Another 1040 Express Answer BooK? II

[Lucho]

Thank to everyone for your answer about the extra book I got. Now I Feel at ease.

Now I have another question about the HP Color Lazer Jet 2600N. Is this particualr printer still a good office equipment? or may it become obsolete in the near future? I am in the process to buy a color lazer printer and I saw the one in question (The last one on display at Costco) showing a price of $190.00 before taxes. If I bought it, it will be connected to a Windows Vista appliction computer. Any suggestion or advice will be appreciated.

Good night again and may God bless all of you.

[Julie]

I just bought this exact model last July. If it comes with full-sized cartridges (as mine did), the value of the toner exceeds the cost of the machine. Color toner cartridges cost $83 (you need three of them), and I think the black is $79. I use it on my small network (2 computers, both running WinXP). Unless you do a lot of color printing, you will not need to change the color cartridges often. I just changed two of mine for the first time. Still have never changed the yellow cartridge.

I bought it because my husband is an artist and we needed to print color brochures and catalogs for his show (and our inkjet printer died in the process). It does that kind of work very well. It has problems with glossy paper, though, even if it's labeled for laser printers. I think that hp makes special paper for color laserjets, but it does a beautiful job with plain paper and cardstock. Our full-color brochures were printed on plain office paper, and came out with a beautiful soft-gloss/satin finish. Folded and saddle-stapled, you wouldn't know they weren't professional work. So, yes, I'm pleased with mine. I do not use it for tax returns, although it's ready if I need a backup. My 8-year-old hp laserjet 3150 all-in-one still works fine, and with less lead time.

Yes, that is another fault of the 2600. It needs a few minutes to think about each print job. Once it gets going, though, the speed is reasonable. Typically the older printer will be faster, even with a slower nominal speed.

[joelgilb]

Personally I am not a fan of HP products on any level.

Although at one time they made the IMO the best printers, I feel they have fallen donw and now to use sub-standard parts, have been the only electronic products that I have both purchased and needed extended warranties for, have had numerous issues and breakdowns etc.

I have had nothing but trouble in recent years with their laser printers, laptops, desktops and ink jets.

As far as laser printers, Brother does a real nice job and I also like Okidata's color lasers but not all their multifunction units. Okidata has a unique feature because it is not really a laser printer, but an LED printer. When printing, even on plain paper you get a magazine like glossy color print. Also, their cost per print page is generally less than all other printes, both due to ease of refilling and the way they deal with consumables.

Brother, which I do not own, consistently gets rave reviews and a number of my friend and clients swear by them. Their all in ones have received top reviews from several sites.

Personally I have been an Okidata fan for years. Had 2 cheap personal monochromes I purchased years ago. Worked like a charm, never broke down and the only reason I had to get rid of them was they were old and outdated technology (slow had them almost 20 years). Never had any other printer last that long, including my HP Laserjet 4 (which was a good printer, back then I do think HP did it right).

[Lion EA]

I have the older HP2550N which has served me well a couple of tax seasons. Its color is beautiful. It's fast, very fast in black only; a short pause before it starts printing, especially .pdf's and/or lots of color graphics, but then swoosh the pages come flying out. Everything I bought by Brother died quickly. I still own all the HP printers and all-in-ones I ever bought. My old HP4L is still printing, too slow for tax returns with a client waiting, but at my husband's computer; replaced the rollers once. He also has a very old color HP inkjet at his computer and an old all-in-one he uses mostly as a scanner but also as a color printer. I have the 2250 and a new all-in-one used mostly as a free-standing fax but also printer for my laptop. Had great luck with HP.

[joelgilb]

... Had great luck with HP.

Wish I did

[zeke]

Wish I did

you did - just all bad!

[joelgilb]

you did - just all bad!

LOL True!

[Lion EA]

That's my luck with Brother. Had a decent simple Brother fax. When it died, decided to upgrade and stick with Brother since I knew the controls. Well, went through about three in about a year with various problems. And, a Brother printer that came bundled with a computer or laptop similarly died within months. All had very light home use, not office. Been afraid of Brother ever since.

[joelgilb]

Never Ever had a problem with Okidata and have had several through the years. And even long after the warranty period is over they are still giving me tech support for free.

They solved a problem just before tax season on a printer that had been out of warranty for over 4 years. Now I did have to pay for my own parts, but it was really maintenance not a breakdown.