Small footprint network laser printer

Looking for a laser printer that has network connectivity and a small
footprint - any recommendations?

Thanks

ScoobyDoo wrote:
> Looking for a laser printer that has network connectivity and a small
> footprint - any recommendations?
>
Investigate just getting whatever laser printer you fancy and adding a
parallel or usb print server.

You may also want to look at the very cheap cable router/multiport
switch/print server boxes. eg, you can take one LAN line in and connect
the printer and up to 4 (typically) computers.

For some sites, I use old 100'ish MHz laptops, running Linux and use
them both as print servers and as print job loggers - so the manager can
get to see how much each member of staff has printed that week/month/year..

Generally I have found that, for a small printer, the ones with built in
networking tend to be a lot more expensive than ones without. Cheaper to
add network connectivity.

--
Sue

Some people dislike intensely the Samsung, for perhaps good reason...
o Most use cartridges that can be refilled cheaply
---- either a simple bung in the side or undoing a few screws
---- remember not to sneeze in either situation or learn to sing if you do
o Unfortunately some use starter cartridges to reduce printer price
---- some starter cartridges can not be refilled re limited developer life
---- that forces you to buy a new cartridge at 40-45ukp - take note

However some Samsung lasers do have "normal" cartridges...
o Samsung 2251N on Ebay for ~80-90ukp
---- Fast + Network + Refillable cartridge
o Not a starter cartridge - does 5000pgs or 8000pgs with toner save
---- refill is 7ukp, but cartridge is large so assume 2 refills needed

I have done well over 5000 pgs on the original cartridge with only
occasional toner save, opening the cartridges shows lots of toner left.

Lifetime cost is very important with lasers...
o Oki lasers are good -- better quality product than Samsung
---- however they are not as good as the old HP Big-Iron etc
o Samsung 2251N does quite well, others not so well
---- initial printer purchase
-------- 90ukp = 5000pgs = 1.8p/page incl printer purchase
---- refill via bung or five screws, 14ukp on Ebay for double refill
-------- 104ukp = 10000pgs = 1.04p/page incl printer purchase

Some nasty characteristics of the 2251N...
o Large block stuck on the rear for paperfeed, power, etc
---- typically hidden from the photos, look for side photo
o Quality is reasonable, but don't expect infinite life
---- better than the smaller Samsung, nothing like high end lasers

As always check...
o How much purchase is - and whether original is refillable
o How much cartridges are - and how long they last
o How much refills are - and how long they last & ease of doing


If you ever want colour, consider the HP Business Inkjet 1000...
o Huge cartridges - 69ml black, 28ml colour (don't think it is 42ml)
---- contrast with the quantity of ink in other cheap lasers
o Replaceable heads - expensive
---- however you get new heads & cartridges with a new printer
o Starter ink capacity - supplied printer + heads + limited ink supply
---- that said the starter cartridges are still very large vs other printers

It sort of breaks the mould for HP to actually do decent size cartridges.
o It does still mean you landfill the printer if the heads need replacing
o However the heads do have a very high page count (2-3 laser carts)

Colour lasers can have high priced consumables vs printer purchase price.

HP do good small footprint lasers, but prices are a little high.
--
Dorothy Bradbury
www.dorothybradbury.co.uk for NMB-MAT & Panaflo (Panasonic Industrial) fans

"Palindr?me" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
| ScoobyDoo wrote:
| > Looking for a laser printer that has network connectivity and a small
| > footprint - any recommendations?
| >
| For some sites, I use old 100'ish MHz laptops, running Linux and use
| them both as print servers and as print job loggers - so the manager can
| get to see how much each member of staff has printed that week/month/year..

You do, and you got samba and cups working them???
Man, you must be good.

Sucuba Dude wrote:

> you got samba and cups working them???
> Man, you must be good.

Webmin will make your troubles disappear, my friend.

"Anton Gijsen" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:444c2c27$0$23181$(E-Mail Removed)...
| Sucuba Dude wrote:
|
| > you got samba and cups working them???
| > Man, you must be good.
|
| Webmin will make your troubles disappear, my friend.

Wicked :-) Thanks for that. It still does not hide the fact that getting
printers that are nearly always supplied with M$ & Mac drivers to work under
cups is still a bit of a bitch no matter which way you administer it!

Sucuba Dude wrote:
> "Anton Gijsen" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:444c2c27$0$23181$(E-Mail Removed)...
> | Sucuba Dude wrote:
> |
> | > you got samba and cups working them???
> | > Man, you must be good.
> |
> | Webmin will make your troubles disappear, my friend.
>
> Wicked :-) Thanks for that. It still does not hide the fact that getting
> printers that are nearly always supplied with M$ & Mac drivers to work under
> cups is still a bit of a bitch no matter which way you administer it!

I must admit I've never used CUPS so can't comment on that, but Webmin
is great for Samba.

On Sun, 23 Apr 2006 14:23:12 +0000, Dorothy Bradbury wrote:

> Some people dislike intensely the Samsung, for perhaps good reason...

You cannot get spare parts for them... Better to spend a bit extra and get
a HP or Brother for example for which parts are readily available.

