printer suggestion

[calebm12]

I am wondering if anyone can recommend in at home-office printer. I am looking for something i can do color and b/w out....turn out good letterheads, labelling, envelopes,brochures, etc. But also provide concept papers and designs to clients. Any had success with a good printer. Something that might print to paper edges, have quality ink system, and a good price.

Would really appreciate some recommendations

[G Designz]

thats a good question..My printers are epsons and hp and they come out really good. But Im not sure if they print to paper edges...

[PrintDriver]

how much do you want to spend and is this printing for finished pieces you are selling to clients (ie high volume output) or is this letterhead and envelopes thing just for your daily use?

[calebm12]

Thanks for the responses. The printer will just mostly be for letterhead. I wont be printing for clients. But instead sending drafts and printing my own letterhead.

Thanks
Caleb

[Praedicator]

What type of volume are you expecting to do?

Over the life of the printer the consumables cost (ink, paper, toner, etc) will far outweigh the intitial investment with a printer, so be sure to check the cost of each consumable per your workflow.

If the majority of your work is letterheads and stationary it might be worth looking into an entry-level color laser printer. The HP Color LaserJet 1600 is running about ~$225 these days and is an excellent printer for low to medium volume work. There are tons of additional color laser printers that fill the bill though as well as a world of inkjet printers.

Most clients won't be able to tell the difference between a $100 printer and a $400 printer with the right papers, and if they can tell the difference you should be charging them more ;)

[imann08]

I can tell you that I am quite happy with the Canon i9900 that I have. It is a wide format printer that goes up to 13x19 and can print to the edges on a number of different paper sizes including the basic 8.5x11. It is an inkjet but the quality is quite good. It is a photo printer and to get it to print to the edges it must be in photo quality setting but if you are printing on a higher quality stock that isn't a problem. It is 8 color with separate cartridges for each color. This seems to be the norm nowadays though. I haven't owned mine long enough or put it through enough use to determine how good the cost is for the ink but it seems pretty decent. I bought mine at the end of last year but by now they should have their new one out that I think was supposed to go on sale for $800+. The one I have, which I like a lot, was less than $400.

I have found that for a higher quality stock, Red River paper is pretty good and they sell a sample pack of their papers for like $15. It's a good way to get a look at all the weights and types they have. Red River specializes in papers for inkjet printers and you can get almost anything you would need in a large range of weights from them. I think the heaviest paper that they offer is 78lb. They have stuff as light as 36lb as well and everything in between.

I hope this helped.

[calebm12]

that helps tons. thanks SO much!

[colonel5]

I wouldn't go w/ an HP. For what you're talking about stick to a Canon or Epson... I'm not sure about the full bleed though

[MD]

A couple months ago I picked up a Xerox Phaser 6120/N Laser Printer.
It's very nice, but doesn't print edge to edge - I haven't used it enough to review it but the price is right. Using http://www.pricegrabber.com I was able to snag it for under $240 shipped 2nd day air.