[vcf-midatlantic] Correction: Semi-OT: printer for new museum signs

[J. Alexander Jacocks]

On Tue, Jan 5, 2016 at 5:01 PM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic <
vcf-midatlantic at 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