Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Re: 11 x 17 copiers / scanners (was 12 x 18 printers)

 I look forward to others commenting more on the 12x18 printers that are good for home offices (FWIW - I have an HP1220C that is about 4 years old and it is fine, though slow, for printing 11 x 17). 
 
What I was also curious about was if anyone has discovered an 11x17 copier / scanner that is efficient for a home office?  I still do quite a bit of hand sketches from the home office and having a dependable copier /scanner in that size would be a wonderful tool.  Color would be nice, but I would be satisfied with B/W as well.
 
Thanks
 
Jerold
 
 
 
From: Shaun Dustin [mailto:sdustin@cc.usu.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 7:10 PM
To: seaint@seaint.org
Subject: RE: 12 x 18 printers
 
Jeff,
 
I have a couple that I use for ½ size plots, although I usually use 11x17, not 12x18. (I use 22x34 for my full size drawings, so this is not a big deal for me)
 
I have an HP Designjet 9800 that works pretty well, but ink is expensive.  The footprint can be reduced by folding the trays in, but you have to keep the tray-out footprint clear so you end up with a big space whether the printer is collapsed or not.  It works VERY well, and I'm very happy with it.  I don't like buying inkjet cartridges for it, and I don't like the speed.  It's inkjet, and it's a little on the slow side. The image quality, especially in color, is great. I think it was $450 or so at Staples.
 
I also have a Laserjet5si that I got on ebay for $79 (plus $100 shipping).  It takes up a little more space (22" x 22" square) than the expanded Designjet, but it has two 500 sheet trays where I keep 11x17 and 8.5x11, you can get a duplexer for it if you are into that for $85 or so on ebay, and the toner works out to less than 0.02/page.  It was designed for a much larger throughput than I will ever give it, so I'm pretty sure it will last as long as my "one man show" phase.  I've been very impressed with this printer.  I got it on a whim because I was frustrated with the slow speed of the DesignJet, and this thing just cranks drawings and documents out.  It also came with a jetdirect card, but I haven't been able to get that working.
 
If you can't tell, I really like the laserjet.  I like the Designjet too, but the laserjet makes me much more productive.  Plotting a sample drawing to carry around and redline is cheap and easy, and the lines don't bleed when you get them wet. 
 
Shaun
 
Shaun Dustin, MS, PE
Doctoral Candidate
USTAR Biofuels Initiative
Utah State University
4130 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322
sdustin@cc.usu.edu
435-770-7816
 
From: Jeff Smith [mailto:jeffsmith7@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 11:49 AM
To: seaint@seaint.org
Subject: 12 x 18 printers
 
I am looking for a home printer to do 1/2 size plots of 24 x 36 AutoCAD and PDF drawings, color is not that important but I need to do 8-1/2 x 11 general printing as well, prefer a small footprint since my office is small. Seems every printer I Iook at has a few really bad reviews. Any thoughts appreciated.
 
Jeff
 

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