Looking for printer recommendations—any suggestions?

Need some advice

1) Looking for a printer that actually fits my needs—specifically for cranking out business cards. Budget is around $1333... but I need something where ink doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Like I said, the main goal is business cards. Ideally, I want duplex printing (both sides at once) and it needs to handle heavy 350gsm cardstock... though does that even exist for $1333? Maybe better quality ones are more expensive, but honestly, all I care about is high-quality card prints. I don't give a damn if it scans or does anything else. Just wants great cards.

2) Also hunting for a printer that can print directly onto CD/DVD media. Something dedicated just for that. Is there anything decent available here in the States? I've been scouring the web but can't find much. They seem to have them overseas, but what can I actually pick up in local US stores?

1. As far as I know (unless something major changed recently), 350gsm isn't even paper anymore—it's cardstock. And honestly, no consumer-grade machine, not even SOHO or office printers, can handle that. It’s just how the tech works. You can't manually adjust the roller height like you would on a commercial printing press; instead, rollers are set to some "universal" height designed to handle the standard 60-125gsm stuff. Some printers that aren't total junk might swallow up cardstock up to 220-250gsm, but anything thicker is a struggle. Even if you force 220gsm through, you'll end up stretching the rollers, which means later on when you try to print on thinner paper, it'll just slip and dance under the rollers. If you want decent business cards (in reasonable quantities), your best bet is an inkjet with a straight-through feed—something where the paper stays flat as it moves through. Any bend in thick paper creates resistance.

Basically, you want the paper to go in straight and come out the other side without any curling. Only certain inkjets actually offer that kind of pathing, and even then, they're rare. With lasers, if you find a mechanism like that at all, it's usually only in monochrome models; in color lasers, it's practically impossible because the hardware would take up way too much space. Speaking of B&W, back in the day, I had two HP laser printers from their older series that let you open the fuser cover from the back without triggering an error code. That allowed the paper to exit straight. I used them to print maybe two dozen thank-you notes or diplomas in black or gold (using gold foil)—but only the names; everything else was pre-printed via offset.

And forget about duplexing. The whole point of duplex is handling thin paper easily.

2. For one-offs or just a few copies, you can use inkjets that have a dedicated CD tray. There used to be machines on the market specifically for printing on CDs, but they were semi-pro, slow as hell, and incredibly expensive. I haven't seen anything like that in stores for a long time.

However, once you hit the 100-unit mark, it's probably worth just contacting a professional print shop. Prices aren't what they used to be. There are plenty of shops in major cities like Chicago or NYC that do this, and I know for sure companies like FedEx Office or local specialty printers have the gear since they handle discs too. Give them a call and see what they quote.

edit:

Oh, wait, I just remembered. There was a brand called Primera, and they have distributors here in the States:

Just look at those prices... man... 🤦 serious money...

@darkowl72 thanks for the reply. Anyone actually used the HP Envy Series? Seems alright to me, but I don't wanna go out on a limb and just buy it blindly.

Michelle Reed5 said:Need some advice

1) Looking for a printer that actually fits my needs—specifically for cranking out business cards. Budget is around $1333... but I need something where ink doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Like I said, the main goal is business cards. Ideally, I want duplex printing (both sides at once) and it needs to handle heavy 350gsm cardstock... though does that even exist for $1333? Maybe better quality ones are more expensive, but honestly, all I care about is high-quality card prints. I don't give a damn if it scans or does anything else. Just wants great cards.

2) Also hunting for a printer that can print directly onto CD/DVD media. Something dedicated just for that. Is there anything decent available here in the States? I've been scouring the web but can't find much. They seem to have them overseas, but what can I actually pick up in local US stores?

First off,

You’re gonna need an older inkjet model that pulls the paper in full-width. Most modern printers use those little rollers to guide the sheet, which works fine for thin paper, but it's a nightmare for heavy stock.

Suggestions:

1. HP OfficeJet Series == $500 >Cheap print costs

2. OKI C3400 == $667 Has a manual straight-through path. >Toner is pricey

Also,

Epson Expression Series

or the Canon Pixma Series
Both have their own pros and cons.

Hey, I’m actually pretty glad BlackRock officially shut that down 😁 I honestly had no idea there were color lasers with a straight paper path... this OKI C3400 looks solid. It claims it can handle manual feeds up to 86lb paper, which is huge—that means I could probably run 90lb through it, which is plenty thick enough for business cards. You should give some 96lb a shot and see; if it works, it works. If it doesn't, you aren't going to ruin everything with just one or two sheets...