Adam Savage's Rant on Laser Printers

During the filming of his most recent One Day Build, Adam takes an interlude to dish out a few strong words about laser printers and his quest to find a quality large format printer for his prop building projects. If you have a recommendation for a high quality large color laser printer, please share it in the comments!
The build he was working on when he filmed this: • Adam Savage's One Day ...
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[@tested]

If you have a recommendation for a high quality large color laser printer, please share it! The build he was working on when he filmed this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4OvaHiPiMeWlck

[@brad3378]

HP Color Laserjet M750dn Postscript Network Laser Printer 11x17

[@isaacfernandez4474]

HP LaserJet Enterprise 700 Printer M712dn

[@isaacfernandez4474]

You also need to make sure to select the correct type of paper so the fuser gets to the correct heat level

[@TheM750]

@@Hotshot6311 That's an inkjet.

[@ianhowell958]

Best thing to do is look at manufacture websites. Used to do purchasing for small IT company and had to use purchasing managers at HP, Canon and Kyocera. To get more information on these printers. I think it is done on purpose by companies.

[@mickyoung4931]

Printer Technician here, it looks like the image is going onto the media OK (no drum or developer fault) however it is coming off in the fuser (hot section). In the printer driver there will be settings to change the thickness (based on media GSM) and also media type (eg labels). Changing these settings will increase the temperature in the fuser and slow down the print speed to ensure the toner is adhered to the media. Check your printer specification to see what media thickness it can handle, most will do 200 - 250gsm (80 - 90lb) and compare that to the sticker paper you are trying to print on. When looking for a new printer make this specification a must have, also check toner prices and yield to work out running costs as they vary quite considerably. Popular makes of toner (laser or LED) printers are Canon, Kyocera, Oki, Lexmark, Xerox, Toshiba, Ricoh so maybe go to their websites to do your research instead of using Google where you will probably be taken to reseller websites who wont list the full specifications. Also consider a commercial grade photocopier not just a consumer printer as the pricing might be similar and you will get a much better machine.

[@BackwardGalaxy]

Not a printer tech, so the person I am replying to is more knowledgeable than I, but I used to run the printers for a large data center and they were Ricoh. They were very good printers. Just one guy's experience.

[@StevenSeiller]

🏆🛠 Mick knows. 🍻 Tell the printer it’s the thckest paper type. Also look for a local reseller catering to graphic businesses. They’ll find the machine you need.

[@davydatwood3158]

I've not been a printer tech for 15 years (ugh, I feel old) but back then we were very much of the opinion that we'd already hit the point where "photocopiers" really didn't exist anymore. Is there really a functional difference between a Xerox machine and an HP Enterprise-level machine? (Genuine question!) I seem to recall that even a Xerox was a scanner and a laser printer all in the same box, even back in 2006.

[@azurplex]

Sounds like good info.

[@Vitz3001]

Also check to make sure the fuser isn't warped. That can cause the paper to not make contact all the way across and you'll end up with a strip of toner that doesn't stick to the page

[@elcorado83]

"There is more noise than signal now" YEEEEEEEEESSS!!! THANK YOU for saying this Adam-thought it was just me wading through all this nonsense on Google to find anything now!

[@lilfuglsangstergaard6993]

yes same here! My friend and I say to each other: "google isn't my friend, google f**king hate me...! Grrr%#&#...!" when we have spend hours searching and found "Absolutely NOTHING"!!!

[@donaldhanson2908]

It was going to happen when they started selling the top of the search return. Money always goes first and talks loudest.

[@iwinrar5207]

Yea search engines used to be useable... Now they are just a cluster fuck. I'm fairly good at finding what I want via Google but it has just become such a pain to do so. Time to go back to dogpile or something like it's 1999...

[@richardbrobeck2384]

for sure google sucks !

[@kaptenkrok8123]

The search engines has lost to SEO

[@enigmatic5]

I feel validated! I can't believe your level of frustration reached the point that you had to record a rant about this, I was *just* searching for laser printers last week and ran into the exact same issues! It was maddening and I had to give up, I didn't have enough time to go down that rabbit hole.

[@johanmetreus1268]

Yes, search engines no longer supporting the Boolerian filtering combined with the focus of trying to find out what the people "want" instead of what people are "looking for" really cause a huge bubble.

[@KDSchiester]

Duck Duck go.

[@bobking7347]

Get a brother, maintain it, it'll last for years

[@burprobrox9134]

⁠@@bobking7347that’s not true anymore. My old brothers were wonderful but I lost one to an elderly parent and the other was lost in divorce lol. Brother has lost its way

[@Djuntas]

@@bobking7347 Yes specficly im looking into buying Brother HL-L2445DW and I did deep research :) Dont know how it is in USA but I always start by looking at pricerunner and then google stuff...especially youtube reviews.

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

Oh my god, I'm so goddamn happy that Adam shares MY EXACT FRUSTRATION with Google Search! Because, despite my numerous scathing feedback I've sent them, I'm still a nobody at the end of the day... But Adam is a well respected, *huge* somebody, and I sure hope that this issue gains traction as a result!! Thank you, thank you, _thank you!_ I feel so vindicated now. 😊❤️

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

@@Rosa-lv8yw My Google-fu was strong back in the early 2000s, since the algorithm was the crude style where you had to be precise and succinct, it made it difficult for some to nail down terms to find what they needed. Basically, had to think of the sentence/question, then remove 90% of the words lol Today, as you've highlighted, doing that won't _quite_ garner what you're after, so now you have to append additional terms just to hone in on where Google should even LOOK on the net. But even then, it'll hand-hold by substitution of words, which often times such a small shift can *drastically* change the context of your search... thereby exacerbating the problem by returning incredibly irrelevant results...... requiring even *_more_* refinement terms... 😫😤 And it seems that using quotes around words doesn't quite work how it's claimed to, being it should treat those terms as "verbatim", no substitution, find that exact term. Yet, frequently I've had it STILL swap them out! 😔🤦‍♂️ To conclude this rant... lol I noticed this regression of KZbin around 2010, but it's *definitely* gotten much worse the last 4-5 years, which might be what you've started noticing.

