Heavy Duty Photo Printers
Published by ClubPrinter, on Feb 15 2010, in the categories: Sony
Most photo printers on the market, dedicated for the regular users have one thing in common. They are slow and usually low capacity. This is why there's generally a choice between a printer you'd use in an office as well, that yields a larger number of copies per minute, such as an inkjet all-in-one that can also print photos, or a dedicated photo printer that has much better print quality but will require you to go do something around the house everytime you hit print (as it will always take a while to print even a 4 by 6 inch photo).
So, is there such a thing as a fast, heavy duty photo printer? Only if you're prepared to spend a larger amount of money on a professional photo printer. Among the good choices out there is the Sony UP-DR200 high speed professional photo printer. It delivers an impressive combination of speed and high quality as well as advanced digital photofinishing.
While its initial cost is rather expensive, it is meant to be used for retailers. It is also relatively profitable and cost efficient. The printer comes with Sony's patented technolgy, the proMatte finish that 'fakes' the look of traditional matte photos. It produces matte, finger print resistant photos. Aside from the ProMatte, you can also use the glossy finish for your typical shiny prints. There is no need to change paper or the ink ribbon to switch from one finish to another, although changing the paper roll or the ink ribbon isn't hard to do at all. You simply have to open the front panel and replace them.
As for capacity, it's rather outstanding. It can hold a roll for about 800 5 by 7 inch prints or 700 for 4 by 6 inch photos. The technology it uses is dye sublimation thermal transfer, hence the quality of the prints is outstanding. As for speed, it will produce a photo around every 8 seconds in 4 by 6 inch (just about 10 seconds in 5 by 7 inch). The maximum size of prints it can produce is 6 by 8 inch and in around an hour it will produce about 450 4 by 6 inch photos.
The Sony UP-DR200 was designed for retail and event photography and is suitable for photo kiosks or retail outlets. It is more than capable of holding strong in busy retail environments, due to its speed and high capacity and frankly, worth the money being payed on it.
Its built in LCD panel will display the print status and provide convenient monitoring. You'll know how many prints are left or if any errors occurred during the print job. The UP-DR200 is also equipped with a USB 2.0 interface that allows fast image data transfer, and you'll get a driver software CD along with it that's compatible with Windows XP and Vista. You'll find the heavy duty photo printer at around $1,200, which is a more than competitive and affordable price for what it has to offer.
So, is there such a thing as a fast, heavy duty photo printer? Only if you're prepared to spend a larger amount of money on a professional photo printer. Among the good choices out there is the Sony UP-DR200 high speed professional photo printer. It delivers an impressive combination of speed and high quality as well as advanced digital photofinishing.
While its initial cost is rather expensive, it is meant to be used for retailers. It is also relatively profitable and cost efficient. The printer comes with Sony's patented technolgy, the proMatte finish that 'fakes' the look of traditional matte photos. It produces matte, finger print resistant photos. Aside from the ProMatte, you can also use the glossy finish for your typical shiny prints. There is no need to change paper or the ink ribbon to switch from one finish to another, although changing the paper roll or the ink ribbon isn't hard to do at all. You simply have to open the front panel and replace them.
As for capacity, it's rather outstanding. It can hold a roll for about 800 5 by 7 inch prints or 700 for 4 by 6 inch photos. The technology it uses is dye sublimation thermal transfer, hence the quality of the prints is outstanding. As for speed, it will produce a photo around every 8 seconds in 4 by 6 inch (just about 10 seconds in 5 by 7 inch). The maximum size of prints it can produce is 6 by 8 inch and in around an hour it will produce about 450 4 by 6 inch photos.
The Sony UP-DR200 was designed for retail and event photography and is suitable for photo kiosks or retail outlets. It is more than capable of holding strong in busy retail environments, due to its speed and high capacity and frankly, worth the money being payed on it.
Its built in LCD panel will display the print status and provide convenient monitoring. You'll know how many prints are left or if any errors occurred during the print job. The UP-DR200 is also equipped with a USB 2.0 interface that allows fast image data transfer, and you'll get a driver software CD along with it that's compatible with Windows XP and Vista. You'll find the heavy duty photo printer at around $1,200, which is a more than competitive and affordable price for what it has to offer.
