darkowl72
Regular
311 messages
joined Oct 2015
I wouldn't count on staying under 5% just by printing text. That 5% figure is being generous anyway, considering margins, spacing, and the fact that you're often working in draft mode.
I'm not sure which printers ship with full toner cartridges and which ones just include those pathetic starter toners that last for a few hundred pages. Check the product descriptions, but most of them come with starters, so it’s smart to budget for a full set of new toners right when you buy the printer.
Look, if you're planning on heavy-duty printing over the long haul, you shouldn't pick a printer until you've actually done your homework and researched the hell out of it.
You need to find a local business or an online toner shop near you where you can grab decent, cheap third-party toners. YouTube is actually pretty helpful for finding tutorials on how to trick the printer or reset chips, and eBay is always a good bet for finding replacement ink and toner... basically everything.
Higher speed is nice, but what really matters is the cost per page. You can't just look at the price of the toner and paper; you have to factor in the other parts that need periodic replacement. For example, the OKIs (which are essentially from the same family and use the same engine—I didn't bother digging into the differences between these two specific models) require:
- replacing the color image drums every 20,000 prints for each color and every 30,000 for black
- replacing the fuser unit every 60,000 prints
- replacing the transfer belt every 60,000 prints
And all of that counts as regular maintenance. You should check prices with local vendors or authorized service centers, and don't forget the labor costs. If you're printing a lot, having a technician swing by once or twice a month can become a massive line item in your budget.
Also, pay attention to the duty cycle. For the C301-cu, the max is 30,000 pages a month, but (get this!) the *recommended* duty cycle is only 2,000 pages a month. Warranty is another big deal; check how long it lasts, and keep in mind that nobody is going to honor your warranty if you blow past that recommended duty cycle—the printer keeps track of that stuff. The toner capacity is 1,500 pages, with black hitting 2,200, but the starters included with the machine usually only do about 750 pages (at least that's the standard in the US, I couldn't find a specific local number).
Anything else? Yeah, power consumption. If you're running this thing for hours, the electricity bill can jump unexpectedly. Even though the 80W idle draw isn't bad, the typical usage is 480W, and the peak of 1170W is getting into the territory of a small water heater.😬
Like I said, the ES is part of the same family, so the specs probably won't be much different.
Here’s how things look for the Samsung CLP-360:
The Samsung is slower (drastically slower for color!) and takes way longer to spit out the first page. It also has manual duplexing, meaning you have to flip the paper yourself. It's easier to handle than the OKI, though, and the rated power draw is 290W. If these differences seem wild, it’s because of the tech—OKI uses LED laser, while Samsung uses a traditional laser beam. Standard toner capacity is 1,000 pages, with black at 1,500. The starter kit usually covers 500 color pages and 700 black. The max monthly duty cycle is 20,000. Drums need changing every 4,000 prints for color and 16,000 for black. Beyond the drums, you've got the fuser, ITB belt, transfer roller, waste toner bottle, and the pickup roller. All of that costs money, which you should verify, but if your livelihood depends on printing, you'll eventually learn some tricks—like ordering toner or refill kits off eBay—or whatever else you can glean from offers that don't strictly follow the manufacturer's official maintenance schedule.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Ma...IAAOSwjVVVkmjU
As you can see, the differences in some of these items are huge, so you could easily end up pulling your hair out the very first time a technician shows up. There, I've given you enough material to study and more headaches to deal with, beyond just the stuff that caught your eye. I didn't mention the basic features since they're clearly listed everywhere, so you likely already saw them when you bought it.
Good luck.
