Doogie's Stage Printer Research/Proposal


Hey there Stage, it's me Doogie, Weeeeee! Anyways I wanted to bring this idea to Stage this Thursday of a new Stage printer, below are:

If you have any questions/ideas/concerns please give me a call! 432-9178. Thanks!



Why Stage should get a new printer

  1. The regular use of the current printer in the Stage Office has brought that printer close to the end of its useful life. We bought that $250 printer on sale for $150 three years ago and it has outperformed what we want from it. The Rollers are failing which can be replaced for about $45 (Shipped).
     
  2. It is great for STAGE members to be able to print their homework or anything else they need when the Stage office is open, but members have to be let into the Stage office by an Exec. With a new printer, we could put it in the writing lab for everyone to use as needed.

    If you can get into Daggy you can be able to print your assignments
     
  3. Printers have come down significantly in price in the last three years to allow for a heavy duty printer to be had for a very reasonable price.
     
  4. Along with better printing technology, printers also allow for "All in One solutions". I think it would be very handy for a public access printer that would also allow Stage members to photocopy the occasional page (not necessarily dozens of pages of scripts at a time, rather a contact list for your cast or blocking notes etc...)


Summary of Research Results

Inkjet versus Laser

Being as concise as possible, here is the skinny

The biggest decision with the printer is to go with either a heavy duty laser or a cheaper inkjet printer.
Being that this would be a big and long term investment to improve theatre students' study ability, it makes since to ask how long is the printer going to cost us in the long run. Good Laser Printers are more expensive than a good inkjet printer, however, the cost of toner is the catch.

"Although laser printers may have a higher entry price, inkjets cost more to maintain, and that's because of consumables, the paper and ink you use for printing"(from http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/sna.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~section=006&~topic=buying_guide_printer

Most Inkjet printers are sold at a loss with the expectation of making up the lost profits in ink cartridges (think Lexmark who does it quite well, even generic cartridges are not cheap relatively).

  • Generally, Laser can be anywhere from 1/2 the price to 1/5 the price of any Inkjet printer per page.

    "Operating costs for printers is typically measured in cost-per-page (CPP). Laser printers typically have operating costs of a few pennies per page. Inkjet printers can have operating costs of $0.05-$0.10 " (from http://www.becauseiprint.net/laser_inkjet_printers.jsp)

     

    "Many consumers fail to consider the long term ownership cost associated with fax machines and computer printers. Inkjet fax machines, inkjet printers, and inkjet multi-function machines are currently priced at bargain levels. Inkjet printing devices have become so popular, it seems as though everyone has at least one inkjet printer or fax in their home or office. They're extremely popular because they come with many features, print quality is very good, and the acquisition cost of the unit is very low. Also, $30 for a replacement inkjet cartridge doesn't seem like a lot of money ... until you realize that you're buying an awful lot of inkjet cartridges.

    Consider that you're printing 500 pages before you have to replace the inkjet cartridge. That means you're paying 6-cents per page. If you receive 500 pages per month on an inkjet fax or multifunction machine, you're spending $360 annually for supplies to print 6,000 pages.

    In contrast to the inkjet print technology, laser and/or LED fax machines and printers offer tremendous savings. The cost for toner is in the range of 1.5-cents per page to 2-cents per page. Add to that the cost of other consumables, such as a $200 drum that requires replacement after 20,000 pages, and your overall cost per page increases by a penny, to 2.5-cents or 3-cents per page."    (from http://brokenfax.com/00044.html)
     

    *It's important to note that the pages estimates like the one above are based on 5% coverage on a page (a double spaced page of a word document, if making photocopies, the coverage is much higher)


  • -Inkjet printers are great for cheap color photos, laser is great for cheap black and white documents and copies, I think we would be doing much more of the latter
  • -Inkjet cartridges go dry if not used for a period of time (i.e. over Summer Break), Laser cartridges are good to go
  • -New Manufacturer tech makes refilling some inkjet cartridges a pain in the ass (smart chips so only original Epson cartridges work in Epsons, requiring print heads to be changed for each cartridge


Bottom line from the research, Laser is Considerably cheaper in the long run (as long as the toner costs are decent for the chosen printer)




Recommendation / Proposal
Option 1 - straight printer

After reading many the reviews of Laser Printers from across the web and compilation sites, it seems that the most reliable, cheapest operating cost, and most durable to our use levels would be the Brother HL-5050

Manufacturer's Description
Here is a Brief Review
For 241.95 shipped (which includes a toner cartridge than lasts 3300 pages at 5% coverage)


Option 2 - printer and copier

If STAGE were to go with the copier/scanner option as well, the print quality would be higher as well as having the ability to scan/print (and even fax for PR if we can use our phone line....)
The choice here is clearer with The Brother MFC-8420.

Manufacturer's Site
Users' Reviews
More Users' Feedback
PCMag's Editor's Choice Review
At the price of 425.60 Shipped. (which includes a toner cartridge than lasts 3300 pages at 5% coverage)


Even though this is $180 more expensive, I feel it is worthwhile discussing the pro/cons of it
There are some more little nuances that made these the apparent best choices and I think that stage could really benefit from having the copier access, but at least the ability for Stage members to print their work whenever they needed would be great. Let me know if there are any questions and I look forward to talking about this with Everyone. Thanks!
-Doogie