Need advise on printer

[timwhit]

I have a HP Laserjet 6L which has been great for the last 5 years or so up until last year when the rollers started to go on it. It has gotten pretty bad. Unless it is loaded up almost all the way with paper it will grab 20-40 sheets at a time. I paid $400 for this thing awhile back and it has probably printed 20,000 pages of paper with the original set of rollers so it's not like I got ripped off or anything.

So the question is do you think I should attempt to replace the rollers on it? I have never really worked on printers before, I could probably do it but it might get ugly. I don't know where I would even get rollers for it.

Or should I get a new/used printer to replace it? I have thought about getting an old Laserjet 4 or 5, one of the big ones that has been serviced off of eBay. Or I could get a new one. I really haven't looked into any of the new printers lately. Inkjets make me want to puke, I almost never print anything that would need color, so I would only consider getting a laser printer. Shipping on a big used Laserjet might get kinda expensive though.

So what should I do?

 

[Prof.Wizard]

Technology in printers (especially in software control) has advanced much the last 5 years. I would suggest you buy a new one.

Are you happy with HP as a brand...? If yes, stick with it... meaning: buy the model of HP that meets your needs.

 

[Tea]

Don't buy a new HP. HP printers (and their other products too, come to think of it) have gone way, way downhill sinnce the days of the 6L.

 

[Prof.Wizard]

I have an EPSON. Before it I had a Lexmark.
Satisfied with both. Apart the initialization noise all EPSONs do, I'm pleased with the quality of the text/images/photos and the price of new cartridges.

 

[Mercutio]

Don't necessarily listen to Tannin. He has a fever right now.
The 2200-series workgroup printer is a perfectly nice little unit. Its little 1x00-series brother is a piece of crap, though. Of course, any HP with a model number above 4000 is a marvelous printer. Not that you could afford such a beast.

Roller replacement really isn't that tough. Buried on HP's site are instructions for replacing rollers on just about all their printers. I don't know how much a replacement kit costs, though.

LJ IIIs and IVs are awesome things. Indestructible, really. Shipping is killer, even if the printer is cheap. It wouldn't surprise me at all if ground shipping cost $35 on a LJIII. But, the good news is, that's about what the printer will cost, too (OK, probably more like $50). I'd say that's do-able.

For the rest, Brother makes a decent printer. Used Xerox printers are good, too.

20,000 pages is an awfully short life for any laser printer, though. Your 6L is just a baby.

 

[time]

HP printers (and their other products too, come to think of it) have gone way, way downhill sinnce the days of the 6L.

Holy smoke! I thought they were already in the valley with the 6L!

20,000 pages from that toy doesn't surprise me one bit. Sorry.

You can replace the rollers; lots of people have, but I personally would just want to get rid of it.

You could adopt a James/Pradeep approach and buy a used workgroup printer on eBay, but if it's a Lexmark, be prepared to take out a loan to buy consumables. :mrgrn:

 

[i]

I don't know where I would even get rollers for it.

Right here:

http://partsurfer.hp.com/

All the rollers for that printer are still available. The cost would depend on which roller(s) you need to replace. They range anywhere from $0.40 up to $33.00. In other words, pretty darn cheap. You need to figure out which rollers you need (the diagrams on the PartSurfer site should do it).

If you wanted to do a complete overhaul, for $166.00 you can get a maintenance kit for your 6L:

"Maintenance Kit (120V) - Most common wear parts - includes, transfer roller, pickup roller, separation pad, idler roller assembly and fusing assembly - Procedure requires service manual"

I'm not sure if you'd really need the service manual to use the Maintenance Kit or not. Anyone ever overhauled a LJ 6? I haven't, so I can't say for sure. I've dealt with the 4, 2100, and 4xxx series HP LaserJet printers, and found them all to be completely serviceable by anyone with some patience, care, and a decent mechanical ability.

I also disagree with Tannin, and agree with Mercutio. Tannin is incorrect - HP still makes excellent printers. However, they also make a lot of crappy printers. The challenge is you have to figure out which is which. And that's where I agree with Mercutio: the 2200 series is a good choice (as is its predecessor, the 2100 series). Same holds true for the 4000/4050/4100 series. Those printers are absolutely fantastic.

Avoid HP DeskJets, unless you're looking at their huge format models.

 

[timwhit]

Is the Laserjet 5 a very good printer? Or would it be a better idea to buy a Laserjet 4?

What kind of page count should I look for? Olbviously lower is better, but what is too high?

We have a Laserjet 5 at work and it works great other than the fact that it takes too long to warm up. My 6L is much faster to warm up than that 5. How fast is Laserjet 4 warming up?

 

[timwhit]

I think I am past the point of fixing this printer. I don't know if it is only the rollers that need to be fixed, it could be something entirely different. Plus, I would like to get something bigger, so the next time I move I will get the carry it.

 

[Fushigi]

It depends on which LJ 4 or 5 you're considering. 4, 4M, 4+, and of course the 4Si series are all good workhorses. 4L is another personal laser that I would probably avoid. 5s I'm not too familiar with except the 5Si we use at work, which is a real workhorse.

