Suggestions for a wide format printer?

[Hodge]

For the last several years I've been using an archaic old monochrome Canon BJ-230 to print 11" x 17" CAD drawings and schematics but, alas, the old work horse may soon have to be put out to pasture.

Reluctantly, I'm in the market for a new wide carriage printer and I'm hoping that some of my fellow Dopers can help me out. The only other requirement would be that it be capable of printing over a LAN. Photo printing would be nice but not necessary. I'd like to stick with the big players like HP, Epson, or Canon but otherwise I'm not committed to any make or model.

So...any ideas, suggestions, or horror stories (god forbid)?

[Hodge]

Bumping this back to the first page. Hopefully the daytime readers can help out.

[FlyingDragonFan]

I don't know if this will work with your specs, but the Epson Stylus 1160 that I use at work is a great printer. I use it mostly for printing full color graphics, and it's fantastic. I think it has 720x1440 resolution, and the colors are really nice and vivid. The only thing I don't like about it is that the CMY inks all come in one cartridge, so if one runs out I have to toss the whole thing, which costs about $30. I don't know about the LAN capability, though.

[Ferrous]

I don't know how much you want to spend, but the one I use at work is pretty cool. It's an HP DesignJet 750C+. It prints anything (including photos, although they're a tad grainy) and has like 6 million colors. It has roll-feed (up to 24"---I use 22") or single sheet options, multiple input jacks, and (IIRC) an 8 MB buffer. It's pretty snazzy, but it cost around $5k.

[Billy Rubin]

Lexmark makes a very nice 11X17 laserjet printer with all the specs you're looking for (and then some). The retail is around 3500 but you can find them for as little as 1800. One on ebay right now, if you search, I don't have the model in front of me but their website will lead you to it.(lexmark's, not ebay)

Kickass quality, by the way.


b.