Colour Laser Printers
Upgrade to a Colour Laser Printer
I have taken the cheapest current model from the following manufacturers for comparison, Canon, Epson, HP, Konica Minolta, Lexmark and Samsung.
Let's get the technical bit out of the way first; colour laser printers come in two distinct engine types. The carousel type printer uses for different colour toner cartridges that rotate over a central drum unit, laying down each colour of toner in turn and making a total of four passes over the drum or imaging unit. Epson, Konica Minolta, Lexmark and Samsung all use a variation of this technique. Canon and HP cartridges come in one complete unit per colour that contains both the toner and drum giving each colour its own drum as opposed to sharing a central unit.
So which system is best? There is no correct answer to this question although I personally favour the option used by the Canon, HP duo. With this system there is no uncertainty as to how long the drum will last, it is replaced with every new cartridge. With the carousel system the life of the drum can be dramatically reduced from quoted figures if the colour content of your output rises over the standard 5%. The more colour printing you do the more passes over the central drum unit, the greater the wear on the unit and the more often it will need to be replaced.
If you are replacing an ink printer it is worth bearing in mind that these colour laser printers are somewhat larger, heavier and noisier, so if desktop space is tight check out the dimensions before committing to a purchase.
The smallest, lightest and quietest colour laser printer is the Samsung CLP300, when it was originally introduced this was probably the cheapest colour laser printer on the market and thus an argument could be made for its purchase. Times change very quickly in this market and a sub £90 price is no longer bargain basement territory. If you only intend to print colour text and charts then it will perform well enough but the quality of any colour output beyond this will I fear disappoint.
Moving to the dearest will give us the Lexmark C500N. This printer is almost twice the price of the tiny Samsung and in true Lexmark style is also the most expensive to run, in its favour it is network ready and has the fastest mono speed but this does nothing to compensate for its high costs.
The Epson AcuLaser C1100 has been one of my favourite colour printers since its introduction, it is still one of the fastest printers of its type and print quality is still above average, I feel however that it is now getting a little long in the tooth and the new Konica Minolta Magicolor 2530DL now offers several advantages. With an ethernet 10/100 base TX interface for networking and Pictbridge via a special USB on the front for downloading direct from a digital camera this has moved the goalposts and it tries to replicate ink printer facilities closer than seen before on colour laser printers. The standard 64mb Ram is also twice that on offer from the Epson and should ensure capable handling of even the most complex colour work. Whilst print quality is above average, the printer speed, especially for colour disappoints and is this printer’s major flaw. Be aware also that both these printers are delivered with low capacity cartridges offering only 1,500 colour prints, these will require replacing all too soon. The upside is that high capacity cartridges are readily available and offer better value with a capacity at around 4,500pages.
That just leaves the HP Color Laserjet 1600 and the Canon i-Sensys LBP5000 to be considered. Both of these printers use the same Canon engine so it comes as no surprise that the specifications match with a print speed of 8ppm and a print quality of 600x600dpi. Neither of these printers has an abundance of memory with the HP the most generous at 16mb, the Canon's 8mb is particularly stingy and may struggle to cope with very complex colour work. The other main difference is in the price, the HP printer can easily be found online at a price under the magical £100 mark whereas the Canon at £50 more is competing with the HP's big brother, the Color LaserJet 2600. As is the norm the printers are shipped with starter cartridges which give a maximum yield of 1,000 pages and will need to be replaced fairly quickly, fortunately both HP original cartridges and compatible cartridges are readily available from around £120 for a full set of cartridges yielding 2,000 pages.
We have used HP laser printers in our own offices for many years and have always found them to be both reliable and economical, especially if compatible cartridges are used. We have noticed some criticism online of a problem with colour bleed with the HP Color LaserJet 1600, we have not been able to substantiate these claims and only a small number of users seem to experience it, I am beginning to wonder if the quality of the paper may be at fault and not the printer. We have tried using some fairly low quality paper in an attempt to replicate the fault but so far have not experienced any degree of colour bleed.
So, if you are looking for your first Colour Laser Printer, and do not want to spend a fortune, look no further than the HP Color LaserJet 1600 - a fine buy at less than £100.
