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Introduction to A3/A4 series monochrome laser printers

Most A3 laser printers are built to be fast and reliable work-horses with a very low cost per page, high duty cycles and high maintenance intervals. They often have very efficient in-built duplexers that make them ideal for printing large reports, newsletters, manuals, catalogues, etc. Their large size and operational design makes them very accessible for maintenance purposes. Spare parts and maintenance kits and are readily available and relatively cheap. They tend to have more memory and larger capacity toner cartridges than A4 printers. Hence, they are also very efficient and economical A4 printers.

Some A3 printers are designed as high speed, volume production models while others are slower and focus on producing top quality prints. The HP 5SiMX, 8000, 8100 and 8150 come into the first category and the HP 5000 and 5100 models come into the second category. All these HP models are based on Canon engines and spare parts can often be obtained more cheaply from Canon dealers. For example, the HP LaserJet 5Si, 5SiMX and 8000 models use the same Canon 24 page per minute WX engine. They are both 24 page per minute printers and were available with a wide variety of paper handling and finishing options such as 3,000 sheet input feeders, duplexers and collator/staplers for the production of booklets. The Lexmark Optra N A3/A4 printer is also based on the same Canon engine.

The HP 5Si model was produced between 1996 and 1998 but it was limited by a 40 mhz processor and relatively slow memory. The 5SiMX model added Postscript support and an internal print server as standard. The HP LaserJet 8000, 8000N and 8000DN range superseded the 5Si / 5SiMX in 1998 but only remained in production one year. It used the same engine in the same chassis but had updated electronics. This model has a 133 mhz processor; faster 100 pin SDRAM memory; a control panel user interface similar to the HP LaserJet 4000 and later model HP printers; and improved half-toning capabilities. It has ?RIP once? capability to facilitate printing multiple copies of large documents: your file is downloaded to the printer, formatted for printing and stored in the printer for re-use. You will need additional memory for storing large files.

The HP LaserJet 8000 offers 1200 dpi FastRes quality and a 220 level grey scale instead of just the 600 dpi and 120 level grey scale in the 5Si. The 5Si and 5SiMX models use the same JetDirect 10Base2/T Ethernet print server as the HP LaserJet 4M and 5M printers whereas the HP LaserJet 8000 adopted the JetDirect 600N Ethernet print server used in the later HP A4 models. The HP 5Si, the 8000 and the Optra N all use the same toner cartridge with a rated capacity of 17,000 pages. Like most A4 laser printers, the cartridge is an all-in-one design combining the primary charge roller, the photoconductor drum and the toner in a single unit.

The HP LaserJet 8100 superseded the HP 8000 in late 1998 and was itself superseded by the HP LaserJet 8150 in 2001. Both the HP LaserJet 8100 and 8150 are based on a revised 32 page per minute Canon WX engine mounted in a very similar chassis to the older 5Si and 8000 models. Indeed, the HP Color LaserJet 8500 and 8550 models are built on a similar chassis and use some common components. The 8100 and 8150 monochrome models both use the same toner cartridge with a rated capacity of 20,000 pages but it is a little different from that used in the 5Si and 8000 models. Both models can produce HP 1200 dpi FastRes but neither can produce true 1200 dpi. Their duplexers and paper handling options are similar to those in the earlier models and the 8100 and 8150 accessories can be used with the older models but not vice versa. The LaserJet 8100 has a 166mhz processor and the 8150 has a 250mhz processor. The 8100 has a duty cycle of 130,000 pages per month whereas the 8150 is rated at 150,000 pages per month. They both have a recommended maintenance interval of 350,000 pages. The HP 8150 ceased production in late 2002.

The HP LaserJet 5000 A3/A4 laser printer is part of a very different tradition. It resembles a stretched version of the HP LaserJet 4000 A4 model. It uses a plastic film fuser design similar to that in the HP 4000 and can produce true 1200 dpi output at 8 pages per minute (A4) or HP FastRes 1200 dpi at 16 pages per minute (A4). Like the HP LaserJet 4000, it has a 100mhz RISC processor, a duty cycle of 65,000 pages per month and a maintenance interval of 200,000 pages. The HP 5000GN model came with a 3 gb hard disk. The HP LaserJet 5100 is an upgraded version of the 5000 featuring a 300mhz processor and 32mb RAM as standard. It can output 20 pages per minute at 1200 dpi (true).

The Lexmark Optra W810 A3/A4 printer is based on a Minolta DI 350 engine. It uses a toner reservoir and a separate photoconductor unit rather than the integrated cartridge design of the HP/Canon models. The W810 has a 200mhz QED processor and produces 1200 dpi image quality output at 32 pages per minute (A4). It uses the same control panel user interface as the Optra S and T series printers and the same internal print servers. It is available with in-built duplexer, 2,500 sheet paper feeder, collator-stapler, 10 bin mailbox and integrated A3 duplexer scanner/copier. Like the HP LaserJet 8150, it has a duty cycle of 150,000 pages per month and a recommended service interval of 350,000 pages. We use this model to print our Catalogue.

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