Printers for Specifications Production

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Author Message John Regener, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: john_regener Post Number: 115 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 02:28 pm:    I had a friend ask me what laser printer I would recommend for producing construction specifications. I gave him my opinion but would like to ask here what properties should a laser printer have for producing specs, such as pages-per-minute (ppm), memory, paper sizes and paper capacity. Also, I noted that you keep your old printer (if it still works) as a back-up. Personally, I use an HP LaserJet 5Si that is a Mack truck-grade printer with two 500 sheet drawers and an output tray that holds about 500 pages. It will take paper up to 11" x 17". I don't know how much memory it has but it does have internal fonts for most common typefaces. It prints at 24 ppm. It does not have a duplexer (for two-sided printing) but that can be readily added. It is not networked but that too can be added. I bought it used (<$800) to replace a LaserJet 3Si (17 ppm) I bought used for ~$500 and got three years of good service. Some weeks, my printing load is about 3000 pages; I buy copier/printer paper by the case. For me, printing speed is very important. I don't print until all Sections are complete and then I print the Project Manual from beginning to end so nothing is left out (voice of experience). For backup, I still have the LaserJet III I bought in 1993. The consummables (toner cartridges) for printers such as the LaserJet II / III are relatively inexpensive now but the more expensive cartridges for newer printers print more pages per cartridge and may have a lower cost per page. The 8 ppm speed of LaserJet II / III printers is way too slow for my needs. I have been satisfied with refilled toner cartridges purchased through a local business that also services laser printers. It's very beneficial having prompt, on-site, personal service as I get from my laser printer service. William C. Pegues, FCSI, CCS Senior Member Username: wpegues Post Number: 229 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 02:58 pm:    John, There are a number of decent printers out there. In my office here we have 5Si's (replaced by HP and not made for about the last 3 years or maybe more) that have worked just fine. The replacement model is their 8100 series - but again lots of extras and ability to expand that a small office only doing project manuals just would not need. Their 2300, 4200 and 4300 series printers (respectively 20, 35 and 45 pages per minute) are a lot less expensive than the 8100, and the 4200 and 4300 are actually rated more robust than the original rating on the 5Si. I don't think anything under 20 ppm should be considered, faster is better in all cases. But, if you connect it as a network printer, and get it equipped with (or have separately set up on the network) a spooler, the document(s) leave the computer very fast and sit in the spooler while the printer prints them out, and full functionality is returned to your system (not even background printing ends up being used. Refilled toner cartridges is not a problem. Most that do this, especially the better quality ones that also provide service, don't just refil them, they remanufacturer them. I have been using the same group for both printer service and cartridge replacement since 1986, if you can believe that! Never a problem, and they are certified repair for several printer brands. HP has a nice web page that compares their various printers for the type of use you have need of. That particular page is... http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF02a/18972-236251-236263.html William Doug Frank FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: doug_frank_ccs Post Number: 50 Registered: 06-2002 Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 03:30 pm:    I too used a 5Si, but now I'm networked to our Minolta Di 520 b/w copier and I can't imagine going back to a dedicated printer. Print speed is amazing, there is never a memory problem, and I can add all kinds of custom finishing techiniques like 3 hole punch, corner staple, etc. I'd highly recommend a system like this to anyone who has a networkable copier. Anonymous   Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 03:54 pm:    Our department has recently got rid of several HP laser printers (actually the leases had expired) and now everyone on this part of the floor "prints" to a single, networked Canon imageRunner 6000 "copier" that, with the optional features, can also scan (PDFs direct to e-mail). It can duplex print, 11x17 (for reduced drawings), etc. anything that copiers generally do. Only problem is that when I send specs to print of any size, it tends to "tie-up" the "copier" for others who either want to print or copy just a few pages...immediately. Like Doug, it would be very difficult to "go back". John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 146 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Friday, October 17, 2003 - 08:56 am:    I agree with Doug. We have a networked Cannon copier which prints fast, and can print duplex and staple. Unfortunately, we didn't get the 3-hole option, but you can load 3-hole paper in the bin. Our accounting department loves the fact that it tracks account codes for print jobs. (It has lots of other useful features controlable from the printer properties box, most of which don't apply to specs, but do to many other publications.) We also have an HP 8000, also a great workhorse printer, (plus a few slower ones). In all the years and firms I've worked in, the HP printers have been great. Like the Energizer Bunny, they keep going and going for years. David R. Combs, CSI, CCS, CCCA (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Friday, October 17, 2003 - 09:25 