[@soul0360]

​@@DUKE_of_RAMBLEYeah, 2010 sounds about right, for google search. YT search on the other hand, has always been trash, as I recall. At that time, during my computer science education, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) started to become a major part of making websites, to the point of having its own courses. Rather expensive Software started to come about, that automated SEO for existing or building websites. I clearly remember how I had discussions with teachers and peers, about how I thought, that this trend could and would be used for malice. Basically making search engines worse (in worst case useless), if Google and others didn't put in an effort to combat it. What I see now, is pretty much what I feared back then. I definitely share Adams frustration, at least on a weekly basis, and some times several times a day.

[@smizmar8]

It's so freaking infuriating, how can it be possible the that all search engines are getting worse? 2 years later, it's not better, it's worse. It has to be on purpose, if you click on a bunch of things before you find what you want - they get more money. Taken to the extreme, you just keep clicking, searching, and keep failing, you end up searching forever, hopefully given the whole free market thing, someone replaces them on the top spot, then they are forcded to change their ways, but will that hapen? I don't think marketers making the decision on what algorythms produce the most dollars get that they're not even being capitalist, once you minipulate the market you're outside of capitalism.

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

@@smizmar8 Honestly, I've concluded that it's their creation of Search Engine Optimizations (aka SEO) that has ruined everything. Because now you're relying on the website to have put in the legitimate keyword(s) that match what content is on that page... So what I'm figuring is that now everyone is basically cheating, gaming the system, in order to get THEIR result at the top, regardless of its *_actual_* relevance. But yea, also because the algorithm likely broken as well. Here's an example that I suspect applies, since Google owns KZbin and I figure the YT search uses much of the same code: I like to watch certain videos in Incognito Mode, so that watching it doesn't make Google think I'm interested, thereby tainting my Recommendations. To do this... First, I copy the link to the video _(via Share, as I'm using the YT app)._ Next, I go into Incognito. Then I paste the link into search. OH, but you can't just click search like you used to, because they've appended a unique identifier to the link, to track sharing and boat a video's reach... So now I have to delete all that tracking code! Now one of 4 things happens... Either: 1) it returns the exact video in question _(85% success rate)_ 2) it fails, either by returning nothing OR by returning some random video, and so I have to delete all of the address code, leaving just the unique video ID _(happens 10% of the time)_ 3) it finally returns the correct result 4) or it *_again_* fails, and I have to dick around further and get the video title, then search that way... 😮‍💨 I've determined that this happens because of underscores in the link, which the YT search engine seems to be ignoring, thereby producing said random results. 🙄 Anyways, yea, things are just getting worse, as you've said. They probably won't get better, either. And it's not like another search engine can turn up, because Google reigns supreme. 😞 [/pre-coffee rant]

[@RirtyDascal]

Still in the same boat. Here I am searching for a decent printer, and I have NO idea what the heck to buy, because online search is next to useless now.

[@OmnivoreMind]

I worked in a print shop for years and used several 11x17 color laser printers. My advice would be to skip the search engines and go directly to the manufacturers' websites. Xerox, Canon, Konica Minolta, HP. I found quite a few that may meet your needs. I didn't do an in-depth comparison, but a lot of them have spec sheets available, and I bet they would gladly answer questions from you.

[@stevesether]

This exactly. Large format color laser printers aren't really a consumer level product. So you're just going to find 100 different ones. IMO, once you hit a certain level of a product, people just KNOW which manufacturers make the best stuff. You don't just google for it.

[@Jman3302]

Our print shop as a Heidelberg Versafire digital press that works great, but I doubt Adam wants to spend that kinda money lol

[@sarakajira]

Great answer! Commenting to help boost this comment!

[@ChrisDawson2014]

Xerox all the way

[@danielbender4327]

I would recommend going a step further and using the manufacturers’ websites ONLY as a means of finding a direct contact to their sales teams.

[@JamesStrior]

I started feeling my blood pressure rising during your rant about SEO. Thank you for putting my frustration into words!

[@abacaixi]

same

[@chuckoneill2023]

I've been servicing laser printers for decades, here's my take: Try adjusting your media setting to a heavier weight. Your machine may actually have enough heat, if set correctly. For smaller printers, the fuser is a component you can swap out -- try installing a fresh fuser, as it seems at least some of the fuser is working, so you may have roller wear issues. Maybe, if that helps, reserve that "good" fuser for just the special jobs to reduce how much wear it gets. Also --- how many pages do you do at once? Try just one page at a time -- this possibly allows the fuser to have the best peak heat for that one page. Printing on metallic paper is tricky for most laser printers -- before fusing, the toner is applied using high voltage static charges. Obviously, any media which is partially conductive can disrupt that.

[@lincolnking-cliby972]

That was my thought as well; I've run greeting cards on the office photocopier which is essentially an 11x17 laser + fax + scanner in a refrigerator-sized carcass and with default settings had similar results to Adam until I played with the paper type and set it to a significantly higher weight card stock and then everything was beautiful 98% of the time

[@dh2032]

could it be the the corona wire, need a good clean all the dust blowing around Adams shop, if it accessible most printer used to come a little felt pad to run up and down it,

[@chuckoneill2023]

@@dh2032 Corona wire (if it uses one, many laser printers don't, any more) could cause issues, but not THIS issue.

