I am involved with the newsletter for a local car club. We would like to print a 16 page color newsletter every couple of months. 8 1/2x11, between 50 and 100 copies with lots of beautiful color images. Naturally this should be lavish, yet with no appreciable cost.....it's a club.....
It occurs to me that a color laser printer is probably the most viable solution....but reviews of color laser printers are limited, erratic and frequently negative. Cost per copy at Kinkos/Staples etc is about $11......
They've always gotten a printed magazine, they're on dial-up (if they have the internet at all), they just want to wave airily and have it be done at no cost.
I watched amazon.com for several months, and the price fluctuated wildly, but when it hit $149 with free shipping, I grabbed one. As you mentioned, the posted reviews were erratic in their pattern, but for the price I couldn't resist. That was ~4 months ago, and it's worked flawlessly through ~800 printed sheets so far. The setup manual is a very bad joke, but I called Samsung, got right through, and the tech had me up and running in ~10 minutes (wireless, on a Mac network). Supply levels are now ~30%, which seems in line with quoted specs. Here's where I plan to buy my toner refills:
I've actually purchased a few things from amazon where the reviews wer combined 5-star and 1-star, with no disappointments. Odd how that happens, but if you buy from amazon, there's never an issue with returns, so I take risks I wouldn't with most other vendors. The last item I bought with such mixed reviews was an Apple 1TB Time Capsule, and it works like a charm. Same thing with a Cuisinart Ice cream maker I bought last Summer. In the case of this printer, it came highly recommended from several Mac resellers, where the reviews weren't so mixed, so that had an influence on my decision, and so far, so good.
Good luck finding something which works well for the club.
I bought a Dell a few years back. I think they have refurbs out there. I think mine may be the 3130cn. It's $400 as a refurb now, but I think you can often get better deals. I have bought a replacement black toner, but the color toners have lasted me for about 3 years with light use. I'm much happier versus dried up ink-jets that never worked when I wanted them.
p.1 #10 · Best color laser printer for newsletter?
I have a Samsung CLP-300 (I think it has been replaced). It has worked flawlessly. It is used everyday in my office. An early glitch was fixed with a firmware update and customer service was excellent. I love it.
p.1 #11 · Best color laser printer for newsletter?
I've used a Ricoh 3228c ($16K new? was on lease) and tweaked the color profiles as best I can. It does fine on product shots but I have never been happy with the skin tones. It is off lease and going back to the lessor. So now I am evaluating a used Oce cm4520 with Fiery X3e controller. Tons of color adjustments and intended for graphics art use. About $4K used and for $25/month a service contract covers all parts and maintenance, including toner. This is with a booklet finisher: saddle stitcher and puncher. My first testing is very positive. 11x17 prints have good skin tones and look better than you expect. Print cost is less than 10 cents color, even for 11x17. It also scans and Faxes, and has true Postscript. I could not find too many reviews online. It's actually a Konica/Minolta print engine. It has about 100K copies on it.
Looking around at Newegg, etc, for a duplex color laser with 11x17 capability, they are about $2000 and up, and color cartridges are in the $200 per color range. So this used unit is looking like a decent deal.
My needs are duplex color printing of technical documents and data sheets, which include photographs. Plus I want a fast, cheap way to print proofs and photos to give away without paying $1+ per print. A good laser seems the way to go.
I have looked around and don't find anything better on Google. The Xerox sold ink systems get mixed reviews and general comments about the expense of the ink if you have more than 10% color coverage.
I'd love to hear from anyone else with experience of color lasers used to print photos.
p.1 #12 · Best color laser printer for newsletter?
In my opinion, there aren't many good laser printers that can be profiled for under $10,000. There is one that I use and is around $3200, which is the Konica Minolta Magicolor 7450 II. It has a calibration routine each time you turn it on, and I have been happy with it so far. Color lasers have issues with registration, meaning the lining up of lines and colors can be a challenge. You spend more and it gets better. Color lasers are better at spot color than edge to edge full color, just as a reference. Full color is still better suited for offset or inkjet processes.
