Looking for a laser printer....

[sassyjo]

I have been reading the posts on laser printers and I am considering purchasing one. I currently make my own labels on an inkjet printer and I am not really having any problems but I have seen such nice, and more defined labels products in craft shops and I am wondering if that is because they are using a laser printer.

Do most laser printers work with the Avery & Printmaster programs? I had tried using an HP inkjet and it did not do very well printing labels. No matter how many times you adjusted the label in the program it would always print it differently. So I am little concerned that a laser may not work with these programs. Any information would be great appreciated!

[Raggedy Dani]

Any printing programs works with any printers. It's not the printer itself.

I just brought myself a HP laser 2600 printer and it's best investment ever.

After spending hours and weeks going to stores and searching online about printers, HP beats them all.

Now mind you, This was a shocker to me but then again it made sense.

Toner inks are 90 dollars each, there's 4 of them. When they go out, time to replace all 4 of them lol that BITES.

now this was explained to me, as i know it's true, Reg printers we use, we'd go out and replace inks that cost us round 40-75 dollars for all 4 colors every month or so, depending on how much you use it. The toners last up to 4-5 months, so money there is right as if you were replacing the regular inks every month/half. bumming thing with toners is we can't get refill kit..lol for emergency.

Anyhow, Watch the sales on weekend for printers, My printer reg price was $399.00 and I got it for $319.00

The different between HP 1600 and HP 2600 is that 1600 comes with half amount of ink as 2600 comes with full amount of ink, saving you alot of money for just extra 80 dollars.

So I opted for 2600 due to fact I didn't want to have to replace inks sooner that later. and for extra $80 dollars sure beats 90 dollars per toner replacement x 4 LOL

Hope you find what you're looking for. Any printing label programs works with any printers.

Dani

[dpowell]

I also recently got a HP 2600N color laser and it is great. For the price you really can't beat it.

I got mine at newegg.com for $339 including 2 - 3 day shipping. Can't recommend them enough for anything computer related. I'm half way across the country and still get my orders 2 days after I order.

Also, for toner, it is $70 per color there including shipping so you'll save a bunch there as well. The toner carts are good for 2500 sheets black and 2000 sheets each color at 5% coverage. That's a lot more than you'll get from inkjet cartridges by a long shot. If you figure out the cost on that compared to ink it's quite impressive (although I don't have the numbers in front of me right now.)

Another thing - if you are looking to make clear waterproof labels don't try with an inkjet (I did at first, even spraying them with clear acrylic before removing from the sheet and the ink still ran off easily if it got wet.)

Clear Laser printer labels will be waterproof without doing anything else to them (that was my number one reason for getting the printer) - but having low cost printing that looks clean and crisp is a nice bonus.

[sudsnwicks]

I used to have an inkjet and was refilling the ink like every 2 weeks. It was such a guzzler and now that I've switched to a laser printer, it's so much more economical.

[Beth-VT]

Dani, have a couple q's for ya. I'm looking for another laser and have been looking at the HP 2600 (although I swore years ago I'd never buy HP anything, lol).

I've seen the way the cartridges are set up, and based on the print times, does this act like a one pass? Or do the color cartridges each have to rotate through per printed page?

Also, how close can you print to the edges? My Minolta 2300 only goes .2" from the edge and I need something that does at the most .125.... borderless would be even better. (My 2" rounds are full color to the edges, and my label sheets are die cut at .125 from the edge, which means the 2 outer columns are useless :undecided ). TIA.

[Raggedy Dani]

Dani, have a couple q's for ya. I'm looking for another laser and have been looking at the HP 2600 (although I swore years ago I'd never buy HP anything, lol).

I've seen the way the cartridges are set up, and based on the print times, does this act like a one pass? Or do the color cartridges each have to rotate through per printed page?

Also, how close can you print to the edges? My Minolta 2300 only goes .2" from the edge and I need something that does at the most .125.... borderless would be even better. (My 2" rounds are full color to the edges, and my label sheets are die cut at .125 from the edge, which means the 2 outer columns are useless :undecided ). TIA.

ok not sure on one pass or rotate LOL not sure on that.

I can get close to edge pretty close. I get exact printing thru out the pages. no off lined anywhere.

I love my printer and I wouldn't ask for anything Different.

Maybe dpowell can answer that technical question about the pass and rotate lol Hope I helped somewhat on your questions lol

Thanks

Dani

[kittykat]

dpowell, what type of clear labels are you using, the ones from online labels/labelsbythesheet? Also, are you printing in colour on these or just black?

If you print in colour, what setting are you using?

Sorry for all the questions, I have the same printer but haven't used it yet and am trying to decide on what labels to order.

Thanks!

[sassyjo]

Thank all of you for your answers. I appreciate it! I just never realized how much better laser prints than a inkjet.

I worked as a church secretary and we had a laser printer but it only printed in black and it was a hassle sometimes to get it to print the layout that you wanted. So it kinda turned me on the laser's until I started reading posts on here.

And I have seen these really nice labels that look sort of shiny and I wondered how they did that and so exact.

Now I just need to decide where to purchase. And will my leftover brown kraft labels work in a laser if they are not laser quality? I have quite a few.

I'm actually an Epson person so purchasing anything but that is hard but if you guys say they are great I will take a chance on it. Sounds like you know what you are talking about and have done your homework and have the information that I need. Thanks again!

