[OS X TeX] OT: Good cheap laser printer?

[Bernhard Barkow]

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Hi,

On 19. Feb 2005, at 15:24, Gerben Wierda wrote:
> I am going to get a new printer at home. I used to have a NeXTprinter 
> (400dpi Canon Laser engine) connected to a NeXT as my printer, but 
> this has gone into storage because of space constraints. Since them I 
> have been working with a Canon S630 Inkjet and that printer produces 
> terrible ugly output, jagged fonts etc. The same document prints sharp 
> on any laser printer I try it on (color or monochrome).
>
> I have been looking into a laser printer replacement and it seems I 
> can go for a HP 1010, a Lexmark 232 or a Samsung or Brother 2030 (all 
> b&w). Though some say they have higher resolutions, all seem to be 
> running basically a 600x600 dpi setup. Color is a bit expensive still 
> for the volume I print at home.

There are already a lot of responses with a lot of information, but 
anyway:

- - I would recommend one of the midrange HP printers any time (2000 or 
4000 series; a different price range, unfortunately). They produce good 
output and are real workhorses, I know of none which printed less than 
150000 pages during its lifetime. However, I don't trust their 
low-price products; they are weak plastic boxes and their cost per page 
seems to be high compared to other manufacturers. And I found their 
PostScript emulation to be slow and below par (but that might also be 
just my personal impression).

- - However, depending on your printing volume either a more expensive 
printer (which will in general be cheaper in replacement cartridges 
etc.) or a Kyocera-Mita might be a reasonable option (their drums (K-M) 
are separate from the toner cartridges and therefore significantly 
cheaper). Print quality and speed are absolutely ok, IME.

- - The DPI ratings are irrelevant in most cases, since the toner is 
usually limited to 600dpi resolution anyway, as far as I know. Maybe 
you might get a little better greyscale printing, but this is also a 
software (driver) issue.

- - I have no experience with Brother printers, but what I read sounds 
convincing (300€ for a network interface and duplex printing seems like 
a real bargain).

HTH,
Bernhard


____________________________________________________
_________________________________ Bernhard Barkow __
__                                                __
__ mail bb at creativeeyes.at __ www.creativeeyes.at __
__ Phone  +43 699 12660415 __ Fax   +43 1 8775334 __
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