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OT: Good multi-funtion laser printer for engineers?

Hi All,

What is a good multi function laser printer? You know, the ones that can laser print but also copy, scan and fax. This avoids cluttering the office with individual units. It also avoids the occasional cussing that follows when the copier heater came on while the printer was going and tripped the breaker.

One that seems ok is the 'Brother MFC-8440'. Thing is, you can't try these out at the store which is why I am asking for experiences from an engineer's perspective. Or maybe you have another one that you could recommend. It has to be able to print hi-res schematics properly, scan data sheets, and toner/drum replacements should not cost a fortune.

Also, if you happen to have a recommendation for a small and cheap (meaning low cartridge cost) color inkjet I'd appreciate that. That one should be able to print circuit board pictures, scope screen shots etc.

One issue is drivers. Dell often mentions that certain types of their printers are only compatible with XP and 2000. That would not be good.

Regards, Joerg

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Reply to
Joerg
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Go for an HP.

AFAIK there are no cheap inkjet printers. If you want to print in color and keep your money in your wallet, get a color laser printer. The prices of these machines go down very rapidly.

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Reply to nico@nctdevpuntnl (punt=.)
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Reply to
Nico Coesel

Nico, Methinks you have that bass-ackwards... inkjets are dirt-cheap, color laserjets are US$1K and up, and the quality/durability is still in question.

...Jim Thompson

--
|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
|  Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
|  Phoenix, Arizona            Voice:(480)460-2350  |             |
|  E-mail Address at Website     Fax:(480)460-2142  |  Brass Rat  |
|       http://www.analog-innovations.com           |    1962     |
             
I love to cook with wine.      Sometimes I even put it in the food.
Reply to
Jim Thompson

My local printer repairman,

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, does not yet recommend _any_ of the consumer-level color laserjets.

...Jim Thompson

--
|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
|  Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
|  Phoenix, Arizona            Voice:(480)460-2350  |             |
|  E-mail Address at Website     Fax:(480)460-2142  |  Brass Rat  |
|       http://www.analog-innovations.com           |    1962     |
             
I love to cook with wine.      Sometimes I even put it in the food.
Reply to
Jim Thompson
[snip]

That's the one my printer repairman DOESN'T recommend, on durability grounds. (But then he regularly takes them apart :)

...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | | | E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat | |

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| 1962 | I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Reply to
Jim Thompson

Purchase price of inkjets can be almost free (even with color LCD displays and junk like that), but the operating costs of color inkjets are through the roof, IME. Unless you fiddle around with non-OEM cartridges or messy refilling.

B&W lasers have low and very predicable per-page cost.

Don't know about color lasers- the cost of a set of replacement cartridges is almost the US$500 price of the printer itself, but I assume there isn't much else to wear out in normal light service.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

--
"it's the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com
Reply to
Spehro Pefhany

It's almost gotten to the point that it's cheaper to replace the printer than buy the cartridges. That'll foil their "Gilette Marketing". ;-)

There are local firms that will recycle the toner cartridges too.

See above. ;-)

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  Keith
Reply to
keith

The dirty little SOBs don't give you *full* cartridges with new consumer-grade color laser printer- they are less-than-half-full "starter" cartridges, so they get you one way or the other.

They used to do the same thing with SOHO copiers- maybe they still do.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

--
"it's the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com
Reply to
Spehro Pefhany

If you take the price of inkjet paper and ink into account, an inkjet printer is way more expensive. Besides the fact you need to use the inkjet on a regular basis, otherwise the ink will dry-out and you'll need to replace the cartridge before it is empty. And... if I recall correct the inkjet inks still aren't water proof, the colors are fading, etc.

Now I hear some people thinking 'Color laserjet don't do photo's very well'. Probably true, but if I want to print photo's, I type

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in my browser, upload the photo's, forward the e-mail saying 'the photo's are ready' to my wife and ask her if she can pick them up. Less hassle and better photo's.

BTW, over here I can buy an HP2500L Color Laserjet for 417 Euro's (aprox. $US 500) including VAT.

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Reply to nico@nctdevpuntnl (punt=.)
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Reply to
Nico Coesel

It depends on how much you're planning to use a printer. You can't expect a cheaper model to last long if you are going to print 24/7.

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Reply to nico@nctdevpuntnl (punt=.)
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Reply to
Nico Coesel

Hi Keith,

Exactly. And that's a sad point because here you dump a large and perfectly functional printer into the trash just because the toner costs more than a new printer. I am almost at that point with a copier right now where toner costs got out of control.

I will never fall for that again. Did it on a Laser III, ended up with a drum scratch and it never printed right ever since.

Regards, Joerg

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Reply to
Joerg

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