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A question from one of our readers

QUESTION

Good Morning Robert,

I am very sorry to trouble you again. Vendors here are not so clear with the explanation.
All they do is praise their brand name.

I tried to google but couldn’t get accurate information.
Some color laser printers print at 600×600dpi…some at 1200×1200 and
some at 2400×600 dpi.

I am unsure which one to choose to print proof for school books.
I also would like to print my own brochure, pamplets and visiting cards.
Kindly advice me on this. I’ll be happy with less pages per minute model.
Speed is not the criteria here.

• Xerox phaser 6125 says it can print upto 600×600x4 dpi.
  What exactly does this x4 mean? Can you please let me know?

Requests:

• What exactly is the print resolution in educational text books like CBSE/Ncert Books?
• What exactly is the print resolution in brochures of vodapone or any corporate stationery?
• What should be the print resolution on visiting cards?

Kindly educate me and resolve my doubts.
Thanking you once again…

Regards,
Vijay

ANSWER

Hi Vijay,

You can go for a entry level Konica Minolta Multi Function color laser printer which would cost under Rs. 4,00,000/-. The cost per A3 size page would be around Rs. 8 depending on the ink coverage. At 100% coverage the cost is around Rs.14 to 15 excluding paper and including wear and tear of the machine for an A3 size printout. The speed is I think around 25 pages per minute. I am not sure about the model but it is in the bizhub category. You can go to this website http://www.biz.konicaminolta.com/ to see the printers. These printers come under the category of business automation as the quality is suitable for everyday office printing. You can print fairly good enough quality with these printers. Visiting cards, brochures and pamphlets won’t be a problem. The only thing you have to keep a check on is your cost of printing. For higher copies it may be cheaper to outsource it to your local offset printer.

CBSE textbooks are printed in high quality offset machines and you won’t get that color quality in the machine I mentioned above. But mostly textbooks are not in color and any offset machine could give you a decent quality in one or two colors. Vodafone brochures are also printed in high quality offset printing. There are some printed through variable data digital printing too. But these are all printed in high quality machines whether they be digital or offset.

For most printing jobs whether they be digital or offset, 300 dpi pictures are sufficient. To learn more about dpi (dots per inch) and lpi (lines per inch) you will find plenty of material in Google.

Hope this helps.

Robert.

Posted under Digital Printing

QUESTION

Hello Robert,

Thank you very much for the information.
I’d request you to suggest me about paper stuff.
I am sorry, I am really dumb about printing industry. I’d like to go to another city and find out
information. But I’d like to have first hand information and tips from you on paper.
Kindly answer my questions.

• How much would a 11×17 paper would cost in India approximately?
• Are there any different qualities of paper? Can you please name them and price for each page?
• Do offset and digital printers use same paper or different?
• Which paper consumes less ink?

Thanking you…

Regards,
Vijay

ANSWER

Hello Vijay

11×17 inch paper would cost around Rs. 3 to Rs. 5 depending on the thickness of the paper which is known as grammage of the paper or gsm (grams per square metre). Paper cost also depends on the quality of the paper and may reach upto even Rs. 100 for an A4 size sheet. Sheets which can be run in digital machines depend on the type of printer you are going to purchase. Not all sheets can run on all printers. You have to check with the seller regarding this. The same goes for offset printing. Glossy paper will consume the least amount of ink and coarse paper like newsprint consume more ink. For offset printing the ink density is therefore adjusted in prepress before printing depending on the type of paper to be printed. For digital printing such adjustments are usually done by the printer while selecting the paper type before printing. Have a nice day.

Robert.

Posted under Digital Printing, Paper

A question from one of our readers

QUESTION

Hi Robert,
I’ve gone through your site “my printing tutorials”…
It is very informative.

I’d like to choose a color printer/copier to print school text books for kids.
I’d like to take your advice on this.
What is the best color copier that has lowest cost per page to print a color page?

I am thinking of Toshiba e-Studio2830c or e-Studio281c or Ricoh Aficio MPc3300 or MPc2800.

In your blog you mentioned few lines about Ricoh Aficio MPC 2030
“The drawback of this machine is the high cost per copy. An average A4 size page costs around Rs. 2.5/- at 10 percent coverage.”
Can you suggest any printer with low cost per page at 10 percent coverage?

I’d be able to think of  any machine around  7 lakhs or so. (15000$).

I’ll be too glad if you can spare sometime and reply me.
Thanking you so much.

Regards,
Vijay

ANSWER

Hello Vijay,

You will not get many printers with low cost per page at 7 lakhs. At this range you may get the xitron prism printer or some of the models from xerox. You can enquire with the xerox dealer for more information. You will get the konica minolta 6501c for around 30 lakhs which has a very low cost per page at around Rs. 5 for any coverage for a 13 x 19 size page with outstanding quality. Most of the xerox printers at around 7 lakhs will cost you around Rs. 8 to 10 per 12×18 size page at any coverage if you go for the company policy of charging per copy printed irrespective of coverage. The only feasible models according to my opinion will be from xerox. Ricoh printers have a very high cost per page compared to xerox though there may be a difference in quality. I am not very sure of toshiba.

