Try to measure your actual printing loads, and consider how what you are proposing will affect your costs.  ... including every last nickel.

E.g., if you are replacing local printers, remember that you are paying people to go to the workgroup printer to pick up their print jobs.  Is that walk productive?

If you are paying a particular person, or whoever is most desperate when the paper runs out, to walk to a central store and come back with a ream or a case of paper, it may be cheaper to just have the paper delivered to the workgroup printers and stored there.  Toner, too.

 

As for location, each workgroup printer will be servicing about 3 to 4 people in a very small office, everyone's distance to the printer will be maybe 3 ft.  Basically worried about printer longevity and ability to withstand a rough environment since I work in a foundry, lots of dust and dirt.  Also worried about toner costs and if you can disable the built in page counter for the toner as it making you change the toner even if it is still usable.
Thanks

"Silence is golden, duct tape is silver..."

You didn't mention volume of prints, but for lower volume situations I really like brother printers.  They also seem to have the lowest consumable costs for low volume printers.  The other advantage is they are so cheap you can throw them away if they break.

I would look at the HL-2270DW for pretty low volumes (it is nice and compact but also does duplex). Or, the HL-5370DW for higher volume, say up to 3000 per month.

If you need something that can copy and fax the MFC-8890DW is a really nice unit.  It also does double sided copies.

I would note that you cannot really do envelopes with these printers. They crease them really badly.

http://www.brother-usa.com/printer/BW_Monochrome_Laser_Printers/

 

Thanks for the reply, not looking for a multifunction and it only has to print basic paperstock of 8" X 11".  Probably looking around the 3000 or above a month as far as workload.  Been looking around the $250 - $450 range.  Has to be color and duplexing is not a need.

"Silence is golden, duct tape is silver..."

"Has to be color" puts a whole new spin on it.

Recently, I installed a Color LaserJet CP2025n for our art department.

The color carts are relatively small, though, although they load easily (open the front, pull out a tray, drop in the cartridge).  I have not yet had to do a maintenance kit on it, so I don't know how difficult service is (i.e. changing the fuser)

Honestly, for a high-workload color laser printer, you're not going to find one that is really rugged in the $250-$450 range.  At that price range, you're looking at "disposable" printers, and not high-volume, high lifetime workgroup printers.

 

Just my 2¢

"What the captain doesn't realize is that we've secretly replaced his Dilithium Crystals with new Folger's Crystals."

--Greg  http://parallel.tzo.com
 

We currently have and I love the HP 2600n series which is perfect for our uses, fits the price range, and you can easily remove the laser mirrors to clean.  Along with that we have Konica Minolta 1600w and 1650EN which I hated when I started but have grown a bit more fond of.  Since these are all old models and could be rebuilt, I'd rather start with new, it seems more cost effective in the long run to go with new.

I was also eyeballing the CP2025N as a possible replacement.  If you dont mind, does it have the ability to turn off the toner replacement alarm?  I would like to be the one to decide when the toner is out, not the machine.  Also, what kind of load does your dept put on it on average?

"Silence is golden, duct tape is silver..."

I haven't looked into the ability to turn off the alarm; pretty much, when it senses that one color is out, it stops.

The load the Art Department puts on it is higher than I expected; I would say probably 500-1000 pages / week.

They seem to think that paper grows on trees or something.  ;)

 

Just my 2¢

"What the captain doesn't realize is that we've secretly replaced his Dilithium Crystals with new Folger's Crystals."

--Greg  http://parallel.tzo.com