Laserjet Reviews

The Laser Printer was invented at Xerox in 1969. The earliest model was based on the company’s own xerographic copiers and was modified according to the requirements of a printer. Researcher Gary Starkweather is credited with its research and development and by the year 1971, he had brought into being a fully functional networked printer system. Over a period of time, the business of laser printing earned billions of dollars for Xerox.

The First Laser Printing Machines

Commercial laser printers were first integrated into use by way of the IBH model 3800 in the year 1976.  It was used by businesses to print high-volume documents like mailing labels and invoices. All in all it was a very primitive version of the modern day printers and was quite large. One of the first laser printers that were specially designed for use with an individual computer was the Xerox Star 8010 that was released in 1981. The biggest problem with this printer was the expense. Their price was around $17,000 which actually made it unaffordable for most individuals and business so its use was limited to a relatively smaller number of businesses.

The rise of the Laser Printers

It was only after the use of personal computers started becoming more widespread that HP introduced one of the first laser printers targeted at the mass market. This printer was the HP LaserJet 8ppm and was released in 1984. An interesting fact to note here was that is used a Canon engine, which was in turn controlled by HP software. This printer became very popular and hence companies like IBM, Brother Industries etc followed it up with their own printers of the laser variety.

The Role of Laser Printers

Apart from the regular printing jobs that a printer was supposed to perform, laser printing popularized the process of desktop publishing. This was given an added fillip with the release of the Apple LaserWriter for its Apple Macintosh computers in 1985. This was accompanied by the Aldus PageMaker, which further popularized desktop publishing.

Popularity of the Printers

The prices of electronic devices have fallen over the years and so has the cost of laser printers and cartridges. Moreover, the size of such printers for offices or home has also gone down and today their sizes are acceptable for use in homes and small offices as well.  What this essentially means is that the development and technological research in the printing industry never ends.

These devices are satisfying all kinds of needs and requirements pertinent to documentation and are achieving the highest standards of quality and reliability and are regularly setting new benchmarks for the same. Each and every development will be written down in a new chapter of history and chances are that the history of laser printing machines will be never ending.

John C. Arkin

Laser printers have made a mark the world over for their state of the art technology and affordable pricing. These printers are also available with a host of additional features like duplex, wireless and multi-job printing. They also have an ability to produce splendid photo quality graphics. They are smart, sleek, gorgeous and performance oriented. Let us discuss a few select models which topped the charts in the year 2008.

Dell 1320C

Advantages

Priced at around $280, the bulky yet highly efficient laser printer is easy to set up and involves no fuss in terms of operation or installation. At the same time, this printer is easy to maintain and involves minimum manual intervention. You needn’t re-calibrate it. Likewise its spare parts are reasonable priced and easy to procure. The Dell 1320C is known for its sharp images and optimum picture quality. It is also considered the best in its league. The print is crisp and has the required depth to highlight even a dark shade of black.

Disadvantages

Trays and toners are a bit expensive while the menu options tend to get confusing. The printer does not have an extended paper capacity and is therefore not meant for large scale business. At the same time, it is cumbersome and occupies a large space.

HP Color LaserJet 2605 dtn

Advantages

The printer is made to look good and is perfect for a small office. It is armed with additional slots for DCP and it is easy to set up and maintain. The menu is easy to operate and the printer is blessed with a low running ink cartridge cost. The picture quality is good and is perfect for both black and white as well as color prints. The distortion is limited and even darker prints are highlighted. The printer has over 250 sheep trays and it can be combined with envelops and alternative media.

Disadvantages

The drawback is the lack of durability when compared to other cartridges in its range. Likewise, this printer requires gloss paper for high quality resolution photographs-these can be slightly expensive. Moreover, the printer is not at all the fastest in its category.

