Anyone use a color laser printer?

[David Martirosyan]

I know the quality isn't as good as inkjets, but I like the speed. I want to make a brochure with photos of art work. Got some print outs of my files from the QMS 3100 and they're not too bad. I can barely see any dots even if I look very closely at the print. I like this printer, because it prints on 217gsm thick paper. That's the thickest paper handling I've found in this price range.

Anyway, I'm looking at printers that cost $3000 or less. Any suggestions? Anyone use a QMS 6110?

Thanks!!!

 

[stuartd]

I know the quality isn't as good as inkjets, but I like the speed.
I want to make a brochure with photos of art work. Got some print
outs of my files from the QMS 3100 and they're not too bad. I can
barely see any dots even if I look very closely at the print. I
like this printer, because it prints on 217gsm thick paper. That's
the thickest paper handling I've found in this price range.

Anyway, I'm looking at printers that cost $3000 or less. Any
suggestions? Anyone use a QMS 6110?

Thanks!!!

--------------------

We've got a Minolta 3100 and a HP 4500 at work, and the quality and reliability from the 4500 is much better then the minolta.

To be homest, we've had nothing but problems with the minolta since we got it 6 months ago. The HP is over a year old and has been trouble free.

I know the 3100 is faster, but HP also do faster colour lasers now, and I'd consider HP due to good experiences at work or Epson (as I like epson inkjets).

See my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/stuartd

 

[Kui]

I have HP color laser jet 4500, Epson 1280 and 2200.

I barely use HP colorlaser jet now, only when I need to print a mass quality print on a plain paper. The quality of photo printing is uncomparable to those Epsons but the cost of print, text quality and speed is the reason that I still keep it.

Kui

 

[stuartd]

I have HP color laser jet 4500, Epson 1280 and 2200.

I barely use HP colorlaser jet now, only when I need to print a
mass quality print on a plain paper. The quality of photo printing
is uncomparable to those Epsons but the cost of print, text quality
and speed is the reason that I still keep it.

Kui

------------

I agree, the prints from my 1270 on glossy paper are better then either the 4500 or 3100.

How does your 2200 compare to the 1280 ?

See my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/stuartd

 

[David Martirosyan]

Thanks for the reply. I'll check into the HP. I guess the 4500 is called 4550 now.

What kind of problems have you guys been having with the 3100?

I have an Epson 875DC. I get great quality prints. I don't think they make laser printers though.

It's true that you can't compare the laser printer prints with the inkjet prints, but when I look at the laser prints that I have from the 3100 by themselves they don't look bad at all. They look pretty good actually. I only have prints from the 3100, that's why I mention it so much. I'm waiting for some prints from the Lexmark 720 and Tally printers.

Thanks!!!

I know the quality isn't as good as inkjets, but I like the speed.
I want to make a brochure with photos of art work. Got some print
outs of my files from the QMS 3100 and they're not too bad. I can
barely see any dots even if I look very closely at the print. I
like this printer, because it prints on 217gsm thick paper. That's
the thickest paper handling I've found in this price range.

Anyway, I'm looking at printers that cost $3000 or less. Any
suggestions? Anyone use a QMS 6110?

Thanks!!!

--------------------

We've got a Minolta 3100 and a HP 4500 at work, and the quality and
reliability from the 4500 is much better then the minolta.

To be homest, we've had nothing but problems with the minolta since
we got it 6 months ago. The HP is over a year old and has been
trouble free.

I know the 3100 is faster, but HP also do faster colour lasers now,
and I'd consider HP due to good experiences at work or Epson (as I
like epson inkjets).

See my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/stuartd

 

[bruce komusin]

The 4500/4550 line has been upgraded. HP's latest model is 4600, which I have. It differs from 4500 series in that it prints 17 pages per minute in color. Previous models printed b/w that fast but slowed down when doing color.

BTW, it can print 270 g/m2 cover stock very well.

-bruce

What kind of problems have you guys been having with the 3100?

I have an Epson 875DC. I get great quality prints. I don't think
they make laser printers though.

It's true that you can't compare the laser printer prints with the
inkjet prints, but when I look at the laser prints that I have from
the 3100 by themselves they don't look bad at all. They look
pretty good actually. I only have prints from the 3100, that's why
I mention it so much. I'm waiting for some prints from the Lexmark
720 and Tally printers.

Thanks!!!

