Best networked color laser...

[Tuckie]

My mom, being a teacher, prints out a lot of documents. I've been telling her to go with a laser printer for years, and finally have gotten through to her. She insists on color for printing out powerpoints and the the like. So what would you guys recommend for something in that price range?

Thanks in Advance

 

[Horsepower]

There are a few in that range at hp.com, but it sounds like she may need to step up a few hundred for that volume. All my HP lasers have been flawless.

 

[Lemon law]

To Tuckie,

For black and white, a laser is almost a no brainer over an inkjet cost wise. But in color pro-sumer lasers, in runs dead even in consumable costs with the something like a Canon ip4200 using OEM cartridges.--------and both come in at about eight cents a page for 20% color coverage.

And the inkjet will require regularly spaced replacement of cartridges---and the color Laser will go about 2500-4000 pages and wack your MOM with a set of replacement toner cartridges that will cost as much as the Laser printer did new.---Compare an ip4200 at about $100.00 initial purchase price and the $500.00 you might spend initially for a pro-sumer laser.

But when you realize Canon ink jets are easy to refill---and you can save at least 10x refilling. The inkjet suddenly is doing color printing at a penny a page---there is a little learning curve in refilling---but I would not want to be facing the wrath of Mom when she suddenly gets wacked with that $300 bill to replace all four toner cartridges on top of the $500 she already spent.

But I did my research early---and was lucky enough to get a non-chipped canon while they were still available---$100 for the printer and $40.00 for enough refill ink and I am still printing.

 

[Tuckie]

The reality is that most of the printing we do is in black and white, but she insists on having color as an option (even though we could just keep the old inkjet) so most of the toner replacing will just be black, so I'm not sure how that factors in cost wise.

 

[kamikazekyle]

Ricoch (sp) Aficio CL3500N. 21 ppm color/B&W. 1200dpi resolution, separate toner canisters from rollers, and color rollers are separate from B&W. This reduces maintenance costs if you print black and white only. Cheaper toner cartridges than HP, and last longer. Built-in print server and Ethernet jack (even has remote administration and manual download via web). 630 page tray (I think). $449-$499. I use this at home, and have phased out my inkjet except for high quality photo prints. It has *excellent* print quality, and ample built-in memory for most projects. You can also add more memory and a duplex unit later on. By the time you finish off the starter cartridges that come with the unit, it will have nearly paid for itself vs most standard ink tanks (your mileage may vary of course).

 

[Chucko]

For your budget many of the color lasers will have an decent cost per page. Although many of the lasers in this price range will offer a better cost per page than many inkjets, you may want to consider a commercial inkjet. For about 200 you can get a HP Officejet (single function) 5400. This 5400 will offer a lower cost per page than lasers in your price range.

Cartridge yield for both hp laser and hp inkjets can be viewed at:

HP Catridge yields

 

[dshodson]

my only recommendation is dont buy a dell
the dell color lasers are cheaper initially but will hit u with an early replacement of the drum (which the printer will require in order to keep printing). Ive been suckered twice by them but not a 3rd time.