# What is the best SOHO Printer?



## rubaiyat (Nov 20, 2006)

I have a Brother 1270N laser printer. It never had much use but has become practically useless. It spills toner on the page and makes a nasty ratcheting noise when printing. 

Since it is a sealed unit I can't get inside it to do any repairs and the toner cartridge has run out. Neither repairs nor a new cartridge (considering it's current print quality) seem warranted, so I am in the market for a new printer.

My printing needs are very light, an occassional letter or invoice. Most of my output is email or pdfs. 

I probably could use a color inkjet but have a few concerns.

*1 Quality.* Do cheap inkjets offer reasonable output, if so which would be best (I am a designer)

*2 Ink cartridge life.* My previous experience was of cartridges that dried up, before I used them up. I believe HP has some more economic cartridges. Any models have longer life, cheaper output?

*3 Quality.* I expect at least reasonable quality for color printing and have been eyeing off the all in one units as I could use a quick and easy scanner facility on the odd occasion to help scan in sketches and documents for faxing.

Please share your experiences and favorites. Thanks.


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## MisterMe (Nov 20, 2006)

Consumeables in inkjet printers are very expensive. They are also unreliable. The printers themselves are slow. To go from a laser printer to an inkjet would be a significant downgrade. I recommend a Xerox solid ink printer such as the Phaser 8550. It uses blocks of wax as toner to produce laserprinter quality output, eliminating that powder toner. They are wicked fast, built like anvils, and produce beautiful output. Get a PostScript-based, networkable printer and connect it to your router. Every computer in your house will have access to it. You can now get these printers for less than $1000 US.


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## sgould (Nov 20, 2006)

I have just got a Xerox 8550.  No dust!! Output is great.

Wax is waterproof too, but they do not recommend this type if you need to hot laminate.  

8500 is a cheaper slower and slightly lower resolution version of the same.


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## rubaiyat (Nov 21, 2006)

I used a Phaser when I contracted years ago. Yes they are nice but the color fades, the wax is unbelievably expensive and the original unit cost is way out of my league.

As I pointed out I make only minor use of the printer, a US$1000 unit is way overkill.

I really am looking for an inkjet, laserprinter or multi-function centre.


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## MisterMe (Nov 21, 2006)

Everything was expensive years ago. Inkjets continue to have expensive ink which also fades. The printers are cheaper and flimsier. Laserprinters are substantially less expensive, but are still more expensive than comparable Phasers. The plastic toner used in laserprinter may flake off. Multifunctions are either inkjet or laser. A lot of people buy them, but I don't trust them. Whatever you buy should reflect a professional image for your business. It can be deducted as a business expense.


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## rubaiyat (Nov 23, 2006)

They still cost US$17 a block (multiplied by 4), don't last that long and as I am not in the States cost even more here.

There are long life inkjet inks, the color fidelity is very good on the better models and the cartridges are easier to come by than Phaser wax.

Part of being a professional is listening to what people are saying and not just insisting what fits you fits everyone.

I am past the point where I work to buy/maintain my equipment. I prefer it the other way around.

I repeat I make only occassional use of a printer and a US$1000 printer that uses extremely expensive supplies (which fade, rub off and even crack when folded) doesn't fit MY requirements.

I really would like to hear from users' experiences with various model color printers, that fit my requirements. Even though I didn't mind my studio smelling like a ski-shop


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## Lt Major Burns (Nov 23, 2006)

current low-end Epson inkjets appear to not have any setting between a near useless 'economy setting' and 'saturate the paper with ink setting'.  other than that, not bad. prints are a bit dark.

Lexmark are, as ever, cheap to buy/expensive to run, with a full set of cartridges costing rougly £60.


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## rubaiyat (Nov 23, 2006)

Thanks Major Burns 

The issue of oversaturation isn't corrected by ColorSync?


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## MisterMe (Nov 23, 2006)

rubaiyat said:


> They still cost US$17 a block (multiplied by 4), don't last that long and as I am not in the States cost even more here.
> 
> There are long life inkjet inks, the color fidelity is very good on the better models and the cartridges are easier to come by than Phaser wax.
> ...


You seem to be taking my advice personally. I did not mean it to be so. The price of Xerox supplies can be priced on the company's website. However, at about $30/cartridge, ink for HP Deskjets is substantially more expensive. Availabililty is not an issue in this day when things can be ordered on the Internet and delivered in a day or so. My Xerox Phaser 8550 DP hit me for about $600, is wickedly fast, has superior output, and is built like an anvil. These are my experiences and they are good. If you can do better, then more power to you. Buy it.


