Laser Envelope Printing

[CJR]

I have been using Laserjet 4 and 5 models to print large quantities of envelopes and need to find a new solution. I was using high end workgroup HP printers (4000 class) with the add on envelope feeders and finding that we needed to replace the fusers very often due to warp damage caused by uneven heating of the fuser during large runs of envelopes or cards. The damage would be a line at the right hand edge location of the media which would then show up on all subsequent full page runs.

Cleaning could not resolve the problem and after many conversations with HP and the wonderful folks at Printertechs it was explained to me that this was due to the high speed with which the media moved through the newer printers and the fact that the media did not utilize the full length of the roller causing warping. It was suggested that I use older, slower printers and dedicate them specifically to the envelope and card task. I have used this solution for several years without any problems but have now run out of functional old printers and envelope trays.

Every year I have contacted HP to see if they have developed a solution and their salespeople say that we should move to ink jet, Envelopes with windows or labels. My employer does not see these as viable options. Do you have any suggestions as to how to approach this issue? The largest envelope run is 1200 and only occurs once every other month. Other mailings are about 600 each.

I found a PSI Engineering laser specifically for envelopes but it costs $10,000. We do not print the volume to support that investment. Do you have any other ideas?

Thanks-

[Big Al]

I print about 200 envelopes a month and was using an old HP 4 for several years and never replaced a fuser. Then I upgraded to an HP 4000 but it is too soon to tell if the fuser is going to be an issue. No more than the rebuilt 4000 fusers cost then you either have to enjoy the higher speed and eat the cost of the fuser or go back to the HP 4. The 4+ and 5n use the same envelope feeder but the envelope feeder for the HP 4 is different. Chances are the feeders for the 4, 4+ and 5n will eventually become unrepairable as parts dissapear. The HP 5000 and 8000 feed the envelopes crosswise so there would be less stress on the fuser but these are expensive printers too. Another idea would be to get an HP4000, they are only about $100 now, and just use it for envelopes.

Al

[cs_peter]

I'd have to agree with Al on this one. It's increasingly difficult to get parts for the older machines, and the envelope feeder for a 4200 can be used in a 4000, so parts will remain available for those feeders for longer.