[Raggedy Dani]

I use my laser with my kraft labels and it comes out shiny and it stands out greatly! Which is why I love my laser printer!!! so well worth it and makes my labels look sharp too. :highfive:

Dani

[dpowell]

kittykat, I use the clear labels from labelsbythesheet in 2" x 4", 1.8" x 1.8", and 2" x 2 5/8" printing in color - setting the printer on "transparency" settings. Also, I manual feed the label sheets into tray 1 when I do labels.

HTH, any more questions feel free to ask.

[Raggedy Dani]

kittykat, I use the clear labels from labelsbythesheet in 2" x 4", 1.8" x 1.8", and 2" x 2 5/8" printing in color - setting the printer on "transparency" settings. Also, I manual feed the label sheets into tray 1 when I do labels.

HTH, any more questions feel free to ask.

hey sounds like you might be able to answer my question, which I was gonna ask Office max next time i go....lol

Sometime i get error saying paper jam in tray 2....now where's that and there's nothing there lol

2nd, how do you feed into 2nd tray??? Curious.

Dani

[dpowell]

Sassyjo, I hear you on the epson thing. I love my epson inkjet. Too bad they didn't make a laser printer, but this HP 2600 is treating me very nicely.

Beth-VT, to answer your question, the HP 2600N is a one-pass printer so you'll get the same print speed for black or color. I've seen those 4-pass printers and they are sloooowww. Which for a laser printer this is not (especially for its price).

[dpowell]

Raggedy Dani, Tray 2 is the tray where you pull it out to put in a bunch of paper. Tray one is the slot with the two slides you can see from the front (you have to load one sheet at a time in there).

I did notice that I would get jams in tray 2 when I tried running very heavy cardstock prints through there and also the sheets came out a bit curled. So I feed heavy cardstock through tray 1 as well.

I use the sheet tray (tray 2) for the paper I use for invoices / receipts, catalogs, brochures, etc.

[sassyjo]

Okay, I checked out the website newegg.com and it looks like they have some really great prices but the one costs 299.99 and then there is another one that is 192.99 but it has OEM after the name of the item. This might be a stupid question but what exactly does that mean?

Is that a reconditioned one? Wasn't sure so I thought that I would ask.

You guys have me all excited about this!!! I have never had what you would call a real good printer. I really like the Epson but they don't do a crystal clear label.

[dpowell]

That open box wasn't there when I got mine. It is $100 less, but I'd still stay away from it. That means it was an open box (customer return) so who knows how much toner, etc. they used out of it.

The 299.99 was what I paid for mine (plus 29.99 shipping) which isn't bad for a 60lb. printer box.

[Raggedy Dani]

Thank you Dpowell....that's exactly what happens with card stock etc.

So I'll feed it in manually from now on...thanks!!

I got mine from Office Max, So if I were you, I'd check in with Office Max, Staples etc. If staples have a sale and office max don't, take the ad in, They will honor it...vice versa,

Dani

[sassyjo]

dpowell-Thank you for clearing that up. Just wasn't sure what that might have meant.

And when you purchase the printers new do they usually come with a good amount of ink?

[dpowell]

They come with full toner cartridges - listed at 2500 sheets black and 2000 sheets for each color (at 5% coverage). That's quite a bit of printing i'd say.

[sassyjo]

Just wanted to let you guys know that I ordered a HP Laser Printer 2600N and it should be here tomorrow...

I just want to thank you guys for helping me decide what to buy. I hope I can figure out how to use it but if not I know all I have to do is read the posts here because it looks like there is alot of valuable information on this board.

I am so excited!!!

[graywritingdog]

I have a b/w laser printer. Dell 1710. It works great! But I need color on my labels. I'll be buying a lazer printer in the next few weeks. Thanks for all the reviews!

Jennifer

[eugenia]

I love my Dell 3110CN. Not all laser printers ship with full toner cartridges. Some come with starter cartridges, so keep that in mind when comparing prices.

[Beth-VT]

Another vote for the Dell that E has. I'm gonna have to replace my Minolta here in a while, and I'm looking at the HP 2605, and the Dell. We have the Dell at work, and it is sweet.

[prairieannie]

I love my HP 2600n! I have wondered so many times how the heck I thought I'd have gotten by without it! My labels look 50 times better printed on this machine than they ever did with ink. There is just no comparing the two!! I use lots of kraft labels, and lots of color, and I couldn't be happier! I highly recommend it to anyone needing a laser for labels!

[MsDammit]

I just got a HP 1600 & boy were you guys right about the difference between laser & inkjet. I'm still trying to figure out what type of label to use though. I got some samples of the crystal clear labels but the blue in my label looks purple-grrr. Maybe if I switch the color to purple it'll print out blue??lol Question for all you crystal clear users, how well does the label hold up on squeeze bottles? I really liked the vinyl labels for inkjet cuz they didn't crease up, I tried the polyester labels for laser printers but they didn't stick as well as the vinyl or crystal clear. Ok sorry to babble, time to go fiddle around with my printer some more.

[MarsBars]

Hi guys, after reading your posts I bit the bullet and bought an HP2600N yesterday! LOVE IT! It prints so clear and crisp I can't believe the difference it makes, esp on clear labels!

I also used it in M&P with water soluble paper and wow it didn't even blur one bit!

They are on sale right now at Office Depot and Best Buy for $299! I got mine at Office Max with the price match since it's closer though. What was I thinking waiting all of this time!

THANKS!