Printer Advice

[BOB IROC]

Ok, my boss does this to me from time to time and this time I think I am going to gather the opinions of other techies before I make a decision. He got this sales email from a Samsung Rep tell him all about how their Printer will save money vs the comparible HP. The two printers that are being Compared are the Samsung ML 4551N and the HP LaserJet 4250n.
Doing a spec for spec comparison they are very similar and the only thing that I can see the Samsung coming ahead in is price and it has more standard ram. The concern I have is the toner. It is very easy to get re-filled toner for HP printers at a good price and I am thinking that we would have to pay for new toner for the samsung. Another thing that concerns me is the serviceability. Many of the parts in HP Workgroup lasers are End User replaceable and maintenance on them is relatively easy. If anybody has seen this model or similar models in action please respond. I am looking to get feedback from the masses. Thanks.

[slgrieb]

Bob, I'd say any HP printer repairs can be done in-house if you have the service manual . No special tools required, and parts are everywhere: PartsNow, DepotAmerica, PrinterWorks, you name it. You can't say the same about Samsung. Personally, if I can't service it, I don't want to own it or sell it.

[CCT]

Your boss would be better advised to consider how NOT to use the printer so often, ie, 'why are we printing so much crap?'.

Most of the time, if you didn't have a printer and had to send stuff out on disc, you would seriously cut down on paper useage.

Thank you for your time - hug a tree.

[BOB IROC]

I agree with Both of you. Unfortunately I have the kind of boss that looks at the initial $$$ and not at the complete picture most of the time. I have to be pretty elaborate with my evaluations to include total cost. Otherwise he can sell it to the superintendent as saving money and when it cost more down the road he just shrugs it off.

The whole thing about our users need to print everything is a different story all together. I am on a continuous mission to reduce the need for paper overall. To start I took many of the online forms that were used to request vacations, time off, turn in mileage, and many others into online editable PDFs that can be submitted without printing out. This is slowly taking effect but many still print it out and hand it to their boss instead of just emailing it. As our older teaching staff retires so does the need for as much paper.

I have contacted our Toner suppliers and they are going to get me price comparison's of the toner cost and availability. I think that will ultimately be the deciding factor. I will also try and get service information on this printer to see if it is easily field servicable. Thanks for your opinions and input.

[rgharper]

I'm a big fan of the 4200 series of HP printers - we have dozens of them and they just take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. Yeah, they're easy to rebuild - you can pretty much do a total all-but-the-motor-and-gears rebuild cheap and easy. We overhaul ours at the recommended interval (200,000 pages) and we have a couple 4200s that are on their third overhaul and still running like a top.

[Pinnacle]

I wish we still used HP laser printers around here. We have not used them since the 4 series. After that, we went to IBM. They were okay, but did not seem as reliable as HP. After IBM, we went to Okidata. I'm certain they don't last as long.

[slgrieb]

Yes, Pinnacle, I agree. Still IBM (now Lexmark) has decent parts sources and isn't too hard to service. I do quite a few, and have never had the urge to throw one across the room; unlike OKIs.

Bob, what can you do? I know your boss's management style all too well. Give him your best advice and if he ignores it, oh well. I would only say keep a copy of all memo's etc. off the job site in case he tries to blame you when things go wrong. You should always be prepared to document your position.

[BOB IROC]

Bob, what can you do? I know your boss's management style all too well. Give him your best advice and if he ignores it, oh well. I would only say keep a copy of all memo's etc. off the job site in case he tries to blame you when things go wrong. You should always be prepared to document your position.

Believe me that document list grows everyday. My email archive is ready to bust and I have referred back to such emails and documents in the past when things went wrong. Saved my *** but made him a bit upset because he was called out.

Oh well, I guess all I need to do know is see how easy these Samsung printers are to work on and maybe find some unbiased ownership comparisons

[slgrieb]

The big issue with Samsung isn't ease of service, but parts availabilty. You can Google it, or visit Samsung's site and search for parts, but I think the results either way are pretty scary.

I've sold some entry level Samsung laser printers, but service isn't much of an issue with these because you can just about replace the printer for the cost of toner! OK, I exaggerate, but not much. You can certainly bolster your case for HP by looking at potential costs for downtime, but all too many organizations have accounting structures that encourage managers to buy cheap crap (low capital investment) even if the actual operating costs are hellacious. But I suspect you know the drill.

[3fingersalute]

The big issue with Samsung isn't ease of service, but parts availabilty. You can Google it, or visit Samsung's site and search for parts, but I think the results either way are pretty scary.

I've sold some entry level Samsung laser printers, but service isn't much of an issue with these because you can just about replace the printer for the cost of toner! OK, I exaggerate, but not much. You can certainly bolster your case for HP by looking at potential costs for downtime, but all too many organizations have accounting structures that encourage managers to buy cheap crap (low capital investment) even if the actual operating costs are hellacious. But I suspect you know the drill.

Exaclty. Years ago when I worked retail, we got some great deal on Samsung lasers and put them on the floor at an unbelievable price (I forget how much now). Anyhow, they were way cheaper than HP's, but you made up for it in toner over a few years. We also had a crap of a time finding schematics, part #'s or even actual parts to fix them up when people started bringing them back busticated.

We learned our lesson from that and stuck with HP from there on out.

[BOB IROC]

I am on the same feeling as you guys. Stick with the company that does laser printing right.