Which Low Cost Laser Printer

DP
Posted By
Deborah_Palmer
Aug 5, 2004
Views
459
Replies
10
Status
Closed
I’m on the look out for a new printer. My HP Deskjet 970cxi has died a horrible death and is Haemorrhaging ink. I’m looking at a laser printer and like the look of the HP Laserjet 2550 at approx £260.00. which is about the right price.

My question is this. Will it produce sharp colour photo quality images? Not for professional use but as close as would be nice.
The production specification states ‘business quality photos’. It also states 600×600 dpi which I think is enough but until I see a printout from this model I won’t know for sure.

All suggestions would be much appreciated.

I’m sticking with HP as I have a 15% discount voucher with them which I intend to use.

Thanks.
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Scott_Falkner
Aug 6, 2004
Two points: One, this is not a laser printer. Colour laser pritners are pretty expensive initially, but are well worth it once volume comes up. Two: Hewlett Packard cannot make a decent cup of tea, let alone a printer. Their software is pathetic and customer support is a joke. Epson is a company that has consistently exceeped my expectations, and I do not hesitate to recomment their products over HP’s.
DM
dave_milbut
Aug 6, 2004
One, this is not a laser printer.

yes it is.

< http://h50025.www5.hp.com/hpcom/nz_en/10_25_102_2699summary. html>
DM
dave_milbut
Aug 6, 2004
One, this is not a laser printer.

yes it is.

< http://h50025.www5.hp.com/hpcom/nz_en/10_25_102_2699summary. html>

Colour laser pritners are pretty expensive initially, but are well worth it once volume comes up.

you’d be suprised. they’re getting pretty reasonable. for sub 1000 you can get a decent one.

Hewlett Packard cannot make a decent cup of tea, let alone a printer

ink jet, yes i agree. lasers? you’re nuts. i still have my working hp lj ii sitting right here on my desk. runs like a champ.
DP
Deborah_Palmer
Aug 6, 2004
All the arguing aside, would anyone like to reply to my questions?

Thanks

Deborah.
JJ
John_Joslin
Aug 6, 2004
A laser printer at this price is unlikely to produce true photo quality. I think "business quality" means good enough for illustrations in a brochure but far inferior to what an inkjet at half the price can do.

The disadvantage of an inkjet is that consumables are more expensive but that isn’t a problem for a moderate to light user.

Cheers – John
D
DA
Aug 6, 2004
wrote in message
All the arguing aside, would anyone like to reply to my questions?
Thanks

Deborah.

Deborah, I have a Minolta QMS Magic Color 2. I am sure that laser printing technology has improved since I bought it, but I do not and would not use it for printing graphics/photos. A quick check of the Kodak site shows no photopaper available for laser printers, and I would think that the heat generated during the printing process would melt the coating used to make glossy paper. Pages coming from the laser printer are quite warm, well above body temp.
I haven’t used an HP printer in a long time, but I have an Epson inkjet that I use for graphics and photos. It is superior to the Canon that I had, the color matching process is much easier to understand and configure and the results are excellent.
DA
SF
Scott_Falkner
Aug 6, 2004
Sorry, I saw the first reference to an inkjet, and I guess that put inkjet on my mind.

That printer looks like a pretty good deal, except for the HP bit. But price can trump just about all.

Contact HP, they can probably send you a sample printout, or go to a nearby dealer with some sample files in press-quality PDF.
DM
dave_milbut
Aug 6, 2004
or go to a nearby dealer with some sample files in press-quality PDF.

that’s the best advice. nothing like seeing it in person.
MV
mike_verzella
Aug 6, 2004
check out www.pcworld.com .. they do excellent breakdowns on equipment versus price–more on a consumor level than a prefessional level (for example, in researching wether LCD’s had gotten up to par on graphics i wasn’t interested in how they worked for home users- i was interested in how they worked for professional graphics and had to really poke for that level of review) however for printers and such, you can’t go wrong. i was actually just researching laster printers myself. they contrast cost per pages (hp’s run high) versus speed (xerox) and durability and quality (hp).. should find what you’re looking for.
DM
dave_milbut
Aug 6, 2004
also www.cnet.com – they have a great ability to compare different hardware on the same page.

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