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1993-08-27
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Primera
Color Printer
by Tony Curro
Several months ago I reviewed the HP DeskJet 550C color printer. Now
I take a look at a new, reasonable price color, Primera, that has
superior output. Primera has a quality that rivals high-end color
printers. For the quality of the Primera, you would expect to pay
$3500.00 and up. Primera carries a list price of $995.00.
This printer is designed for Windows only. It will NOT work from
DOS. You must be running Windows, and the Primera drivers for
Windows. I was amazed at the size of the unit. It is small, and will
fit into to any location.
Primera uses the thermal transfer process. I tried it with various
papers, and found that using thermal paper gave the best quality. It
is worth the extra money for thermal paper to take advantage of the
printer. In addition, it will work with Transparency Film. You can
use special T-shirt transfer paper to print an image, and then iron
it on a shirt.
The resolution and quality far surpasses the DJ. However, it does
come at a price. The ribbon needed for the Primera is more costly
than the DJ. I had seen an article that mentioned Primera per page
output was less. Primera has two color ribbons available, a 3-color
and 4-color. Both have a list price $45.00. The 3-color will do 115
pages, while the 4-color does 80 pages. They do make a monochrome
(black) only ribbon for $39.95 that will do 400 pages. A black
cartridge for the HP DeskJet runs under $30.00, and will do 2,000
pages. Primera is faster, and has better quality output. If you take
that into consideration, then Primera would be the better choice.
Overall I was pleased with this printer. I was tempted to purchase
one. However, printing my magazine, which can run 15-16 pages or
more each month, and the need to print 7 or more copies a month,
would be too costly for me. I would be spending $100 or more per
month in ribbons. Besides all that, I still would recommend Primera
for those who do want Postscript color quality at a fraction of the
cost.
Product Information
Primera
Color Printer
List Price -- $995.
Fargo Mfg.
7076 Shady Oak Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
612-941-9470
612-941-5423 (FAX)