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Good 11x17 Duplex Printer — Parallax Forums

Good 11x17 Duplex Printer

PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
edited 2013-11-21 10:14 in General Discussion
I've been pretty happy with the Brother line of printers over the last 6 years. I have a 8/12x11 and a 11x17 that have put up in a business environment that have lasted this long.

I was in Staples yesterday and saw this printer:

http://www.staples.com/Brother-MFC-J6920DW-Color-Inkjet-All-in-One-Printer/product_213372

I had been holding off buying the first generation duplex machines, so I bought this second generation.

$299 MSRP. Staples is selling for $229.99. They have a rebate for $50.00 on any old printer, so I brought my old one in, (since I needed room for the old one),

$179.99 for an all in one, 11x17, duplex printer/scanner/fax. Comes with Nuance PaperPort software which I have used before and has a good OCR MODULE.

I use 11x17 a lot, that is why I use Brother because there is not a lot of others out there at the same price point.



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Comments

  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2013-11-07 20:29
    One of the nice things about the new Brother printers is the cartridges are large with much higher yields than the typical Epson (this Brother uses Epson inkjet technology). Means you're not swapping cartridges so much, and the ink is a little cheaper.
  • Buck RogersBuck Rogers Posts: 2,185
    edited 2013-11-07 20:36
    One of the nice things about the new Brother printers is the cartridges are large with much higher yields than the typical Epson (this Brother uses Epson inkjet technology). Means you're not swapping cartridges so much, and the ink is a little cheaper.

    Hello!
    Gordon, Publison, are you both aware of what size the paper is for that style printer? The page is same size as the major newspapers, the Times (New York), the Chronicle in LA, some others.

    I just bought a new printer from the Staples by me, that 50 dollar rebate was not brought up, in fact might have just been launched this month. Mine is a Work Force 2540, and setting it up on this machine was easy. Setting it up on the XP box was difficult but agreeable. Wifi only, not with the USB for it.

    Except for one foray in the laser family of printers I've always used Epson printers, started out with an MX100 impact and finished it up with an involved multi-purpose one. That one and two others were also ink jet. I did try and get to work an HP job but it wasn't cooperative.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2013-11-07 22:29
    I've had several inkjet printers and, in all of them, the Achilles heel has been printhead clogs. I finally gave up on the technology entirely and rely completely on my network-connected HP LaserJet 4MV 11x17 laser printer, which just keeps working after nearly 20 years on the job. It does not do color, of course, but I rarely need color for the work I do.

    -Phil
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2013-11-08 07:38
    My Epsons print bigger than 11x17, so there! Hopefully next year I'll be able to pick up a large format 24" printer for some of the art work I am getting into.

    Phil, Epson clogs are worst than an Achilles' heel, especially if you use a continuous ink supply system like I do. The best way around it is to make sure you print something, even a nozzle check, every few days. There are utilities to automate it, like Harvey Head Cleaner.

    For my day-to-day office printing I use a Brother monochrome laser printer I picked up a Fry's a few years back for $59.
  • Buck RogersBuck Rogers Posts: 2,185
    edited 2013-11-08 09:57
    I've had several inkjet printers and, in all of them, the Achilles heel has been printhead clogs. I finally gave up on the technology entirely and rely completely on my network-connected HP LaserJet 4MV 11x17 laser printer, which just keeps working after nearly 20 years on the job. It does not do color, of course, but I rarely need color for the work I do.

    -Phil

    Hello!
    Good to know.
  • Buck RogersBuck Rogers Posts: 2,185
    edited 2013-11-08 10:01
    My Epsons print bigger than 11x17, so there! Hopefully next year I'll be able to pick up a large format 24" printer for some of the art work I am getting into.

    Phil, Epson clogs are worst than an Achilles' heel, especially if you use a continuous ink supply system like I do. The best way around it is to make sure you print something, even a nozzle check, every few days. There are utilities to automate it, like Harvey Head Cleaner.

    For my day-to-day office printing I use a Brother monochrome laser printer I picked up a Fry's a few years back for $59.

    Hello!
    They are indeed. I had other problems with those earlier inkjet printers, including the company behaving like something else. I actually saw a very big printer for sale that day. It was indeed larger then 11x17. And a woman I know who taught art and how to appreciate art work, was given a very big printer that Epson made for special cases. I only saw several of them a while back.
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2013-11-08 10:04
    I've had several inkjet printers and, in all of them, the Achilles heel has been printhead clogs. I finally gave up on the technology entirely and rely completely on my network-connected HP LaserJet 4MV 11x17 laser printer, which just keeps working after nearly 20 years on the job. It does not do color, of course, but I rarely need color for the work I do.

    -Phil

    Oh, to have a 11x17 laser printer. A printer like that would have cost an arm and a leg back then. Boeing Surplus? :)

    Jim
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2013-11-08 10:10
    Ten years ago I needed a new vehicle. I was going to get another car, but then I started thinking. How many times did I actually use the back seat and how many times did I wish I could move a load? I ended up buying a Ford Ranger. Several years later I needed to replace my old HP LaserJet4p printer. This time the question was how many times had I wished the LaserJet could print color and how many times would I have liked to print duplex? I ended up buying a Brother HL-5250DN.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2013-11-08 10:59
    Publison wrote:
    Oh, to have a 11x17 laser printer. A printer like that would have cost an arm and a leg back then. Boeing Surplus?
    I wish Boeing Surplus! Unfortunately, it did cost me an arm and a leg: $2700 IIRC. That's one reason I'm hanging on to it, to squeeze every last penny out of my investment. Back when I bought it (pre-CAD, pre-Windows days), I was writing Postscript from scratch to do graphic design. This printer, which has a Postscript print engine, was my only graphics output device.

    -Phil
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2013-11-08 11:09
    Tabloid/ledger lasers are still overly expensive. Okidata sells the C831 for about $1,700 list. It's CMYK, and has a PostScript (as well as PCL) engine. You don't want to have to buy toner for this thing. I have their C330, which is letter. A new OEM toner set is over $400.

    Among the least expensive 11x17 mono lasers is one by Ricoh. It's about $950. I still have a thing about Ricoh from the 70s and their 35mm cameras. Maybe their printers are better.
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2013-11-08 11:12
    When I worked at CompUSA, we rolled out the Tektronix Phaser III in 1991. $10,000 !?!. At least no one could walk out with one of those like they did with our $4,000 Toshiba 286 Laptops. :)
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2013-11-08 11:42
    An OEM toner cartridge for my HP4MV lists for $178. Just this week I had to replace my aftermarket refill cartridge that's kept printing for years. It still had plenty of toner, but the plastic doctor blade had worn out, leaving grey streaks across the printed pages. I went online to buy a new cartridge and found an HP unit (the one listing for $178) for $25, plus shipping. 'Sounded too good to be true, thus I had no idea what I was really going to get; but yesterday it arrived in original, sealed HP packaging, and it works great. Maybe the dealer (an Amazon affiliate) was just blowing them out the door to get rid of them. The box it came in was designed with an alternative way to reseal it and came with a UPS return label so the old cartridge could be sent back to HP free of charge for reccycling. It was an altogether win-win deal.

    -Phil
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2013-11-08 11:55
    An OEM toner cartridge for my HP4MV lists for $178. Just this week I had to replace my aftermarket refill cartridge that's kept printing for years. It still had plenty of toner, but the plastic doctor blade had worn out, leaving grey streaks across the printed pages. I went online to buy a new cartridge and found an HP unit (the one listing for $178) for $25, plus shipping. 'Sounded too good to be true, thus I had no idea what I was really going to get; but yesterday it arrived in original, sealed HP packaging, and it works great. Maybe the dealer (an Amazon affiliate) was just blowing them out the door to get rid of them. The box it came in was designed with an alternative way to reseal it and came with a UPS return label so the old cartridge could be sent back to HP free of charge for reccycling. It was an altogether win-win deal.

    -Phil
    A few years ago, I acquired a NOS Apple Color Laser Writer 12/600. I went looking for cartridges on ebay and found a guy that had a pallet of them. He sold me 4 each cartridges, (total of 16) , for a hundred bucks. I ended up donating the printer to a school.
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2013-11-08 12:01
    Ah, the benefits of yesterday's technology. The old HPs were much better about not including fancy features like counter chips in their cartridges (though maybe yours has that, I don't know). With these older printers it was easy to refill the cartridge, maybe rub a pounce bag across the drum to revitalize it another 100 or so pages, and you were back in business.

