I Need A New Printer.

I just got home with a pack of really nice 65 lb. premium cardstock and signed up with Mr. Steiner... Ready to make some new album pages and go to work... NOT! My little Lexmark inkjet printer just laughed at me. I am determined to get this hobby that I have just jumped back into off to a good start, so I need to purchase a new printer. I'm not very "tech" savvy so maybe you all can help me. There is a very nice recent thread on this site about making custom pages but not much talk about printers. What are your recommendations.

I have no answer for you ... but I will read any answers with extreme interest. I don't think my current inkjet is up to the task of printing album pages on heavy stock. So thanks for asking!!

ronv...Lexmark is a Canadian printer..Go buy a stand alone laserjet printer at least..

Robert

I'm printing exhibit pages on 65 lb paper on an OLD HP photosmart printer, and they turn out good. You can check out the newer versions at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...mart+printer

Lately I've been sending any larger selections of "Steiner" pages to FedEx office for printing. However, at home I have 2 different printers both of which work well:

HP Officejet Pro 8500 - it's a scanner, fax, printer combo unit. No problems with the unit and it works from Mac's, PC's and Linux without problems.

HP OfficeJet 7110 Wide Format Printer - I now use this almost exclusively for any album pages. It supports larger paper sizes including Scott International Pages. Largest paper size it supports is 13x19. It prints out better quality than the 8500. I print to this from my Mac and Linux boxes (got rid of my last PC). It also has airprint to support iOS devices.

I barely use the scanner anymore. There are some very good scanning apps for your iPhone or Android smart phone, so unless you have any special scanning needs, a smart phone can handle most of your needs these days.

I think you will find that the recommendations are as plentiful as there are brands and models of printers.

I do know that there has been one school of thought on this (and other) stamp forums advising collectors against printing their own stamp album pages on ink jet printers, favoring instead laser printers as the preferred printing method. There is some validity to that given the fact that since ink jets use a water soluble ink, any moisture that may get on the album page (i.e. think using stamp hinges or mounts) could easily smear the album page or (in a worst case scenario) could actually do damage to the stamp(s) mounted on that page.

On the other hand, I know of many who have used ink jet printers for stamp album pages with good success, so a lot comes down to how careful you are with the album pages and your own stamp mounting techniques.

pk-short is correct..But, I don't run Windows, I use Linux and I have an older HP1200 laserjet and it works fine..But just remember when you buy an ALL-IN-ONE printer/scanner/copier you don't have the best world of each..You loose a little off each one...Stand alone printer may be your best bet.

Robert

Did you adjust the printer to accept thicker paper pages to print on? My printer got stuck and didn't work until the print head was adjusted to print on thicker paper.

Laser printers can be purchased at Staples nowadays for cheap money. I bought a color laser printer for $179 several months ago on sale and have printed over 1000 pages on the original black toner cartridge so far. Black and White laser printers can be purchased for under $100

As Robert says, an all-in-one isn't necessarily the best option in quality or money terms. I looked at all-in-one colour lasers, gasped a little at the price, and bought an HP inkjet for colour printing and scanning and a Samsung laser for black and white, which I use for most printing, including album pages. I didn't even need to ask a young person to set them up for me.

Geoff

Consider 'refurnished' printers. I bought a high end $4000 laser printer for a fraction of that cost 7 years ago and it has held up great. Large companies often swap out all their printers, so look for a refurbishers who have a large number of the same models. Then look for the specific printers which have lower amount of printer pages (found in the printer configuration).
But these corporate workhorses are built to last and you can end up with a great printer that you normally would not be able to afford.
Don

Since I work at a thrift store I can tell you the bargains and choices are many. The average price of a printer is $5.00. It is an all in one and has been trouble free. Usually you have to buy the ink so you'll want to check online for the ink which is the real cost of the printer. I chose a Canon printer 7 years ago and I think as long as I stick to windows 7 I'll be fine. I prefer to use 110 pound paper.

Don,

Are those "corporate workhorses" able to print color? I've been retired a few years now, but before that, I don't recall the high volume laser printers commonly being able to do color. Now color might not be necessary for album pages, but it is something people often want in a printer these days. Still, I thought your recommendation was interesting.

Basil

I one I spoke of is a color laser. While the color output is very nice, it is not up to the photo quality of some of the high end ink jets. Quality laser paper helps.

You should look closely at the cost of the consumables, corporations sometime get rid of them because the toner cost has gotten too high. I often start with a list of features wanted and then shop it for about a month.

Another benefit is that refurbished printers have been in the marketplace for a while, they are not the bleeding edge. This means you can easily dig up reviews and get a good understanding of other's experiences living with them.

I've purchased 7-8 refurbished printers in this manor (most purchased for other folks) in the last 12 years and have not had one bad experience Seek a larger, well known refurbisher; they will have the largest inventory. I also like to see and test the printer, so I try to use a refurbisher that I can actual visit myself (even if it is road trip of an hour or two).

Keep in mind that some of these printer are real behemoths, full outfitted with oversize paper handling and extra trays they can end up weighing over 100 pounds. You need to have the office space to set them up. Also, they are not well known for meager power consumption. (Powering one up might dim your house lights a bit!)
Don

I have been using a cannon image class laser printer for a couple of years now. Its just black and white but they have color models as well. The cartridges usually standard HP variety and can buy replacement pretty cheap off of Amazon. One thing you could do is take your paper/cardstock to the Office store and try printing a page using the demo model.

I have a ink jets printer, a Canon Pixma ip2200, for maybe 10 years, don't remember exactly. I print on 65 lbs stock cards all my Steiner pages and some more I make for my thematic collections. I put only 6 or 7 sheets at a time when I print. Overall no problems but I find the ink cartridge expensive. Daniel