I know the quality isn't as good as inkjets, but I like the speed.
I want to make a brochure with photos of art work. Got some print
outs of my files from the QMS 3100 and they're not too bad. I can
barely see any dots even if I look very closely at the print. I
like this printer, because it prints on 217gsm thick paper. That's
the thickest paper handling I've found in this price range.

Anyway, I'm looking at printers that cost $3000 or less. Any
suggestions? Anyone use a QMS 6110?

Thanks!!!

--------------------

We've got a Minolta 3100 and a HP 4500 at work, and the quality and
reliability from the 4500 is much better then the minolta.

To be homest, we've had nothing but problems with the minolta since
we got it 6 months ago. The HP is over a year old and has been
trouble free.

I know the 3100 is faster, but HP also do faster colour lasers now,
and I'd consider HP due to good experiences at work or Epson (as I
like epson inkjets).

See my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/stuartd

 

[Vlad63918]

Does it print on photo paper for inkjet printers or laser requires special paper for printing photos?
Vlad

I have HP color laser jet 4500, Epson 1280 and 2200.

I barely use HP colorlaser jet now, only when I need to print a
mass quality print on a plain paper. The quality of photo printing
is uncomparable to those Epsons but the cost of print, text quality
and speed is the reason that I still keep it.

Kui

--
http://www.vchapran.com

 

[David Martirosyan]

I talked to a Tally laser printer salesperson and she said that you can't use inkjet paper in a laser printer, because the coating will come off and damage the printer.

There are photo papers for laser printers though. They're not as shiny as some of the inkjet papers, but they still look pretty nice. The cool thing is that you can get them in various thicknesses depending of what you're trying to do.

I have HP color laser jet 4500, Epson 1280 and 2200.

I barely use HP colorlaser jet now, only when I need to print a
mass quality print on a plain paper. The quality of photo printing
is uncomparable to those Epsons but the cost of print, text quality
and speed is the reason that I still keep it.

Kui

--
http://www.vchapran.com

 

[Kui]

How does your 2200 compare to the 1280 ?

I'm going to compare it side by side very soon. The 2200's output is definitely better but .. to me... the differences is hard to elicit especially when I do not print B&W that much. Talking about archival property, my 1280 right now is using Epson's pigment inks. So, at the first time I print the comparison pictures. I wondered myself about buying 2200. Good things are 2200 is faster and quieter and I love the automatic cutter and the way the roll paper feeding into the pritner. I like the new ink and the seperate ink tank. While it's much bigger and the cost of printing is still much higher (even with inidividual ink) than my 1280 running on home-made CIS Epson OEM's archival inks.

Regards.

Kui

 

[David Martirosyan]

Thanks Bruce,

I checked the specs for the 4600 and they list 163gsm for the max paper thickness. I guess they list a conservative number for paper weights. It's awesome that it can print on 270gsm. I wonder if most laser printers will print on thicker paper than the manufacturer lists as the max.

How do you like the 4600?

BTW, it can print 270 g/m2 cover stock very well.

-bruce

What kind of problems have you guys been having with the 3100?

I have an Epson 875DC. I get great quality prints. I don't think
they make laser printers though.

It's true that you can't compare the laser printer prints with the
inkjet prints, but when I look at the laser prints that I have from
the 3100 by themselves they don't look bad at all. They look
pretty good actually. I only have prints from the 3100, that's why
I mention it so much. I'm waiting for some prints from the Lexmark
720 and Tally printers.

Thanks!!!

I know the quality isn't as good as inkjets, but I like the speed.
I want to make a brochure with photos of art work. Got some print
outs of my files from the QMS 3100 and they're not too bad. I can
barely see any dots even if I look very closely at the print. I
like this printer, because it prints on 217gsm thick paper. That's
the thickest paper handling I've found in this price range.

Anyway, I'm looking at printers that cost $3000 or less. Any
suggestions? Anyone use a QMS 6110?

Thanks!!!

--------------------

We've got a Minolta 3100 and a HP 4500 at work, and the quality and
reliability from the 4500 is much better then the minolta.

To be homest, we've had nothing but problems with the minolta since
we got it 6 months ago. The HP is over a year old and has been
trouble free.

I know the 3100 is faster, but HP also do faster colour lasers now,
and I'd consider HP due to good experiences at work or Epson (as I
like epson inkjets).

See my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/stuartd

--

 

[Steve Mason]

Xerox purchased the Phaser line from Tektronix a while ago.
The Xerox Phaser solid ink bar printers are pretty neat.

