Which A4 laser printer is best?

[SYO Member]

SYO's Konica Minolta 2350 A4 laser printer has got a fault which is not economically repairable. Prior to this it had printed thousands of maps OK over the last three years.

So we are looking for a replacement, not necessarily a Konica Minolta.

Has anybody bought an A4 laser in the last 12 months which you would recommend? What brand and model is it? Are its branded toner cartridges easily available at places like Staples and PC World? Have you used compatible cartridges OK for it?

Or did you buy one that you definitely don't recommend?

We have 2 unused Minolta high capacity Blacks and 1 Yellow plus one compatible Red 2350 toners that are now surplus if any one needs them. PM me and we'll agree a price. Pick them up at our Tankersley regional event on 27th January.

Ray Waight

[tokoloshe]

The OKI C3400n seems to perform preety well and it is reasonably priced. Does a good, slightly shiny print with good resolution. Haven't tried to get toner cartridges from Staples - usually get them from ABC Toner Cartridges - almost immediate mail order service.

[guessed]

The OKI is not recommended in March 2008 (sic) review in PCPRO magazine:
"A fast printer let down by high running costs and few features"
"After 10,000 pages it costs £600 on consumeables but Brother HL 4040CN would only have cost £485"
"Its little toner cartridges will print just 1000 pages"

They recommend Lexmark C530dn for image quality and built in duplex, and the Brother HL-4040CN for speed and low running costs.

[SYO Member]

Thanks for the feedback but we've already bought a Hewlett Packard 2600N, and first impressions are that it is excellent, and nowhere near as heavy as our previous Konica Minolta. Who knows, we may start printing maps on site at events!

It came out last summer at over £200 and with good reviews, but the price has now come down to around £150 at PC World and elsewhere. And no problems getting branded or compatible cartridges.

The spare Minolta cartridges are still available if anyone is interested.......

[Zokko!]

SROC has another Minolta laser printer which is beyond economic repair. Any offers for the remaining toner cartridges etc?

[SYO Member]

You'll be lucky if you get any offers Zokko. We didn't.

[RJ]

I take it that those cartridges are for the 2300 series. Our new printer is the 2400 series and have different cartridges (with waste toner attached). I also have a 2300 Black available.

[runnerbean]

Do any/all of these printers handle waterproof paper? Just had a quick look at the HP website, but couldn't see any mention of it. From the recent article in CompassSport, I guess the pretex stuff is the safest (least likely to melt?!) Good news though that £200 can get you an O-quality printer!