[@DiffEQ]

@@dh2032 No. Ugh. Really? If it was the corona wire then all prints would show the defect. Never mind that a corona wire is continuous and either functions or fails. When if functions, the wire may be contaminated but this will lead to excess toner (streaks) in the same place on all prints. Do you actually KNOW anything about laser printers? Did you mean charging corona or transfer corona? Doesn't matter... these are NOT SYMPTOMS of a dirty corona wire. UGH

[@jackies35]

What laser printer wide format would you suggest for him (if all doesn't work out)??

[@CheMechanical]

I share your frustration, Adam. Two years ago, at the start of COVID, I tried to buy an 11x17 color scanner to work at home. I bought the one recommended by Amazon only to find out on delivery it was an 8.5x11 unit that was misrepresented similar to what you described. I sent it back and got $350 credit then bought a surplus new DS-60000 for $2,000 that works fantastically.

[@robertfallows1054]

Your rant on the search results is so true. I have done this for other products. Truly a scam camouflaged in “helpful” best of lists.

[@Mech3ngineer]

Wow I want to go see for myself now. Which have you seen recently?

[@DavidClunie]

Google search is trash now. Which is the sign of their downfall.

[@Soggstermainia]

Sometimes altering your search terms can have drastic changes on the results. Techs doing repairs always use the shorthand to seach for things. So when I search in shorthand ai often get different results. Aka if I search for "waste toner full error" I will get adds, sales pages for waste toner boxes and manual pages on how to remove one. But if I search "WTB full sensor fault codes" I might get the error codes list and it will highlight the fault and show me possible repair points, bulletins and other info. Might get a picture showing howbto remove the sensor window, how to clean and replace it to get or working again etc. If Google thinks your looking to buy it will try to sell you things, if it thinks your looking for a fault code say it will do different things. Also the same searches on different devices can yield different results.

[@gryphus4]

You need to choose Thick 2 or Thick 3 as the paper type. It's not only good for heavy paper but it's also to slow down the fuser part of the printer to better set the toner into the paper. The fuser drum could also need replacing

[@somanyscientists4347]

Found this out when I tried to print shipping labels

[@gryphus4]

@@somanyscientists4347 yeah the toner can stay like a powder when you don't select the correct page type

[@lilshawn2]

This. Thicker card stock uses hotter fuser temp and slower speed to properly melt the toner.

[@ericbsmith42]

I do this for my Xereox Phaser when I started having these problems with 3rd party toner. If there isn't a thickness setting use Cardstock paper type. Another thing I do is run off 20 or so blank sheets before printing. This gives the fuser time to warm up sufficiently.

[@robertlevandowski4457]

Former Xerox third-tier laser printer support tech here. This is the right answer. Depending on the printer, the setting may vary, but there should be one that will slow down the paper feed and/or increase the user temperature. It might be "Label," it might be a thick paper setting, it might even be a specific toner heat setting buried deep in the printer dialog's advanced settings. It might even be in the printer's own menus. Also, make sure you set up the straight paper path so the paper isn't getting curled inside the printer when you're doing those labels. On most laser printers, this means using the "multipurpose tray" (or single-sheet slot), and opening a door on the back of the printer. If all else fails, try calling the printer company and politely asking for an escalation; it's likely that there's a service-mode menu that could be used to increase the heat-but that also increases the chance of a fire, so it may take some convincing to get that info. (Fun fact: the first Xerox copiers had a tendency to start fires when paper would jam in the fuser. As a result, they included fire extinguishers behind the front door. But since it would be.a marketing disaster to say your copier needs a fire extinguisher because it could catch on fire, the device was called a "scorch eliminator.")

[@ted3681]

As a prior MFP/copier technician: Check if the print driver has an option for thicker paper, this will increase the heat and thus toner adhesion, the thicker the paper setting, the more heat (Card stock = super heat). Large copiers have this. Yes, the bulk of large formats are ink, the print head has to move such as large distance and I see that as being an issue to have have the components to apply heat and thus that increases cost and thus lowers market share. Also yes, search engine results have been horrible imo the last year, maybe ask HP etc dealership and or sales and get their salesman after you. Edit: Side note, ask all your contacts whom have used card stock tips on the printer brand and thus driver settings needed for heat. Copier dealerships, print shops etc may answer this for free out of kindness if you are polite. Ensure you use the newest print driver from the manufacturers website, PC has way more robust drivers and thus settings in my experience than MAC.

[@timrobinson9978]

The term “large format” usually refers to machines that use roll feed media and print way bigger than your 11x17” (A3 to those in metric land) which is actually a pretty standard format. Canon and FujiXerox are my 2 favorite brands when it comes to pro colour level laser printers. They are generally about the size of a bar fridge for the basic printing unit and you can generally lease them for a pretty good rate if you don’t want to buy

[@djsomeguy]

This is true...large format towards plotters are completely different than just doing tabloid size.

[@Ninkyo893]

I feel like Adam would benefit from a large format plotter printer that can do poster and banner sized prints, especially on projects where he's had to make multiple printouts as reference and cut/paste them together.

[@andrewmcintosh2703]

Heh ... "Metric land" ... as if "the whole rest of the world" were some obscure little corner of the planet ;)

[@timrobinson9978]

@@andrewmcintosh2703 I live in Metric Land. As far as I’m concerned America is the backwater with its antiquated measuring units. Just sayin.

[@ShaneBurley]

We used Xerox in our printing shop with great success maybe check into something like the VersaLink C7000

[@budmartin8297]

In my decades of repairing laser printers, the error you showed at the start is caused most frequently by the fuser (the hot roller) losing the teflon coating causing the previously deposited toner to be attracted to the fuser and redeposited down the page. Some times the problem is started by the developer roller Usually in the toner cartridge, becoming worn and smearing excess toner onto the page. When this happens, remove the cartridge and examine the usually green roller in the cartridge for wear or excess toner build up. If you can see the actual heat drum in the the fusing assembly examine it for wear and excess toner. Never use refurb cartridges if you want to reduce the likely hood of these problems. Note don't touch the fuser roller, it's hot enough to burn you with ease. Furthermore, I have seen refurb cartridges do this to the point of taking out the fuser as well. It's not usually a heat problem, the fuser is hot and there are temperature sensors to sense any low heat problem. Some laser printers actually have menu settings that can alter the heat setting as well, but I would not assume that to be the problem.