I haven't looked at true photo output on one for a while, but the output for normal color business printing is very good!

I checked the specs for the 4600 and they list 163gsm for the max
paper thickness. I guess they list a conservative number for paper
weights. It's awesome that it can print on 270gsm. I wonder if
most laser printers will print on thicker paper than the
manufacturer lists as the max.

How do you like the 4600?

BTW, it can print 270 g/m2 cover stock very well.

-bruce

What kind of problems have you guys been having with the 3100?

I have an Epson 875DC. I get great quality prints. I don't think
they make laser printers though.

It's true that you can't compare the laser printer prints with the
inkjet prints, but when I look at the laser prints that I have from
the 3100 by themselves they don't look bad at all. They look
pretty good actually. I only have prints from the 3100, that's why
I mention it so much. I'm waiting for some prints from the Lexmark
720 and Tally printers.

Thanks!!!

I know the quality isn't as good as inkjets, but I like the speed.
I want to make a brochure with photos of art work. Got some print
outs of my files from the QMS 3100 and they're not too bad. I can
barely see any dots even if I look very closely at the print. I
like this printer, because it prints on 217gsm thick paper. That's
the thickest paper handling I've found in this price range.

Anyway, I'm looking at printers that cost $3000 or less. Any
suggestions? Anyone use a QMS 6110?

Thanks!!!

--------------------

We've got a Minolta 3100 and a HP 4500 at work, and the quality and
reliability from the 4500 is much better then the minolta.

To be homest, we've had nothing but problems with the minolta since
we got it 6 months ago. The HP is over a year old and has been
trouble free.

I know the 3100 is faster, but HP also do faster colour lasers now,
and I'd consider HP due to good experiences at work or Epson (as I
like epson inkjets).

See my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/stuartd

--

 

[David Martirosyan]

Hi Steve,

I did some research on the Phaser 860 wax printer, and I think I might have some problems with it if I print brochures and try to pass them through a scoring or folding machine. I'll have to talk to my local print shop about it.

I requested some sample prints from Xerox though. I can't wait to see how the prints look.

Thanks!!!

I checked the specs for the 4600 and they list 163gsm for the max
paper thickness. I guess they list a conservative number for paper
weights. It's awesome that it can print on 270gsm. I wonder if
most laser printers will print on thicker paper than the
manufacturer lists as the max.

How do you like the 4600?

BTW, it can print 270 g/m2 cover stock very well.

-bruce

What kind of problems have you guys been having with the 3100?

I have an Epson 875DC. I get great quality prints. I don't think
they make laser printers though.

It's true that you can't compare the laser printer prints with the
inkjet prints, but when I look at the laser prints that I have from
the 3100 by themselves they don't look bad at all. They look
pretty good actually. I only have prints from the 3100, that's why
I mention it so much. I'm waiting for some prints from the Lexmark
720 and Tally printers.

Thanks!!!

I know the quality isn't as good as inkjets, but I like the speed.
I want to make a brochure with photos of art work. Got some print
outs of my files from the QMS 3100 and they're not too bad. I can
barely see any dots even if I look very closely at the print. I
like this printer, because it prints on 217gsm thick paper. That's
the thickest paper handling I've found in this price range.

Anyway, I'm looking at printers that cost $3000 or less. Any
suggestions? Anyone use a QMS 6110?

Thanks!!!

--------------------

We've got a Minolta 3100 and a HP 4500 at work, and the quality and
reliability from the 4500 is much better then the minolta.

To be homest, we've had nothing but problems with the minolta since
we got it 6 months ago. The HP is over a year old and has been
trouble free.

I know the 3100 is faster, but HP also do faster colour lasers now,
and I'd consider HP due to good experiences at work or Epson (as I
like epson inkjets).

See my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/stuartd

--

 

[bruce komusin]

I like the HP 4600, the prints are fine, however the toner is expensive -- $149 per color, $199 for black -- which is more than previous model 4550 cost. Also the toner is somewhat hard to get at the moment, though I expect the latter problem will ease somewhat as time passes.

I misstated the thickness of cover stock I am using. Looking again, I see it is Hammermill "Via Neutrals, Cover 80 Laid" 216 g/m2. The paper has definite web-like embossed ridges observable on it, and the toner fuses fully to it even in the deeper parts.

You can specify paper thickness (weight) for both bins. If you specify heavy stock, the printer feeds and passes the paper through at half speed (17/2 = 8.5 pages per minute) in order to fully heat up and seal the toner. Before I knew this, I put this same cover stock through without telling the printer, so it printed at full speed -- and there was no problem then either.

