OKI 9431 alternatives more suited for our business

[Frankicks]

Hi,

We run a small stationery business and print on sticker paper at home using our HP Smarttank printer.
We have outgrown this printer, it is very slow, pixelated, and very limiting in terms of paper gsm and size.

For the last few months, I've been researching printers that fit our current and future business and came out to the Oki 9431 (CMYK)
The versatility of the machine seems great, however, the (color) quality of the prints is disappointing while testing in the showroom. Colors are very important for us since we create art.
Besides the quality, I just have a feeling that it's an overkill for us. There must be better alternatives for us.

Some more information:
- Budget: $10000
- Paper size: up to a3
- Use case: matte sticker paper (95gsm), clear vinyl, cardstock (300gsm)
- Speed: must be reasonably fast, not slow like a Canon photo printer
- Quality: very high-quality printing
- Printing amount: around 1000-2000 pages a month

To get a better understanding of what we create, take a look at our website: www.lettoonstore.com

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[SoggyWinter]

Congratulations on the business growth! The OKI printer consumables and parts are expensive, so you have two arguments for going a different direction. Do you see scaling up to 100,000 sheet per month within a few years? If so, it might be worth financing something like a Ricoh C7500.

You're at an awkward print volume where consumer printers are too small, but commercial grade equipment is waaay overkill. I'd outsource the printing and focus on growing sales.

 

[SoggyWinter]

A pair of Epson P5000 inkjet printers or an Epson T-series CAD printer might be an option if the math works on ink cost, the color looks good, and the supported media works for you. The P-series would offer a wider color gamut, but with more expensive ink utilization. A 24" T-series roll to roll with auto-cut might be able to produce the sheets that you need cutting from a roll. Both Epson printers mentioned above are single side only.

 

[gazfocus]

Personally, I don't like the way the Oki printers print colour. If you print a solid yellow for example, it prints a sort of hatched pattern rather than a solid yellow. For me, this puts it at a severe disadvantage regardless of the cost of toner/drums, etc.

The issue you're going to have is even something like the Konica Bizhub MFP's aren't good enough for production printing really. I don't know if we've always just had poor luck with the refurbs we've bought but the quality of colour prints has never been great and the colour consistency is just not there. For general office use though, they're great.

Most inkjet printers are going to be slow and even a relatively 'fast' inkjet like the Epson T series will be really slow compared to the speeds of the Oki or similar. We had to print a business card job on our Epson T series printer when our Xerox Versant went down. It took around 4 minutes to print a single SRA3 sheet one side and we had to do around 100 sheets double sided...was a painful process.

The other problem you're going to come across is that if you're doing this from home, a commercial printer (such as a Xerox Versant) would likely require an electrical upgrade in your house.

I think for where you're at, I would be looking at something like the Xerox Primelink printers which run on standard power cords. I would get it on a service contract where you pay x per print which will help you with working out your pricing etc. The Primelink replaced the Xerox C60/C70 so you could also have a look to see if you can find a refurbished C60/C70 from a dealer that will give you a service contract on it. In the UK, the C60's are only about £3k.

As a first port of call for the above, I'd look on eBay to see if there are any dealers in your country that mention service/maintenance contracts in the listings.

 

[jwheeler]

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

We have an OKI and I'd suggest you avoid it for the reasons already listed. It's not overkill, it's just not a good machine.

Since you're growing, and quality is really important, you might consider moving up to a light production model. Each of the 4 major vendors (Xerox, Ricoh, Canon, and Konica Minolta) have units to consider. The lowest cost is probably going to be the PrimeLink series or the EC70 from Xerox, then next priced up from there would be Konica's AccurioPrint C4065. Ricoh's light production unit would be the C5300 series. I know it will take a bit of work, but it's worth going to the showrooms for each of these manufacturers to demo the machines. Bring your own files and your own material to test. If you're lucky, you might have a multi-line dealer in your area that sells two or 3 brands in one place.

All of those machines might look a little intimidating, but that's because they're showing them with optional accessories. You can get them configured with just a bypass tray and catch tray, so it's just the main engine. The Xerox units have the option to add white in case you want to start printing on clear materials, or colored cardstock.

Lastly, consider financing or leasing the machine instead of buying outright with cash. This allows you to keep some capital for other equipment you might want as you grow, and a lease allows the opportunity to upgrade after the contract term.

Additionally, you'll want to consider a maintenance contract. Since you're growing, estimate a higher monthly volume (say 5,000 prints per month) to get a more competitive rate. This is the arrangement that ~95% of us print shops use on here. The manufacturer charges you a cost per copy (~$0.05 USD per page). For this fee, they will provide all of the toner, parts, and they will also do all of your repairs. As your volume increases, you'll see that parts need to be replaced more often. Since quality is so important, you want to keep the machine tuned up. The fixed cost per page allows you to calculate your profits easier too. By buying your own ink and parts, your costs will fluctuate.