Envelope Printing

S

sykomac

Member
Good day all.

I'm not sure if I am posting this in the correct forum or not. If this is not the correct forum, please let me know and I will post it elsewhere.

We are a high end Stationery and Invitation printer and a lot of our customers require us to add guest addresses to out envelopes (variable data).

I setup all the addresses using data merge in InDesign.

We've been using a Canon Pixma ink jet printer to print the addresses. This has been working Ok for now. However, we do have problems with some types of envelopes. It all depends on the stock, finish, etc.

Does anyone out there have a suggestion for a better printer for this? It would only be used for the envelope addressing. Doesn't matter to me whether it is inkjet or laser - just need something that will work better than what we have.

Thanks,
Paul
 
Schnitzel,

Thanks, but we were more interested in a smaller unit. Basically a color laser or inkjet printer. The Xante machine is a bit pricey for us.
 
Not sure how cheap you are looking to go but an Oki CX3641 with a Straight Shooter might be a good solution. BTUnlimited can probably get you a refurbed CX3641 but the Straight Shooter you'd probably have to buy new. The CX3641 (or maybe the CX9650?) is the same engine as the Xante -- Xante actually uses the Oki engine. Xante adds some Oki firmware and modifies some parts to change paper handling specs I think but other than that it's basically the same machine. As for the Straight Shooter I've never used one myself but always been interested. If I could find a demo locally I might actually buy one but I can't seem to find anyone nearby that has one. Oh and there are a handful of Straight Shooter competitors. Each have their own designs... some feed envelopes bottom up, some top down... all that I've seen are designed with either the CX3641 or CX9650 in mind.
 
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We are actually looking in the $600 or less range. More of something in the line of a higher end Ink Jet or just a color laser. One that would have rear feed for envelopes.

Probably not going to find anything, but thought it was worth a try to see if anyone else had any experience with something.

Thanks,
 
I'm getting the impression you're looking to spend less than $500? I'm not sure you will find much in that range that is good with envelopes.
 
Craig,

I'm sorry if you think that we have to spend a lot of money to be a high end printer.

We put out quality work for dealers across the country.

We are just looking for something that will do guest addressing on envelopes and are trying to save some money in the process.

We deal with a lot of different envelopes, different stocks, etc. and are trying to get something that will work for most of them, but still not pay an arm and a leg.
 
Hi. Whatever you will deside to buy to run those envelopes, make sure it has a straight paper path, i.e. straight line from paper tray to the exit tray. If printer constructed such way that envelope must go on turns and bends - it is not what you want. Generally, make a choice please, people here can advice on something that prints, i.e. - just prints and fits your budget or does what you described it needs to do but not both. For choice #1, go to Staples and buy something within $500, choice #2 was answered more than once in previous replies. I do too want something that is superslick, revs to 10,000 rpm, has 500+ hp, has top speed of 250 miles per hour and cost $30k but when I wake up its gone :)
I understand that your print volume may not be high enought to justify printer that costs thousands, sadly, industry did not cook the solution for you. Different "budget" printers will handle envelopes with mixed results, some better than others but generally unhappy & unstable.
 
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I also started with a canon pixma printer and then moved to a Lucidiom eq-9800 that I converted back to Oki C9800 spec (so it uses Oki Toner and Drums, not Lucidiom) but I got tired of all the issues that these machines have and upgraded to the brand new Oki C931. It was about $4600 for the brand new printer and worth every penny.

I know it's a lot of money but I've been down the road you're on. I printed envelopes with Pixma's from probably 2004 - last September and got tired of the feeding issues and information not looking great. In theory the C9800 would have done the job just fine, but the envelopes rubbing right against drums just isn't/wasn't working for me. In my opinion, the drums don't last long enough to be worth while, and the machine is too picky when it comes to humidity.

The C931 uses a transfer belt to transfer the toner from the drums to the envelope, and that results in a much nicer image. I'm waiting to hear from Straight Shooter on when the feeder will be ready for that printer, but it holds about 50 envelopes in the bypass tray, which gets the job done.

Food for thought...
 
What about upgrading to replace a few machines with one that is more versatile? While we were shopping around to upgrade our DC260, we looked at Richo. I cannot remember the model name, its a production digital printer that they say prints on most standard envelopes, no need for special digital envelopes. Way out of the price range you said, but it might be worth looking for a different solution that addresses a few things.
 
sykomac said:
Craig,

I'm sorry if you think that we have to spend a lot of money to be a high end printer.

We put out quality work for dealers across the country.

We are just looking for something that will do guest addressing on envelopes and are trying to save some money in the process.

We deal with a lot of different envelopes, different stocks, etc. and are trying to get something that will work for most of them, but still not pay an arm and a leg.
Click to expand...
Don't get your panties in a wad over my comment. I bet when one of your clients gasps at your pricing you tend to reply with the same tone.
 
We have 3 of the Epson Workforce 1100s that we have used for envelope addressing. It is pretty fast. One person has trouble keeping up with more than two of them. If your talking a a thousand or so then this is a cheap option.
 
I bought a c931 but returned it - many issues for me. Admittedly, most or all can/will be addressed. I just ran out of time and patience.

Costing: Belt and fuser cost is equivalent to the 9800 (even after factoring the increase from 100M to 150M life) and the toner is much cheaper. However, I don't know how this new printer can be cost justified, at least as far as the drums are concerned. Best price I could find was $350. each for color, $210. for black. Same 42M life as the 9800 and twice as expensive. Ouch!

The bypass feeder (tray) is now semi-internal and not as accessible. You can't continuous feed envelopes by slipping a new stack under the existing one. The printer will shut down if you try. A Straightshooter is the only remedy. However, clearing jams with an auxiliary feeder will be a pain as the clamshell design has been replaced with a drop-down panel. The feeder will have to be backed-off to gain access.

Registration on heavy stock is now dead-on, which is a plus. But I experienced more curl than with the 9800.

A mixed bag, at least for me.

Regarding the reference to the HP Pro x551, I own two and they are mind-blowing for flat sheet jobs (Colorlok stock recommended). They will run envelopes, albeit slowly (1.2 - 1.5M per hr), and with some crinkling depending on the size. Tray will hold about 80 #10's at a time. Attach a CIS and you will have a fast, inexpensive printing press on your desktop.
 
It was easy to cost justify the price of the C931 when I factored in envelope waste and lost productivity trying to figure out why things didn't look good. (replace toner, then drum, then clean this part, and that part, and blah blah blah) The drum price went up and the toner went down. When I started calculating out based on those prices, it all washed out in the end. A couple pennies per piece is not enough to make or break me.

If I have heavy coverage, full bleed, or quantities above 2500, I just print flat and convert.

I know it's not for everyone, but for what I need, and what I do, it's superior to the 9800.

I don't need the machine to print on anything other than envelopes, so curl isn't an issue for me.
 
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