Regarding Xerox wax technology printers, another problem, besides the ink scratching off the paper, is the long wait time (about 30 minutes) after you turn on the printer, before you can make your first print. The wax has to melt fully.

-bruce

Hi Steve,

I did some research on the Phaser 860 wax printer, and I think I
might have some problems with it if I print brochures and try to
pass them through a scoring or folding machine. I'll have to talk
to my local print shop about it.

I requested some sample prints from Xerox though. I can't wait to
see how the prints look.

Thanks!!!

I checked the specs for the 4600 and they list 163gsm for the max
paper thickness. I guess they list a conservative number for paper
weights. It's awesome that it can print on 270gsm. I wonder if
most laser printers will print on thicker paper than the
manufacturer lists as the max.

How do you like the 4600?

BTW, it can print 270 g/m2 cover stock very well.

-bruce

What kind of problems have you guys been having with the 3100?

I have an Epson 875DC. I get great quality prints. I don't think
they make laser printers though.

It's true that you can't compare the laser printer prints with the
inkjet prints, but when I look at the laser prints that I have from
the 3100 by themselves they don't look bad at all. They look
pretty good actually. I only have prints from the 3100, that's why
I mention it so much. I'm waiting for some prints from the Lexmark
720 and Tally printers.

Thanks!!!

I know the quality isn't as good as inkjets, but I like the speed.
I want to make a brochure with photos of art work. Got some print
outs of my files from the QMS 3100 and they're not too bad. I can
barely see any dots even if I look very closely at the print. I
like this printer, because it prints on 217gsm thick paper. That's
the thickest paper handling I've found in this price range.

Anyway, I'm looking at printers that cost $3000 or less. Any
suggestions? Anyone use a QMS 6110?

Thanks!!!

--------------------

We've got a Minolta 3100 and a HP 4500 at work, and the quality and
reliability from the 4500 is much better then the minolta.

To be homest, we've had nothing but problems with the minolta since
we got it 6 months ago. The HP is over a year old and has been
trouble free.

I know the 3100 is faster, but HP also do faster colour lasers now,
and I'd consider HP due to good experiences at work or Epson (as I
like epson inkjets).

See my gallery at http://www.pbase.com/stuartd

--

 

[Dr_ML]

Sergaey

I have the Lexmark and it is fine, but not noticably better than the HP even though my Lex is a true 1200dpi. The only laser that I have been pleased with is the Xerox Phaser 860 (now also the 8200) which is solid ink (looks beautiful but scratches off ) and the Phaser 7700 which is tabloid size and costs a fortune (5000+)

Let us know if you happen on anything new!

Thanks,

Mark

--
Truly great madness cannot be achieved without significant intelligence.
Henrik Tikkanen

 

[RLR]

Does it print on photo paper for inkjet printers or laser requires
special paper for printing photos?
Vlad

Never ever use glossy photo paper in a laser printer unless it specifically says that the paper is designed for laser use. The film on the inkjet paper will melt and effectively kill the laser.

Look for "NOPA" paper if you can its a 100 gsm glossy designed for colour lasers.

 

[David Martirosyan]

Got some of my pictures printed on a few color lasers.

The best one so far is the Ricoh AP3800C, but it costs close to $4000 with tax and delivery. Good color and detail. Colors were very close to my Epson 875DC, except for the red, which was a little brownish. Dots visible on photos of people, but not bad for prints of artwork. Also it's wide format. This thing is a heavy duty monster.

Tally 8006 had good colors, but the details look smeared, probably due the interpolation software. It's cheap though at $1300. Tally 8406 - colors were a little off. Blues too dark. Details ok.

HP 4600 was way off on the colors. Colors were too saturated and bright. The blues were way off. Looked more like cyan than blue.

Xerox Phaser 8200 - colors were dull and dark, and details were smeared and lost. I was expecting saturated and bright colors from the solid inks, but I didn't get that.

QMS 3100 - looks really sharp. No visible dots, and good color and detail on glossy laser paper. I've read that they aren't reliable on newsgroups and online user ratings, though.

Lexmark didn't get back to me yet. Taking forever. Right now the printers that look good are the Ricoh, QMS, and Tally 8006(because of price). One thing I gotta say though is that some of these printouts were printed by salespeople who weren't too comfortable operating computers, so I don't know what settings they used to prints some of the samples.