Colour laser printer recommendations

[Simon E]

Anybody got any recommendations for a colour laser printer for producing overprinted maps? HH are thinking about buying one.

We're probably looking at around 2500 A4 colour maps per year from OCAD/CONDES, plus possibly printing the club newsletter and other admin stuff (mainly B&W).

I've got a Konica Minolta Magicolor 2300W sitting next to my desk, which is excellent, but I just wondered what else might be worth looking at.

Simon

[RJ]

LOC and WCOC have been using Minolta 2350s for the last two and a half years. Very good reproduction. They are A4 and have been used at events to print on demand during the last two years.

I'm sure there are other machines but I would certainly recommend the Minolta. Touch wood.... we have had no problems. WCOC have printed about 40000 maps.

[kedge]

I've used the newer Minolta model, the 2400w, for a year now with no problems, to print A4 maps for low key WIM events as well as for BTOC 2005 at Penhale . The results seem fine. Its one of the smallest colour laser printers,( the only disadvantages being that it has no network interface and works only with Windows and Macs, not Linux) and whilst we haven't yet tried printing at events, it is certainly small enough to move around.

Now that refills are available from

http://www.refilltoner.com/index.htm

it should bring the costs down even more.

[gross2007]

I've used the Minolta 2300 for quite sometime now. It's produced good enough quality maps at 1:10 and 1:15 for use by Swedish & French teams at training camps... amongst others. Only problem (?) is the toner refills are a rip-off... cheaper to buy a new machine now than a full set of toners:)

[stodge]

The OKI range is good - and cheap, particularly at the top end.
Try the C5250 at about £400 + VAT.
They travel well to.

Way out of your league but I have just put in a OKI 9600 HDTN A3 colour laser for an Architect client and the quality is just amazing (the machine is better that the Ricoh CL 7000 I used to recommend)

One of the major factors in cheap lasers though is the cost of the toner and other consumables.

Be very careful at the bottom end of the market - particularly with Epson and HP.
Colour lasers are going the same way as inkjets, the machines come with a 'starter' toner set that will only do a couple of hundred prints. A full set of toners then costs you nearly as much as the printer.

It is often more cost effective to buy a slightly more expensive printer at the outset with higher toner yields