CLP-315 Color Laser Printer
Published by ClubPrinter, on Feb 15 2010, in the categories: Samsung
A color laser printer is a type of printer that produces high quality text and graphics at fast speeds. The tehnology used in laser printers is very similar to the one of digital copiers and multifunction printers and named xerographic. There are many advantages to laser printers, including much faster speeds than in the case of inkjets.
The cost of the technology is usually higher though. But with the help of several nice features a lot of money can be saved after the purchase (such as duplexing, that can cut the paper cost in half and improve speed). Samsung's CLP-315 color laser printer is a bit of an exception to the rule. It's actually small, light, easy to fit in an office, and not as expensive as you might expect.
It's price tag of around $ 200 makes it a viable choice for home use as well. The design of the printer is very pleasant, meaning that it's not the white (that turns yellow) you've grown so 'fond' of. It's shell is made out of matte and high-gloss black. The only controls you can find on the printer are a single button and six leds. To keep its size so small, Samsung had to cut down on certain features as well as paper capacity. This is why the paper drawer has a limit of just 150 sheets.
As for connectivity, the Samsung CLP-315 color laser printer has a single USB port on the back. If you're interested in networking, a better choice would be Samsungs improved version of the CLP-315, the CLP-315w that also includes Ethernet and WiFi.
Setting up the CLP-315 is very easy, you'll receive it with its toners already in place, so all you have to do is get a USB cable, plug it in the printer and run the software from the CD you get in the box. After install you'll have several smart applications, such as Smart Panel that shows the remaining level of ink, Dr. Printer, for diagnostics as well as the driver with a series of options like watermarks, multiple pages per sheet or overlay.
Print speeds are not extraordinary. Samsung claims a 17 page per minute for monochrome and just a 4 page per minute for color prints. There's also a 20 second warm up time that will add to the overall printing time, and since this one is not a heavy duty printer that you'll use all day long, you'll feel those 20 seconds worth of warm up as well. The toner cartridges will last for around 1000 pages (in color) or 1500 pages (black). Cost/page is not as small as you're used to for laser color printers.
As a conclusion, the Samsung CLP-315w may be a color printer but it only acts as one in terms of quality. The rest, cost, size and features, reminds you more of an inkjet. It's inexpensive to buy, but makes up for it with replacing consumables rather often (that aren't exactly cheap).
The cost of the technology is usually higher though. But with the help of several nice features a lot of money can be saved after the purchase (such as duplexing, that can cut the paper cost in half and improve speed). Samsung's CLP-315 color laser printer is a bit of an exception to the rule. It's actually small, light, easy to fit in an office, and not as expensive as you might expect.
It's price tag of around $ 200 makes it a viable choice for home use as well. The design of the printer is very pleasant, meaning that it's not the white (that turns yellow) you've grown so 'fond' of. It's shell is made out of matte and high-gloss black. The only controls you can find on the printer are a single button and six leds. To keep its size so small, Samsung had to cut down on certain features as well as paper capacity. This is why the paper drawer has a limit of just 150 sheets.
As for connectivity, the Samsung CLP-315 color laser printer has a single USB port on the back. If you're interested in networking, a better choice would be Samsungs improved version of the CLP-315, the CLP-315w that also includes Ethernet and WiFi.
Setting up the CLP-315 is very easy, you'll receive it with its toners already in place, so all you have to do is get a USB cable, plug it in the printer and run the software from the CD you get in the box. After install you'll have several smart applications, such as Smart Panel that shows the remaining level of ink, Dr. Printer, for diagnostics as well as the driver with a series of options like watermarks, multiple pages per sheet or overlay.
Print speeds are not extraordinary. Samsung claims a 17 page per minute for monochrome and just a 4 page per minute for color prints. There's also a 20 second warm up time that will add to the overall printing time, and since this one is not a heavy duty printer that you'll use all day long, you'll feel those 20 seconds worth of warm up as well. The toner cartridges will last for around 1000 pages (in color) or 1500 pages (black). Cost/page is not as small as you're used to for laser color printers.
As a conclusion, the Samsung CLP-315w may be a color printer but it only acts as one in terms of quality. The rest, cost, size and features, reminds you more of an inkjet. It's inexpensive to buy, but makes up for it with replacing consumables rather often (that aren't exactly cheap).
Digital Copier Vs High Volume Printers
Published by ClubPrinter, on Feb 13 2010, in the categories: Other
In order for an office to work properly, it needs to be properly equipped. It's not very important if it's a small office or a big business, matter of fact you'll most likely need the same machinery. There is a difference though, the capabilities that machinery has.
