There are few of us that would want an A3 printer in our home. There are of course the exceptions with people that run a business from home but getting a laser printer at home certainly has its advantages. However, not all sales personnel tell you everything there is to know about owning laser printers, especially an A3 laser printer.
Of course, what they tell you about is the fast speed, the low printing cost, the high quality, that’s all true. However, that’s only looking at one side of the coin. In this article, we will discuss the negative side to having an A3 laser printer for home use.
They Cost A Lot and Require Too Much Space
Unless you have a large home office, an A3 laser printer is going to be rather intrusive in your home. Because of its larger A3 printing capability, they tend to be a lot larger than ordinary laser printers and because of the same reason these printers are a lot more expensive.
If you plan to buy an A3 laser printer, then ensure you have thought ahead about sizes. It would be wise to measure the space you have allocated to house your A3 laser printer. Of course there is always the option of an ordinary laser printer or at least an A3 inkjet printer.
They Increase Room Temperature
An A3 laser printer works by changing the polarity of a photoreceptor, the drum, according to the image you want to print. It then attracts the toner so only the selected regions with the charge will get the toner. However, this toner is dry so in order for them to stick to the media, it must be heated to a significant degree.
Because of this heating process, there is a tendency for this machine to elevate the surrounding temperature. If your home is not air-conditioned or properly ventilated, you may find it very uncomfortable.
They Have Higher Power Consumption
A3 laser printers require more power than ordinary laser printers because they have larger components. The fact that they are laser printers makes them more demanding on your electricity consumption compared to inkjet printers.
For inkjet printers, it only needs minimal power to operate on the print head. However, for the laser printer, it needs additional power for the laser as well as the heating element inside. It requires more power because it takes more power to elevate the temperature of certain components compared to just shooting out ink.
Possible Health Risks
Recent studies show that laser printers emit ultrafine particles that have adverse effects to one’s health, mostly targeting the respiratory system. The emission of these particles may vary depending on the age, size and use of these laser printers.
However, it is directly proportional to the size of the toner. Considering that A3 laser printers have larger toners, you may be getting more of these ultrafine particles with A3 printers. Although, there are claims that proper ventilation of the room is enough to reduce the risk involved. This suggests that they are far more suited to an office environment.
Don’t let this article discourage you about getting an A3 laser printer for your home. Sometimes, the good things about something outweigh the negative things of something. Frankly if you run a business and you require A3 printing of a high quality, then you simply have to accommodate it if you are set on working from home, but these are some important facts you need to be aware of.
However, it is important that you know what you’re getting into so that you’ll be able to take extra precautions when dealing with the cons of laser printers, for instance considering air conditioning for the room you plan to house you A3 laser printer.
Compact Laser Printer Models
If you look at brands like Epson and Oki then they do have a small selection of Compact size laser printers which accommodates A3 size printing. Models like the Epson EPL-N2550 Series and the Oki C9600dn. Not as big as you would expect an A3 laser printer to be compared to many with dimensions of 18.2 D x 24.4 H x 25.8 W inches.
This is a business heavyweight with a heavyweight price tag to match of around $2400, but you are getting a speed of 40ppm black and 36ppm on color prints. The resolution is 1200 x 600 dpi for both color and black prints and has auto duplexing.
It would be suitable for most small or even medium to larger sized businesses with a monthly duty cycle of 150000. It’s a little heavy but comparatively not too bad at all weighing in at 170 lbs.
If size is not so much the problem then consider the HP 5500 Color LaserJet Printer with fairly compact dimensions of 27.7 x 22.7 x 25.2 inches and weighing 132.3 lbs. It has print speeds of 22ppm black and color and a resolution of 600 x 600 dpi black and color. These are an option for a business on a budget of say less than $700 as with this older model there are refurbished options for under that.
Many A3 laser printers you come across are going to be on the large size, but these 2 suggested models are on the smaller side and ideal for a home run business. You are not spoilt for choice in this category of printer but these are a good start to check out.
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