HELP! Best Color Laser Printer For Graphic Arts

[KKramer]

Hi Everyone! I am new to the group and have been searching for a long time to find the perfect laser printer to add to my art business. I NEED your help and input! I currently have and love my Canon Pro 100 PRIXMA, I use it for my fine art prints and she is consistent, reliable and prints are high quality. However I also print greeting cards on thicker Cardstock 80LB and the paper is thirsty soaking up lots of ink, sometimes even bleeding images. My original work is watercolor that I convert to digital files. Many different color scaling and variations needed.

I've been searching for what feels like a lifetime for the perfect laser printer to print high quality on my Cardstock (not crazy thick) and stationary- I just cant pull the trigger because when I read the reviews on the contending printers they are not encouraging. I get I will have to pay $$$ (or maybe $$$$) but if I am to spend lots of Benjamins I want to make sure the quality is on point, especially since I cant get a sample print before I buy.

Any insight?? I went to Office Depot and asked the tech and he stated that all lasers are pretty much the same as long as I print in high resolution directly from my computer- is this true? If so, why do some laser printers have higher DPI? Please help my endless internet search and late nights reading reviews that make me want to go crazy.

Wants:
High resolution color laser
Auto Feeder
Print on somewhat thick paper

Dont need:
an all in one printer

HELP! and thank you so much! Krystal

 

[The Hat]

HELP! and thank you so much! Krystal

Firstly your Pro 100 is able to do all the things you want it to do on quality card stock.. Let me explain first..

Not all card stock are the same, your using standard card stock that is mainly used in Litho printing and not all of that is suitable for inkjet printers, (Some are) this is where you need to do more homework.

There’s a plethora of card stock out there made specially for inkjet printers, and if you use the right cards, you’ll get the quality your looking for without investing in an expensive laser printer.

There are 4 colour high quality Digital SRA3 laser printers out there that will print on just about anything, Canon, HP and Ricoh make them, and they are expensive to buy and mostly have a click charge for every print you do, so running costs can also be high..

P.S. not all home and office laser printers are the same and can vary quite a bit in output quality, again it’s the price that counts.. Inkjet printer do a better job..

P.S. Google is your friend for finding inkjet card stock..

 

[The Hat]

Who will rid us of this stupid Spam..…

 

[Artur5]

Nowadays we have less genuine posts than 'feckin spam' stuff.
If things don't change, this forum faces a gloomy future.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

the paper is thirsty soaking up lots of ink, sometimes even bleeding images.

that's definitely not paper/cardstock suitable for inkjet printing, the first effort should be to look for papers/cardstock suitable for inkjet printing and possibly considering to switch over to a pigment ink printer like the Pro-300 , pigment inks are less prone to a bleeding effect.

There are various companies supplying a wide range of inkjet papers - Red River just as an example

https://www.redrivercatalog.com/samples/

Get a sample pack - for Art & Design and Greeting and Note Cards to get a feeling of the overall range of such papers

 

[Nifty]

Nowadays we have less genuine posts than 'feckin spam' stuff.
If things don't change, this forum faces a gloomy future.

Spam definitely comes in waves and it's a constant cat/mouse battle to keep spammers at bay, but not blocking legit users.

We have a lot of great systems in place that keep out about 99% of the attempts at spam. It's actually quite amazing to see the backend logs that show how many people (and robots) are constantly hitting the forum at every angle to create spam, and then see how many were automatically rejected!

That said, sometimes spam sneaks through. Heck, even Facebook, Instagram, etc., with their gazillions of $$ aren't able to keep spammers out.

When the small % of spammers get through, it's best to just report them, then ignore. We are usually able to review and remove them within 24 hours.

Thanks again for all the patience and help as we keep our community clean!

 

[The Hat]

Heck, even Facebook, Instagram, etc., with their gazillions of $$ aren't able to keep spammers out.

The stuff on these sites is mostly Feckin Spam anyway…
That’s how they earn their money..
Thanks @Nifty..

 

[LonnieCooper]

Hi Everyone! I am new to the group and have been searching for a long time to find the perfect laser printer to add to my art business. I NEED your help and input! I currently have and love my Canon Pro 100 PRIXMA, I use it for my fine art prints and she is consistent, reliable and prints are high quality. However I also print greeting cards on thicker Cardstock 80LB and the paper is thirsty soaking up lots of ink, sometimes even bleeding images. My original work is watercolor that I convert to digital files. Many different color scaling and variations needed.

I've been searching for what feels like a lifetime for the perfect laser printer to print high quality on my Cardstock (not crazy thick) and stationary- I just cant pull the trigger because when I read the reviews on the contending printers they are not encouraging. I get I will have to pay $$$ (or maybe $$$$) but if I am to spend lots of Benjamins I want to make sure the quality is on point, especially since I cant get a sample print before I buy.

Any insight?? I went to Office Depot and asked the tech and he stated that all lasers are pretty much the same as long as I print in high resolution directly from my computer- is this true? If so, why do some laser printers have higher DPI? Please help my endless internet search and late nights reading reviews that make me want to go Ask AI Premium Mod APK.

Wants:
High resolution color laser
Auto Feeder
Print on somewhat thick paper

Dont need:
an all in one printer

HELP! and thank you so much! Krystal

Firstly, it's important to note that laser printers and inkjet printers operate differently, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Laser printers generally produce sharp text and graphics, while inkjet printers excel at producing high-quality photos and images. However, there are laser printers that can produce high-quality color prints as well, so it's not impossible to find a laser printer that suits your needs.
Based on your requirements, I would suggest looking into the following laser printers:

HP Color LaserJet Pro M254dw: This printer has a straight-through paper path and can handle paper weights up to 200g/m², which should be sufficient for your cardstock needs. It also has a resolution of 600x600 DPI and can print up to 22 pages per minute. It comes with an auto feeder and can print wirelessly.

Brother HL-L3270CDW: This printer also has a straight-through paper path and can handle paper weights up to 163g/m². It has a resolution of 2400x600 DPI and can print up to 25 pages per minute. It also comes with an auto feeder and can print wirelessly.

 

[The Hat]

The jury’s out on this one too...