Nobody?

[damfino]

The Xante is a modified Okidata. I have a PSI system (Okidata 3650), an Okidata 9850, and three 9600's - 100M a month is no problem. Best to view these engines as disposable - so relatively inexpensive that you can afford to run them until they die. Beauty of the Okidata is that 95% of all wearable parts and components are user replaceable.

If you recharge the toner cartridges yourself, there is no lower-cost, high-quality engine on the market. The straight paper path is the reason you see Okidata printers used exclusively in laser envelope configurations.

Oki just came out with a replacement line, 910 & 930, but stay away. The 9650 is cheaper and the toner and toner chips necessary for user refilling won't be available for a couple years, if ever.

[pressprint]

Thank you very much for your insight!

[damfino]

Avoid the Xante (and PSI) for their proprietary toner and bottom-load feed system - only go top (continuous) feed.

[Happyprinter]

Damfino,
]Are you currently refilling your cartridges for the 9650? If so, who can I contact for supplies.

[damfino]

I have been using the Color Toner Store - there are others.

Quality of all after-market toner is not as good as OEM, regardless of the claims. If I print a test pattern with incremental graduated tints, I see an early drop-off with the generic toner. But you will be hard pressed to see the difference in normal finished output, especially envelopes. Won't harm the printer. Talking a savings of $700. on average, so it's real money.

The real costly consumable is the imaging drums, for which there is no secondary source. $160 is about the best I can find. They can wear fast, and prematurely, especially if you are running a lot of booklet envelopes (9 x12", 28 lb. etc).

[Happyprinter]

Thanks for the info. One more question. How do you reset the chips? Do you have to replace them each time? If so, what do they run? Do you get them thru the same distributor.

[damfino]

You can buy the chips with the toner. Be careful - not always supplied by all vendors. There is the suggestion that you can keep adding toner without replacing the chips as long as the toner level does not fall below 20%. Never worked for me.