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LaserJet 4

DuffDuff
edited May 2019 in Hardware
I've rejoined (I had a LJ4+ many years ago) the LaserJet 4 club. I picked up a LaserJet 4 with an extra 500 sheet legal paper tray and a genuine HP toner cartridge. It only cost $40 CAD, which I think is a great deal.

Cosmetically it looks excellent, no yellowing or anything. It was manufactured December 1993.

My JetDirect card should arrive sometime between May 4th - 11th, and it'll become a network printer at that point.
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Comments

  • QQ
    And a strategically placed fire extinguisher!

    -Q

    PS. I couldn't help the comment: Looks like a nice printer if you do alot of paperwork.
  • UglynGreyUglynGrey
    love those old beasts, easily the most repairable and serviceable printers ever built
  • DuffDuff
    I figured having a fire extinguisher in my room was a good idea, because it is somewhat of a fire hazard (more so then anywhere else in the house anyway).

    I don't do that much paperwork, but a certain sibling likes to print off useless pages fairly often, and I want something that won't eat all my money in toner costs. Plus it looks fancier than the old Lexmark Optra for which I'll now find a purpose.

    UglynGrey: That's why I love them, and it doesn't bother me that it's 14 years old, since I know it'll keep on working come hell or high water.
  • QQ
    The latter is fairly common around here, I don't know about in NS though.

    -Q
  • alexzarachalexzarach
    I like old, too, as my tv is 13 years old, my pinter 10, my laptops 11 and 7.
  • DuffDuff
    I live on a slope, so we don't flood. For that matter, most of the HRM (Halifax) is good as far as storm drainage and run off goes.

    Alex: I don't like old in particular, and I didn't buy this because it was old. I would've bought a brand new HP if it weren't for the fact all the ones I like cost $1000+.
  • QQ
    We just got horrendous flooding, but that has nothing to do with the printer.

    -Q
  • DuffDuff
    Anyway, one of the few things I don't like about the LaserJet 4 (just the original) is the lack of Power Save, and consequently Energy Star compliance. Just means more power usage, and it causes the lights to flicker (most laser printers do that anyway).
  • KirkKirk
    We have a LaserJet 4L, and I always liked it. The toner seems to last forever in those things. smile.gif

    -Kirk
  • DuffDuff
    The 4L fails, in comparison to the other 4 series printers.

    Getting toner cartridges for $50 = win.
  • stitchstitch
    I've had a 4+ for quite a while now. It runs great, services the whole house well.
  • anantha92anantha92
    Toner cartridges are usually the killer in printers. In your case it's a major one! Considering that the ink costs more than how much you had purchased the printer for. It's like fuel is more expensive than my car (I suspect that would soon turn into a reality).
  • alexzarachalexzarach
    Fuel is near
  • UglynGreyUglynGrey
    alexzarach wrote:
    Fuel is near
  • alexzarachalexzarach
    anantha92 wrote:
    It's like fuel is more expensive than my car.
  • anantha92anantha92
    Wow really? It's about 30p here and it's about 20p in KL Malaysia.
  • DuffDuff
    Yeah, toner isn't expensive, even assuming a $100 cartridge:

    $100 toner cartridge 6800 pages = 0.014 cents per page.
    $30 ink cartridge 300 pages = 0.10 cents per page.

    The toner cartridge is obviously more cost effective, and that's an expensive toner cartridge. Like I said, I can get mine for $50.
  • anantha92anantha92
    I was stating that comment on the general printer scale. Laserjet inks are cost-effective although consumer deskjet printers cost a fortune to manage. My lexmark X4270 does.
  • DuffDuff
    This annoys me to no end, when people use terms incorrectly. LaserJets do not have ink. They use toner, which is a ultra-fine dry wax/plastic powder. Ink is well, ink.

    And it doesn't really matter what laser printer you get, overall, laser printers will always have a lower cost per page and higher efficiency.

    I can't wait for the JetDirect card to arrive...parallel is slow as hell for printing pictures.

    I might need to get another 8 MB of RAM for it as well.
  • UglynGreyUglynGrey
    I have tons of SIMMS that fit this old thing, might have to use a couple fours or eights but they do work.... gratis of course, easy to mail to my own country
  • DuffDuff
    That sounds like a very Canadian thing to do. 8)

    I tried an old SIMM I had but it didn't work, mind you, it was from an Mac LC which could be the reason.

    The thing only has 2 MB onboard right now (I checked yesterday, all the slots are free), and it causes the printer to go into "W1 Image Adapt" which kills the quality.
  • UglynGreyUglynGrey
    yeah only certain simms work for many and various reasons. You pretty much have to match tin/tin gold/gold lead simms as well in order to reatain excellent conductivity.

    Anyhow, I have some known to work in an HP LJ 4 and I'll even test them before I send them in an LJ4 (yep I still have one too).

    Shoot me a PM as to where they are going and I'll have my wife send them in the mail within a couple days when she's in town.
  • DuffDuff
    I sent a PM.

    Yeah, I can't really say I expected it to work since it needs a certain timing and everything else. It gave me a set of numbers when it errored out but I didn't bother to write them down to check them.
  • AnonymousAnonymous
    I have a LaserJet 5 I guess it is. Made around 1996. Nice 'n yellowed!

    Damn thing died a couple years ago when it would jam every paper that passed through. Never figured out the problem. There it sits in my basement. Would like to fix it if it is cheap to do so, give it to my sister so she can forget the stupid inkjet garbage.

    I'm pretty happy with my cheap Brother machine. Probably cost ~$150 and I got a free extra toner! 1 year already and am not even close to the end of the first toner, then again, I don't print much.
  • QQ
    You sound like a professor of mine, he has this MASSIVE Brother printer/scanner/copier/faxer next to his machine. He says the 1st toner cartridge lasted alot longer, and he does an INSANE amount of printing.

    -Q
  • DuffDuff
    I've seen some newer Brothers, we have a couple at TCS, but I don't care for their design, especially the separate drum and toner cartridge.

    That paper jam issue sounds like it could be fixed with a $15 set of rollers off of EBay.
  • anantha92anantha92
    Duff wrote:
    This annoys me to no end, when people use terms incorrectly. LaserJets do not have ink. They use toner, which is a ultra-fine dry wax/plastic powder. Ink is well, ink.

    And it doesn't really matter what laser printer you get, overall, laser printers will always have a lower cost per page and higher efficiency.

    I can't wait for the JetDirect card to arrive...parallel is slow as hell for printing pictures.

    I might need to get another 8 MB of RAM for it as well.

    Certain Laserjets do. The one in my school does (Hp model can't remember the make). I just changed the ink cartridge today. Sorry for the confusion.
  • UglynGreyUglynGrey
    oh brother....
    inkjets have ink, laserjets has toner. Period.
  • anantha92anantha92
    Tell that to the label that says "Laserjet" on my school printer.
  • UglynGreyUglynGrey
    instead of spouting off, provide proof that a laserjet uses Ink... Ink being a fluid that carries dyes that are absorned by paper....

    If it's dry it's toner.
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