How to Select Color Laser Printer for Small Business Use

Unlike inkjet and black and white laser printers, color laser printer technology and pricing have not reached their matured stage yet because the demand in the consumer market is still developing. The choices of color laser printers that are competitively priced with good printing quality and low maintenance cost are limited.

Pricing
An entry level or higher end color laser printer for small business use is sold in the market range of about RM300 - RM3000. Some printers may be priced in the low RM300 range, but they are for household light usage only.

Color Quality
It is important to compare the printout quality of the color printers. There are significant differences from one model to another. There is less difference in the printout quality of black and white laser printers. Most color laser printers can produce comparable quality printouts for general purpose light usage. However, when it comes to commercial printing quality, some brands and models can do better than the others.

Printing Speed
Some cheaper low end models print extremely slowly. To check out the speed of a specific model, you can test print some pages in the retail store. If you are making online purchase, you should compare the printing speed, that is, the maximum pages per minute (ppm) of the printers being considered.

Page yield specification
Page yield means the number of pages that can be printed at 5% coverage. A toner cartridge that has 4000 page yield can print roughly double the number of pages of a toner that has 2000 page yield. Comparing the cost per page of different printer models will give you an objective measure on your selection of printers. As an example, a RM200 toner cartridge with a 2000 page yield (RM0.10 cost per page) is actually cheaper than a RM160 toner cartridge with 1300 page yield (RM0.12 cost per page).

Cost of replacement toner
The recurring cost of replacing the laser toner is an important factor in the selection of your color laser printer. There are usually a set of 4 toner cartridges in a color printer: CYMK or cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black). A set of OEM toner cartridges can easily cost from RM200 to RM400. Compatible laser toners are sold at half of the price of OEM cartridges or at even deeper discounts. Therefore when purchasing your new printer, you should first check the availability and pricing of the compatible toner cartridges of the particular model you want.

Printer Brands
If the availability of competitively priced compatible laser toner cartridges is a significant consideration for you, you will find out that the supply of compatible laser toner cartridges is limited to a few brands, primarily, HP, Brother, Samsung and Canon. HP has over 50% of the market share and offers more choices of color laser printers. Followed remotely behind in the respective market share will be Brother, Samsung and Canon. You will be able to find limited supply of compatible toner cartridges for Dell, Lexmark, OKi, Minolta and Xerox color laser printers.

Printerbullet.com offers substantial cost savings and a full range of compatible toner and printer ink cartridges. Enjoy free delivery within Klang Valley on your entire order from http://www.printerbullet.com.

Why Purchase Comaptible Toner Over OEM

Everyday consumables can end up costing someone a hefty amount of cash by the time the end of the month rolls around. No matter how hard you try to conserve and prevent using exaggerated amounts of anything, you may need to dig deeper to find another way to make ends meet. Consider even the smallest things in your life, such as your printer. Repurchasing toner might seem small in the moment, but when frequent OEM purchases are made the money can add up faster than it seems. Take charge of the little transactions in life and consider switching to a compatible version that can offer you just as many benefits.

First and foremost, when comparing an OEM product to a refurbished one you will notice that the prices can not compete. Compatible toner will always beat the price and will do so with the same, or better, quality. Naturally, quality is essentially the leading factor in decision making with price falling close behind. So, how can you be sure that refurbished products will live up to your expectations? The main difference between renewed items verse OEM is that they are designed with recycled, fully functional, materials opposed to new. This doesn't mean that they are poor quality or less likely to work, but simply means that they are crafted differently and a little less harsh on the environment.

Imagine if every person went through one toner cartridge a month without being conscious of the environment. As name brand options are usually trustworthy, they are only contributing to more waste that is continuing to build up everyday. Luckily, people all over the world are consciously recycling their old cartridges which helps keep refurbishing costs down and trash from piling up. You may feel that your help alone cannot cause real change, but if a group of people like you switched to a compatible option then an evident impact can be made.

