Entry level colour laser advice please.

sgould

sgould

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My hp deskjet is on the way out and I'm looking to replace it. Home use only and not much that is just black and white. So I'm thinking of a cheap colour laser. Epson C1100 has been recommended in general terms, also an OKI.

Current printer is working from the USB outlet on the Airport Extreme Base Station, but ethernet connection would also be possible.

System is a wired network between Quicksilver G4 and the AP Base, with an iBook G4 on the wi-fi link. There's a hub in there for occasional connection of my work IBM ThinkPad.

Any suggestions or recommendations? Tried a search but only got peoples problems!
 
I have found the HP Laserjet 2550 to be very good and reliable. Epson make very good inkjets, but I am not so impressed with their laser printers.
 
For the average price of the Epson ($650 to $700 from what I've seen so far), you can get one of two Xerox color lasers that IMO have similar or better specs and a better reputation for color lasers. The Phaser 6120 goes for around $450 (600dpi, individual toner based); the Phaser 8500 around $700 (1200dpi, individual stick based). Both Xerox models are Pantone approved and also Mac centric. **All prices USD**

If you can swing the $$$ for the 8500, it's well worth the investment.
 
Another vote for the Xerox Phaser 8500. I own its older sibling, the Phaser 8400 DP. This PPC-based genuine PostScript 3 printer is wicked fast and built like an anvil. It makes me want to throw stones at any recent Hewlett-Packard laser printer.
 
Phasers are fantastic printers. As for the HP Color LaserJets, I've had nothing but headaches from the HP CLJ2500. It's slow, jams for no good reason, and offers very little interaction. Additionally, the toner is very expensive, offers low capacity, and are prone to leaking splotches of toner on your prints.
 
Had a Phaser once, we spent more than a _year_ trying to find slides with decent print results... :/ We never were completely satisfied with the results, coming from an Apple Color LaserWriter 12/660... So: I can't really put my name under the phasers...
 
I just did a test print of a color photograph transparency on my Phaser 8400. Beautiful. I will certainly put name on any testimonial for this wonderful printer.
 
Well, I have to admit I haven't been using phasers for more than two years now (altough I think the technology has not really improved that much in phaser-world), so maybe there's better transparent slides now...
 
Good info so far :)

Is it common practice to fit smaller capacity toner cartridges in new machines than you buy for replacements? If so, any particular makes that are worse than others?

Current short list of cheapest machines available (with prices from a random online supplier)

KONICA MINOLTA MAGICOLOR 2400W £199.74 ($350)

HP COLOUR LASERJET 2600N £211.49

CANON LBP5200 £212.22

EPSON ACULASER C1100 £216.19

BROTHER HL-2700CN £223.24

SAMSUNG CLP-510 COLOUR LASER PRINTER £234.99

OKI C3200 COLOUR LASER PRINTER £240.86

KONICA MINOLTA MAGICOLOR 2430 DESKLASER £246.74
 
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