I recently did some shopping for large format (11X17) color laser printers, and figured I might mention what I ended up with in case somebody else is doing the same and searches.
I ended up looking seriously at the latest models from HP, Konica/Minolta (formerly QMS), and Ricoh. We were replacing a QMS, and I've got experience with HPs, but I didn't even realize Ricoh made printers of the sort.
On paper and based on reviews I read, the Ricoh looked the best for our needs, so we ended up giving it a shot.
Here's what I can say:
On the positive side, the version with a duplexer and network card was the least expensive in the class, and reviews pointed to it having the best all-around prints--HP apparently does better text, and the Magicolor apparently does better photos, but Ricoh was a comfortable middle ground.
I've got experience with the previous-generation Magicolor, and I can say that in comparison I don't think the color photo prints are quite as nice, but otherwise the output quality is comparable, and it's somewhat faster.
It also has a LOT of fine-tuning adjustments--you can manually adjust the fuser temperature, color density, color calibrate, precision registration adjustment for duplexing, presets for about a dozen different weights of paper, and a number of more esoteric things.
It seems to be pretty darned fast (I haven't timed it, but it's close to the rated speed), and it's handled pretty much everything that's been thrown at it without complaint, including screwed-up PDFs that actually crashed our previous printer (requiring it to be turned off and back on). It does true Postscript, which is a nice touch over the standard emulation, though I don't know how much of a real-world advantage that is.
I'm running it off of an XServe with both OSX (Panther/Tiger mix) and Windows (XP) clients, and none have had any issues with it so far--everybody can print any size, with it properly auto-selecting the 8.5X11 or 11X17 tray, duplex, etc.
It's biggest advantage, though, is DIRT CHEAP TONER. It uses individual toner-only tanks that are VERY inexpensive in comparison to the competition, so the price per page works out to well under a penny--amazingly low. Heck, if you did enough printing on it, it'd pay for itself.
It also has a nice large paper tray--each easily holds a ream, which is handy.
There are really only three things I have to complain about:
One, it's physically HUGE. Significantly larger than Magicolor 11X17s, and I believe also larger than the comparable HPs. The Magicolor will work sitting on a low table. This thing pretty much needs to be on the floor or a printer cart.
Two, the manual kind of sucks--it doesn't explain some of the fancier features at all, the pictures don't quite match the actual printer (I think some are for the 7300 version, but it's not clear at all), and the setup instructions were somewhat unclear (for example, one section says "be sure to remove all four plastic tabs," when in fact there are EIGHT of them). Nothing huge, but annoying to be sure, and setup took longer than it should have as a result.
The biggest problem thus far, though, is that if you're using relatively thin paper and try to run a large-ish (say, 50+ page) duplex job, it starts creasing corners and eventually jams repeatedly to the point the job can't even be completed.
It appears to be an issue of the heat of the fuser curling the paper just enough that it gets caught in the duplexer, since somewhat heavier paper works well enough. Curled paper isn't uncommon in duplexed printers, but given that it even has a "thin/recycled" paper setting, and this is totally reproducible, it's pretty annoying.
So far tech support hasn't been helpful, but I kind of wonder if this one has a problem or if it's just a flaw with the printer in general. The Magicolor with similar specs I've used did not have this problem with large duplex jobs (as large as a couple thousand pages, in fact), and a small-format Brother and similar-sized copier both do duplexing fine on the same paper.
Basically if you want an industrial-strength general purpose color laser, it comes highly recommended--fast, WAY cheap (it's like 1/4 the cost per page of an HP), loaded with features, and seems to be heavy duty. If, however, you plan on doing a lot of duplexed jobs on relatively thin paper, or space is at a premium, probably not the best option.
I ended up looking seriously at the latest models from HP, Konica/Minolta (formerly QMS), and Ricoh. We were replacing a QMS, and I've got experience with HPs, but I didn't even realize Ricoh made printers of the sort.
On paper and based on reviews I read, the Ricoh looked the best for our needs, so we ended up giving it a shot.
Here's what I can say:
On the positive side, the version with a duplexer and network card was the least expensive in the class, and reviews pointed to it having the best all-around prints--HP apparently does better text, and the Magicolor apparently does better photos, but Ricoh was a comfortable middle ground.
I've got experience with the previous-generation Magicolor, and I can say that in comparison I don't think the color photo prints are quite as nice, but otherwise the output quality is comparable, and it's somewhat faster.
It also has a LOT of fine-tuning adjustments--you can manually adjust the fuser temperature, color density, color calibrate, precision registration adjustment for duplexing, presets for about a dozen different weights of paper, and a number of more esoteric things.
It seems to be pretty darned fast (I haven't timed it, but it's close to the rated speed), and it's handled pretty much everything that's been thrown at it without complaint, including screwed-up PDFs that actually crashed our previous printer (requiring it to be turned off and back on). It does true Postscript, which is a nice touch over the standard emulation, though I don't know how much of a real-world advantage that is.
I'm running it off of an XServe with both OSX (Panther/Tiger mix) and Windows (XP) clients, and none have had any issues with it so far--everybody can print any size, with it properly auto-selecting the 8.5X11 or 11X17 tray, duplex, etc.
It's biggest advantage, though, is DIRT CHEAP TONER. It uses individual toner-only tanks that are VERY inexpensive in comparison to the competition, so the price per page works out to well under a penny--amazingly low. Heck, if you did enough printing on it, it'd pay for itself.
It also has a nice large paper tray--each easily holds a ream, which is handy.
There are really only three things I have to complain about:
One, it's physically HUGE. Significantly larger than Magicolor 11X17s, and I believe also larger than the comparable HPs. The Magicolor will work sitting on a low table. This thing pretty much needs to be on the floor or a printer cart.
Two, the manual kind of sucks--it doesn't explain some of the fancier features at all, the pictures don't quite match the actual printer (I think some are for the 7300 version, but it's not clear at all), and the setup instructions were somewhat unclear (for example, one section says "be sure to remove all four plastic tabs," when in fact there are EIGHT of them). Nothing huge, but annoying to be sure, and setup took longer than it should have as a result.
The biggest problem thus far, though, is that if you're using relatively thin paper and try to run a large-ish (say, 50+ page) duplex job, it starts creasing corners and eventually jams repeatedly to the point the job can't even be completed.
It appears to be an issue of the heat of the fuser curling the paper just enough that it gets caught in the duplexer, since somewhat heavier paper works well enough. Curled paper isn't uncommon in duplexed printers, but given that it even has a "thin/recycled" paper setting, and this is totally reproducible, it's pretty annoying.
So far tech support hasn't been helpful, but I kind of wonder if this one has a problem or if it's just a flaw with the printer in general. The Magicolor with similar specs I've used did not have this problem with large duplex jobs (as large as a couple thousand pages, in fact), and a small-format Brother and similar-sized copier both do duplexing fine on the same paper.
Basically if you want an industrial-strength general purpose color laser, it comes highly recommended--fast, WAY cheap (it's like 1/4 the cost per page of an HP), loaded with features, and seems to be heavy duty. If, however, you plan on doing a lot of duplexed jobs on relatively thin paper, or space is at a premium, probably not the best option.