[@victoriadell614]

Ditto - all about the heat!

[@moultriemanicmechani]

I love reading the comments on these , there are so many highly intelligent people answering , and posting useful information . Most other pages , by the time you got to 100 comments , it would read like the Jerry Springer show , fans here , give me hope 👍

[@matthewstout7974]

Yep, this... and on most printers the fuser assembly can be replaced.

[@Drakenrahll]

Yeah he should check the Teflon coating on the fuser, but if it was the teflon then the image defect would be the same down the entire length of the page, mostly. The defect only started about half way down. Given that repetitive defects on most fusers repeat at an interval of 2-4 inches (depending on the size of the fuser drum) this doesnt look like a fuser teflon issue to me . This looks more like the fuser isn't get hot enough, like its loosing steam about halfway through the print. I know, difference of opinion. It's just my two cents, from all the years that I have worked on laser printers. I do think it's odd that it's happening just in the one clearly defined strip in the middle, but my gut still tells me that it's the fuser not heating up. Id love to be there and run a few other tests to see. Even a config page on normal paper would tell us if it's the teflon coating or not.

[@jimmortlock7186]

@@victoriadell614 And if I could add to that common. HP uses low temperature toner on all of their modern printers. Lower temperature, lower power consumption. Lower temperature printer, lower temperature fuser. A media that works with lower temp toner would help.

[@jk-video2716]

I agree with the rant on search engines (and I am an IT professional). Well, I tried switching to "laser printer large format". It helped a little, but the problem was still there. And you can change to +laser, but then you can still get the reviews that have one laser printer and 9 inkjets. The rant is appropriate.

[@youtert]

The plus operator has not worked on Google for around 10 years. They eliminated it so it wouldn't interfere with searches relating to their Google+ service, and when Google+ failed they never brought back the operator. You're supposed to use quotes around every word you want it to not ignore. This takes twice as long to type, and it's moot because it often decides to ignore your terms anyway.

[@discussion210]

Try using "industrial" finding a business to business supplier that maybe doesn't have exactly what you're looking for and then use their keywords, I think the professional printing industry may not use "laser" for the type of printer he's looking for

[@MTGeomancer]

Searching for "laser" won't really help. Those "top 10" sites, all of them, are just affiliate link machines. They'll throw the kitchen sink onto the page with a list of keywords so that they'll still show up in more specific search results. They don't care that the page doesn't have what you're looking for. They hope you'll click the affiliate link and then hope you either buy it, or continue shopping at that merchant and buy something else, either way they get the commission.

[@vanepico]

You've hit the nail on the head of the incomprehensible headache that is computing since maybe 2010. When system's sole purpose is making money rather than performing services!! As someone that works in RF I giggled at the SNR > 1 comment xD

[@spasticmuse4262]

I've been convinced for at least 6-7 years now that Amazon's search engine is one of the absolute worst of any major engine. I often give up and use an "outside" search like Bing or Google to find specific items on Amazon; it's strangely more efficient.

[@blahblah9036]

I've just started not buying stuff on Amazon. I find a distributor of the type of goods I'm looking for, and order it from there. Things get to your house a bit slower, but it's always the item you paid for instead of a cheap knockoff whose PICTURE looks good online. And there's the added bonus of not giving jeff bezos any money. As for researching what I want to buy, bing. I learned that they actually have a search engine that gives what you're looking for because of porn, but it turns out their engine is useful for things other than that :P

[@NotTheStinkyCheese]

yeah ... the chances of actually getting anything related to your search result within the Amazon webshops are very low. Practical all of my searches have found completely unrelated stuff within the first few results. I suspect it's because Amazon doesn't check if the people providing the data actually enter correct information at all. There's no way of reporting it either, because like any shop Amazon wants you tempt you into buying more than you want.

[@mickthemaker1789]

The problem isn't so much Amazon as it is the seller putting every imaginable key word/tag into their listings. I see the same problem on nearly every site these days. (Craigslist ads with miles of unrelated gibberish at the end are a perfect example.) The only real solution is to limit the number of key words/tags and ad length. But hey, that doesn't generate clicks and ad revenue, so it won't happen until it becomes completely unusable and we stop using their sites altogether.

[@spasticmuse4262]

@@mickthemaker1789 I feel your pain about that and completely agree. As Adam might put it, "It's the signal to noise ratio." And it's always an issue for initial searches. What can only be a fault of Amazon is the breakdown when you try to sort results. Generic example; I search for "thing-a-ma-bob", and now I'm shown the first page of 1234 items. I want to refine that search, so I'll select sort price: low to high. Now I'm looking at the first page of 3456 items. It's crap, and that's Amazon.

[@blahblah9036]

@@mickthemaker1789 no, the problem I have is absolutely Amazon. Amazon is run by jeff bezos, and he's a cockbite with too much money and no humanity. His own employees starve and die ON THE JOB and he's giddy about profit margins, while also being one of the richest motherfuckers that has ever lived. I refuse to give him more money.

[@Guardian_Arias]

its happening more and more with all search engines where you are incapable of searching for "specialized equipment" its infuriating. really does fell like search engines are past searching and just serve up the closest matching ad with highest revenue. even when you include strings to purposefully ignore website, force emphasis on words and so on, at some point the engine literally gives up and says i can't find what im looking for.

