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General discussion

Neeed new printer.

Oct 19, 2006 3:41PM PDT

Os is not important. But genrally speaking does laser last longer than inkjet?

And I like epson but not had good luck with any lately. Somebody said the print heads on epson are not builtin to the cartridge like hp and some others. Is that true? And if so does that make it clog or break faster.

Thanks,
Confusimo

Discussion is locked

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My LaserJet+ is now over 16 years old.
Oct 19, 2006 11:59PM PDT

Might be older.

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Here's my POV
Oct 20, 2006 1:00AM PDT

Look at it this way Wink ----->

You change your socks every day, but you never wash your feet, ''what do you think is going to happen''? The same effect with inkcarts. While many printers use inkcarts that install new inkjets along with ink, usually tend to last longer or at least less prone to ''ink clogs/crud'', but on an Epson is really a PITA to deal with. At least with any other printer you can buy a new inkcart and usually proceed foward. There are trade-offs, Epson makes ''great, wonderful'' output but overtime will become clogged and hard to deal with. HP and Canon are far better on ink saving costs and less prone to clogs but they do get them, just beware at least as an user you can correct this w/o finally pitching the printer if it was an Epson, IMHO.

Now, for laser printers. They are simply more robust overall and generally get the job dome with less hassles. The initial cost of a laser is more but you get more use out of it and if b&w model be happy for a long time. The cost for color is hard at times, but overall, if you don't need supreme output, it usually suffices. Try them at a local office outlet to get a feel for them. beware of cheap or low cost color lasers, the replacement toner cost is high, so pick a ''popular model'' to at least get some saving for toner replacement. While at the local shop, check out pricing of toner carts as well.

tada -----Willy Happy

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Color Laser
Oct 25, 2006 10:48PM PDT

My last printer was an Epson CX6600 and it died shortly after the warranty expired; then no authorized support center available for repair, even if on my dime. No more Epsons for me.
The problems were probably due to my use habits... I may go for a month or more without even turning the printer on and this leads to clogs with inkjets.
I started looking for a decent color laser at an affordable price and found a Konica Minolta 2530CL at Sams Club for $249. I had a group of photos that I had printed with the Epson in an envelope for mailing that I had failed to send out, and I printed the same photos on the color laser. The color laser produced much better images than the old Epson in my opinion.
The downside, if there is one, is that the printer is shipped with "standard" toner cartridges rated at about 1500 copies b/w. Both "standard" and "high-capacity" cartridges are available for replacement but the H/C seem to be a little better buy. If I recall the H/C "pack" is about $349, but sold as 4500 prints @5%.
At least I don't have to be concerned with the printhead drying out and clogging now. As I said earlier, there are times when I go for long periods without using the printer, but when I need it I expect it to produce.
I have to say it again... The photos printed on this printer were much much better than I expected, and surpassed my previous inkjets.