Robert.

Posted under Digital Printing

Recently we placed an order for the Konica Minolta LD 6501 digital color printer. The samples that were shown were outstanding and as good as the best offset printing available. The printer can print on a wide variety of sheets including non tear-able paper. The wide variety of paper it can print on is due to the low heat generated by the printer compared to other laser printers. The speed of the printer is 65 pages per minute and the maximum size that can be printed is 13×19 inches. The company offers a policy where it charges around Rs.5.5 per page printed depending on the region where the machine is installed. The Rs. 5.5 covers all consumables including ink and parts such as belts and rollers. The life of the machine is 6 million copies or 5 years. Some special paper that it can print on are golden and silver sheets which are very suitable for invitation cards. The price of the machine comes around Rs. 20,00,000/- including tax. If you have a UV coating machine then the quality of the  finished prints can be enhanced even further. A small UV coating machine from www.jonaphoto.com will cost around Rs. 2,00,000/- including the curing machine.

Posted under Digital Printing

Epson has come out with an outstanding solvent printing machine. The printing process is completely odorless and environment friendly. The price of the machine which was launched in India around three months back is around Rs. 19 lakhs. The cost of printing at 720 dpi is Rs. 8 to Rs. 10 per square feet. The machine can print on various substrates such as flex, vinly, canvas and others. It offers excellent large format photo printing on paper and fine art printing on canvas. The maximum printing size is 64 inches. The maximum dpi of 1400 dpi is the highest in the world for a solvent printer. The machine requires no special ventilation or air filtration unit.

Posted under Digital Printing

The c6501 replaces the older model c6500. The printer is built to run like a press and the life of the machine is 6 million prints. The cost of the machine is around Rs. 25 lakhs. The cost of printing per page is Rs. 5 irrespective of color coverage as you have to make this payment to the company. The print quality is comparable to the best of offset printing. The maximum printing size is 13 inches x 19 inches. The maximum speed of printing is 65 pages per minute. It is a good business option for those who don’t prefer to go for the higher priced machines like the Hp Indigo.

Posted under Digital Printing

A good site that I have found for purchasing ink cartridges is www.inkcartridges.com. The website offers  cartridges for all types of printers of all brands. Laser toner, ink cartridges and printer ink are available at wholesale prices. You can search their catalog for the ink that you require and alongside you will find all the printers that are compatible with it. Shipping is free for all orders of $50 or more within the continental US. Ordering is easy and online. Credit Card as well as Paypal is accepted. You will find cartridges, toners and ribbons of brands such as Hp, Apple, Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson, IBM, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Lexmark, NEC, Okidata, Panasonic, Ricoh, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba, Xerox and more. If you are not satisfied with the purchase there is a money back system where you can get refund for the purchase. InkCartridges.com is a one stop shop for all printing ink requirements.

Posted under Digital Printing

It seems there is only one good ink coverage calculator on the internet which is Apfill Ink Coverage Calculator from www.avpsoft.com. If you are a professional printer then you need the pro version which calculates cmyk coverage. If you add the total percentage of cmyk, you get the total ink coverage in percentage with respect to the paper size. It is very easy and convenient. The pro version costs around 99 dollars. It is helpful when you have to give competitive rates without suffering loss.

Posted under Digital Printing

Ricoh’s color copier/printer machines seem to provide a high quality output even from their entry level machines. The newest color copier/printer machine that we bought was the Ricoh Aficio MP 2030. The machine cost around Rs. 2,80,000/-. It may cost less than that in some other places. The drawback of this machine is the high cost per copy. An average A4 size page costs around Rs. 2.5/- at 10 percent coverage. But the output is excellent considering its low price. The maximun printing size is 12″x18″. It can print on various papers such as offset art paper. The use of offset art paper makes the cost of paper very low as digital papers are quite expensive. The printing engine is laser based. Color copy quality is also quite high with close color reprodution of the original. The cost of the color toners comes to around Rs. 8500/- per piece. The black toner is cheaper at around Rs. 2400/-.

Posted under Digital Printing

We recently purchased Ricoh’s black and white entry level copier cum printer Ricoh Aficio MP 1600L. The price of the machine was around Rs. 70,000/-. The cost per page including drum and developer changes cost for an average A4 size document with around 5 percent coverage comes to around 32 paise (Rs. .32/-). This is excluding the cost of paper. An average A4 size copier paper costs around 30 paise or less depending on local prices. The maximun printing size is A3. The drum and developer have to be changed at around every 70,000 impressions. The cost of the drum and developer comes to around Rs. 8000/-. The machine gives very clear and fine prints of text. Photo quality is also not bad. The cost per page is very minimal compared to a black and white laser printer. As a printer we are also using it for technova offset master printout. Toner scatter and other problems start to increase as the run length comes around 70,000. That is when we have to have a complete servicing and change the necessary parts.

Posted under Digital Printing