- Use networked printers
- Use laser printers
- Minimum resolution 600x600 DPI with 1200x1200 preferred
- the LaserJet P3005n (1200x1200 DPI, street price ~$650 at Newegg). It has a 100BaseT ethernet port and a two-line LCD control panel.
- Also consider the Okidata B6200n (1200x1200 DPI, street price ~$650) also a networked printer with 100BaseT and control panel.
- Okidata C5150n (1200x600 DPI, street price around $400) It has a 100BaseT ethernet port and a two-line LCD control panel.
- HP Color LaserJet 2550n (600x600 DPI, street price also around $400) also a networked printer with 100BaseT and control panel.
Have at least one good greytone, networked laser printer that you will use for most of your office correspondence. Resolution should be at least 600x600 DPI. 1200x1200 DPI would be preferable. If you only occasionally need color then you might be able to take care of your color printing needs with a cheap USB inkjet.
However, we now use an Okidata C5150n (street price around $400) for our color printing (resolution = 1200x600 DPI). The very best photoquality inkjets (try Canon) give better results but we decided that we never wanted to touch another inkjet cartridge again. The revelation that some manufacturers had programmed their printers/cartridges to report that a cartridge was empty after a certain period of time no matter what the ink level, was the final straw for us.
Other color lasers that you might consider are the HP Color LaserJet 2550n (street price also around $400). It has a built-in print engine that handles both HP PCL 6 and HP postscript level 3. Its resolution at 600x600 DPI is a little less than the Okidata C5150n.
We are currently using an HP2100n for our greytone printing needs. In hindsight we should have paid the extra dollars and bought an HP4100n (refurbished 4100ns are now available for ~$700). The reason, network administration, the C5150n and the 4100n both have LCD control screens that allow you to do the network set-up right at the printer. The 2100n forces you to use HP's JetAdmin - a royal pain in the ass. We ended up reprogramming our switch to accommodate the 2100n. It really should be the other way around.