    On my Brother when it thinks it's out of toner, it just stops, and refuses to print even weak pages until I replace the cartridge.
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2013-11-08 12:05
    Publison wrote: »
    When I worked at CompUSA, we rolled out the Tektronix Phaser III in 1991. $10,000 !?!.

    All-in-all, though, nice printing for using crayons!
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2013-11-08 12:30
    All-in-all, though, nice printing for using crayons!

    LOL
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2013-11-08 13:01
    All-in-all, though, nice printing for using crayons!
    ... until the page got folded.
  • RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
    edited 2013-11-08 13:22
    You can often find deals on some of the larger HP LaserJet printers like the 5si, 8000, 8100, etc. They run forever, easy to maintain, and the consumables aren't too expensive. If you want you can refill the cartridges too. 11x17 double-sided is no problem for these.
  • Invent-O-DocInvent-O-Doc Posts: 768
    edited 2013-11-08 16:40
    I love 11x17. It really depends on what you want to do..

    Photo work: EPSON (I love mine)
    General Work w/ duplexing: There are good deals on HP inkjets and I've had good luck with them, very good mixed text/graphics. Consumables are high. Don't know how good brother inkjets are.

    11x17 in laser is very expensive but there are a few details out there if you don't care about color.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2013-11-20 15:02
    Re: my LaserJet 4MV. 'Long story short: Goodwill has it now -- for recycling, not to sell.

    Replacing the toner cartridge was part of an effort to correct some ghosting and light printing. I also replaced the transfer roller and high-voltage power supply -- all to no avail. Not wanting to throw more good money after bad, I said sayonara after 20 years and bought one of these from Office Depot:

    I does everything my 4MV did -- but better and faster for a tenth the original price -- except print on 11x17 paper. Plus it prints both sides of the page, and toner is cheap. Setting it up on the network to print from Windows, Mac, and Linux (four computers total) was a cinch. It's also WiFi capable, but it can't do WiFi and Ethernet at the same time, so I'm using Ethernet.

    -Phil
  • vanmunchvanmunch Posts: 568
    edited 2013-11-20 16:25
    Re: my LaserJet 4MV. 'Long story short: Goodwill has it now -- for recycling, not to sell.

    Replacing the toner cartridge was part of an effort to correct some ghosting and light printing. I also replaced the transfer roller and high-voltage power supply -- all to no avail. Not wanting to throw more good money after bad, I said sayonara after 20 years and bought one of these from Office Depot:

    I does everything my 4MV did -- but better and faster for a tenth the original price -- except print on 11x17 paper. Plus it prints both sides of the page, and toner is cheap. Setting it up on the network to print from Windows, Mac, and Linux (four computers total) was a cinch. It's also WiFi capable, but it can't do WiFi and Ethernet at the same time, so I'm using Ethernet.

    -Phil


    http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Printer-HL5470DW-Wireless-Monochrome/dp/B0081TYO72/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384993354&sr=8-1&keywords=HL-5470DW

    Is this the same printer? Our inkjet just died that we've had for ~4 years and I'm been looking on Amazon. I'm glad to hear all of the positive stuff about Brother's laser printers. I think we might get one.
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2013-11-20 16:35
    Re: my LaserJet 4MV. 'Long story short: Goodwill has it now -- for recycling, not to sell.

    Replacing the toner cartridge was part of an effort to correct some ghosting and light printing. I also replaced the transfer roller and high-voltage power supply -- all to no avail. Not wanting to throw more good money after bad, I said sayonara after 20 years and bought one of these from Office Depot:
    I does everything my 4MV did -- but better and faster for a tenth the original price -- except print on 11x17 paper. Plus it prints both sides of the page, and toner is cheap. Setting it up on the network to print from Windows, Mac, and Linux (four computers total) was a cinch. It's also WiFi capable, but it can't do WiFi and Ethernet at the same time, so I'm using Ethernet.

    -Phil

    That's a pretty good deal on a duplex laser.

    Maybe legal size will work in a some instances to make up for the 11 x 17 ?
    .
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2013-11-20 19:22
    vanmunch wrote:
    Is this the same printer?
    Aw nuts! Yes, that's the same printer I just paid $250 for! If you buy it, be sure also to get their high-yield toner cartridge. 'Not sure if the included cartridge is full or just a so-called "starter."
    Publison wrote:
    That's a pretty good deal on a duplex laser.
    Not only that, but the duplexing operation is just plain fun to watch. It partially deposits the page into the exit tray after printing the first side, then sucks it back in again to print the other side.
    Publison wrote:
    Maybe legal size will work in a some instances to make up for the 11 x 17 ?
    Yes, the printer's paper tray can be extended to handle legal-sized paper.