OKI C5650N

Advantages

This printer is compact, elegant and simply perfect printer for a home office. It is simple to assemble and is easily the best in its class of plug and play. It is also blessed with a descriptive manual. The printer has a capacity to take large volumes of paper and is free from manual intervention. It is blessed with speed and is good in terms of picture quality. Toner cartridges are blessed with a long shelf life while the consumable prices are kept low.

Disadvantages

The menu is a bit confusing and can be misinterpreted by a new user. In order to deliver quality prints to photo shoots, it requires OKI’s glossy paper. Once you are through with printing 25000 sheets, you would need to replace the photoconductor. Last but not the least, the printer slows down while printing a colored image.

Brenda Stokes
http://www.articlesbase.com/hardware-articles/best-laser-printers-under-500-in-2008-679288.html

This printer has a really beautiful print quality, and is pretty quick to print too.

After about six months of use, there have been no problems.

Installing the printer is reasonably simple. It comes with a CD with all necessary drivers, but it does not come with a USB cable, so you have to supply your own, which is a bit stingy. You can also connect it with a bi-directional parallel cable, and this model also takes a RJ45 network plug, and can work as a network printer if so desired. (ie you can configure it with it’s own IP address)

Four colour cartridges are supplied with the printer: a black cartridge and the 3 primary colours viz. cyan, red and yellow. They appear to be full size cartridges, not the half full “introductory” cartridges that you get when the manufacturer feels like ripping you off. According to the literature, these cartridges are good for 2500 pages at 5% coverage, which equates to text, so if you intend to print a lot of graphics (pictures) you would have to reduce that number by about 25% Cartridges are expensive, with all four together costing more than the printer itself, so one has to start saving immediately for the next lot of cartridges. Remember though that you have 4 cartridges, so it actually means that you can print 2500 x 4 = roughly 10,000 pages before you have to replace all four cartridges.

The paper tray is quite big and can take about 250 sheets at a time (about half of a normal pack of paper) and works with A4, letter size and smaller. Also does envelopes and so on, as is the norm. Stated printing speed is 8 pages per minute, and in practice the speed seems to be pretty close to this.

The printer is quite large, so it takes up quite a bit of space on your desk. Since the paper comes out the top, it would work better having it on the floor or on a low stool next to your desk. It’s fairly heavy too, so don’t put it on the top shelf of one of those flimsy computer desks: if it falls on you it could be nasty.

The printer has a smallish LCD display to show progress, and 2 LEDs that indicate power and problem! The printer goes into a fairly lengthy self calibration process by default, every time you switch it on, but this function can be switched off by going into the (supplied ) software called “HP color laserjet Toolbox” , which will only work, of course, if the printer is switched on and connected to the PC.

Overall, this is a very satisfying printer. The prints are perfect and very professional looking, the mechanics give no trouble, and the printing is fast, with a very short initial warm up time of just a few seconds. If you want quality, then this is a good printer to go for.

Duncan Kelly

This printer has a really beautiful print quality, and is pretty quick to print too.

After about six months of use, there have been no problems.

Installing the printer is reasonably simple. It comes with a CD with all necessary drivers, but it does not come with a USB cable, so you have to supply your own, which is a bit stingy. You can also connect it with a bi-directional parallel cable, and this model also takes a RJ45 network plug, and can work as a network printer if so desired. (ie you can configure it with it’s own IP address)

Four colour cartridges are supplied with the printer: a black cartridge and the 3 primary colours viz. cyan, red and yellow. They appear to be full size cartridges, not the half full “introductory” cartridges that you get when the manufacturer feels like ripping you off. According to the literature, these cartridges are good for 2500 pages at 5% coverage, which equates to text, so if you intend to print a lot of graphics (pictures) you would have to reduce that number by about 25% Cartridges are expensive, with all four together costing more than the printer itself, so one has to start saving immediately for the next lot of cartridges. Remember though that you have 4 cartridges, so it actually means that you can print 2500 x 4 = roughly 10,000 pages before you have to replace all four cartridges.

