Phaser 8400 and beyond

Color printer quest

October 5, 2004 10:02 AM from

We've been struggling with what kind of printer we need to have at the office. Some guys are into music. Others are into cars. I'm into high quality printers. In other words, I'm a geek.

The one we used to have died after 4 years -- a Phaser 850DX (aka "Sophie"). We had a newer printer, it's successor, the Phaser 8400. It is essentially the same printer. Which is okay except I was hoping for better quality in printing. It's main difference over the 850DX is speed. The 8400 prints very very fast. The 8400 is a terrific work horse color printer. I love the solid ink in it - very easy to deal with. And its output is more than good enough for most uses.

But I really want a printer that can print 12 pages per minute or higher that can also print very very high quality images. I.e. Magazine level images. I'm not that price conscious as quality is important. When you're sending screenshots of your stuff to editors, it's important that you are able to convey clearly and nicely what you are trying to get across.

So we're also looking at the Phaser 7750. It's gotten very good reviews, but I'm still not sure if it can produce the quality I'm looking for. When I say high quality, I mean very high quality. Not $1500 HP color laser printer type stuff where photos look nice if you're not looking close.

I'm not even sure if they make printers yet that do that kind of quality for under $10,000 yet. So my search continues. But if you reading this have any suggestions or pointers, please feel free to share them.

7,302 views 12 replies

Reply #1 October 5, 2004 12:27 PM from

JoeUser Forums Top

Is there any reason why you stick with the Phaser line of printers? Do they only make the wax based ink printers, or do they use powdered toner in some of their printers as well?

-- B

Reply #2 October 5, 2004 2:30 PM from

JoeUser Forums Top

If you find one let us know. Our office is using one of the cheep HP Color Lasors, and I can get better prints on a desk jet. Of course i will grow old wating for it to print.

-Blade FireLight

Reply #3 October 5, 2004 3:47 PM from

JoeUser Forums Top

[...] quality is important. When you're sending screenshots of your stuff [...]

I just have to point out that these two statements are somewhat contradictory; a screenshot is, by definition, a low-resolution image. Screenshots are somewhere along the lines of 75 to 150dpi. You don't need a 2540dpi printout (magazine quality) for that; I doubt you'll really see a noticeable difference in the quality of the image if you go above 600dpi.

(Screen size example for the less geekily inclined: say you've got a 20-inch monitor running at 1600x1200. The 20" is a diagonal measure, so your monitor is actually 16" wide and 12" tall (since monitors use a 4:3 aspect ratio). This means that your 1600 pixels are spread over 16 inches, for 100dpi.)

Reply #4 October 5, 2004 8:32 PM from

JoeUser Forums Top

I agree and yet the 1200dpi Phaser 8400 doesn't give sharp enough color for my opinion.

Reply #5 October 5, 2004 8:48 PM from

JoeUser Forums Top

Well... since when I am looking for a color laser printer it would be for low volume and/or home printing, I am wary of price, I would choose the HP 3500 which comes out to something like $100 when you subtract the cost of the included toners.

Maybe you should try the Lexmark C752, a 2400x2400 printer for not more than $2500.
http://reviews.cnet.com/Lexmark_C752dn_printer_color_laser/4505-3155_7-30598277.html?tag=pdtl-list

Reply #6 October 5, 2004 8:50 PM from

JoeUser Forums Top

It could be from CYMK limitation when compared to RGB.

You could try one of those crazily priced 7 color printer ( CYMK as well as 2 more colors and another "warm" black. ) It could look better if it could use more colors range, especially in lighter range (CYMK's weakness).

Or it could be sharpness, or the printer's ability to precisely place the color spot at right spot. If it keeps over or under-placing the colors it could look blurry or less sharp than it is on screen.

Reply #7 October 5, 2004 8:52 PM from

JoeUser Forums Top

Found one as example.

http://www.smalldog.com/wag14486/

Reply #8 October 5, 2004 9:05 PM from

JoeUser Forums Top

Hmm interesting http://www.freeprinters.com/index.html

Reply #9 October 7, 2004 11:08 AM from

JoeUser Forums Top

Inkjet printers aren't going to cut it.

While they can do the job, they don't print nearly fast enough and require special paper to get the quality we would need.

Reply #10 November 7, 2004 9:31 PM from

JoeUser Forums Top

Phaser 8400 is 600dpi with an enhanced photo mode that gives apparent 2400 dpi quality.

The 7700 series is going to give you a little better quality (like the 6250 would) in some reguards as you don' t have the scratchy surface but now you have a shiney surface like most other lasers.

As for the freeprinters link, Algorithm Consulting is an authorized reseller of that program although it is not something that is done through freeprinters.com. Feel free to message me at [email protected] if you want additional information.

To give you some heads up on the program, there is a few requirements.

1) Must be a business in busines for more than one year
2) Must pass a bank credit report

These are the same requirements www.freeprinters.com uses. If you meet these requirements and are interested I can give you more details.

Reply #11 November 7, 2004 9:37 PM from

JoeUser Forums Top

The reason he sticks with Phaser line I am going to guess as Tektronix makes the best color printers in this price range. The have lower cost per page than most any color laser on the market (10c/page compared to 12c/page on most). The output is much better than most color lasers. The speed is amazing for these printers starting at 24ppm in full color. They are very attractively priced at $999 for the base model up to $1999 for the loaded one.

Overall, they are the best option for affordable color printing at a sub $15k+ price mark

Reply #12 November 8, 2004 1:03 PM from

JoeUser Forums Top

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