When considering the change many people wonder if they will have problems when using compatible alternatives with their printers. Reviews are available all over the Internet proving that these replacements are just as likely as OEM products, if not more, to behave in the proper, working fashion that you expect from them. If you have any concerns you can always seek guidance from retailers, doubling checking that your purchase is compatible with your equipment. There are many routes to double check your move so that you feel comfortable and confident with the new, positive change you are making in your life.

Brother Toner Cartridges
HP Toner Cartridges
Canon Toner Cartridges
Samsung Toner Cartridges
Fuji Xerox Toner Cartridges


Discount Toner Cartridges

Tips To Know Before You Buy Printers

It happens all of the time, people see an advertisement in the paper, or online, for a discount laser printer, and they buy it without another thought. When the discount laser printer arrives at their door they discover that they have an item that does not work with their computer, cannot be returned, and is basically useless to them.

Before you look at all of the Holiday ads and buy a discount laser printer, read the following tips designed to help you buy printers that will work with your equipment, and for your needs. You may even save a little money when you do decide to buy because you are armed with the pertinent information.

1. Buy printers that are compatible with your equipment. If you have a wireless device you want to buy accessories that can connect to the wireless device. If you have a desk top computer then you want devices that can plug into your system from a USB port.

2. Make certain the device you are going to use the equipment with has a USB port available to plug the equipment into.

3. Having accessories that do more than you need them to do will not really be money well spent. If you are never going to send a fax then you do not need the equipment to be capable of sending a fax. Be sure that you need all of the features listed, and if you do not shop for versions of the equipment that have only the features you need.

4. Having a device that can copy and print is always handy. You want to buy an item that can do both of these actions. You may not realize just how frequently you will use the copy and print buttons.

5. When you find a device that you think you will like go and price the ink cartridges it uses. Sometimes the equipment will be really cheap because the replacement ink and toner is out of this world expensive. You also want to see how hard it will be to find replacement cartridges near you. You can order these items online, but if you run out and need to get some ink in a hurry will there be somewhere within fifty miles of your location that sells it.

6. Make sure that the warranty covers all parts and repair. Also see what you will have to do should your device malfunction and you need it repaired.

7. Buy names that you know and trust. HP, Canon, Brother, Fuji Xerox are just a few of the big names that make printers. You know these companies from the other devices you own so buy equipment from companies that have already gained your respect and trust.

You want to have technical support available to you both on and off line. You need to know that when you have issues with the device, and you will at some point, that there will be someone there to help you solve the issue to your satisfaction.

Buy printers that will do what you need. You may find that a discount laser printer is so cheap because the ink it uses is very expensive and hard to find.

Compatible Toner Saves Businesses Money

Owning a laser printer or copy machine often means you have small expenses that you never thought you would end up incurring just to keep it running. There are things of course like paper that is vital for everyday usage of the machines, and it would be silly to run out of it. But there are other supplies that you need, such as toner cartridges. This is essential to use your machine because without it, there would be no real supply of anything to make the printed words and images come out of your printer. This is something that is a tad bit expensive, mainly due to the plastic cartridge, but the toner is not exactly cheap either.

Of course you will find toner cartridges at any office supply store because they are popular and essential for all offices that use laser printers or have a working copy machine. The toner cartridges are found from all big brand name companies that create and manufacture the printers and the copy machine. Often they want you to buy their brand name of toner because it is more expensive and it will of course support their company.

But there are other options available for you out there when you need to buy more ink or toner. The best option for you to take would be to look into buying compatible toner cartridges. This is a cheaper option for you and often times it is less stress when shopping for them.

These are simply the same toner cartridges you use in your laser printer now, but they get made by a third-party manufacturer, which makes them much cheaper in price. Luckily, you can use these cartridges in any of the printers, no matter the brand because there is absolutely no difference in the toner when compared across the board.

Having this options means you no longer need to stress over matching brands with toner and printer.This also means that there is no detectable difference in the quality that you get from the print if you use this type of toner compared to a brand name toner. Either type of toner that you use, whether it is from a third-party manufacturer or a brand name, the print quality produced is the same no matter what.