The paper tray is quite big and can take about 250 sheets at a time (about half of a normal pack of paper) and works with A4, letter size and smaller. Also does envelopes and so on, as is the norm. Stated printing speed is 8 pages per minute, and in practice the speed seems to be pretty close to this.

The printer is quite large, so it takes up quite a bit of space on your desk. Since the paper comes out the top, it would work better having it on the floor or on a low stool next to your desk. It’s fairly heavy too, so don’t put it on the top shelf of one of those flimsy computer desks: if it falls on you it could be nasty.

The printer has a smallish LCD display to show progress, and 2 LEDs that indicate power and problem! The printer goes into a fairly lengthy self calibration process by default, every time you switch it on, but this function can be switched off by going into the (supplied ) software called “HP color laserjet Toolbox” , which will only work, of course, if the printer is switched on and connected to the PC.

Overall, this is a very satisfying printer. The prints are perfect and very professional looking, the mechanics give no trouble, and the printing is fast, with a very short initial warm up time of just a few seconds. If you want quality, then this is a good printer to go for.

Duncan Kelly

From http://www.printershowcase.com a Video review of monochrome desktop laser printers,
including HP Laserjet 4250, and Ricoh SP5100, http://www.printershowcase.com/sp5100.aspx,
http://www.printershowcase.com/laserjetp4015n.aspx

Duration : 0:8:22

Read more…

I am normally a whiz with printers, except of the damn HP laser jet 2550L i have to deal with at work. I have had a persistantly blinking amber light which effectivley paralysed the whole printer. Cartirdges are checked and fine. Driver has been updated and checked. Working well on the main server. I have checked for any paper jams. The drum unit is functional. The fuser unit is well within its service life. All connections have been checked. The printer has been both soft booted and hard booted. Nothing has working. I am hoping somebody can provide me with another solution other than the ones that HP has handed me. Replacing the printer is not an option, it is the office machine and is a relatively new unit.
Amber light above the power button. It is the warning light.

ok well your luck I am certified in hp repair and diagnostics.
Try this if it don’t work I would be worried. Change print spooling options on the server to print directly to printer . Then print a test page off another terminal.Next step I would love to know which amber light is flashing, but I have no clue of it’s location, but here I go .., cold boot machine for 1.5 minute powered off. then try to get to diagnostic page. If on a hardwire eth0 connection replace cable. Next if on wireless make sure your wep is allowing it to work or that your sid is begin broadcaster to the printer. Finial phase you must look for the smallest piece of paper suck inside it gearing. this or a faulty switch cause this amber light to pop on. if you don’t see any paper . Then reduce the paper in your tray. I hope this has helped.

This printer has a really beautiful print quality, and is pretty quick to print too.

After about six months of use, there have been no problems.

Installing the printer is reasonably simple. It comes with a CD with all necessary drivers, but it does not come with a USB cable, so you have to supply your own, which is a bit stingy. You can also connect it with a bi-directional parallel cable, and this model also takes a RJ45 network plug, and can work as a network printer if so desired. (ie you can configure it with it’s own IP address)

Four colour cartridges are supplied with the printer: a black cartridge and the 3 primary colours viz. cyan, red and yellow. They appear to be full size cartridges, not the half full “introductory” cartridges that you get when the manufacturer feels like ripping you off. According to the literature, these cartridges are good for 2500 pages at 5% coverage, which equates to text, so if you intend to print a lot of graphics (pictures) you would have to reduce that number by about 25% Cartridges are expensive, with all four together costing more than the printer itself, so one has to start saving immediately for the next lot of cartridges. Remember though that you have 4 cartridges, so it actually means that you can print 2500 x 4 = roughly 10,000 pages before you have to replace all four cartridges.

The paper tray is quite big and can take about 250 sheets at a time (about half of a normal pack of paper) and works with A4, letter size and smaller. Also does envelopes and so on, as is the norm. Stated printing speed is 8 pages per minute, and in practice the speed seems to be pretty close to this.

