Best digital lite printer

Discussion in 'Xerox Color Laser Printers & Color Copiers' started by MattOz, Jul 29, 2009.

  1. MattOz

    MattOz Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2009
    Messages:
    18
    Location:
    australia
    We currently use a Xerox Phaser 7750 printer to produce photo books, flyers and business cards for clients - fairly small runs (up to 2000).

    I am considering either purchasing a couple of additional Phaser's or upgrading to a larger digital lite printer such as the Canon Imagepress C1, Xante Illumina, Xerox Docucolor 242 or Konica Minolta Bizhub 6500. I have done a little bit of research, but could do with some real world advice and experiences.

    Could anyone detail which of the above or alternative machines would be suitable for the work we do, or should we stick with the trusted Phasers.

    Thanks,
     
  2. iancc

    iancc Member

    Joined:
    Apr 2009
    Messages:
    14
    Location:
    united kingdom
    Hi MattOz,

    I work for a general printers and we do the kinds of things that you say you do, as well as quite a bit more. We use xerox 240 and 250 machines, the new versions of which (242 or 252 or even 260) would be ideal. Assuming similar price structures for you in Australia, they should be more than suitable for your needs.

    Compared to the 7750 the print quality will be MUCH better. They can produce a near photographic image instead of the rather grainy image of the 7750. Also they can use their "gloss" mode along with gloss coated stock to produce fairly convincing photographs. Their only failing image wise is a slight (and I mean slight) unevenness in extreme solids especially around middle tones. This is only a criticism in absolute terms and is common to all laser devices to a greater or lesser extent. Also image to paper registration is not perfect nor is distortion (again common to laser machines - caused by the fusers heat) but is manageable.
    Our machines have been pretty reliable - the best we have used (we've had Canon, Ricoh and Mita previously)

    I 've been investigating the Minolta 6501 recently as a possible replacement (I've got to explore the alternatives) and found the print quality to be very slightly better - wider gamut and smoother tones but only marginally, it was really a case of inspecting comparison images with a magnifying glass to see the difference!
    The minolta didn't do gloss as well as xerox which might be an issue for you.

    Compared to the 242 and 252 (I don't know the price of the 260) the minolta is a lot dearer to buy but cheaper to run. A 242 costs around £14000 here with a finisher and around 6p a click for colour whereas the minolta costs £35000 with equivalent finisher but around 3.3p per click for colour. If you are doing ALOT of clicks the minolta would be more economic... O, also xerox has this page pack thing where you sign up for minimum and maximum clicks per month, unused clicks can rollover month to month but are lost at the end of each year. Also clicks over your allowance (charged at a different rate!) and black and white clicks are billed seperately which could really mess up your cash flow. We are doing around 1 million mixed clicks per year per machine and an extra bill for a couple of thousand pounds every so often could be a problem!
    The minolta just has a flat agreed click rate that you pay. If you don't use the machine that month you don't pay for any clicks.

    Also the minolta in its "e" configuration can be fitted with a host of options including 3 different finishers and an online perfect binder which minolta admit is not as good as a standalone unit but for the right customer may be useful.

    The xerox is easier to maintain in day to day use - Toners, drums and fuser are all user replaceable, it's a bit more difficult on the minolta.

    I am seriously considering the minolta in our case, because of the saving we could make over the life of the machine (quite a few thousand pounds!) but it may not be as economical for smaller users.

    As to the Xante, I have no direct user experience of that particular machine but it appears to be a remodelled OKI printer and the print quality of a similar unit I saw offered as "a production printer" was not very impressive. The machine was cheap ( if I remember right it was only about £6000) but it was quite slow.
    We used to have an A3 Xante proofer and the toners were horrendously expensive and , in our case, quite difficult to get hold of.

    In the case of the Canon, i haven't explored it fully, but I had a sales demonstration from Canon and was completely underwelmed. Mediocre quality for the price, better than the 7750 but nowhere near the xerox or minolta, and expensive... blimey they must have been joking! £70000 and a click of around 10p! They may have come down on the deal but they would have had to come down ALOT to get my interest. I didn't enter into negotiations. It looks like a complete non starter to me.

    In conclusion, in our case, we really like xerox, despite the click system and, if we go that way will get a 252 or 260, but the minolta may offer considerable savings to us. The other two would be non starters.

    I hope all this stuff may be of interest to you, and relevent in some way. Cheers
     
  3. sachint_in

    sachint_in Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2009
    Messages:
    9
    Location:
    india
    go with DC12
     
  4. iancc

    iancc Member

    Joined:
    Apr 2009
    Messages:
    14
    Location:
    united kingdom
    I've just had a look at the spec of the DC12 on the xerox website archive and the spec appears to be worse than the 7750 that you are using now - 600 dpi and 12 ppm is not very good now adays. I believe the 7750 has a resolution of 1200 dpi. The dc240 (and 242) has a genuine resolution of 2400 dpi (with no interpolation) and speeds (as the name implies) of 40 ppm plus. the dc12 was dropped in the UK at least, in 2001, so finding a good one here would be difficult, other territories may be different. A second hand 240 refurb is available here for around £3-4000 and if price is an issue would make a good buy. I've seen second hand 250s available from independant dealers (which may not be the best way to go) for about the same price.
    Whatever machine you get, the backup available is critical - all these machines will need regular maintenance.
     

  5. tradeinhn

    tradeinhn New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 2009
    Messages:
    1
    Location:
    Hanoi - Vietnam
    It true ???
    I have around £3-4000 and I want it.
    pls. introduce me.

    Thanks.

    NV Long
    tradeinhn@yahoo.com
     
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