If you want to use compatible toner for either the laser printer or the copy machine, you should know that it is not as easy to find in office supply stores because those big manufacturers do not want you buying that toner instead of theirs. This is obvious as most people want the big brand names sold first because they always cost more money.

Being smart about where you spend your money is important as a business owner. If you buy compatible toner or compatible cartridges this is one very smart way of getting the ink and toner you need, without spending a lot of money on those things. You can still get the quality you need while not spending a lot.

Smart business owners know where they can save money on some of the little things, and that is a great thing to keep in mind. Office supplies can run up a huge expenses bill and if you can save some money in areas such as compatible toner, this is a great way to start. Get out and start making smart choices today!

Shop through all the computer supplies you could ever want or need at Printer Bullet and find all the printing supplies you need like compatible toner cartridges

How to Fix Common Printer Problems

If you're having problems with your printer, then we have compiled some quick and simple solutions to help your solve 99% of your printer problems. Tried and tested over 15 years of dealing with printers and ink technology. We are the ink experts.

1. Check you have the right ink or toner. 
Your printer has been happily printing for a ages and suddenly when you put in your new cartridges it doesn't work any more. Check that you have purchased the correct ink cartridges or toner for your printer. Sometimes offers or printers can be slightly confusing.

2. Paper Jams. Check your printer 
Sometimes the slightest rip in your paper or some dust has aggregated on the rollers can cause the sensors to create a paper jam warning. Most printers are very accessible, so just uncover you printer carefully remove the paper from the tray and the ink cartridge out of the carriage, use a damp cloth to clean the dust off the printer until you are happy you have removed as much as you can. Check the inside and back of the printer until you are sure you can't find any paper or debris. Turn the printer off for 30 seconds, the once back on, the reload the paper and print.

3. When was the last time you updated your printer driver? 
Printers like ink cartridges and toner are constantly changing and updating, some printers may prompt you to update them or older ones you may have to do manually. If you're unsure what driver you may need, go to your printer manufacturer's website and look for your printer, the driver will be listed on the website. Make sure you back up the old driver if you can on your computer just to make sure if installing the new printer driver doesn't work, then you can just reinstall the old one that you have backed up.

4. Check your ink or toner cartridges. 
OK you have exhausted a few options; maybe it's just the ink or toner cartridge that you have purchase 99% of OEM or original cartridges such work first time if you have the correct one installed. If you opt for the massively cheaper recycled ink cartridges or compatible version, they should 99% of the time work as well, however you may have more issues as they are not manufactured by the printers manufacturer, so you may encounter errors such as 'not a compatible cartridge', 'low ink warnings', these are all common and most can be ignored so don't panic. If you're unsure and one of your cartridges has a fault, most reputable companies offer superb support with printing FAQ's and tests you can do. They should then be able to replace your faulty cartridge, providing you are within the T&C's.

5. Check the age of your printer, it may be costing you more than you think. 
How long have you had your printer? If it's an office inkjet it may be exhausted, if it's a home printer and you have had it for over 5 years, it may be time for an upgrade. In the time you have had your printer, technology has moved on in terms of ink and printing. Your ink cartridges become more expensive as it's harder to get hold of them. Most printers are available on good offers if you time it right, if you're unsure what printer to get, just have a look around for reviews, remember your last printer lasted for over 5 years, so times your investment by number of years. For example you're willing to pay £20 for a new printer, times that by 5, your budget should be around £100, which is more than enough for a decent all in one or inkjet printer as they can be purchased a good level of around £60.

99% off problems are solved by turning the printer off then unplugging the printer from the mains, this disconnects the power and resets the printer, and you could even go and make yourself a cup of tea or coffee, come back and turn it back on and attempt printing, this may even work a treat.

Finally, if you have exhausted all options, check the experts, if the experts cost too much, it may be easier just to buy a new printer.