Si models have something like a 75K page per month duty cycle. Regular LJ models are more modest but still in the 10ishK ppMonth rating.

Warmup times are longer than the personal class of lasers. Si series warm up faster, it seems.

And I agree that Lexmark consumables are too expensive.

- Fushigi

 

[P5-133XL]

The 4 or the 5 series are great printers. I have a 5M with duplex and have not had any problems with it. Just keeps printing like it was new. With the 5 you can get a duplex unit and I don't think that was an option with the 4's. I also prefer the 4+ over the 4 because there was less paper curling so there are less jams when re-feeding the paper for double-sided copies. The 4m simply adds Postscript to the 4 and for many that isn't important. The 4Si and 5Si are true workhorse printers and as such much larger, heavier, and faster than the non Si models: A concern when shipping. The Si's tend to be purchased by those that really work their printers because of the duty cycle, while 4's and 5's are often purchased by offices that don't: A potential longevity concern

Skip the III, II, and I series. While totally indestructable they are also much slower than the later models, with lower dpi, and limited ram. I've owned each and after each was upgraded to the next model, I would never go back.

Please note that all the above printers are BIG. They take alot more room than a normal small personal LJ

 

[timwhit]

Mark, since you seem to be very versed in the Laserjet series I was wondering how much better the LJ 5 prints graphics over the LJ 4. I print graphics once in a while and the 6L prints graphics just fine for the times when I need graphics. So does the LJ 5 print graphics as well as the 6L?

 

[P5-133XL]

Can't really say much about the graphics capability of the printers other than comparing specifications because I rarely have printed much graphics and never really compared the graphics outputs to successive printers.

HP 4 series specifications
HP 4Si and 5Si specifications
HP 4+ and 5 series specifications
HP 6L specifications


Compare specifications:

Model...Duty......Dpi.....RAM......Speed
...........Cycle.............(Meg)....Pages/Min

6L........6,000.....600......1............6
4........20,000.....600......2...........8
4+......20,000.....600......2..........12
4Si....100,000.....600......2..........17
5.........35,000.....600......4..........12
5Si....100,000......600......4..........24

They are all the same Dpi, they should all have roughly the same graphics capability. The amount of ram determines whether the graphics can be printed. With 2 Meg some graphics will be unable to print at 600dpi depending upon the compression that is possible. However, one can add more ram and if the graphic is capable of being printed on the 6L then it will be able to be printed on the others because they have more ram.

 

[Cliptin]

Fleshing out the table:
Besides the ones Mark meantioned, these are the others I'm familiar with:


Model...Duty......Dpi.....RAM......Speed...........
............Cycle..............(Meg).....Pages/Min

HP LaserJet 2100 Series Printers - Product Specifications
2100.....15,000 .....1200.....4.....10

HP LaserJet 2200 Series - Product Specifications
2200.....40000.....1200.....8.....19

HP LaserJet 4000 Printer Family - Product Specifications
4000.....65,000.....1200.....4.....17

HP LaserJet 4050 Series Printers - Product Specifications
4050.....65,000.....1200.....8.....17

HP LaserJet 5000 Series Printers - Product Specifications
5000.....65,000.....1200.....4.....16

HP LaserJet 8000 series printers - Product Specifications
8000.....130,000 .....1200.....16.....24



In the case of the 4000, you'll get 1200DPI at only half engine speed. I did not check for any of the others and only noted the maximums.
In general, go to this page and choose your model. Then select "specifications and features" in the middle near the bottom and then search(ctrl+F) for the words "Product Specifications".

 

[timwhit]

Can someone explain exactly what a duty cycle means? Is this the amount of time between service, or is it just how many pages the printer can print in a month?

 

[Pradeep]

Can someone explain exactly what a duty cycle means? Is this the amount of time between service, or is it just how many pages the printer can print in a month?

Yes it's the recommended max number of pages printed per month. Gives you an idea of it's suitability for heavy duty use. For example if you tried to print 60,000 pages in a month on your 6L, it would probably die in agony.

 

[timwhit]

I was looking to get a used 4si because you can get them for a little over a $100, but I found that they weigh over 100lbs. Guess I will go back to looking for a LJ 5.

Thanks for the explanation Pradeep.

 

[timwhit]

I bid on a LJ 5 with only 6000 pg count. It's going for $200 and the place is right in Madison so I can $45 on shipping which is nice. It has also been totally reconditioned new rollers and pickups. Should last me awhile if I win the auction.

 

[time]

Why would an LJ5 need new rollers etc after just 6000 pages? Surely it would have been through only one imaging cartridge?

 

[Pradeep]

Perhaps the counter has gone beyond and is on it's second go around? I forget what the reset amount is, 3 million or somesuch?

 

[timwhit]

I kinda doubt that, maybe it is just standard operating procedure for the place that is reselling the printer.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2053075252

http://www.cheaphpprinters.com

 

[timwhit]

I won the printer for $228.50, I think I got a pretty good deal on it.

 

[Pradeep]

Now all you need is a toner cart