For large offices, a serious amount of printing and copying has to be done on a daily basis. For this, a reliable and high quality device is needed. It might have a rather high price tag, but sometimes when you pay upfront for quality you end up saving in the long run.
If you need to print out about 100-150 pages per minute, the best device for that would be a high volume printer. Most offices are equipped with laser printers nowadays, and that's because they can print large documents at fast speeds. There are several important factors in buying a high volume printer. You'll need a reliable device that doesn't break down (doesn't matter how fast it prints if it's broken down half the time), with a high paper capacity (doesn't matter how fast it prints if it runs out of paper) and networking capabilities.
Most of these printers are multifunctional and will offer scanning, copying and faxing. Prices obviously depend on how many features you want on top of what was already mentioned (like duplexing, ADF and so on).The quality of the prints is well known, and depending on model, speeds are generally high too. In a large office setting up a workgroup and using the printer for 10 or more users will be very appreciated as well.
But how does a digital copier do vs a high volume printer?Copiers have evolved a lot in the previous years, and they aren't just bulky one-feature mediocre quality machines anymore. Digital copiers now work great for an office environment. They are mainly designed to work by scanning documents and then producing printed copies of the said document. Advantages to choosing a digital copier are many.
First off, after scanning the document can be stored in the device's memory, so you can at any time simply print out copies. Secondly, almost all digital copiers are multifuncion devices. They generally work for printing, transmitting documents via fax or sending them to an e-mail adress. The maintainance cost of the machine is also significantly lower than in the case of any other device that can provide you with so many prints in a short amount of time. The ink that is used in digital copiers lasts for a lot more prints per copy. What copiers usually offer and printers do not : document finishing features such as binding or sorting.
Initial buying price in the case of both devices varies depending on model, brand and features. Copiers tend to be more expensive when you buy them. Printers are cheaper initially, but over time, they make up for it by consuming more ink (which is also more costly). The way things are going, it's hard to tell anymore what a printer can offer that a copier can't and vice versa. In the digital copier vs high volume printers battle the best choice is the machine that fits an office's need best.
For large offices, a serious amount of printing and copying has to be done on a daily basis. For this, a reliable and high quality device is needed. It might have a rather high price tag, but sometimes when you pay upfront for quality you end up saving in the long run.
If you need to print out about 100-150 pages per minute, the best device for that would be a high volume printer. Most offices are equipped with laser printers nowadays, and that's because they can print large documents at fast speeds. There are several important factors in buying a high volume printer. You'll need a reliable device that doesn't break down (doesn't matter how fast it prints if it's broken down half the time), with a high paper capacity (doesn't matter how fast it prints if it runs out of paper) and networking capabilities.
Most of these printers are multifunctional and will offer scanning, copying and faxing. Prices obviously depend on how many features you want on top of what was already mentioned (like duplexing, ADF and so on).The quality of the prints is well known, and depending on model, speeds are generally high too. In a large office setting up a workgroup and using the printer for 10 or more users will be very appreciated as well.
But how does a digital copier do vs a high volume printer?Copiers have evolved a lot in the previous years, and they aren't just bulky one-feature mediocre quality machines anymore. Digital copiers now work great for an office environment. They are mainly designed to work by scanning documents and then producing printed copies of the said document. Advantages to choosing a digital copier are many.
First off, after scanning the document can be stored in the device's memory, so you can at any time simply print out copies. Secondly, almost all digital copiers are multifuncion devices. They generally work for printing, transmitting documents via fax or sending them to an e-mail adress. The maintainance cost of the machine is also significantly lower than in the case of any other device that can provide you with so many prints in a short amount of time. The ink that is used in digital copiers lasts for a lot more prints per copy. What copiers usually offer and printers do not : document finishing features such as binding or sorting.
Initial buying price in the case of both devices varies depending on model, brand and features. Copiers tend to be more expensive when you buy them. Printers are cheaper initially, but over time, they make up for it by consuming more ink (which is also more costly). The way things are going, it's hard to tell anymore what a printer can offer that a copier can't and vice versa. In the digital copier vs high volume printers battle the best choice is the machine that fits an office's need best.