HP LaserJet Enterprise 500 MFP M525f

• PROS
  Very good text quality. Built-in, secure hard drive. Large touch screen. 50-sheet reversing ADF.
• CONSSub-par photos. Slightly sub-par graphics. Running costs on the high side for its price. Optional wireless adapter is pricey.
• BOTTOM LINE
  The HP LaserJet Enterprise 500 MFP M525f is a formidable, rich-featured monochrome laser multifunction printer for SMB and workgroups, best for text printing.

BY TONY HOFFMAN

The HP LaserJet Enterprise 500 MFP M525f ($2,099 direct) is a massive multifunction printer (MFP) with some neat features, including a large touch screen and a built-in hard drive. It's reasonably fast and has good text quality, though it stumbles a bit with graphics and photos. If your office is looking for a rich-featured monochrome MFP for heavy-duty text printing, it's worth a close look.

The M525f can print, scan, copy, and fax; it can scan to e-mail, a network folder, USB thumb drive, or an FTP server, and print from a USB key. It offers secure, password-protected printing.

It measures 22.7 by 20.3 by 21.6 inches (HWD), much too large to share a desk with, and weighs 65.8 pounds. It has the bells and whistles you'd expect for a monochrome MFP at its price, starting with a gorgeous 8-inch color touch screen and a built-in encrypted hard drive. A 50-sheet reversing automatic document feeder (ADF) can copy, scan, and fax two-sided documents, flipping each sheet over in the process.

The M525f has a standard paper capacity of 600 sheets, split between a 500-sheet main tray and 100-sheet multipurpose tray. You can add up to two 500-sheet optional trays as well, for a total paper capacity of up to 1,600 sheets. An automatic duplexer lets you print on both sides of a sheet of paper. On the side of the printer is a built-in stapler, good for documents up to about 25 sheets, which you have to manually insert.

There are two other models in HP's M525 line. The 500 MFP M525dn ($1,799 direct) does not include fax capabilities, and lacks the hard drive and the stapler. The flow MFP M525c ($2,599 direct) has the M525f's features plus a larger (100-sheet) ADF, a duplexing scanner with ultrasonic misfeed detection; a pull-out keyboard; send to SharePoint; and embedded OCR.

The M525f can connect via USB or Ethernet (including Gigabit Ethernet), and an optional Wi-Fi adapter is available ($269 direct). For mobile printing, it's compatible with HP ePrint and Apple's AirPrint. I tested the printer on a wired network with its drivers installed on a PC running Windows Vista.

Printing Speed
I timed the M525f on our business applications test suite (usingQualityLogic's hardware and software for timing) at an effective 12.2 pages per minute (ppm), a decent speed based on its rated speed of up to 42 pages per minute. (Rated speeds are based on text-only printing, while our business suite combines text pages, graphics pages, and pages with both text and graphics.) The HP LaserJet Enterprise M4555h MFP was slower at 10.6 ppm despite a rated speed of 55 pages per minute, while the Editors' Choice OKI MB471, rated at 35 pages per minute, tested at 9.5 ppm.

Output QualityOverall output quality for the M525f was slightly sub-par, with above-average text quality, slightly sub-par graphics, and below-par photos. Text quality is good enough for any business except perhaps desktop publishing applications using very small fonts.

With graphics, some backgrounds appeared blotchy, and subtle differences in shading were lost in several illustrations. Some thin lines were invisible. Graphics showed dithering in the form of fine dot patterns. Graphics are fine for most in-house use or informal reports, though I'd hesitate to use them for, say, PowerPoint handouts.

Photos also showed dithering, and detail in bright areas was often lost. You can print out recognizable images from Web pages or files, but that's about all.

Running Cost

At 1.8 cents per page, the M525f's running cost is reasonable but not particularly low for a mono laser at its price. In fact, it matches the per-page cost of the far more modestly priced Editors' Choice OKI MB471. The HP M4555h has a running cost of 1.2 cents per page.