am:    You guys rock! All I have is a li'l ol' HP 2200D. But as the lone specifier for a 100+ person firm, it does okay. And it's the first time in 20 or so years I've had my own dedicated printer. Maybe someday . . . Anonymous   Posted on Friday, October 17, 2003 - 11:39 am:    I managed to get an HP laser jet 5000 that our firm got when we acquired a smaller firm. The hang dog look finally worked with the IT department. Now I print without worrying about ticking people off by tying up a printer or getting random documents interspersed into the Project Manual when using a community printer....It's old, sure, but it works great. anon William C. Pegues, FCSI, CCS Senior Member Username: wpegues Post Number: 230 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Friday, October 17, 2003 - 04:12 pm:    I think on of the important things to note is that black and white laser printers can have a long, long life. The one that I happen to use is an Apple made 16/600. This is a Cannon engine, the same that was used in the HP4 series of laser printers. 16ppm, 600 dpi. It was fairly expensive when I bought it new - but hey, it has had over 10 years of heavy use and paid for itself many times. When it comes to standard black and white printing that is most common to project manuals, its fine. Its slower than some, but it is networked through a spooler. When I send up 30 or so documents in a batch, they are off my computer and into the spooler at network speed - far faster than any printer can print - thus not tying up my computer resources. I think that is important for any size office, even a single individual. Use a network printer with a spooler, don't tie up the background resources of your system with a direct connect printer. Because of this, I can survive just fine with a slower printer. 16ppm is too slow in my opinion, but it sits over printing on its own until it is done. I have had this since it was new in the early 1990s (1993 seems to ring a bell) and virtually no problems but regular preventive maintenance once a year. I have heard similar long lived testimony from others about the durability of other laser printers. Copiers functioning as printers that are spooled and really fast are great - typically rather expensive though. If I were getting a new printer, I would probably not go less than 40 to 50 pages per minute - and I would still network it with a spooler. William John Regener, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: john_regener Post Number: 117 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Friday, October 17, 2003 - 04:25 pm:    These are great comments. It seems like most relate to specifications production in a relatively large office. Considering a "specifications writing workstation" with its own dedicated printer, what would be the criteria? - speed: - paper capacity: - spooler/no spooler: - duty rating (pages per month): I have a feeling that there may be specifiers lurking who are intimidated by talk of printers in the $2k - $3k range. (I paid ~$1500 in 1993 for my LaserJet III, to keep things in perspective.) Are there recommendations for <$500 printers? <$800 printers? <$1500 printers? Dave Metzger Senior Member Username: davemetzger Post Number: 60 Registered: 07-2001 Posted on Friday, October 17, 2003 - 04:50 pm:    We had HP LaserJet III's, from 1990 to 2002 when they finally gave up the ghost. They were solid workhorses, but did not have the memory we sometimes needed. We replaced them with HP LaserJet 2200d. I think the price was under $800, this was last February or so. Speed is about 20 ppm, which is faster than the LaserJet III was. Paper tray is 250 sheets. We have two printers for 5 people, and they are sufficient for our use. The two printers are networked, so that anyone can use either printer. I'm pleased with them. We have a Canon copier, but it is not networked. We use it only for copying. Gerard Sanchis (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2003 - 02:13 pm:    We've had an HP 4050 for about 5 or 6 years and an HP 4000T with multiple drawers for about 3 years now. These work just fine for a 4 person firm. We do have a separate HP JetDirect spooler and never have memory or speed problems. These printers, when they were bought, were about a thosuand dollars or less. D. Marshall Fryer Junior Member Username: dmfryer Post Number: 3 Registered: 09-2003 Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2003 - 03:38 pm:    I use a Lexmark (IBM) Optra 410 laser printer for printing specifications in our small (10 person) office. Works reasonably well except for two problems. One, the toner cartridges are ludicrously expensive at ~$230.00 each. Two, the prints leave gunk on the rollers of our copier machine. I have been told by the copier people that Lexmark and other brands do not fuse the toner at as high a temperature as does HP, and we should therefore only consider HP laser printers, for best quality copies. Marc C Chavez Advanced Member Username: mchavez Post Number: 16 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - 03:54 pm:    I have a Hp 5000n I bought it to do 11x17 check sets for my one man shop and it also drops 16+ppm in 8-1/2 x 11. When I worked specs I placed letter paper in the 500 sheet tray and left 11x17 in the smaller tray. I did not by the duplexer but havn't needed it much either. Using speclink I hit the print button and go to lunch and its done. I bought it with a network card and have used the base 8mb of RAM to do everything. If I was printing large tiffs or other check prints with photoshop I would need more memory. The only problem has been with cheap toner carts, never the machine. DennisHall (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Saturday, November 01, 2003 - 11:36 am:    Our HP 4050 TN has spit out specs with the best of them for several years. I have never had problems with any of the HP printers.