[@bryanflo4500]

It seems like KZbin is similar. It'll offer me a handful of relevant videos and topics based on my search, but then regresses to other curated content unrelated to my search! I know Google just wants me to keeeep waaaaatching ads... Haha

[@Games_and_Music]

Yeah, this is not the future i imagined, i really dislike it when devices start thinking for me, because they're almost always wrong, and when they're right, it's mostly because i made a typo in the search, something i would've found out at some point by myself. I recently stumbled into a Google brainfart, when i Googled the difference between my native Dutch definitions of certain numbers, compared to English. For example: 1 million = 1 miljoen 1 billion = 1 miljard 1 trillion = 1 biljoen 1 quadrillion = 1 triljoen So as you can see, our "billion" is actually your "trillion", but Google had a really hard time understanding that. It kept reverting back to "Detected language: Afrikaans", which is very similar to Dutch, but obviously, there are some differences, namely the one i was specifically demonstrating. And whenever i manually switched language back to "Dutch", they still translated the Dutch "triljoen" and the English "trillion", even though it is supposed to be "quadrillion". It did work sometimes, but if i then refreshed the page, it got back to Afrikaans, it just couldn't stay on point. I guess it kept assuming that i was looking for "trillion" and not "quadrillion", which i wasn't, i was mainly teaching Google the difference. So i started poking fun at Google and extend my translation searches to "Dutch triljoen translate to English. Google, don't say trillion!!!!" Then again, i might've distorted the search by throwing in the word "trillion", but that was only after i already tried to use Google translate in the normal way a dozen times.

[@Games_and_Music]

@@bryanflo4500 *coughadblockerscough*

[@SuzakuX]

@@bryanflo4500 Yeah, I hate the way YT slips unrelated curated / trending content into the search results. I wouldn't mind so much if they just had a section somewhere on the results page for it, but stop acting like it's an actual search result.

[@viesturz]

@@Feroce A big part of the problem is that Internet is actively lying to you because it's profitable to do so. So the search engine needs to be the arbiter of truth which is a very tricky business to be in.

[@Ablumz]

fudge I literally fell into this trap last week and had to cycle through a million awful printer options while looking for laser printers for my office.

[@gostuff]

THANK YOU!!! I went through exactly the same experience buying a laser printer and thought i was loosing my mind!. Even looking for toner cartridges is a challenge. Also,I have used my printer to print on adhesive labels and have had good luck setting the printer to really thick paper, or "cardstock" setting. It seems to print really hot and the graphics and text adheres really well!

[@text-1214]

Congratulations you have been selected amount our shortlisted winner 🎁 contact the number above.......✔️

[@Liliarthan]

Which printer did you end up going with?

[@Blackgriffonphoenixg]

the search algo thing is everywhere. You absolutely cannot google ANYTHING anymore like an answer to a question or search for a very very specific item without promoted and sponsored AI generated dogshite being pushed up and clogging up the first, second pages of search results. Like we see here, you search for laser printers and they'll either try to sell you inkjets because they wanna get rid of cheap crap in stock, or the other half of the results is useless trite like "what is a laser printer?" and ads for the local best-buy.

[@solanuskc4303]

You can, but you have to add AND “Reddit” to your search lol

[@trickster721]

I think Adam is basically looking for a printer dealership, but that kind of middleman sales business model just doesn't exist anymore.

[@Digital-Dan]

I solved that problem long ago, in the days of dead tree publications. I had a friend who spent most of his time scanning ads in the paper. On the other hand, I didn't see them at all. It's still the case that I generally am unaware of whether an ad that I didn't manage to block is particularly relevant to my interests, which are also quite broad, so cats and Cats, you know? Of course, Amazon and eBay do this to me, but there I don't particularly mind it.

[@TheToric]

Yup. Windows troubleshooting feel just as bad...

[@yonil9]

It is because Google changed their default algorithm but you can still use the old one by searching something then go to search tools then changing all results to verbatim

[@DanielMReck]

When I print on thicker stock or anything super smooth, I need to change the paper type in the print settings. Choosing thick cardstock, envelope, or similar will slow the paper feed speed to give the fuser a better shot of setting the toner. I have an ancient 11x17 laser printer to print my music scores, but it is monochrome. It fits my needs as a composer but I've not found a comparable color option. Adam, I love everything you do and appreciate you sharing your talent and humanity with us. Thank you for remotely enriching our lives -- I wish I had more people like you in life.

[@mungtor]

This 100%. I'm using a HP MFP M277dw for everything my family needs. I just did water decals on glossy paper for a project my daughter was doing and just selected "HP Glossy 120" paper instead of plain. I've done transfer decals for other projects the same way.

[@rebeltaz123]

@@mungtor Use my MFP M467nw for the exact same thing using decal sheets specifically designed for laser printers. Works great!

[@uberfuzzy]

This is a tip not just for Adam, but everyone else also, if you do find your self in still the mood to invest in printing hardware, dont forget to check (especially more so for Adam, given proximity in the middle of SF) for "office bankruptcy/liquidation sale/auction" postings. For the most part, a used printer is still fine, and any of the "used" parts would be the consumable bits that would need replacing anyway. You can get heavy duty workhorse printers from offices for fractions of list price in liquidation sales.

[@rachelblack3816]

I bought my first color laser printer that way (on eBay), no one else bid on it so I got it at the very low starting price; the price was so low that when I went to pick it up (local sale), the guy was really pissed that he got so little for it, and refused to include the fuser for it, saying he wasn't going to just give it to me, I'd have have to buy it from him! (It didn't say that in the eBay listing!). I told him to f**k off, and I ordered a fuser online elsewhere, told him he could eat that fuser for dinner.

[@Harpreet06]

Same issue on KZbin which led me to this video. Just looking for the best colour laser all in one printer

[@KTigr3]

"Large Format" in the context of printers usually refers to a plotter. Without getting into a very expensive printer, you're probably not going to find a reasonably priced laser color plotter. if you are looking for something that can print on 11x17 aka tabloid paper, I'd recommend searching for "tabloid color laser printer" or "11x17 color laser printer". For your current printer, based on the small section that is getting ripped off down the paper, you may have a bad fuser. A quick check is while it's cold, remove the fuser and look at the orange(ish) roller in it and see if you can see any damage to it. If it's not the same color/texture all the way across, it is damaged and needs to be replaced. If it is good, changing the media in the print settings for the program you are using will adjust the temperature for the particular type of media which might help with the damage to the outputted print job.