The M525f has a wealth of MFP features and a gorgeous 8-inch color touch screen. It costs less than the HP M4555h yet adds fax capabilities, and proved faster in our testing despite a lower rated speed. The HP M4555h, however, has lower running costs, saving you about $6 per 1,000 printed pages, and more paper-handling options.

The much lower-priced OKI MB471 lacks much of the M525f's paper capacity (being limited to 350 sheets standard, 850 max) and goodies like the touch screen and hard drive, but has a very capable feature set, solid speed and output quality, the same running costs, and a slightly lower maximum monthly duty cycle (60,000 pages, as opposed to the M525f's 70,000). It's geared to small and micro offices, while the M525f is targeted more to SMB and workgroups. The MB471 may have fewer frills, but it's a solid and cost-effective performer. The HP LaserJet Enterprise 500 MFP M525f is a respectable choice for larger offices looking for a full-featured monochrome MFP.

source from "http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2412507,00.asp"

PRINTERS

• printing,
• business

Review: Brother Business Smart MFC-J4510DW printer

In a market full of cookie-cutter multifunction inkjets, the $200 Brother Business Smart MFC-J4510DW (copy/fax/scan/print) is a little special. Where most printers are oriented to feed letter-size paper length-wise, the MFC-J4510DW stores, feeds, and prints it sideways. That means the paper path is 11 inches wide instead of 8.5 inches wide, so the unit will also handle larger paper, up to 11 by 17 inches, fed one sheet at a time through the rear of the unit. It's a novel approach that also allows for a shallower-than-normal footprint.

Brother provides a 3.7-inch touchscreen to facilitate control of the MFC-J4510DW. For the most part, options are presented in intuitive locations and in logical order. The driver dialogs for the unit are nicely realized as well, and PaperPort SE is included for scanning chores. Push scanning is available, but only via USB. The MFC-4510DW may also be connected via ethernet or Wi-Fi.

The MFC-J4510DW has a good overall design. It comes with a bottom-mounted, 150-sheet paper cassette. On top, there's a foldout, 20-sheet ADF (automatic document feeder) for scanning or copying longer documents. The printer prints in duplex, but the ADF doesn't duplex; Brother provides the option to scan both sides using the letter/A4-sized flatbed and printer-based prompts, but that’s not ideal for longer documents. The unit is solidly built, carries a two-year warranty, and has a recommended page volume of 250-2000 pages (duty cycle is 13,000 pages).

The Brother MFC-J4510DW prints text and monochrome documents quickly, and photos at an adequate pace. On the PC, text pages emerged at a rapid 12.3 pages per minute (ppm), and on the Mac, 12.8 ppm. Four-inch by six-inch photos printed at about 4 ppm on plain paper using the default settings, and 2 ppm to glossy paper. A full-page photo prints in about 38 seconds. Scan speeds are excellent at about 2 ppm.

The MFC-J4510DW can produce very nice output, though you must select Best mode for optimal results. In default mode on plain paper, text and simple graphics looked good, but photos looked washed-out; and we observed either a precise white line or a precise overlap line where the printhead either over- or under-shot as it passed over the page. Switching to Best mode seemed to remove this risk--and improve photo quality on plain paper. Photo quality on Brother’s own paper (where Best mode is the default) is as color-accurate as that from any printer you'll find in this price range.

Ink costs for the MFC-J4510DW are very affordable. The high-yield, 600-page LC103 cartridges cost a midrange 4.2 cents per page (cpp) for black and 2.5 cpp per color. With the 1200-page, LC105 series XXL cartridges, costs drop even lower, to 2.5 cpp for black and only 1.92 cpp per color. That's a four-color page for only 10.5 cents with the LC103 regular supplies and 8.25 cpp with the XXL LC105 cartridges.

MELISSA RIOFRIO

The Brother MFC-J4510DW is a capable all-around unit that looks nice and takes up less than the usual amount of space. The controls are nicely done, ink is very affordable, and the speed is adequate for a small or home office. It definitely belongs on your short list. The HP Photosmart 7520 costs the same and has a few advantages in print quality and features, but its inks are not quite as cheap.