Phaser 8560 Solid Ink Printer
Published by ClubPrinter, on Feb 12 2010, in the categories: Xerox
The first impression is that chosing a printer for your office includes only two options, an inkjet printer or a color laser one. But there's another type of technology out there that could truly be even better than both of the ones mentioned before, namely, the solid ink printer.
First let's establish how solid ink printers work. The solid ink technology was developed in 1986 by a company named Tektronix. Xerox later on acquired Tekronix (in 2000) as well as the technology. Soon enough they incorporated it into their own products. The technology uses blocks or sticks of solid ink instead of your regular liquid ink or toner powder.
The ink is heated to a specific temperature and then melted onto a drum. After the ink turns liquid, the drum rolls the ink onto paper. According to Xerox solid ink is supposed to produce more vibrant colors than the competing technologies. Another good point is that a wider variety of media can be used. Another thing that makes solid ink different is the glossy, wax like finish of the paper. When warmed up, printers using solid ink technology have pretty fast print speeds. Unfortunately it takes a while for the devices to get warmed up, in some cases.
While the main producer of solid inks at this moment is Xerox, and for that reason they can afford keeping up some relatively high prices, there are third party solid ink blocks on the market. They are considerably cheaper, but the down side is that using them will void your warranty. The ink-sticks are coded by shape, and Xerox made sure to provide the sticks in different shapes, so that they can only fit into certain slots on a printer.
Compared to color laser printers, solid ink printers are much more simple as design. The actual hardware that makes the printing take place only includes a print head, a print drum and the controller. One device to use the solid ink technology is the Phaser 8650. Compared to a color laser printer, this one is significantly faster. It will take a couple of minutes each morning to warm it up, but once the ink is melted, it will do up to 17 pages per minute in good quality or 30 pages per minute in fast color mode.
The Xerox Phaser 8650 solid ink printer will take up a lot of space in your office. But it gives a lot back in exchange for the space you give it. It can do very high quality scanning, coping, printing and faxing. It's an ideal candidate for offices that need a fast and reliable color printer. Another advantage over an inkjet printer, for example is that it costs less per page to print, and it produces less waste. It's a perfect printer if you're looking for a high volume, high capacity device. One problem that you may encounter in the case of the Phaser 8650 solid ink printer is that the ink on a page can be scraped off pretty easily with a fingernail or key, so it does offer less reliability over time than other technologies. Overall though, the Phaser 8650 is a very good alternative to a color laser printer.
First let's establish how solid ink printers work. The solid ink technology was developed in 1986 by a company named Tektronix. Xerox later on acquired Tekronix (in 2000) as well as the technology. Soon enough they incorporated it into their own products. The technology uses blocks or sticks of solid ink instead of your regular liquid ink or toner powder.
The ink is heated to a specific temperature and then melted onto a drum. After the ink turns liquid, the drum rolls the ink onto paper. According to Xerox solid ink is supposed to produce more vibrant colors than the competing technologies. Another good point is that a wider variety of media can be used. Another thing that makes solid ink different is the glossy, wax like finish of the paper. When warmed up, printers using solid ink technology have pretty fast print speeds. Unfortunately it takes a while for the devices to get warmed up, in some cases.
While the main producer of solid inks at this moment is Xerox, and for that reason they can afford keeping up some relatively high prices, there are third party solid ink blocks on the market. They are considerably cheaper, but the down side is that using them will void your warranty. The ink-sticks are coded by shape, and Xerox made sure to provide the sticks in different shapes, so that they can only fit into certain slots on a printer.
Compared to color laser printers, solid ink printers are much more simple as design. The actual hardware that makes the printing take place only includes a print head, a print drum and the controller. One device to use the solid ink technology is the Phaser 8650. Compared to a color laser printer, this one is significantly faster. It will take a couple of minutes each morning to warm it up, but once the ink is melted, it will do up to 17 pages per minute in good quality or 30 pages per minute in fast color mode.
The Xerox Phaser 8650 solid ink printer will take up a lot of space in your office. But it gives a lot back in exchange for the space you give it. It can do very high quality scanning, coping, printing and faxing. It's an ideal candidate for offices that need a fast and reliable color printer. Another advantage over an inkjet printer, for example is that it costs less per page to print, and it produces less waste. It's a perfect printer if you're looking for a high volume, high capacity device. One problem that you may encounter in the case of the Phaser 8650 solid ink printer is that the ink on a page can be scraped off pretty easily with a fingernail or key, so it does offer less reliability over time than other technologies. Overall though, the Phaser 8650 is a very good alternative to a color laser printer.
