[NA]Printer purchase help[NA]

[Let'sgoflying!]

I need a printer/copier/scanner/fax that has a flatbed glass top for copying large books. I can't find one without that 'shoulder' sitting right next to the glass like my old HP3300.
The shoulder interferes with book placement (some are 18x24" when opened).
The 3300 allows you to even remove the lid (it slides out easily and back in, within seconds).
My $ limit is going to be 500, for this purchase.
It has to be monochrome (B&W) laser.

Maybe someone could at least provide me with the term for described "clear-area flatbed" which I could use to help search for a printer?

3300 picture


Many thanks!

 

[gismo]

I need a printer/copier/scanner/fax that has a flatbed glass top for copying large books. I can't find one without that 'shoulder' sitting right next to the glass like my old HP3300.
The shoulder interferes with book placement (some are 18x24" when opened).
The 3300 allows you to even remove the lid (it slides out easily and back in, within seconds).
My $ limit is going to be 500, for this purchase.
It has to be monochrome (B&W) laser.

Maybe someone could at least provide me with the term for described "clear-area flatbed" which I could use to help search for a printer?

3300 picture


Many thanks!

Have you considered getting a dedicated scanner? This one was specifically designed for scanning bound books:

http://www.largeformatflatbedscanner.com/plustek-opticbook-3600.html

Price is around $250.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

Not really Lance but thanks for the idea.
The printer will be used for printing word/excel/qb docs 75% of the time, copying 20%, scanning 2%, faxing 0.5% of the time.
And I see similar to what we need for 200$...plus no desk space for an additional device!

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.who will note that they don't add up? That's ok no need to label you a nitpicker!

 

[AdamZ]

Dave, we have an Brother 8060DN MFC -Copier/Scanner/ Fax / Printer. It comes with one paper tray a by pass feeder and we added a second paper tray for letter head.

It copies very well, Scans well although not as fast as a snap scanner. We do not use the fax function as we have a dedicated fax machine but would expect that it would function well. It also has a autofeed. The printing on copy paper is great. The one thing that it does not do well, is that when we print on our letter head stock which is a 20lb cotton stock the ink can wear off after a multiple mailings or foldings. It wont' look so great. I think you will find this with any Multi function machine that is a laser (not MFC) again the printing on white copy paper is fantastic. Apparently this is a function of the fusing element not getting hot enough.

 

[PilotAlan]

Apparently this is a function of the fusing element not getting hot enough.

Usually in the print options there is a setting for heavy bond paper, telling the printer to up the temp of the fuser (or slow the speed of the paper through the fuser).

 

[AdamZ]

Usually in the print options there is a setting for heavy bond paper, telling the printer to up the temp of the fuser (or slow the speed of the paper through the fuser).

Yeah we checked for this and dealt with Brother unfortunatly you can't crank up the heat on ours.

 

[PilotAlan]

Yeah we checked for this and dealt with Brother unfortunatly you can't crank up the heat on ours.

That's why I buy HP. I bought a couple generations of Brother and Samsung MFPs and printers, and decided that I will never buy anything but HP. Long term, HP is a better in terms of support and lifespan.

Brother hosed me when Vista came out and they decided they would not develop Vista drivers for a printer less than 6 months old.
HP still releases diver updates from printers and MFCs from 8-10 years ago. All HP printers have capabilities you may not know about and may not need for 2 or 3 years. But when you need them, they are there.

 

[bbchien]

I have three HP 3055s which take the economical 12A cartridge. They are workhorses.

 

[denverpilot]

That's why I buy HP. I bought a couple generations of Brother and Samsung MFPs and printers, and decided that I will never buy anything but HP. Long term, HP is a better in terms of support and lifespan.

It's interesting you should note Samsung. I don't print much at home, but really hated inkjets. I've had two Samsung's now... one B&W, one Color (gave the B&W to dad when I upgraded), and they've been pretty good. Doubt they'd hold up to massive amounts of printing, but for home laser use on an infrequent basis, with an every-once-in-a-while-project that will go through a couple of reams of paper... not bad, really.

Not scanners though, didn't do their MFD versions -- so apologies if that's a bit off-topic for this thread. They do make them, though. Not sure if any of their models would hold a large book, but with any large book I think I'd want a fast scanner, not the typical slower speeds associated with the MFD devices.

 

[gismo]

Not really Lance but thanks for the idea.
The printer will be used for printing word/excel/qb docs 75% of the time, copying 20%, scanning 2%, faxing 0.5% of the time.
And I see similar to what we need for 200$...plus no desk space for an additional device!

The deskspace issue could be a problem but IME the dedicated scanners work much better than the all-in-one devices, especially for books. Perhaps you could find a place to store the thing for the 98% of the time you're not using it.

.who will note that they don't add up? That's ok no need to label you a nitpicker!

I just figured you left out the 2.5% spent trying to get it to work and/or changing ink cartridges. And from my perspective 2.5% seems low for that.

 

[gismo]

That's why I buy HP. I bought a couple generations of Brother and Samsung MFPs and printers, and decided that I will never buy anything but HP. Long term, HP is a better in terms of support and lifespan.

Brother hosed me when Vista came out and they decided they would not develop Vista drivers for a printer less than 6 months old.
HP still releases diver updates from printers and MFCs from 8-10 years ago. All HP printers have capabilities you may not know about and may not need for 2 or 3 years. But when you need them, they are there.

IME, HP hasn't done much better than Brother. I have a nice HP B&W laser printer (HP1012) that HP hasn't bothered to provide 64 bit drivers for making it a problem to use on my HP laptop running Win7-64pro. I've got a workaround that's functional but really slow using a driver for a different printer.