What to consider when purchasing a printer
- What is the expected volume for the printer? - This is the number one consideration for purchasing a printer. Generally, the more you spend on a printer, the cheaper the print cost per page. Also, more expensive printers tend to scale better in terms of speed, reliability, and ease of service.
- Does the printer need to print color? - Keep in mind that printing in color is much more costly than black. Even seemingly inexpensive ink-jet printers can cost upwards of a dollar per page when printing photographs.
- Does the printer need to be networked? - Recently, HP began offering lower-tier network print servers in some of their products. Unfortunately, some of these printers lack essential features that are required for compatibility with the CAS network environment. If you need items not listed, contact me before purchasing a network printer so we can ensure it will work.
Printer Recommendations
The table below displays recommended Hewlett Packard Printers for use with the UNT CAS environment.
Click a CDWG product link to learn more details about a specific printer (i.e., specifications). Further down, you may find the typical
purchase procedure along with minimum requirements.HP Laserjet 1018![]() CDW Part #960159 Price: $129.99 |
Pros:
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HP Laserjet 2015d![]() CDW Part #1117479 Price: $399.99 |
Pros:
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HP LaserJet 4250 Series![]() CDW Part #680866 Price: $1,249.99 |
Pros:
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HP Color Laserjet 4700 series![]() CDW Part #846228 Price: $1,349.99 |
Pros:
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Other Printers![]() Contact TJ Miller if you have needs not met by the above configurations. |
Pros
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- Decide which Printer you would like to buy. If you are purchasing a significant number of printers this would be a good time to involve TJ Miller so I can help evaluate your needs and expedite.
- Engage your department's purchasing agent (e.g., Administrative Assistant or grant account holder) to:
- Choose a vendor: If desired you can use the vendors linked above as they have a DIR contract with the State of Texas. If you would like to obtain additional quotes here are some ways you can find for other vendors:
- DIR Store: Choose "Printers" for the Product Type and "Hewlett Packard" for the Brand Name.
- Centralized Master Bidder's List: Type "204" for the Class Code and "77" for the Item code to find laser printer vendors. This site is handy for finding HUB vendors.
- Comptroller Tax Status: Checking the comptroller tax status before attempting to purchase from a company can save you time in the long run.
- Purchase the Printer with either a Purchase Order or Purchase Card.
Please direct questions regarding recommended printers to TJ Miller.
| Minimum Requirements for Network Printers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Physical Security | Locked doors or security cable | Measures should be implemented to deter the theft of the printer by either: anchoring the device via a security cable or placing it in an area that is locked when unoccupied. If there is a question if your printer choice has a security cable slot feel free to contact me and I will find out for you. |
| Network Security Features | Access Control List | Required for securing a printer to prevent unwanted access. |
| Network interface | TCP/IP and 10/100 Ethernet | An Ethernet print server allows CAS Computer Support Services to administrate and setup the printer to work with university workstations independent of the operating system being used (Windows, Mac, Linux). The Ethernet interface must be compatible with Netware iPrint (NDPS) Services, which is very flexible and works with almost all network ready printers. |
| Printer Language | PostScript | Most network printers will have this by default, but some will have it as an add-on option (Lanier multi-function devices for example). Without this compatibility machines will not be able to send PostScript print jobs to the device. This is especially problematic for native print jobs in Mac OS X. |
Last updated on 10:41 AM 10/17/2007 by TJ Miller







