Best entry level printer

[firefighter]

Hi All,
I'm a small publisher outsourcing most my printing needs to a trade printer. I only do a customisation of covers of our book. Not large quantities - around 5000 clicks a month. I have an old KM 6501 but my supplier says that they will discontinue servicing it as the warranty is over and machine is more than 7 years old. I have no idea what is currently the best entry level production machine - I'm looking for advice. I'm looking for something slow with a small monthly output, but with nice print quality. The cheaper the better. The budget is 10k euro max. Could someone advise? I was looking at KM 1070L and Xerox C60, but both options seem to be too expensive.

I would appreciate any advise. I have no experience and I don't know any products from Canon, Ricoh...

 

[gregbatch]

At just 5000 clicks a month have you considered a quality printer like an Oki c931? They are about $6000 US and no clicks. Most parts and consumables are user replaceable.

 

[firefighter]

gregbatch thank you for a suggestion. How does a quality compare to entry level production units from xerox or konica minolta? As I said before speed is not a problem but I would like to get something with a decent print quality.

 

[gregbatch]

Quality is very nice, sharp detail, smooth gradients. Though heavy (like full page) solids can suffer if your consumables are near end of life, but our Xerox J75 is no different there. It can run large sheets and heavy stock (360gsm single sided and 320gsm duplex). Speed - A4: 50ppm colour, 50ppm mono; A3: 28ppm colour, 28ppm mono. I believe in the UK the correct model # is ES9431DN. Find a local Oki dealer for a demo. I think you will be very pleased.

PS - Be sure to take YOUR files and paper for the demo.

 

[firefighter]

Is it same as OKI C931dn?

http://www.okidirect.co.uk/product/...tb&_refv=a75f5924-dc15-44f1-9f71-30f6bbd6257c

Thanks. [h=2][/h]

 

[gregbatch]

Yes. Should be the same machine.

 

[AP90]

I'm all for people bringing everything in house and doing it themselves. We did about a year ago. But I have to wonder if you can really benefit from having your own printer vs. outsourcing to someone. I'm just speculating but I'd say you could find a shop close by with a high end digital machine (iGen, 1000i, or indigo) that could provide you with the highest quality at the same cost after you add in the machine lease/purchase.

 

[gregbatch]

On a cost only basis I would say that your are correct, but there is much to be said about having control over the job, especially last minute (second) tweaks.

 

[firefighter]

It is not as simple as it sound (outsourcing). We are based in a small town in Ireland - the only printer in 30km radius is not interested in printing and then stapling/binding for us. We are currently dealing with a company further away. Logistically it is a nightmare as anything stapled they can deal with - anything prefect bound - we have to do in-house anyway. Also we just employed somebody and we are trying to make him busy. On top of that waiting time for our customers will decrease. We are still going to outsource anything over 500 covers as it makes economic sense (our bulk printers have two indigo presses but at smaller quantities they charge us arm and leg) but smaller quantities - the only logical option is to get it back in-house. Thanks for the opinion anyway.

 

[Puch]

KM 1060L is the cheapest option you have. Fortunately it's output is on par (or exceed) the quality of more expensive models. Being a loyal KM user, after a heavy bargaining you might get a bare-bones model around 10K EUR.