Need an 11×17 color laser printer, no problem. Long gone are the days of shrinking down larger documents to fit on 8 ½ x 11 paper so you can print the document on your laser printer. No more printing a larger document across two 8 ½ x 11 pieces of paper and taping it together. Today’s printer manufacturers have available an 11×17 color laser printer for most any application. And almost all these printers print both 8 ½ x 11 and 11×17 documents. The price range for a 11×17 color laser printer is wide and depends on the requirements of the printing tasks at hand and the additional functionality needed.
There are a lot of features that come standard or can be added onto any 11×17 color laser printer. These include network capabilities including wireless, scanning, copying, faxing, duplexing, sorting, stapling, additional paper trays and others. A 11×17 color laser printer can be purchased to meet almost any requirements. Let’s take a closer look at a few 11×17 color laser printer and what each has to offer.
Okidata C830N
This 11×17 color laser printer is by far the smallest 11×17 color laser printer that we’ve seen. It is small enough to fit on a desktop and does not require a stand like the other models we’ll highlight. It has a paper tray that fits 11×17 paper 70lb cover, has limited paper handling ability and has a higher operating cost. Its print quality is above average. It ships with 256 MB Ram and has 500 Mhz processor speed. Its maximum resolution is 1200×600 DPI. This is a great 11×17 color laser printer for low volume personal use. It will cost around $2,000.
Ricoh Aficio CL7200
This is a very large 11×17 color laser printer that would require a stand with wheels in order to be moved. It has two paper trays, one can be used to hold 11×17 60lb cover. It has very large paper capacity at 1,100 sheets and a low operating cost with excellent print quality. It also can be upgraded with finishing options like sorting, stapling, etc. This 11×17 color laser printer comes standard with 256 MB Ram, 733 Mhz processor speed and maximum resolution of 1200×1200 DPI. This is a great 11×17 laser printer for a business with its low operating cost, excellent print quality and finishing upgrade options. This base printer will cost around $3,000.
Konica Minolta 8650DN
This workgroup printer has a high maximum resolution of 19,200×600 and includes two trays with a built-in duplexer. An optional stand with 3rd paper tray can also be added to this 11×17 color laser printer. It handles 12×18 paper via a tray that handles up to 94lb cover. It’s shipped with 1GB of Ram, has a paper capacity of 1,150 sheets and has good overall print quality. Its printing speed is above average and has a decent operating cost. Finishing options and an internal hard disk can be added. This 11×17 color laser printer is a great workhorse that can handle card stock media easily. Its price starts at $3,000.
Since an 11×17 color laser printer has a high price tag for this functionality, consider a refurbished 11×17 color laser printer. It is definitely cheaper and many of these refurbished printers have minimal use and come with a full warranty.
Visit our 11×17 laser printer article for considerations when buying an 11×17 laser printer.
I am Interested in a color laser 11 x 17 duplex printer. Once a month I send out a 4 page mail merged color newsletter. Aprox 1500 copies. The rest of the use would be color and black&white 81/2 x 11 pieces about 200 -300 pages / month. Can you give me some Idea of costs involved for printing my own news letter or should I contract it out. Thanks Cris Johnson
Cris,
Definitely get costs for contracting out the newsletter. You’ll need the costs to compare. Get contracting costs from 2 or 3 different places. The things you would have to take into consideration for costs of printing it yourself would be:
1. The added cost of buying a 11×17 color laser printer with enough paper tray capacity that you were not spending all your time refilling paper. (Trays normally handle between 250-500 sheets). And make sure the printer chosen can handle the paper weight you print your newsletter on. A printer like this can run you around $3,000 vs under $1,000 for a 8 1/2 x 11 color laser printer.
2. The cost of paper and toner cartridges. Toner cartridges can cost you $100 – $250 each with yield of about 6,000-18,000 pages depending on the printer. Replacement parts might factor in also (ie. drum, chip)
3. Cost of your time to collate, staple, fold or whatever document handling needs to be done. Plus your time to handle paper jams, adding paper, replacing toner, etc.
There would be no cost difference for creating the newsletter or sending it out since you would do this whether you contract print out or not. However, you could also contract out the mailing of your newsletter, possibly to the same place that prints it.
Remember, whatever time you do not spend on clerical tasks like printing & sending out your newsletter, can be spent toward making money for your business. This is opportunity cost you would have to figure in also. Hope this helps. Good luck.
Les