[geeks] Printer Recommendations

[Jonathan Patschke]

I have an HP LaserJet 4050dtn that's been absolutely wonderful for many
years, but those years are starting to show.  Getting anything not-Unix
to print to it is a chore, parts aren't as easy to find as they once
were, and the MTBF is dropping like a stone.

Also, as I've been rearranging more music for my community band,
something that could print A3/Tabloid/Ledger would save me trips to the
copy shop.

My favorite feature of the 4050 is that it doesn't take a lot of power.
It has tremendous inrush current at startup, but it's really
well-behaved while printing.  The spec sheet says something like 300
watts.  Newer laser printers seems to favor faster speeds and printing
power usage nearer to a kilowatt!

I hope one of you can recommend a replacement.  The LaserJet 5200 is the
logical one, but costs real money on the used market despite also being
nearly 20 years old.

I understand that an affordable monochrome A3 laser printer with modest
power needs is a very tall order, and if none exists, I can go with
whatever moderately robust thing Brother makes these days and continue
to take my large-format jobs to the FedEx store.

-- 
Jonathan Patschke
Austin, TX
USA