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## bluemack (Nov 24, 2006)

Office Max is running a sale on HP 1320 regulaly $400, now on sale until tomorrow for $199 (immediate rebates) plus tax and free shipping. I ordered this last week and it is a great printer. In cleveland the librarys use this computer and it is FAST and does duplex printing too.

http://www.officemax.com/max/soluti...rodBlockOID=537395350&expansionOID=-536907398


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## rubaiyat (Nov 25, 2006)

MisterMe I'm not taking it personally, just I do know the Phaser and yes it is a nice printer but very expensive and not necessarily the best option. It just is vaguely possible you are pushing an inappropriate solution. Work it out, I do very few prints and you are pushing a $1000 printer.

As to purchasing over the internet, being in the States gives you a false idea of both the cost and convenience. Freight is the killer, sometimes costing more than the items themselves. Plus I have found US firms unreliable with non US customers.

I am seriously looking at various inkjets and am trying to pin down which offer the best combination of quality and ink life. 

I have noticed Pelikan inks offer a wide range of refill inks for many models but there are such a wide range of models cross referencing what works with what is a headache. Especially as many models do not explicitly say which cartridges they use, guess the information is in the box.

It also occurs to me that the inkjet manufacturers are deliberately making a huge number of incompatible products and eventually you have an unsupported model. Not that that is too great a problem, they are so cheap.


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## MisterMe (Nov 25, 2006)

I am not pushing anything. Despite the fact that there are laser printers which cost just a bit more than inkjets, you don't want a laser printer. I was giving you another option with the most up-to-date information at my disposal. I have owned several HP inkjet printers back when they didn't suck. Even then, I have gotten as few as two pages from a cartridge only to have its nozzles clog. Now that inkjets are so flimsy, I would not buy one  for my own use. I would most certainly not run a business that relied on inkjets. But, it is your business and your money. You should run your business and spend your money as you best see fit.


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## sgould (Nov 25, 2006)

Have you considered the low end colour laser printers?

Like the HP 2600 or Xerox 6120 - around the £200 mark.


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## Lt Major Burns (Nov 25, 2006)

if you're only doing occasionnal printing, get a £40 printer and be done with it.  it'll let you print stuff out occasionally.  for £40.  and in colour, too.


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## rubaiyat (Nov 26, 2006)

You'd think MisterMe was on commission the way he keeps on going on about his Phaser.

sgould, Yes I did look at the color lasers but again the combination of printer and toner really does push the cost up. I'm not impressed by the output either.

Lt Major Burns, guess I'm looking for users who have tried various models and know what to look out for. There are so many models available. Some appear remarkable bargains, but I don't want to keep buying them till I find the right one.


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## Lt Major Burns (Nov 26, 2006)

Don't go for: Epson C46, Lexmark Z33, Epson D78.  they're all the printers i've had, and all have been flawed.  go for the biggest ink tanks you can, manufacturers seem to be making these things tiny, and charging the same for them...  ancient old lexmark Z32's had huuge inkwells...


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## sgould (Nov 26, 2006)

We went for the laser because of the cost of ink cartridges.  Our old HP 960 deskjet was not performing well on re-manufactured cartridges.  Maybe they were not fully functional?  Is the story about there being a chip in the cartridge that disables it, if refilled, an old wives tale?  Also had issues with "out of box" failures on re-manufactured ones.  All changed with no problem, but a hassle.

Anyway, we seemed to only get a good result and reliability from HP cartridges.  These work out at over £60 for a pair.  They have a much shorter life than the toner.  

It made the thought of a £200 laser easier to bear.

Choosing the next model up was just extravagance....  justified by the wax being dust free... and I have asthma.  But still an extravagance!!  But it came with an offer of £230 of free toner too 

The other justification is that my wife does posters for a choir that she sings in.  These are sometimes very "ink heavy".  The inkjet would soak the paper and give poor results.  This use is only twice a year, but she had to say "Yes" to the laser too!


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## rubaiyat (Jan 18, 2007)

Well I went for a combination of 2 very cheap but capable printers.

A HP Deskjet F380 All in one for simple scanning and color printing, and a Brother HL-2040 laser printer for general black & white printing. 

Together they cost only A$138! About the same as the cost of a new toner cartridge for my old laserprinter.


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## pds (Jan 19, 2007)

Mabrouk - that's what I would have suggested if I had seen this back in November. You need color, but not all the time. The laser will keep consumable costs down and the HP keeps nozzles in the replaceable cartridge (as opposed to Canons and Epsons. I had two Epson P'sOS that died because the nozzles are part of the printer itself.)

A$138 for the both of them sounds like a really good deal. About 110 U$


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## rubaiyat (Jan 24, 2007)

Ridiculously cheap aren't they! In fact cheaper than the consumables.


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