Correction: Semi-OT: printer for new museum signs
Evan wrote:
I just learned that even very cheap inkjets, sub-$200, can print 11x17. That might be our best compromise if a larger printer is unaffordable.
There are a number of 11X17 inkjet printers. In fact I own an Epson WF-7520 from two years ago which not only prints 11X17, it SCANS 11X17. Produces PDF directly to a USB "stick". Scans both sides through the automatic feeder. WiFi network-capable. And on sale, these printers are near $200. New. For the handful of signage in discussion, these are reasonably priced, and pay for themselves in say a year. Plus one would provide local copy and scanning capability (hint hint hint). You'll have to replace ink carts at intervals of course, but "printing to flash" avoids a lot of printing. And there's laser printers too, some of which also scan, at modest prices (but large toner costs). Buying a larger printer is entirely a VCFed business decision, as it would either cost more than a few hundred dollars, or would be a result of some donation. But most signage would be 11X17 or smaller, and a dedicated printer/scanner for that class of work, at a few hundred dollars, would be a reasonable purchase if only to reduce use of a more expensive printer and its no-doubt more-expensive supplies. Translation: burn up a cuppa $200 printers instead of over-using a $1000 printer. and get a scanner while you're at it. By the way: a long time ago, didn't InfoAge have a professional class large printer on the premises, for large signage? Herb -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net
On 01/05/2016 04:49 PM, Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
And there's laser printers too, some of which also scan, at modest prices (but large toner costs).
This is a common but fallacious argument against laser printers. The last time I bought a cartridge for my main printer, sure it was well over $100.00...but I get about 25,000 pages out of a cartridge. Do the math. ;) (Not you, Herb, but others here who may read what you typed and nod, "Oh yes, I'm sticking with my ink jet, laser printer toner cartridges are EXPENSIVE!") Ink jet printers have been little more than a scam for many years now. It's along the same lines as the lottery being a tax on people who are bad at math. The only real exceptions are the large-format ones, for which no better solution currently exists. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
On Tue, Jan 5, 2016 at 5:01 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On 01/05/2016 04:49 PM, Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
And there's laser printers too, some of which also scan, at modest prices (but large toner costs).
This is a common but fallacious argument against laser printers. The last time I bought a cartridge for my main printer, sure it was well over $100.00...but I get about 25,000 pages out of a cartridge. Do the math. ;)
(Not you, Herb, but others here who may read what you typed and nod, "Oh yes, I'm sticking with my ink jet, laser printer toner cartridges are EXPENSIVE!")
Ink jet printers have been little more than a scam for many years now. It's along the same lines as the lottery being a tax on people who are bad at math. The only real exceptions are the large-format ones, for which no better solution currently exists.
I'll second this. Because I do a fair bit of photo printing, I have to have an inkjet (Canon Pro 9000 Mk.II), and my father, who is a photographer, has an HP DesignJet large format inkjet. However, due to the very large cost of ink (and the fact that even unused, it has a very limited life), I use a color laser for 99% of my printing (a Brother, which I like a lot). With the lasers, I can buy toner whenever it happens to be cheap, and keep it on the shelf, with the knowledge that it won't expire. The lasers are also simpler devices to maintain, with none of the clogging and head replacement issues that plague larger inkjets. As Dave and Herb have said, though, for printing over 11" narrow-dimension, there really aren't any viable non-inkjet solutions, unfortunately. - Alex
On 01/05/2016 05:01 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 01/05/2016 04:49 PM, Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
And there's laser printers too, some of which also scan, at modest prices (but large toner costs).
This is a common but fallacious argument against laser printers. The last time I bought a cartridge for my main printer, sure it was well over $100.00...but I get about 25,000 pages out of a cartridge. Do the math. ;)
(Not you, Herb, but others here who may read what you typed and nod, "Oh yes, I'm sticking with my ink jet, laser printer toner cartridges are EXPENSIVE!")
I have a really in expensive Brother SS laser networked printer (cost me $99 new) for about 10 years now. I've probably printed about 2k pages. The ink jet I bought at the same time dried up in the same month (we printed about 30 pages, on the first day we bought it). The cost of the replacement ink cartridges was about the toner cartridges. I've purchased 1 additional toner cartridge for the laser and a new mfc laser (cost $105, same cartridge) so I could scan also. I figure I'll use that cartridge up before 2020. :-) -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry@linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies
On Tue, 5 Jan 2016, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 01/05/2016 04:49 PM, Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
And there's laser printers too, some of which also scan, at modest prices (but large toner costs).
This is a common but fallacious argument against laser printers. The last time I bought a cartridge for my main printer, sure it was well over $100.00...but I get about 25,000 pages out of a cartridge. Do the math. ;)
(Not you, Herb, but others here who may read what you typed and nod, "Oh yes, I'm sticking with my ink jet, laser printer toner cartridges are EXPENSIVE!")
Ink jet printers have been little more than a scam for many years now. It's along the same lines as the lottery being a tax on people who are bad at math. The only real exceptions are the large-format ones, for which no better solution currently exists.
-Dave
There's a way to cut down on ink costs, though. Depending on your printer, you may be able to get a 3rd party Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS), with enough ink to print for a couple of years of normal use. I've been using one on my Epson R380 for 4 or 5 years, and only recently had to replace it because the chips on the cartridges were no longer being recognized. If your ink runs low, just buy a bottle of that color, and refill the tank. Cost me $30, and the ink looks great. Mike Loewen mloewen@cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/
It's a bit cheesy and time consuming, but there always the option to poster print on smaller paper and cut/paste to the desired size. Just a thought in case a large format printer is out of the question. On Tuesday, January 5, 2016, Mike Loewen via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
On Tue, 5 Jan 2016, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
On 01/05/2016 04:49 PM, Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
And there's laser printers too, some of which also scan, at modest prices (but large toner costs).
This is a common but fallacious argument against laser printers. The last time I bought a cartridge for my main printer, sure it was well over $100.00...but I get about 25,000 pages out of a cartridge. Do the math. ;)
(Not you, Herb, but others here who may read what you typed and nod, "Oh yes, I'm sticking with my ink jet, laser printer toner cartridges are EXPENSIVE!")
Ink jet printers have been little more than a scam for many years now. It's along the same lines as the lottery being a tax on people who are bad at math. The only real exceptions are the large-format ones, for which no better solution currently exists.
-Dave
There's a way to cut down on ink costs, though. Depending on your printer, you may be able to get a 3rd party Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS), with enough ink to print for a couple of years of normal use. I've been using one on my Epson R380 for 4 or 5 years, and only recently had to replace it because the chips on the cartridges were no longer being recognized. If your ink runs low, just buy a bottle of that color, and refill the tank. Cost me $30, and the ink looks great.
Mike Loewen mloewen@cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/
a long time ago, didn't InfoAge have a professional class large printer on the premises, for large signage?
They still do. It's a hassle to use (long warm-up time; weird paper size that requires tedious trimming; and it's often kept in a locked room for which the key isn't often available). Meanwhile, our new museum space is going to have many more signs than the current space. I figure it makes sense for us to print our own signs at will. 11x17 is a good size because (as you noted) a lot of inexpensive printers can do it, and also because we can buy large quantities of 11x17 poster frames fairly cheap.
participants (7)
-
Dave McGuire -
Dean Notarnicola -
Evan Koblentz -
Herb Johnson -
J. Alexander Jacocks -
Mike Loewen -
Neil Cherry