[SNIP]
>
> It sort of breaks the mould for HP to actually do decent size cartridges.
> o It does still mean you landfill the printer if the heads need replacing
> o However the heads do have a very high page count (2-3 laser carts)
>
> Colour lasers can have high priced consumables vs printer purchase price.

But have a correspondingly lower price per page, don't smudge and just
work. No messing about doing head cleaning.

> HP do good small footprint lasers, but prices are a little high.

Indeed I think the smallest footprint networked laser on the market is the
HP LaserJet 1022n, and is quite fast at around 18ppm. Though at nearly
£200 it is not a lot cheaper than a LaserJet 2600n which is colour, but
only 8ppm and only £215.

As for all the ideas about using old computers and laptops for print
servers, do yourself and the environment a favour and pick up a dedicated
cheap print server on eBay.

JAB.

--
Jonathan A. Buzzard Email: jonathan (at) buzzard.me.uk
Northumberland, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 1661-832195

> You cannot get spare parts for them... Better to spend a bit extra and
> get a HP or Brother for example for which parts are readily available.

Spare parts on a 89ukp laser printer may be somewhat moot...
o Initial purchase -- 5000pgs -- 1.8p/page incl printer cost
o Refilled once -- 10000pgs -- 1.04p/page incl printer cost

However extend that logic further...
o Used high-end HP costs little, cheap service kits, high reliability
o Page cost incl printer will start lower and become lower still


>> Colour lasers can have high priced consumables vs printer purchase price.
>
> But have a correspondingly lower price per page, don't smudge and just
> work. No messing about doing head cleaning.

Surprisingly the Business Inkjet 1000 does get very close.
Comes down to overall lifecycle cost, and which technology is preferred.
Colour laser not only doesn't smudge, it has better archive qualities.


> As for all the ideas about using old computers and laptops for print
> servers, do yourself and the environment a favour and pick up a dedicated
> cheap print server on eBay.

In many instances I suspect breakup/resale value of old computers and
particularly laptops exceeds the price of a cheap print server on Ebay.

Comes down to whether you want the print server to do other functions,
usage quota, backup, fax server. Doing so increases single point of failure.

Wireless printer servers are still not quite as cheap as they "could be" :-)
(Still using USB to my 2251N for A4, and RJ45 to my 5si for A3(A4)).
--
DB.

On Mon, 24 Apr 2006 21:21:00 +0000, Dorothy Bradbury wrote:

>> You cannot get spare parts for them... Better to spend a bit extra and
>> get a HP or Brother for example for which parts are readily available.
>
> Spare parts on a 89ukp laser printer may be somewhat moot...
> o Initial purchase -- 5000pgs -- 1.8p/page incl printer cost
> o Refilled once -- 10000pgs -- 1.04p/page incl printer cost
>
> However extend that logic further...
> o Used high-end HP costs little, cheap service kits, high reliability
> o Page cost incl printer will start lower and become lower still
>

Yes but I have had a couple of Samsung ML-1210 fail on me. In both cases
the upper delivery roller went "bad". You can take it out in about 30
seconds without any tools. A similar part for a HP would cost a couple of
pounds plus postage. It costs me that much to dispose of the printer while
remaining WEEE compliant at work.

As you say I have some LaserJet 5M's with page counts in excess of half a
million and still going strong. Admittedly they have had several
maintenance kits but there is another half million pages in them.

>>> Colour lasers can have high priced consumables vs printer purchase price.
>>
>> But have a correspondingly lower price per page, don't smudge and just
>> work. No messing about doing head cleaning.
>
> Surprisingly the Business Inkjet 1000 does get very close.

When you ignore the wasted ink in head cleaning cycles it does. Back in
the real world as much as 10% can be wasted in this manner. At work I more
or less refuse to have anything to do with inkjets. Unless someone can
demonstrate they really do not a photo quality inkjet which is rare. Most
cases a colour laser or a solid ink Phaser will do the trick nicely.

> Comes down to overall lifecycle cost, and which technology is preferred.
> Colour laser not only doesn't smudge, it has better archive qualities.

I had not thought of that one. Another good reason not to have anything to
do with inkjets at work.

>
>> As for all the ideas about using old computers and laptops for print
>> servers, do yourself and the environment a favour and pick up a dedicated
>> cheap print server on eBay.
>
> In many instances I suspect breakup/resale value of old computers and
> particularly laptops exceeds the price of a cheap print server on Ebay.

Yep, I have picked up a perfectly good JetDirect 300x on eBay for under
£20 all in. I have about a dozen printers at work that have been
networked at fraction of retail prices with both internal and external
JetDirect cards.

> Comes down to whether you want the print server to do other functions,
> usage quota, backup, fax server. Doing so increases single point of failure.
>
> Wireless printer servers are still not quite as cheap as they "could be" :-)
> (Still using USB to my 2251N for A4, and RJ45 to my 5si for A3(A4)).

I don't use wireless myself. I consider the security of all wireless to be
less than adequate.


JAB.

--
Jonathan A. Buzzard Email: jonathan (at) buzzard.me.uk
Northumberland, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 1661-832195