you want to buy consumables?
  • low-end toner: 3000-7000 pgs
  • workgroup toner: 10000-18000 pgs
  • wax (solid ink @ cdw.com): 3400-14000 pgs/3-6 blocks
  • ink: 300-2200 pgs depending on color

There are only 2 printers I would consider buying right now: 6000 series Okidata mono workgroup laser printers, and the HP OfficeJet Pro Wireless 8000 series or 8500 series. these 2 series also do a decent job on photos (CMYK).

Toner doesn't really expire for a long time, so if you want to you can stock up on it. Ink expires much sooner. Ink can dry out. Use the JIT approach to buying ink (Just In Time).

MAINTENANCE: Toner-based printers may require you to buy an Imaging Drum once in a while. Inkjet printers may require you to replace heads, if the heads are separate, as they are on the 2 series of HP printers I mentioned.

Printers, wired & wireless

Business-class (workgroup) printers

new windows 98 printers

The OfficeJet Pro 8000 & 8500's XL cartridges do not have the date chip in them which expires them early.

Laser printers: you should use copy paper in it, but avoid any type of media with plastic in it, such as inkjet paper and avery business card stock (which also tends to break up inside the printer, causing a jam). I am told the plastic melts on the fuser and gets stuck, causing jams. The avery business card stock is not labelled as "for laser printers", and you can see the plastic peel off the cards... I have noticed that card stock tends to cause jams/misfeeds, even if the printer says it can handle it. Some kinds are just too thick.

If you need to turn off File and Printer sharing for security reasons, consider using a workgroup printer and sharing it on your router via ethernet, possibly from the list above. You may want to use a fixed IP for your printer. most off-the-shelf routers will allow you to use a static(fixed) IP address in the range 192.168.1.2-192.168.1.99 or some similar address. If you need file sharing into one central repository, use an FTP server+client like FileZilla and set up accounts in it.