Posted by Pam/VA on 3/2/11 7:59am
Msg #374711

Dual tray printer

I'm new to this business....and thinking about investing in a dual tray printer. Considering the business climate, do you think it would be a wise investment?

Reply by enotary/va on 3/2/11 8:04am
Msg #374712

Business is bad!!! You are new.... No,,, Don't spend the money...

Reply by Pam/VA on 3/2/11 8:08am
Msg #374715

Thanks...I won't.

Reply by Frank/NC on 3/2/11 8:28am
Msg #374719

I don't think I totally agree with not buying a dual tray printer. Even though business is slow, to say the least, you made the decision to go into this business. I would compare the price of the dual tray and single tray printer. If there isn't a great deal of difference I would buy the dual tray. Over a period of time it will pay for itself in savings on paper. I also prefer HP printers and I think they have some sales at this time. Go on line to HP and look at prices.

Reply by Pam/VA on 3/2/11 8:35am
Msg #374721

I already have an HP that I use for personal use - mainly for fun stuff - only has 1 tray. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to invest in a dual tray for speadier printing and to eliminate printing everything on legal size paper. Thoughts much appreciated!

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 3/2/11 8:46am
Msg #374723

HP for personal use - is it laser? That's required..

When I started I got a basic refurb HP on e-bay - single tray (well, 2 counting the dropdown tray) - it prints from both so can do legal and/or letter and was cheaper - my thinking was if the business didn't work out I wasn't out a lot of money...that printer is still chugging along for me.

If you're new I'd suggest that line of reasoning to start off - unless, of course, money is no object then go for it and da** the torpedoes!!...

MHO

Reply by Linda_in_MI on 3/2/11 9:12am
Msg #374726

besides refub on ebay, another place to check

Do you have a college or university close by? Check out what they do with surplus or "old" equipment. Chances are they will have been worked almost to death (think about the need to keep things running in good order at a college ) but many times the stuff is still in good to pretty good working order, just replaced by newer technology. U/M has a surplus store withe regular working hours. You can go and check out the stuff and even hook it up to make sure it works. Only catch is that purchases are as is with no returns. I bought a dual tray HP2330DTN that cost me $90. Haven't had any problems with it (knock on wood) and since it is HP don't anticipate any problems with supplies. I was amazed at the quantity and types of printers they had for sale. Also file cabinets and other office surplus.

Reply by Pam/VA on 3/2/11 9:15am
Msg #374728

Re: besides refub on ebay, another place to check

Yes - thanks for the info - never thought of that.

Reply by Pam/VA on 3/2/11 9:14am
Msg #374727

Re: HP for personal use - is it laser? That's required..

Yes - laser - Photosmart. Got it a few years ago to scan old slides and pictures - it's great. I'm going to price a dual tray at different stores today - and I'll look on e-bay too. Thanks for the suggestion.

Reply by Teresa/FL on 3/2/11 1:23pm
Msg #374778

Photosmart printers use ink, they are not laser printers

laser printers use toner. Are you sure you have a laser printer?

Reply by bagger on 3/2/11 1:32pm
Msg #374780

Re: Photosmart printers use ink, they are not laser printers

Maybe they BURN the ink?

Reply by Carolyn Bodley on 3/2/11 1:59pm
Msg #374786

Re: Photosmart printers use ink, they are not laser printers

Don't know about burning, but ink is not toner. Besides that, you'd go broke printing loan documents on this printer.

Reply by MW/VA on 3/2/11 8:24am
Msg #374717

Good advice. n/m

Reply by Victoria_NJ on 3/2/11 1:37pm
Msg #374782

I bought 3 HP 1012's on Ebay for $49 each used

They aren't dual tray, but cheap enough to invest in and have back up. You can find cheap toner refills online to keep your toner costs down.

If you are really computer savvy, you can actually connect 2 printers up to your computer at the same time (USB ports) and run them both, one to do legal and one to do letter.

Reply by Larry/IL on 3/2/11 9:02am
Msg #374725

Brother 2240

Pam I have a brand new Brother 2240 still in the box. I also have two new LD high yield toner cartridges. I can even throw in some paper all for a good price. If your interested PM me.

Reply by 101livescan on 3/2/11 10:06am
Msg #374734

I bought a refurbished 4250DT HP Laser...68 ppm. I couldn't justify a new one, so I bought one two years ago that is still printing great. One day I had 8 sets of edocs for the following day to sign, and it was painful to print on my 1320 at 24ppm a think. So I've never been sorry I sprung for this upgrade. Use your best judgment. We're in for a roller coaster ride in loan originations. Do you have $1400 to part with, and not have it hurt too much? Go for it then.

Reply by aries/CA on 3/2/11 11:29am
Msg #374757

I bought a dual tray printer with only letter tray and bought the legal on Ebay for cheap. You may be fairly new but is a good investment.

Reply by Linda Juenger on 3/2/11 11:51am
Msg #374761

The money you will save by not printing all legal (as it costs more) will pay for itself. Letter paper is a lot cheaper.

Reply by DocumentDiva on 3/2/11 11:54am
Msg #374762

I think a dual tray printer is a good investment but it depends on the cost. I just bought a Brother dual tray for under $300 http://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-5370DWT-Printer-Wireless-Networking/dp/B0025KVK70/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299088139&sr=8-1

I'm happy with my purchase and I'm looking forward to saving money by using less legal size paper which cost more than letter.

Reply by Pam/VA on 3/2/11 3:25pm
Msg #374804

All I can say is holy moly! What was I thinking???? Okay - so this looks pretty good - and the price is good compared to e-bay listings....plus, this is free shipping. How much do the cartridges and drums run?...and where do you buy them?

Reply by DocumentDiva on 3/2/11 4:47pm
Msg #374826

Brother HL-5350 Dual tray

My printer is new so I haven't had to order toner yet but I always order from ld products http://www.ldproducts.com/?&KID=Z4292arb

I was also shocked at the price. I kept looking at the order to make sure I had ordered correctly. Once I read the instructions on how to set up the 2nd tray for legal I was good to go. I'm excited to use it for my next loan signing!

Reply by Pam/VA on 3/2/11 5:18pm
Msg #374830

Re: Brother HL-5350 Dual tray

Thanks for the website. I justed checked prices for my HP and was wondering if you use remanufactured cartridges. Does it have any impact on the life of the printer???

Reply by granmapickle on 3/2/11 12:46pm
Msg #374771

I found a way to use my brother as a dual tray without purchasing an extra unit. I just set the feed in tray as letter size (default) and the regular tray as legal. Seems to work just fine. No extra cost. Just a little more hand holding.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 3/3/11 2:13pm
Msg #374997

Did you do much research before you decided to get into this business? If you haven't done so, I suggest you do before you make any big investments. With interest rates on the upswing, the volume of new loan applications generated has been decreasing significantly, as well. One of the key things you want to look at is the amount of competition in your area. If it's not much, then you have a better chance. But in the more saturated areas, where the experienced folks have seen their business slow significantly (just read posts here from the last few days), you're going to have a very tough time competing with them to get work unless you price yourself at a level where you're not really making any profit.

I'm gonna guess that you got into this to make money, not just a tax deduction, right?