Three and a half years ago I got fed up with dried up InkJet 
cartridges, and cheap laser printer failures. My  desktop monochrome 
laser had just died, and Staples extended warranty refunded my 
money,  so I went looking for a new laser. It just so happened that 
they had a OKI 3200n (no longer available) color laser on sale, and 
with my refund it was affordable. Staples had it displayed working so 
you could print out the fabulous sample picture which was no doubt 
fine tuned for this particular printer.

  The printer is huge, something you would see in a school or office, 
it is full of cartridges, which are very expensive to replace, but 
for three and a half years it has worked without a single problem 
putting out beautiful color prints that don't smear ,or fade. My OKI 
is not as good a photo printer as a high end inkjet photo printer, 
but they are good enough for me.

There are a lot of cheaper, smaller, desktop lasers out there now, 
but the large ones still have their advantages. They are built to 
last, and are more robust. They come with network connections, more 
RAM, and things like duplex printing = both sides at once, which I am 
addicted to. Color lasers are perfect for those who only print 
occasionally because laser toner does not dry up, and doesn't have a 
shelf life. The toners are supposedly good  for 1500 copies, far less 
then your typical monochrome laser cartridge, but I currently have 
1896 pages printed with 20 to 30 percent left on the four toners.  I 
have had it three, and a half years and I probably have another 9-14 
months on the original toners, before I have to start replacing 
cartridges. Fortunately, I have 90-95 percent of my belt, my fuser, 
and 60 percent of my drum life left.

I do not recommend using refilled cartridges, or anything other then 
manufacture supplies because you risk ruining the fuser. And if that 
happens on this beast, I might as well take it to the recycle center, 
as a fuser costs as much as the printer did. OKI toner cartridges 
will cost me close to $275 to replace all four, but for me, another 
four to five years of printer bliss is well worth it.

Mark Rode


>I am also looking for a printer.

>I have considered a laser printer again, as I often use color in 
>headings and for emphasis that I'd like to have print in color.  The 
>color lasers are not only expensive, they are huge.  I may print the 
>equivalent of 5 to 30 sheets in a month and I'm concerned that the 
>laser cartridges would dry up before I use up the ink.
>
>Any suggestions?
>AnnaSummers

                         PCBUILD's List Owners:
                      Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]>
                        Mark Rode<[log in to unmask]>