Which Colour Printer G J Fayers ic ac

Which Colour Printer? ? G. J. Fayers@ic. ac. uk

Key Factors Capital outlay << Consumables cost l Choice of technology l Way services are delivered for transparencies, paper l

Selection Criteria 2 trays, 2 software queues l Speed l Memory size l Resolution l PS level 2 or better l Low cost ownership l Duplex operation l Non-proprietary transparencies l

Other Selection Criteria Simplicity of use l Reliability l Price l Duty cycle l Print cost per page l Network readiness l Protocols’ support and maximum control from maximum number of different types of host l PCL capability l

Yet More Selection Criteria Postscript emulation quality l Number of consumables l Support for Auto. CAD 14 and Auto. CAD 2000 l Good reproduction of VGA camera output (discussed later) l Monochrome l A 3 capability l

Other Considerations Adjustable toner coverage l Availability of supplies on campus l Maximum memory capacity (esp. for postscript) l Informal workgroup servicing l Warranty l

Some Printer Truths l Underestimation of cost per page – 5% = A 4 x 12 -point – 240% = high quality transparency Expert estimate typical HEP 25% l Costs start at 1. 25 p per % ==> 30 p per transparency l Duty cycle is relative l

Duty Cycles l No absolute indication of robustness – 40 heating cycles worse than 1 x 40 pages l Duty cycle 5000/month ==> 40 pages/month

App. Classes vs. Costs

Inks, Colours, Toning & Resolution If pixel size fixed, only 8 possible colours from CMY l (Usually diagonal) half-toning overlay l More pixels per half-tone cell, more colour tones displayed l – But coarser apparent resolution – Trade-off here l Also Colour Management issue

Colour Printer Market l Margins low – Independent expert resellers hard to find l Brand leaders on low to mid-range include – Epson – HP – Lexmark – Tektronix (Xerox) l Small set of print engines (e. g. Hitachi, Canon, Matsushita, Minolta) – Why this does matter

Options and Recommendations See spreadsheet l Get handout l