(Fwd) Re: Thrift store score: HP LJ4L

[Dave McGuire]

On Jan 26, 2009, at 2:44 PM, Chuck Guzis wrote:
> I've got a couple of old Panasonic lasers (KX-P4450i (PCL) and KX-
> P4455 (PS)); circa early 1990s.  Heavy battleship construction;
> separate toner (i.e. out of a bottle, no cartridges).

   Ahh, I remember those.  I worked for a small company that sold the  
4450 when it came out.  They were very popular in the desktop  
publishing segment due to very dense blacks.

> They keep
> going and going--but lately I've been using the cheap ($100 on a good
> day) Brother lasers.  Great print quality, miserly toner usage (and
> easy to refill carts) and they don't dim the lights when the fuser
> comes on.  After 3 years on my "short" HL-4050 cartridge with the
> toner lamp blinking, I finally refilled it with toner I bought 2
> years ago.

   Neat!

> Problem now is what to do with old Panasonics--they use Moto 68K
> processors internally and have a great deal of nice mechanical
> components--and AppleTalk interfaces as well as serial and parallel.
>
> Probably recycle them, I guess.  No inclination to fool with the
> innards.

   If they're functional, why not re-home them?  Why destroy  
functional, useful hardware?  A printer in the guest room, etc etc.   
Or I'm sure there's a kid somewhere who'd appreciate one.

> I'd love to find a good deal on an HP LJ 5si.  That 11x17 print
> format would come in handy.

   I've gotten two stupendously good deals on serious printers...The  
first, last March was an eBay auction for an HP 8100DN (Postscript,  
11x17, dual paper trays, duplexer, 100Mbps Ethernet, the rated duty  
cycle is huge...150K pages PER MONTH!).  It was local to me; it was  
listed by one of those storefronts that list stuff on eBay for a  
fee.  They described it poorly and were obviously clueless about it.   
I wouldn't have bid on it if it weren't local, because clueless  
people tend to ship laser printers with toner cartridges  
installed...which usually destroys the printer. Plus, it was listed  
with a shipping fee of $200.  (it's huge and very heavy)  To make a  
long story short, I ended up getting this printer, with original box  
and packing material, with 20K (yes twenty thousand) prints on the  
counter, with a 97%-full toner cartridge, for twenty bucks.  The  
thing is practically brand new.

   The second great deal was from a surplus dealer in Illinois a few  
months ago.  I was up there on business with a truck, and this place  
had a pair of HP 8550DN printers, one working and one for parts.   
They are floor-standing large-office-grade printers...Color  
Postscript (yes, color!), 11x17, dual paper trays, duplexer 100Mbps  
Ethernet, huge duty cycle, integral hard drive, etc etc etc.  Two  
sets of 50%-full toner cartridges, all colors.  The guy needed to  
clear some space so I ended up getting both of them for about $100.00.

   So, they take up some space, but I have high-speed monochrome and  
color 11x17 printing-on-both-sides Postscript-at-100Mbps 32-page-per- 
minute output capability in my office.  It is glorious!

   Incidentally, the "D" in the model suffix means it's got a  
duplexer.  If you find an 8100N or 8550N, it can be turned into a DN  
with the addition of a duplexer module.  Both of these printers take  
the same duplexer module; it can be had for ~$20 on eBay, and it  
installs with no tools in about two minutes flat.

   I recommend both of these models (HP 8100DN, HP 8550DN)  
wholeheartedly.  In fact, I love these printers so much that I  
drooled all over my shirt as I typed this. :)

              -Dave

-- 
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL