Printer quality [Hardware]

Prev: Microphone does not work
Next: Toshiba Satellite A60

From: GT on 11 May 2010 15:47

Simple question:

A budget colour laser printer - could one be used with glossy paper to
produce 'leaflet' quality prints?

Thanks,
GT

From: philo on 11 May 2010 18:24

On 05/11/2010 02:47 PM, GT wrote:
> Simple question:
>
> A budget colour laser printer - could one be used with glossy paper to
> produce 'leaflet' quality prints?
>
> Thanks,
> GT
>
>
Laser printers do no usually work with glossy photo paper

card stock should work quite well though

for more info consult the manual that came with your printer...
probably avail on-line

From: kony on 11 May 2010 21:17

On Tue, 11 May 2010 20:47:43 +0100, "GT" <a.b.c> wrote:

>Simple question:
>
>A budget colour laser printer - could one be used with glossy paper to
>produce 'leaflet' quality prints?
>
>Thanks,
>GT
>

A modern, average quality laser can attain this print
quality level on glossy paper, certainly at arm's reach you
have to look closely to see a difference between it and
higher quality magazine pictures on glossy pages.

The lower end color lasers tend to cause more banding on the
output, plus with them typically including "starter"
cartridges holding less toner than their full retail (or
generic) replacement carts, and that they generally have
lower capacity cartridge capability, I think you will find a
midrange printer is the best option... perhaps something
typically priced $350-550 regular price, $220 to $400 on
sale or with a rebate.

Yes there is glossy paper for laser printers which MUST be
used to produce decent quality semi-photorealistic output
because the toner itself has a semi-gloss sheen to it,
meaning any area on the page that is not only white, but not
at 100% saturation of the colors because it is lighter, will
have contrasting amounts of gloss you can see at many angles
if the paper is not at least semi-gloss.

As another person mentioned you can't use all types of
glossy paper, some of them meant for inkjets have a coating
with too low a melting point which can ruin the fuser.

Above I did not mean to suggest it is impossible for a lower
cost printer to produce output you might deem acceptable,
but the only way to be sure is take a picture you are
familiar with to a store and have them do a test printout at
highest quality level setting (often this needs set in the
driver/printer controls as you would generally print at a
medium setting if not toner-saver mode the rest of the time
to conserve toner.

Also note, many color lasers use up color toner with
everything you print including pages with no color on them.
If you often print pages with little color or color is
optional such as plain text, buying a second B&W printer can
pay for itself and then some over the lifespan of the two
printers by reducing wasted color toner... and a printer for
B&W text need not be as high quality to still produce sharp
text, but on the other hand if you mostly print text it
could be argued you put more wear on the B&W printer and it
makes as much sense to step up a notch in quality on that
one too.

From: jyazelz on 12 May 2010 15:13

From: MCheu on 16 May 2010 14:09

On 11/05/2010 3:47 PM, GT wrote:
> Simple question:
>
> A budget colour laser printer - could one be used with glossy paper to
> produce 'leaflet' quality prints?
>
> Thanks,
> GT

It'd come close, but it depends a bit on the printer and the type of
glossy paper. Traditional glossed paper will work fine. Inkjet photo
paper is often gelatin based, and will gum up and jam in some models of
lasers.

That said, it's only worth it if it's a small print run. If the print
run is 5000 copies or more, you might consider going to a real printshop
to have it done. Not only would they be able to do it faster, but once
you get into the 5000+ copies range, it'll be cheaper than doing it with
colour toners on a laser printer. Check around, and you may even find a
printshop willing to give you a deal on a smaller print run than that.

-MCheu

|
Pages: 1
Prev: Microphone does not work
Next: Toshiba Satellite A60