    My current thinking is that, as infrequently as I need tabloid-sized output, it's cheaper just to get it printed at a local print shop on one of their fancy copy machines than to buy another printer that can do it. 'Same goes for color.

    -Phil
  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2013-11-20 20:46
    I've had good luck with Brother laser printers. My current one is a $250 HL-3170CDW color laser duplex printer (color for my GF's medical classes), and it works well. The starter cartridges printed about 600 pages before they wore out, and the replacements are rated for 2200 pages. No legal size as far as I know.
  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2013-11-20 21:46
    An OEM toner cartridge for my HP4MV lists for $178.

    You mean to tell me that there's a 4MV that still works?
    Maybe I should try to hock the couple of toners for it that still exists in the storage room at my office?
    (We 'lost' our only 4MV back in 2005 when a part of the organisation was split off, and they got a building and all equipment in it)
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2013-11-20 21:50
    One thing I forgot to mention about the Brother printer is that it has Postscript 3 emulation, which makes it super easy to set up on a Linux system. Just skip the manufacturer and model-number stuff and set it up as a generic Postscript printer.

    -Phil
  • Cluso99Cluso99 Posts: 18,069
    edited 2013-11-20 22:27
    I should find a photo of my first printer...
    An early 70's 400 LPM Line Printer. It was the system printer on my Singer/ICL mini.
    New cost over $20,000
    Size 6ftx3ftx4ft high
    Installation - hire a crane and remove large window
    Maintenance 10%pa
    Code set - Upper Case ASCII only
    Printer type - Drum with 132 columns and 132 hammers, Ribbon ~17" wide.
    Paper - computer fanfold, tractor feed
    Black print only
    Final resting place ~2001 - China - sold for scrap and they shipped to China (also for gold recovery)

    Ah, the good old days ;)
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2013-11-20 23:19
    My first printer was an IBM "Model 75" electronic typewriter, modified to plug into my Radio Shack TRS80 computer. I can't remember how much it cost, just that it was a lot, But IBM saw fit to finance it at $75 a month, and their salesman delivered it to my door and demoed it for me. Of course, I did not tell him about the computer interface, since that would have voided the warranty, along with the cozy financing arrangment they deemed fit to confer on a poor entrepreneur with no visible means of support.

    That typewriter was truly a marvel -- probably the culmination of IBM's typewriter dominance. I'm sure it had more than 1000 moving parts, all powered by a huge AC motor and various belts and clutches. It had interchangeable type balls and could do not only standard fixed-width Courier, but also proportionally-spaced fonts, which I used to advantage producing brochures and ads for my fledgling mail-order software business.

    The "75" met an ignoble but spectacular end, however. Once I moved on to more modern printers, my business partner at the time and I decided to use its carriage mechanism as part of an inverted broom-balancing demo. We plugged it in, started it up, and the poor thing destroyed itself before our eyes, like a washing machine loaded with bricks and set to "spin."

    -Phil
  • Erik FriesenErik Friesen Posts: 1,071
    edited 2013-11-21 00:46
    I now use a xerox 6505 laser color. Prints duplex out of a loaded paper tray in style and doesn't miss a beat.

    My beefs with newer inkjets.

    #1. Won't print black if one color cartridge is supposedly out.

    #2. Won't print black if the cartridge hits ??25%??

    #3. Takes 5 mins to boot.

    #4. Ink cost.
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2013-11-21 10:09
    My first printer was an IBM "Model 75" electronic typewriter, modified to plug into my Radio Shack TRS80 computer.

    Mine was an Olivetti Praxis plugged into an Osborne 1 "portable." The parallel interface was mail order, and I very carefully soldered it onto a board inside the printer.

    It wasn't bad, but was terribly slow. The Praxis also had a problem of "shedding" its mylar ribbon, where the little debris then got into the codewheel electronics, and started mis7pelling t8ings.

    My wife's first word processor used an ordinary IBM Selectric with a special base that electromechanically actuated the levers in the typewriter. This was circa 1977 or so. The units, made by Savin, stored the text on cassette tape. Little known factoid about the Selectrics is that they used a form of mechanical binary coding to select the character to type based on the key pressed.
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