All-in-one Laser Printer Recommendation?
I'm looking for a few features for my small business. I don't really need an all-in-one since the main features I need to get out of this purchase are:
Laser (cost-per-page much better than ink-jets)
Double-sided printing
The reason I'm considering an all-in-one is I do have the occasional need for:
photo-copying (light duty, like 5 pages here and there)
faxing (yeah, my Mac can fax, but sometimes, albeit rarely, I need to fax something I have in hardcopy form, not digital).
Finally, I'm cheap
Of course, I'm more than willing to pay for quality, but I don't pay for "brand-name" just because it is a brand-name; it's got to be better than the alternatives.
Something I'm willing to trade off is speed. I don't do tons of printing, so I'm not looking for a heavy-duty fast printer, slow and easy will get me where I'm going just fine.
Thanks in advance for your recommendations!
Oh yeah, I forgot my setup:
I'm running the latest version of Panther
I plan on plugging this new printer into the USB port of my Airport Extreme base station
Laser (cost-per-page much better than ink-jets)
Double-sided printing
The reason I'm considering an all-in-one is I do have the occasional need for:
photo-copying (light duty, like 5 pages here and there)
faxing (yeah, my Mac can fax, but sometimes, albeit rarely, I need to fax something I have in hardcopy form, not digital).
Finally, I'm cheap
![aSmile](/images/smilies/1smile.gif)
Something I'm willing to trade off is speed. I don't do tons of printing, so I'm not looking for a heavy-duty fast printer, slow and easy will get me where I'm going just fine.
Thanks in advance for your recommendations!
Oh yeah, I forgot my setup:
I'm running the latest version of Panther
I plan on plugging this new printer into the USB port of my Airport Extreme base station
Comments
My ideal multifunction printer would feature:
1. 600+ dpi laser printing (15 ppm would be nice)
2. Ethernet print server (I have several OS X and Wintel systems)
3. reliable PostScript suport
4. standalone faxing (with sheetfeed)
5. scanning from the sheetfeed (to PDF or TIFF for OCR)
6. duplex printing would be a bonus
Let's get some input here!
Escher
reg
I'm in the market for one, that's for sure.
reg
Originally posted by Paul
what about this? (xerox)
See reg's comment above. The Phaser 6100 is a (very nice color) printer, not a multifunction printer (all-in-one printer, scanner, fax machine).
However, this goes to show what great values you can find in standalone machines. I was going to buy an HP LaserJet 2300DN later this year (because I like HP's reliability and good driver support), but with the attractive price of the network version of the Xerox Phaser 6100, I think I'll go for color at a similar price point. And I'll simply have to get a fax and scanner separately. Unless you really don't have the space (and possibly budget), I think you can get a lot more (functionality and performance) out of multiple standalone machines.
Escher
reg
i use a samsung ml-1450 which is 150$ or so at frys
built like a rock & really small footprint
Originally posted by madmax559
get a nice cheap laser instead of an all in one
i use a samsung ml-1450 which is 150$ or so at frys
built like a rock & really small footprint
It doesn't do double-sided printing, so it's no use to me.
Originally posted by torifile
I saw a Canon 5550 something other other earlier today. I don't know about all its features since I wasn't actually looking for one but I did note it was a laser all-in-one. Oh, it was $400 after rebate (this was at Office Depot). HTH.
Yes, the Canon's have the best quality and featureset from my own experience, but its Windows only.
Originally posted by Paul
what about this? (xerox)
I found it suspicious that Xerox's page for the Phaser 6100 didn't mention postscript support. So I decided to track down the OS X printer driver for the Phaser 6100. Here's the description from the Xerox website:
6100enOSX.dmg
English Macintosh OS X driver files for the Xerox Phaser 6100 color printer. Only supports USB printing and does not support any printer specific features.
No network printing! Even if you shell out extra money for the 6100DN. No support for printer-specific features! Does that include something like color calibration and double-sided printing? If yes, this printer will be near useless with a Mac.
Even the PDF spec sheet doesn't say whether this printer supports PostScript and would thus work with Apple's PS driver. This illustrates why HP, which has great OS X driver support, can still get away with insanely high prices.
Escher
-Get a HP LaserJet, 1300 or better
-Get a low-priced Canon or Epson Scanner
-Use Panther's built-in Fax capabilities for faxing, or get PageSender if you need more fax sophistication.
This is assuming that you will be printing pages much more often than faxing or "copying" (which is really just "scan and print").
Originally posted by FormerLurker
I've dealt with this question for many clients, and my advice to you is the same as my advice to them:
-Get a HP LaserJet, 1300 or better
-Get a low-priced Canon or Epson Scanner
-Use Panther's built-in Fax capabilities for faxing, or get PageSender if you need more fax sophistication.
This is assuming that you will be printing pages much more often than faxing or "copying" (which is really just "scan and print").
Problem..( I already have all 3):
1) Works great. Takes up a lot of space, but worth it.
2) Works great. Takes up a lot of space, but worth it.
3) Doesn't always work great and you have to mess with #2 and this is REALLY a pain if you need to fax more than one sheet (which is common) for example contracts.
So what happens is you have #1 and #2 and compounded they take up too much space. Then you have #3 which takes away hours of time a week doing page by page scanning for signed contracts or other material.
Remember - pure computer generated material need not always be faxed as there is email. From my own research, the Canon MF devices are the best...but they don't support OS X. HP does and is near the Canon quality.
Originally posted by Akac
3) Doesn't always work great and you have to mess with #2 and this is REALLY a pain if you need to fax more than one sheet (which is common) for example contracts.
I agree that scanning documents on a scanner to fax them via fax software is a complete joke. When you want to send a paper fax, all you want to do it drop your stack of paper in the sheetfeed, dial the number (or hit the right speed dial button) and press the "send" button. Anything more complicated than that is bogus.
But for the multipage scanning part, I've always dreamed of buying a scanner with a sheetfeed attachment. Are there any Mac-compatible scanners that have a sheetfeed?
Escher
Originally posted by Escher
I agree that scanning documents on a scanner to fax them via fax software is a complete joke. When you want to send a paper fax, all you want to do it drop your stack of paper in the sheetfeed, dial the number (or hit the right speed dial button) and press the "send" button. Anything more complicated than that is bogus.
But for the multipage scanning part, I've always dreamed of buying a scanner with a sheetfeed attachment. Are there any Mac-compatible scanners that have a sheetfeed?
Escher
Remember the space part. Some of us either prefer uncluttered offices or don't have much space. I already have a laser and a color photo printer stacked on top of each other. I have a scanner. I literally have no more room to add a fax. I can however get rid of the laser and scanner and put a multi-function and have space. I then also only have to buy ONE toner cartridge instead of two, one power cord, and one machine for maintenance.
So it simplifies things.
Has anybody ever tried Oki? in the C5000 Series for example.
I am trying to find out whether the laser colour printer Oki C5400dn would work wirelessly via Airport. Any tips?