The printer is quite large, so it takes up quite a bit of space on your desk. Since the paper comes out the top, it would work better having it on the floor or on a low stool next to your desk. It’s fairly heavy too, so don’t put it on the top shelf of one of those flimsy computer desks: if it falls on you it could be nasty.

The printer has a smallish LCD display to show progress, and 2 LEDs that indicate power and problem! The printer goes into a fairly lengthy self calibration process by default, every time you switch it on, but this function can be switched off by going into the (supplied ) software called “HP color laserjet Toolbox” , which will only work, of course, if the printer is switched on and connected to the PC.

Overall, this is a very satisfying printer. The prints are perfect and very professional looking, the mechanics give no trouble, and the printing is fast, with a very short initial warm up time of just a few seconds. If you want quality, then this is a good printer to go for.

Duncan Kelly

This printer has a really beautiful print quality, and is pretty quick to print too.

After about six months of use, there have been no problems.

Installing the printer is reasonably simple. It comes with a CD with all necessary drivers, but it does not come with a USB cable, so you have to supply your own, which is a bit stingy. You can also connect it with a bi-directional parallel cable, and this model also takes a RJ45 network plug, and can work as a network printer if so desired. (ie you can configure it with it’s own IP address)

Four colour cartridges are supplied with the printer: a black cartridge and the 3 primary colours viz. cyan, red and yellow. They appear to be full size cartridges, not the half full “introductory” cartridges that you get when the manufacturer feels like ripping you off. According to the literature, these cartridges are good for 2500 pages at 5% coverage, which equates to text, so if you intend to print a lot of graphics (pictures) you would have to reduce that number by about 25% Cartridges are expensive, with all four together costing more than the printer itself, so one has to start saving immediately for the next lot of cartridges. Remember though that you have 4 cartridges, so it actually means that you can print 2500 x 4 = roughly 10,000 pages before you have to replace all four cartridges.

The paper tray is quite big and can take about 250 sheets at a time (about half of a normal pack of paper) and works with A4, letter size and smaller. Also does envelopes and so on, as is the norm. Stated printing speed is 8 pages per minute, and in practice the speed seems to be pretty close to this.

The printer is quite large, so it takes up quite a bit of space on your desk. Since the paper comes out the top, it would work better having it on the floor or on a low stool next to your desk. It’s fairly heavy too, so don’t put it on the top shelf of one of those flimsy computer desks: if it falls on you it could be nasty.

The printer has a smallish LCD display to show progress, and 2 LEDs that indicate power and problem! The printer goes into a fairly lengthy self calibration process by default, every time you switch it on, but this function can be switched off by going into the (supplied ) software called “HP color laserjet Toolbox” , which will only work, of course, if the printer is switched on and connected to the PC.

Overall, this is a very satisfying printer. The prints are perfect and very professional looking, the mechanics give no trouble, and the printing is fast, with a very short initial warm up time of just a few seconds. If you want quality, then this is a good printer to go for.

Duncan Kelly

Am I in truble if I print documents with inkjet? and why? any advice on which model to buy?, Am looking for doble side printing and with all 4 in one stile.

For inkjets, I recommend Epson cx series scanner/copier/printer (cx7400/cx8400) because of the print quality and the warranty. For a year Epson will express-ship a replacement and pick up the old one. Ink cartridges are expensive, but you can get cheap replacements for $5 which work well here http://ccs-digital.com/ink.asp
You can find the printers at buy.com, usually in the $60-$70 range BEFORE any rebates, if applicable.
Havent heard of a double-sided inkjet.

From http://www.printershowcase.com a Video review of monochrome desktop laser printers,
including HP Laserjet 4250, and Ricoh SP5100, http://www.printershowcase.com/sp5100.aspx,
http://www.printershowcase.com/laserjetp4015n.aspx

Duration : 0:8:22

Read more…