Desperate to make a decision on a printer

[locarno]

Hi everyone...just signed up today.
I recently have swapped from PC to Mac and, as Editor/Budding Designer producing a tabloid newspaper, I can't believe I took so long to finally buy a Mac -- G4 dual (from a friend...journos are always broke!!).
I'm soon moving to smalltown living, trying a lifestyle over hustle, and will be taking over the local tabloid newspaper, hopefully turning it from "Little House of the Prairie Gazette" to something a little bit more ballsy.
And with a newborn around obviously want to work a lot from home, supporting new mum. So, with OS-X and Indesign on the Mac, I'm all ready to go, except for a printer.
I've decided to go for second-hand laser over new inkjet: my priority is proofing A3-sized pages with graphics and pics on them, though colour is out of my price-range (and really bit of a luxury for my needs), even on ebay, while duplex would be bonus but not vital. Have found on ebay (here in australia) a HP 5000N laserjet and an Apple 8500N laser -- both at great prices and both great printers.
Can anyone point me in the right direction. I read somewhere that Apple 8500 doesn't allow duplex printing from OS-X...all help gratefully rec'd...

[kc0arf]

Hello,

HP makes a nice laser printer; so does Apple. If you went color, I would suggest Epson inkjets. I like them more.

I would be looking for Postscript printing, and if possible, get a network printer (either via jet direct, or some other solutions) so that more than once computer can print to the printer at a time. Of course, this will add a bit of cost, but you might like that functionality. The two printers you mention have these features.

Here is what HP has to say about it:

The HP LaserJet 5000n printer is a 16 ppm laser printer that comes standard with a 100-sheet multi-purpose Tray 1, a 250-sheet Tray 2, a 500-sheet Tray 3, 8 MB of memory, and an HP Jetdirect print server card (J4169A) for connecting to a network. It is designed for network users and can print on paper sizes up to A3 and 11 x 17 inches.

It says that it has a Mac Serial adapter. If you were thinking of doing this, it will be ungodly slow. Plan on hooking it up to a network via a Jet direct (the N implies it is internal) and configuring the use there.

So, it looks like you could be adding a small network to your house. That will work well with a cablemodem type hub that manages high speed internet, and also allows you to plug in a few things locally.

Let us know if you need anything else.

Oh -- you might want to check out Ragtime instead of Adobe InDesign. I like Ragtime a lot better, and it feels more stable to me, and more options. I started out with Quark things, and did InDesign for a while, and am now a Ragtime fan.

Christian

[redAPPLE]

Hello,

HP makes a nice laser printer; so does Apple. If you went color, I would suggest Epson inkjets. I like them more.

I would be looking for Postscript printing, and if possible, get a network printer (either via jet direct, or some other solutions) so that more than once computer can print to the printer at a time. Of course, this will add a bit of cost, but you might like that functionality. The two printers you mention have these features.

Here is what HP has to say about it:

The HP LaserJet 5000n printer is a 16 ppm laser printer that comes standard with a 100-sheet multi-purpose Tray 1, a 250-sheet Tray 2, a 500-sheet Tray 3, 8 MB of memory, and an HP Jetdirect print server card (J4169A) for connecting to a network. It is designed for network users and can print on paper sizes up to A3 and 11 x 17 inches.

It says that it has a Mac Serial adapter. If you were thinking of doing this, it will be ungodly slow. Plan on hooking it up to a network via a Jet direct (the N implies it is internal) and configuring the use there.

So, it looks like you could be adding a small network to your house. That will work well with a cablemodem type hub that manages high speed internet, and also allows you to plug in a few things locally.

Let us know if you need anything else.

Oh -- you might want to check out Ragtime instead of Adobe InDesign. I like Ragtime a lot better, and it feels more stable to me, and more options. I started out with Quark things, and did InDesign for a while, and am now a Ragtime fan.

Christian

my .02 cents.

if the document has to be published in "large scale" most printing press' support InDesign or Quark Xpress, in my place anyway.

i have used ragtime during my pre os x days.

the hp laserjet 5000(n) is a huge and heavy printer.