[@adamrichardson2227]

Yeah I was thinking the same thing about finding a printer that does what he wants at a reasonable cost. My last company paid like 20k for a Konica Minolta color laser and even then, it didn't have every feature they offer. Business grade hardware is kind of another level and is built to print in large volumes, which Adam probably does not need.

[@gadi70]

What's wrong with SRA3 as a size?

[@MartysRandomStuff]

I think this may be the case here, we have some large format printers at work and they are all for doing poster size prints, and they are all ink jets. Most small office copy machines can do 11x17, and most of them now are also network printers.

[@Getsimpson]

Came here to make this comment. Any “large format” printer I have worked with has been a plotter. Adam has mentioned in the past knowing what to Google (your goofoo) makes all the difference.

[@BKSHellFireFiend]

I've been a CAD for 10+ years & worked for various Arch, Civ & Mech companies . All of them had the same opinion plotters. They're a major pain! (1) The machines are expensive. (2) The Ink & Paper Rolls are expensive (compared to the already pricey 11x17 printers) & typically require a special ordering. (3) They frequently need to be serviced by a specialist/technician in order to stay under warranty. (4) They're only ever used when required by the installer/fabricator or when trying to impress a customer/potential client. (5) Many places ended up outsourcing plot jobs to avoid the hassle.

[@jdy5556]

I feel your pain Adam! I get so frustrated with search algorithms. It seems to me that the true metric is how much companies are willing to pay to have their products thrust upon you. Instead of showing results of the actual thing you are looking for you just get the highest bidder....

[@lilfuglsangstergaard6993]

spot on!

[@need100k]

I just found this video. Funny just today I have to do heavy cleaning of my print heads of a stupid inkjet printer to print 13x19 prints. I LOVE laser printers. You can leave them sitting for a few years and they will fire right up and make a perfect print. I've never had that drum uneven heating problem before.

[@KevAF_]

adam!!! i know im a year late. but i just learned this recently, using " " around a word in your google search. and a minus sign(-) before a word are verrryyyy useful tools. the quotes require the word to be in the search and the - omit a word in the results. so something like ( Large format "laser" printer -ink)

[@CrucibleMediaLabs]

This is exceedingly common in any highly-specific search. A few months ago I was in the market for my first dirt bike and I was looking into whether a tall and heavy guy like me could get away with starting on a 450cc bike, which are the largest common bikes you'll find and generally strongly recommended against since they're so much more powerful. I was greeted with dozens of these kinds of generic websites with "Top 10 Dirt Bikes For Beginners", and listing all of the current year's models, including the smaller ones that I had explicitly NOT searched for, with some vague bullet points about why they're good bikes that seemed to be lifted straight from the marketing brochures. Same deal with camera hardware. Same deal with graphics cards. Same deal with guitars. The only reliable sources for relevant discussion about anything anymore are dedicated forum sites for the thing you're looking for and Reddit.

[@jaywolfenstien]

Yeah, I’ve noticed awhile ago that searching for something specific is basically useless. It’s like you’re being punished for knowing enough about the subject to narrow down your search.

[@The_Modeling_Underdog]

Researching historical gliders over here. I can relate in full to what you say. What Jay said ins true as well. The amount of digital manure you have to sift through is surreal.

[@johnkey1682]

Thank you, Adam. This happens more often than it should. I work in product engineering looking for novel and oddball things on a regular basis. I often hit this same problem where I get stuff that people want to sell versus things I want to buy.

[@TrondBrgeKrokli]

Thank you for this healthy rant. I do so agree. Watching this video was worth it for me, just to acknowledge your personal experience with actual needs when using a search engine. Best of luck with your future Laser Printer!

[@RunarMagnussen]

Yeah, I often find my Google searches to be ads first and then garbage after that. Especially when searching for products. Usually asking a question works somewhat better.

[@xtonyx]

If you're typically printing solid colors, picking up a used Gerber Edge printer and plotter set up might be up your alley. It's designed specifically for printing on vinyl, and it's thermal foil printer, not an inkjet. Then you can print and cut your decals.

[@I-0-0-I]

Very diplomatic of you to go with “Laser Printers” and not “Google” in the title :)

[@karlb6273]

Fortunately I don’t need a laser printer for my needs. You have my sympathies (not that they will be of any help, of course). I am so sick of the borderline fraudulent behaviour of laser printer manufacturers, with toners that ”run out” long before they are actually empty. My refillable ink printer needs to be used once a week (I’ve scheduled it), but has worked like a charm for years. The paper costs more than the ink. I love it. I do indeed sometimes need to protect the print when weathering. I use airbrush matte varnish for that, but that might not work if I needed to do it very frequently.

[@marcberm]

SEO has absolutely destroyed the quality and utility of Internet search.

[@xor01]

ai is making it a lot worse

[@marcberm]

@@xor01 Yup! Seamlessly weaving in tons of wrong information.

[@rexmons6144]

I think the issue may be from the wording "large format" combined with "laser printer". A large format printer, which is also known as a "plotter" is not a laser printer. Plotter are usually roughly 4' wide and can print massive banners or poster or what have you. That being said, I think HP makes pretty solid standard laser printers where that problem can be easily resolved by replacing the fuser kit, which HP makes pretty easy to do (not much harder than changing out the toner).

