A3 LASER PRINTER onto 350gsm CARD..??? Any suggestions for a start-up design studio?

[m@MAD2create]

Hi All, I'm looking for an A3 LASER PRINTER, that will print onto 350gsm card. New to this type of equipment I see that it's a minefield! Many printers out there but few allow thicker media. Those that do are several 1000's in the current market. Is there a Laser printer that has been around a few years, that prints good quality for pitures as well as text that can do this?

I'm thinking LASER rather than Inkjet, as the sheets will be handled a lot and carried outside, and would hate for inks to run from a drop of rain. Also the consumables in the long run are cheaper, and they print faster.

I really would appreciate any help. Thanks, Matt.

 

[Kunnajar]

Hi All, I'm looking for an A3 LASER PRINTER, that will print onto 350gsm card. New to this type of equipment I see that it's a minefield! Many printers out there but few allow thicker media. Those that do are several 1000's in the current market. Is there a Laser printer that has been around a few years, that prints good quality for pitures as well as text that can do this?

I'm thinking LASER rather than Inkjet, as the sheets will be handled a lot and carried outside, and would hate for inks to run from a drop of rain. Also the consumables in the long run are cheaper, and they print faster.

I really would appreciate any help. Thanks, Matt.

Hello Xerox phaser 7800

 

[m@MAD2create]

Hi, Thanks for that, I heard great things about the Xerox, but it's just to pricey for me at £4000.

Is there a previous Xerox machine that still will print on 350gsm?

 

[chrisg42]

Talk to a local digital printer. You may well find it cheaper and easier to get the jobs printed for you, rather than doing it yourself. Even if you can find something lower than £4000, perhaps an OKI, then the consumable prices are probably going to come as a shock.

 

[m@MAD2create]

Hi Chris, thanks for the suggestion. This is what I intend to do for other work that is too big for the A3, but I need ownership & control, and fast turnaround for the A3 work. Have had a look at the OKI range & they do look promising. I may have to drop the weight to 300gsm & get more printers into contention. The inks I know can get expensive, and I hear a lot of bad stories about manufacture copy-count locking the printer up, and also card weight specs of printers not matching up in reality.

It seems a minefield..!?!

 

[OkiTech]

You can buy something like konica minolta c6501 or xerox color 550 and toners for those are reasonably chep considering the yeild... €4000 for 350 gsm printer is supertight especially if buying new... Generally you figute out what you want than create the budget for it otherwise you sound as "I want to buy a private jet for 100,000... No, stop, reality check, pretty much anything over 250 gsm - real money.

 

[m@MAD2create]

UnlimitedBT, appreciate your comment, I'll check those printers out, thanks. . I have to admit I'm new to this line of printing, and did not realise that the restraints on material printing were so critical even at A3 size.

 

[OkiTech]

When you get in to the A3+ size printers this is where equipment become really expencive. There are plenty of printers that can run that size within you budget but going over 300gsm it is a big boys game. The phaser 7800 is a king of phasers, not a bad machine overall but comes with the price, oki cx3641 can do 330gsm but it is also more than you planned to spend and these are most likely least inexpencive devices, the other ones are nearly $40,000 they are that kind machines that, having a volume, you lease it with a contract - about 5-6 cent per click any size which isnt bad cosidering that all parts,service, toner are included. If you buy the printer, oki or xerox phaser 7500 / 7800 it is relatively cheap to get trough your door but than toners drums fusers and other maintenance componenets become your dayly expence. If you plan on printing just a few thousand pages per month leasing the big boy toy isnt commercially viable jist buy the printer, and other way around - if you plan on running production / high volume, big machine is way to go.

 

[m@MAD2create]

UnlimitedBT, once again many thanks for your advice! really appreciate it. I'm now looking at the Oki you mention (notice there are other Oki that can handle just over 300gsm. Hopefully find a supplier in the UK. As well as the printer the paper/card has a big factor and I notice a brand called "Image Digicolor Card FSC A3 350gsm" that reports fully operational on laser printers, I guess only those that will handle it. Do you have any experience with this material or similar? The lease per click is something else I'll look at more closely, as I reckon I'll be printing approx 70% coverage on each sheet. Thanks again.