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Choosing a Laser Printer
Laser printers work by transferring a dry powder, called toner, on to the page and then apply heat and pressure to melt this powder and fuse it into the paper. Ink printers physically write ink onto the page.
Laser printers run at a constant speed, regardless of how much printed matter is on the page while with ink, the more printed content there is the slower the page through the printer.
Laser printers are generally more economical to run than ink although the cost of the machine will usually be higher for laser than ink.
First you should know
Before you go shopping for a new laser printer you should first know your own business starting with knowing how many pages per month you print and if that is likely to change.
You should also know if you are using different types of stationery - letterheads, invoices, labels etc and does this mean that you need to keep more than one type of stationery available in different trays in the printer?
Is it practical to print on both sides of the page (duplex)? If so including an automatic duplex unit as part of your requirements could save you money and time in the future. If you print a lot of address labels you really need a printer that has a straight through paper path so that there is no risk of labels peeling off as they pass through the printer.
When you have sorted out these things then it's time to look at what's on offer. For simple personal use you can spend as little as $200 on a monochrome laser printer. But be careful that you are not buying something that will break down a month after the warranty expires!!
You need to know how many pages per month the printer is rated to print (duty cycle). Is there a programmed maintenance cycle and, if so, what is it and how much does this maintenance cost? How much do the toner cartridges cost?
Some printers have all in one cartridges, including the photo sensitive drum, others have a separate toner cartridge/drum combination and often a new drum can cost as much as the printer!!
When you relate these questions to the homework you did about your usage you will be able to calculate the cost of running that printer.
To network or not to network?
If you have a network, think about a print server rather than a network card. A print server is simply an external network card that plugs into your printer and separately into the power supply.
Buying a network ready printer can push the price up dramatically. The network ready printer can be $600 to$800 dearer than the standard machine and you can buy an external print server for around $150. They are certainly a device worth considering as, when you need to replace the printer, you can keep the printer server and use it with your next machine.
All of the advice contained in this article is equally true of both monochrome and colour laser printers except that colour laser printers have more consumables. The calculation of the cost of printing is therefore a little more complex. Nevertheless it is worth doing your homework as mistakes can be expensive.
Remember if you need advice or assistance you can call Second Image at any time. We are here to help.
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