[@Drakenrahll]

Yep, the term he wants to use when searching for a laser that prints 11x17 is "tabloid"

[@Yakushii]

One black mark on my resume as a "creator" in the software dev industry, is that I've created tools that procedurally generate webshops with intensely over-the-top SEO. Some companies use them for marketing. In fact, I just googled "large format laser printers" and found three websites in the top 30 results that have my "signature" on them. Only one of them actually displays a laser printer that fits the description. This was something I created years ago before I knew what it entailed, and while I had to scrounge for money.

[@gooddoggytreat]

I worked as an engineer on an SEO team, and it broke my heart to see all of the desperate shops out there procedurally generating webspam for cash. I tend to add the word “reddit” onto the end of my Google Search queries fairly often.

[@stephentroyer3831]

So, you're specially qualified to build a tool to fight your own creation?

[@Dracossaint]

@@stephentroyer3831 would that be considered competing tho? They Could have signed a non compete before leaving. Yes theirs been many cases of it being overturned. Butttt that is still a possible legal battle

[@whickervision742]

Please tell us how to destroy what you've unleashed.

[@stephentroyer3831]

@@Dracossaint that is a sadly likely reality. Maybe his agreement has an expiration date?

[@josephs3973]

I had seen this before while trying to find wireless open back headphones. All items in those search results were either closed back, wired, earbuds or a combination of those. None was what I asked for.

[@GreatSongs]

Xerox WorkCentre 6515 bar none. I left inkjet printing and never looked back. This printer literally made me low printers again. It just works every time. Has a great color. And has a five year warranty where Xerox actually will come to your house and fix your freaking printer.

[@27holyman]

"All of my rants end in a rant about late stage capitalism" might be one of my favorite adam savage quotes

[@clovewright]

After years of watching machining and maker videos there’s finally a question I can help answer! My dad has been been selling and repairing printers, fax machines, and typewriters for 30+ years and once upon a time I used to help around his shop so I have some insight to this question. Now I don’t know as much about large format printers so this advice might change based on that. But first off I would say you should actually look for a reconditioned professional machine. A properly re-built/taken care of professional machine will have the build quality and longevity of 10 consumer ones. At this point consumer printers are ewaste garbage that are meant to be replaced whenever they have one thing go wrong. Age also is less of a problem as long as you can still source toner/parts and even older laser prints will have enough quality for what you want. As for specific printers I would focus less on a model and more of a brand. Avoid HP at all cost because they are cheap and garbage. Xerox are better but too proprietary. Personally I’d recommend a Kyocera, they’re not really known in consumer markets but they’re quiet workhorses. Brother would be my second choice, the consumer stuff isn’t as great but the professional things are solid and more common. In terms of finding a machine you should look around for either a local dealer or an office liquidation company. Either are likely to have professional stuff you could buy. I’m not sure if any of this info is helpful but I hope some of it is!

[@clovewright]

Two minor addendum‘s to this. HP’s professional stuff is better than consumer stuff, but I still don’t love it. And I kept my recommendations to laser printers, but based on what you use a printer for I would also consider a sublimation dye printer. They often come in larger formats and are what are used for printing on canvas and other materials. They have their own quirks, but it might be better for your use case.

[@thequixotryworkshop2424]

Wow.. seems like you have great advice here… hope Adam reads yours…

[@rocketman221projects]

I have a couple of Brother laser printers. They have settings for the paper type and setting it to the thicker types will slow down the print speed so the page spends more time under the fuser. They also have an "improve toner fixing" option that can help when printing on some heavier types of paper. You don't want one with an excessively hot fuser as that would be a fire hazard if there was a paper jam in it.

[@NA12495]

I have switched to just Brother laser printers. I got tired of HP forcing their ink and haveing experation date on it.

[@bfhammer]

35 year photocopier/printer tech here. Just looking at your sample, I see a fixing problem. One of the largest challenges I have professionally is when users want to print on media other than 20lb bond paper that is the industry standard. You are applying plastic powder to a media and must heat it and press it at a specific engineered melting point to "fix" the toner to the media. Color technology is even more difficult as you are mixing 4 layers of different base color toner. The temperature for fixing has to be even tighter than in the black and white xerographic process. The "media type" label in the print drive is more than just for choosing the correct feed source. It will also define the weight of the paper, and set the fixing temperature and the speed the paper moves through the fixing unit so it can melt the toner properly. Just like you use a higher temperature and slower motion ironing denim pants than you would a cotton t-shirt. If you have the box for your print media, look at it for the weight rating often in small print. Measurement is typically grams per square meter these days, or g/m2. Some printers can custom set the weight for each paper type, but that is only a starting point reference. Trial and error is the normal way to figure out the correct setting. Add to that the fixing unit is a high-mortality item in color printers and will give more issues as they wear out.

[@cereal510]

Adam, my mom ran a quilt pattern business that we did all the printing for. The printer we used was a Ricoh. It even has multiple page drawers, so you can store and print 8 & 1/2 x 11 as well as 11 x 17.

[@ianburkard]

5:00 The same thing happens when makers are searching for raw materials or specialty products like vinyl paint, raw pigments, large format scanners etc. I'm surprised that this if your first time encountering product search manipulation. I'm not sure who manages and promotes these "best of" product lists, but it's very very annoying.

[@kindlin]

Just anything outside of the obvious answer, basically. You can use google to find forums and other sources (like wikipedia, sometimes) that discusses places and ways to actually find wat you're looking for.

[@krsbog]

Searching for just about anything. Looking for software, how to do something, just about anything now fills with these top 10 [item] of [current year] pages filled with affiliate links. Internet search has become a whole lot less useful in the past several years. Search for something that was findable a few years ago, and you are unlikely to find it, though it does still exist. Ask in a forum and you are likely to get a response with a "how to search" link that goes to the same useless hits, from someone who knows the answer, but hasn't tried actually searching recently.

[@user-hz9il4vu9c]

@@krsbog that's so true. If I'm asking in a forum, it's because I've tried googling it but got nothing but useless info which is all carbon copied from each other. I want a human being who has successfully performed my same task to help me in the right direction.

