Has anyone done a proper physical comparison test between the Xerox Phaser 7760, the HP Laserjet 9500 and the Xante Illumina ? I need to make a decision on one of these laser printers and need it as an on-demand digital printer for short-run work in graphics design environment.

Also, I noticed that the laserjet 9500 is quite old, does anyone know if HP is going to release a new high end tabloid colour laser to take the place of the 9500 ?

Any help in the matter will be appreciated.

Sam

I see this post is from a month ago - did you already make your decision?

I personally prefer the more natural and smooth color and tone from the HP 9500 and it's well-field-proven print engine. I also believe it is the least expensive to operate.

The Xerox does a good job too, but I believe consumables will run you more.

The Xante's primary advantage (and it can be a big one) is handling very heavy stocks with ease, but the print quality is less natural - to my eye it looks like less color range per pixel - and again the consumables will run you more in real-world usage.

Hi Lina,

I understand your position and at times it's quite difficult to make the right choices. I have done extensive research on this issue and I'm willing to help you.

Drop me a mail and tell me about your requirements, I can then make some recommendations based on your requirements.

Sam

eos_man@fastmail.fm

Xerox' Phaser 7760 vs. HP 9500 comparisons would seem to suggest different (see page 2 of the pdf)

Attached Images

	xerox_phaser_7760_vs_hp_laserjet_9500.pdf (97.1 KB, 21 views)
	phaser_7760_vs_hp_9500.pdf (966.9 KB, 19 views)

Over time, the HP supplies will be lower priced on the market though due to all the office machines installed. I also question the durables cost calculation -- the HP engine is pretty reliable and I think the durables will be more likely to last longer than yield whereas the xerox are chipped more conservatively.

In keeping up with the latest canon engine (e.g. IRC 5180), my guess would be that HP will soon release a 1200 dpi model or one with a faster ppm rating. I'd bet on something in the 30 ppm range at least.

This may be too late, but I would run, not walk, away from the HP9500! Although it has exceptional color photograph printing, it is way!!!! too complicated. We used the "HP Try Before You Buy" (thank god) program on a fully loaded 9500. The color output was very good (we printed marketing photos), but it was so unrealiable that people were walking to the next studio to get b/w prints from a several year old HP8000. I can't remember how many different technicians came to try and get the 9500 to work. Also, no two techs knew the same thing about operating the printer. My impression is the 9500 is intended for BIG work groups that will keep it printing continuously all day. Anything less and it starts acting up. We also found that HP is not geared towards the small business user. They expect YOU to have savy IT people to install and maintain this type of equipment. And believe me, you'll need them to keep this earth based space shuttle running.