Inkjet Color Printers
Published by ClubPrinter, on Feb 12 2010, in the categories: HP
HP tends to believe in the saying ‘if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’ theory. The C8180 appears almost identical to all the other printers in the Photosmart series, thus the design brings nothing new to the market. However, if you were satisfied with it so far, you’ll be equally satisfied with this device as well. What sets it apart from most other inkjet color printers is the new features it has to offer.
One interesting feature that you won’t find in most all-in-ones is the swivel touch screen that the C8180 includes. You’ll be able to navigate, edit photos, set up your wireless and more with the help of that LCD. Including a touchscreen was a good choice because the front panel isn’t completely covered in big and small buttons for every single feature.
Instead, you get a decent, rather simple to use menu, and you can just navigate by using your finger tips. There are still a couple of buttons left, ones that you’re frequently using such as start, stop, cancel and a red-eye removal one. A bit to the side you’ll also find the memory card slots. The printer supports SD, MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, Compact Flash and XD.
Just to be sure, let’s define what all-in-one means. The HP Photosmart C8180 offers printing, scanning and copying. Moreover, if you fancy printing out photos there are several features for amateur photography as well. The quality of the prints is good towards great. The speed of the printer is a completely different story though. If we stop to think about where it belongs , that place will most likely be a home office desk, with a user that wants to have many features in one but isn’t in a hurry to print anything.
Due to the included WiFi, this printer can handle several users all queing up their print jobs. You can connect your printer to your PC/laptop either through the USB cable (included in the pack), Bluetooth or WiFi. Setting up the networking or the printer itself is relatively easy and convenient.
The quality of the prints is most likely partially due to the fact that the C8180 uses six distinct ink cartridges (black, magenta, light magenta, cyan, light cyan and yellow). Each cartridge has its own bay underneath the printer’s front cover. The capacity of the cartridges is decent, and the black one should last for just about 660 pages. One special feature that the C8180 boasts is the dual paper input tray. You’ll be getting two separate paper trays, a 8.5 by 11 inch paper one or a 4 by 6 inch one.
There are two big fat inconveniences in the case of the Photosmart C8180 inkjet color printer, the first one being the lack of an auto document feeder. Secondly, the printing speed doesn’t really recommend it for a work environment. It’s considerably slower than most of its competitors and you can really truly feel how slow it is when you try and print a photo.
One interesting feature that you won’t find in most all-in-ones is the swivel touch screen that the C8180 includes. You’ll be able to navigate, edit photos, set up your wireless and more with the help of that LCD. Including a touchscreen was a good choice because the front panel isn’t completely covered in big and small buttons for every single feature.
Instead, you get a decent, rather simple to use menu, and you can just navigate by using your finger tips. There are still a couple of buttons left, ones that you’re frequently using such as start, stop, cancel and a red-eye removal one. A bit to the side you’ll also find the memory card slots. The printer supports SD, MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, Compact Flash and XD.
Just to be sure, let’s define what all-in-one means. The HP Photosmart C8180 offers printing, scanning and copying. Moreover, if you fancy printing out photos there are several features for amateur photography as well. The quality of the prints is good towards great. The speed of the printer is a completely different story though. If we stop to think about where it belongs , that place will most likely be a home office desk, with a user that wants to have many features in one but isn’t in a hurry to print anything.
Due to the included WiFi, this printer can handle several users all queing up their print jobs. You can connect your printer to your PC/laptop either through the USB cable (included in the pack), Bluetooth or WiFi. Setting up the networking or the printer itself is relatively easy and convenient.
The quality of the prints is most likely partially due to the fact that the C8180 uses six distinct ink cartridges (black, magenta, light magenta, cyan, light cyan and yellow). Each cartridge has its own bay underneath the printer’s front cover. The capacity of the cartridges is decent, and the black one should last for just about 660 pages. One special feature that the C8180 boasts is the dual paper input tray. You’ll be getting two separate paper trays, a 8.5 by 11 inch paper one or a 4 by 6 inch one.
There are two big fat inconveniences in the case of the Photosmart C8180 inkjet color printer, the first one being the lack of an auto document feeder. Secondly, the printing speed doesn’t really recommend it for a work environment. It’s considerably slower than most of its competitors and you can really truly feel how slow it is when you try and print a photo.