Comments on: The economics of color inkjets vs. color lasers

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 18 Jan 2004 11:16:18 +0000

Dave,
I use a BJC (Canon) 2000 ink jet printer. Color carts. cost about $11 and black costs about $4 at Sam’s Club. It alsp doubles as a scanner. This printer has been working for 6 years now, and I have only had to buy one print head for it. (After about 100 reams of paper.) The quality of the prints is very good.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 17 Jan 2004 00:25:15 +0000

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/tech/weekly/2354503

Dave,

Here is an article about a Xerox printer. I’ve never seen one, but the author seems quite excited about it…

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Jan 2004 15:03:23 +0000

Thanks for the additional insight Gary and Dave!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Jan 2004 17:00:51 +0000

Thanks for the insights on the Epsons, Gary.

Bruce, I didn't really consider durability all that much. Without having the printers here in front of me to abuse the prints, I can't exactly test anything like that (I'm not PC World or PC Magazine, and unlike some people I don't pretend to be). I can look at cost without having the printers around to handle physically.

Toner by its very nature is going to be more waterproof than the paper it's printed on and it won't smear. Since ink formulations vary, the properties of different inks will vary as well (and the printer manufacturer may very well change formulations on you over the lifetime of the printer).

Durability isn't my biggest concern; either my prints have a life expectancy measured in days, or they go into a friendly environment. But I know other people have other concerns.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Jan 2004 16:16:54 +0000

One advantage of the Epson over other inkjets is that the inks are pigment-based. This gives better resistance to fading and water.

Unfortunately, one problem with the Epson printers is the heads. These printers really like to process at least a page or two/week. Let one sit for 2-3 months and you may well clog the heads beyond repair. The pigment inks in the C64/C84 if anything make the problem worse.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Jan 2004 15:19:02 +0000

Hi Dave,

What are your thoughts on the following and do they affect your evaluation?

1. Durability of the printed product (not longevity). What I mean by this is: Is the Epson ink water soluble? I have a Canon S750 that makes great prints but the ink is very susceptible to smearing and running if it gets wet (or even damp). The degree of smearing/running depends on the type of paper used.

I think most color laser printer toner is nearly immune to this based on my limited experience.

2. Longevity of dies in the ink jet inks vs. color laser toner?

Thanks,

Bruce

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Jan 2004 08:03:44 +0000

Since I'm still working this horrible temporary job at Fry's Electronics (computer service, so I haven't sold my soul to retail yet...), I don't quite have the money to throw at printers and stuff.

So what did I get for Christmas? I got a Canon i250. It's a decent printer for the five pages a year I tend to print. ;)

On another note, anyone in Dallas that's looking for Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 Platinum needs to come to the Fry's in Plano. We've got a pricing error putting it at $49.95 instead of $99.95! I've already bought mine. :D