Alan Wilson has over 10 years experience in the imaging industry
About the Author
Alan Wilson has over 10 years experience in the imaging industry and is a director of Cartridge Concept, a supplier of printer cartridges for all major printer manufacturers.
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Samsung / Samsung Transfer Belt for Colour Laser Printers / CLP-T660B $203.93 Samsung - Samsung Transfer Belt for Colour Laser Printers - CLP-T660B |
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CART FOR MF5850-MF5880 LASER PRINTERS $88.99 CART FOR MF5850-MF5880 LASER PRINTERS |
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Samsung CLP-325W Wireless Colour Laser Printer $169.99 Enjoy the freedom of wireless printing with the Samsung CLP-325W Printer. Its one touch Wi-Fi Protected Setup button means you're no longer bound by cords cables and wires. A great choice if space is limited the Samsung CLP-325 is among the world's smallest colour laser printers. It's small and also nippy - printing four pages per minute in colour and 16 pages per minute in mono. Paper input capacity is 130 sheets. |
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HP JetDirect AppleTalk For HP Laser Printers J2341A $14.99 HP JetDirect AppleTalk For HP Laser Printers J2341A |
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Clpt600A - Samsung Imaging Transfer Belt For Clp-600, Clp-600N, Clp-650 And Clp-650N Colour Printers - 35000 Page - Laser $64.18 compatible With Original Samsung Laser Supplies For Reliable Performance. Samsung Drum is Designed With The Customer's Convenience in Mind. It is Easy to Install And Convenient to Replace. [J72041] UPC: 635753703153 UNSPC: 44103101 15.6L x 13.2W x 5.2H 4.75 LB 0.64 Cubes |
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Lexmark Transfer Roll for Laser Printers $53.99 250000 Page 99A1015 Lexmark Laser Printers: T520 T520D T520DN T520N T520N SBE T520SBE T522 T522DN T522N X520 X522S X522S MFP Lexmark Lexmark International, Inc Transfer Roll Transfer Roll for Laser Printers www.lexmark.com |
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Avery Laser Label $13.99 0% 05970 1 lb 1" 1" Width x 2.63" Length 2.63" 750 / Pack Capture attention with colour. Make the most important messages stand out. Rectangle labels designed for laser printers are ideal for priority messages, addressing, colour-coding, identification/warning labels and more. Avery offers many easy-to-use templates for Microsoft Word and other popular software programmes. Avery Avery Dennison Laser Laser Label Magenta Multipurpose Label No Rectangle www.avery.com |
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Brother Toner Cartridge for Select Brother Laser Printers $53.99 Replace your depleted toner cartridge with this toner cartridge designed for use with select Brother laser printers. |
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Brother Fusing Unit For HL-2700CN Colour Laser Printer $448.99 5% 60000 Page Brother HL-2700CN Colour Laser Printer Brother Brother Industries, Ltd FP4CL Fuser Fusing Unit For HL-2700CN Colour Laser Printer Laser www.brother-usa.com |
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Samsung Laser Printer Supplies for Samsung Printers. Each $118.49 Manufacturer: Samsung. Each. Laser Printer Supplies for Samsung Printers Imaging Unit For printer models CLP-300. Yellow Customers also search for: Cartridge;CLP-300;Imaging Unit;Laser;Laser Printer;Laser Printer Supplies;Printer Supplies/Accessories;SAMS |
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Panasonic Drum Unit for Select Panasonic Laser Printers - Black $174.99 Replace the drum in select Panasonic laser printers with this replacement unit. |
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Compatible Black Laser Toner Cartridge for Lexmark E250A11A (E250, E350 Printers) $79.99 Save money with the Compatible Lexmark E250A11A Laser Toner and Supplies. For the E250, E350 & E352 Laser Printers. |
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Samsung Transfer Belt For CLP-510, CLP-510N Laser Printers $144.99 1 Year Limited 12500 Page Color 50000 Page Black Samsung Color Laser Printers: CLP-510CLP-510N Transfer Belts are specifically designed to ensure print quality with crisp, vibrant output from the first page to the last page. These easy-to-install image transfer units provide cost-effective, reliable operation and sharp, professional results every time. CLP-510RT Laser Samsung Transfer Belt Transfer Belt For CLP-510, CLP-510N Laser Printers www.samsungusa.com |
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