printer recommendations: 1500+ color pages per month

i have a buddy who is starting a home business and is looking for printer recommendations:

- 1500+ color pages per month
- no plans on refilling, so will buy ink/toner as needed

any ideas, thoughts ?

specific brands, models to suggest ?

thx

J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Active Printers: MP830, MP980, PRO-100
• Stored Printers: MP830, IP4500, MX700, MX860, MX870
• Method: German Durchstich Method
• Ink: Hobbicolors and OCP
• Misc: Squeeze bottles - so much easier than syringes

which format ar you looking for - most of the models today are multifunctional units with a scanner - is that o.k.? - what is the main use of the printer - business communication - letters - order confirmations etc or high quality photos, images etc - is double sided printing a requirement - and borderless printing ?

Try theses..

HP Officejet Pro X 476 DW

HP Officejet Pro X 551W

Canon maxify...

thx, will try to find out more about the printing requirements

also he has a working MX870 that is still working but has no interest in refilling.

i'm not sure the MX870 could handle that monthly load for very long. thoughts ?

J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Active Printers: MP830, MP980, PRO-100
• Stored Printers: MP830, IP4500, MX700, MX860, MX870
• Method: German Durchstich Method
• Ink: Hobbicolors and OCP
• Misc: Squeeze bottles - so much easier than syringes

jimbo123 said:

thx, will try to find out more about the printing requirements

also he has a working MX870 that is still working but has no interest in refilling.

i'm not sure the MX870 could handle that monthly load for very long. thoughts ?

J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Active Printers: MP830, MP980, PRO-100
• Stored Printers: MP830, IP4500, MX700, MX860, MX870
• Method: German Durchstich Method
• Ink: Hobbicolors and OCP
• Misc: Squeeze bottles - so much easier than syringes

Click to expand...

In my NOT so humble opinion:

Forget the MX 870. I have one which my wife uses for office and admin type work. It is barely adequate for that.

• It is slow. If the 1,500 per month are high res colour will take a lifetime.
  
• It is NOT particularly robust.
• Inkcarts are small and expensive.
  
• Refilling is finicky. Third party carts are a cr@p shoot - especially if the 1,500 per month involves a deadline

I don't know enough to give suggestions. Just that the 870 should be at the bottom of any list.

Just my opinion - worth what you paid for it.

rs

Well here's a shocker for you folks. If you know what youre doing, then you can actually make some inexpensive printers work for you at very low cost. What if I told you of a printer that cost me less than $45CAD or a little over $32USD and prints with pigment ink, is easily capable of the 1500 pages with large carts. A 4 color machine .

The Canon Maxify MB2020...it is an office machine but it prints with capabilities better than a comparable Epson office machine which is pitifully slow at images. The refillable carts are spongeless and it is simply, top off and replace. No flushing etc.

And then compare picture image quality when ICCs are used. Because it is a 3 color machine, there are inherent compromises with the ink loading when CMY is used to create blacks and dark colors. However, to be honest, the issues associated with that kind of printing won't be noticed by the intended audience. I can merrily print out tons of photos for issue and also portraits (archival quality) and people would be pleased.

I now present a comparison to an Epson Surecolor P800 (prosumer level) vs. The lowly MB2020. You be the judge, keep in mind the cost differential. The MB2020 cost me a fraction of just the taxes paid for the P800...the purchase price, I won't mention.

FYI, more info on what the intended uses are:

hmmm.... Canon Maxify MB2020

thx

J

mikling

any details/links on what is needed to refill ?

avail from your site ?

J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Active Printers: MP830, MP980, PRO-100
• Stored Printers: MP830, IP4500, MX700, MX860, MX870
• Method: German Durchstich Method
• Ink: Hobbicolors and OCP
• Misc: Squeeze bottles - so much easier than syringes

The MB2020 seems to sell for around $100 USD now.
I didn't find any used prices that were good values.

For printing circulars, does a color laser make sense for this requirement?

jimbo123 said:

mikling

any details/links on what is needed to refill ?

avail from your site ?

J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Active Printers: MP830, MP980, PRO-100
• Stored Printers: MP830, IP4500, MX700, MX860, MX870
• Method: German Durchstich Method
• Ink: Hobbicolors and OCP
• Misc: Squeeze bottles - so much easier than syringes

Click to expand...

I will list it on after I start getting my my Epson compatible PCK3HD up as well. It's a race to the end of year as things get busy. You should compare two machines that are easy to refill. I have both on the bench and both are pigment machines meant to compete with lasers. With refilling costs, there is no competition as far as cost is concerned. I have found that the Epson WF 3640 to be an excellent office machine. Reliable, no clogging and finally fast for en Epson. Epson has optimized this printer for principally text. They also are able to stretch the ink by slightly dulling colors. To get decent colors, there is a vibrant print option in the print selection. That needs to be used to get "normal" colors. Photo printing is very slow. Text is plenty fast because of the sheer number of nozzles Epson has dedicated to the text Black.....a Canon trick..they are finally able to implement because of the high nozzle density "precision" core printhead. The color nozzles are a lot less. The size of carts is approx half the size of the MB2020. It also has a user replaceable waste ink tank that you purchase off the shelf....a sign the machine was meant for a lot of use. There are wider carriage versions of this printer as well. I've used the 3640 for about a year now for everyday docs..approx 1000+ sheets per month. No hiccups no surprises and the waste ink tank level has hardly moved. Costco CAD price is about $120 CAD which works to be approx $90USD. The PCDB pigment inkset works very well in these machines. To get a high quality photo on the workforce takes a long time and even on high quality mode, a closer inspection will reveal grain.

The MB2020 is a no frills laser replacement. It is faster and I've been waiting to get one of these to see how it stacks up against the 3640. Well I got one on a Black Friday deal and when I saw the nozzle check, I was interested in how it would handle photos.
I now have a pigment inkset for the MAXIFY series. PC1200. At this time, I am running it more than the 3640 to see how it holds up. Based on what I see, text printing is actually superior on the Epson at normal print speeds but the Epson is slower by a little bit. However the big difference as expected is photo printing, a lot less grain and totally acceptable to the general public . In reality though, you don't buy this category of printer for "photos" but that it can do it, is a bonus. The 2020 is a bottom of the line model with only a single feed tray. It has its quirks. Cartridges cannot be removed at will. There is a workaround. I think, even the OEM chips are self resetting but the carts are not easily refilled. Aftermarket carts for these are similar to Epson....just drop ink in and continue. As long as nothing goes wrong, it appears easy to use and is meant to be an ECO laser replacement.

Lasers no longer figure in the Green world. Prepare for it.