[@philb3549]

The same thing happens when you search FOR ANYTHING 😂. I'm not sure which explanation is scarier; human incompetence or the rise of the machines?!?!?

[@TheExileFox]

Nobody. It's all cases of what I like to call "SEO pollution"

[@sloprano]

If you havent settled for one yet, the HP Color LaserJet M255dw I can recommend. Specify paper size and type in the driver and hopefully itll work well for you.

[@athaphian]

I laughed so hard when you said 'no I havent tried Bing' cause that was EXACTLY what I was thinking one second earlier xD xD xD !

[@ilexjin]

The disembodied hand in the background over Adam’s shoulder at 2:20 is pretty creepy.

[@TacoFooo]

I'm glad someone mentioned it!

[@lisa-mariegray5510]

Wait! What? Where?

[@anthonymara4533]

Showed up at :53 and vanished at 2:34. I was reading through the whole comment string.... looking for anyone else who noticed it lol.

[@lisa-mariegray5510]

@@anthonymara4533 OK! Over his left or right shoulder?

[@anthonymara4533]

@@lisa-mariegray5510 Left side of the screen, over his right shoulder.

[@jamesfogel7998]

Hi Adam, as others have said, part of the issue is including the "Wide Format" as a search term. While we know you are trying to find something that will print ledger sized documents, Google and Amazon think you're looking for a plotter or banner printer, which are almost exclusively inkjet. This confuses the algorithms and produces more crap results than usual. I would try being more specific in your search terms and specifying the general model for the manufacturer you want to spec out. For example, a search for "Laserjet" should generate almost exclusively HP laser printers, while searching for "imageCLASS" should generate almost exclusively Canon laser printers. Adding "11x17" to the search should filter it down to printers capable of handling ledger sized paper.

[@Cyanide300]

So a couple things that can help with the "noise". You can put double quotes around a search term to have google require that term in the results instead of trying to guess what you really want. You can also put a minus sign in front of a term to have google exclude results with that term. So you could search "large format" "laser" printer -" best" and get a lot less noise. If you click the settings icon at the upper right of the google page, there's also an Advanced Search option, which will help you narrow your search results.

[@Zzyyzzxx7]

“The signal to noise ratio has surpassed 1” That is the best way I’ve heard thus far to describe the current internet situation

[@acemilo]

I work in the industry, take a look at xerox versalink printers. They're low to mid end, took over the phaser line. You can absolutely change the fuser temp to whatever you want, I'm just not sure how much information is public.

[@HairyBottom]

He’s looking for a large format laser printer.

[@acemilo]

@@HairyBottom versalinks print tabloit 11x17

[@MarissaRider]

YES! I feel this this same way almost every search!

[@m.maclellan7147]

AND you'll get border ads for the next 3 weeks !

[@craibe4709]

I love this format of video. Adam just telling it how it is and very much relating to the average maker in terms of the frustration that comes with trying to even find a part or tool. A quote comes to mind from Futurama where Fry says “shut up and take my money!” more and more I’m brought to the conclusion that anytime I’m trying to buy something I need or want there making it more and more difficult to do so! I’m only 20 years old aswell! Even if you know how to work the tech you need to buy something it’s a hassle!

[@usaevo8]

Valid Rant, Ive been subjected to this myself. Adam is turning into a real life Doc Brown.

[@HelicopterBill]

For us IT geeks, I feel your pain! SEO makes looking for solutions a nightmare. But I hate printers, so, no suggestions from me. Thanks for the video!

[@TheToric]

One of the resons I actually find linux easier these days is that there is a lot less AI generated content on the web compared to the endless listicles telling you to try running chkdsk for every issue under the sun...

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

I think we'd all like to do an Office Space on a printer every 6 months or so. Bastard machines.

[@NotTheStinkyCheese]

@@TheToric that may be true for the more obscure linux things ... but as a newbie I've already run into similar listicles and youtube videos for Linux problems. The need to be found outweighs the need to provide to actual provide useful info. If it wasn't for Stackoverflow then I'd have similar problems when looking for answers to progamming problems.

[@j.dietrich]

You probably want a dye sublimation printer. You can print in UV- and water-resistant dye, then heat transfer the image onto almost any material. It's a total gamechanger in the shop. I'd suggest a Sawgrass SG1000, but any signmaking or garment printing shop should be able to give you a recommendation.

[@monkeyfacesenior]

Yeah.. was thinking about this.

[@marvindebot3264]

This

[@gallerytwentyeight]

Was also going to suggest this as an alternative.

[@GalacticSparrow]

Check out Lexmark MX series. Running at high resolution will slow down the feed showing the paper to get hotter. As also, run a few pages before to warm up the fuser roller.

[@qbeam]

There's somebody in the background taking your picture with their phone, Adam. Did you see that??? It's at 2:18. What do I win?!?!? LOL.

[@Trainfan1055Janathan]

I feel your pain. When I was a rookie truck driver, I was having trouble figuring out how to loosen a load bar (I've never seen one of these, despite several years experience loading and unloading a truck). I Googled, "how to use a load bar," but could only find websites and videos on how to thghten one. (I already knew how to do this, as it was all I could seem to do.) I then Googled, "how to loosen a load bar," but could only find videos on how to tighten one. It was so frustrating!

[@JV-pu8kx]

I was looking for videos on how to disassemble a vacuum cleaner hose (the handle) and could not find on to match my model. I ended up having to figure it out on my own, and gluing a bunch of tabs because I did not have a guide to tell me whare they were!

[@notoriousresearcher]

Here's a tip: if you include the word you absolutely require in your search term in double quotes (how to "loosen" "load bar"), Google will require those words to be non-negotiable in the search results and you're more likely to find what you're looking for. You can also add a minus/dash in front of words you DON'T want to exclude them (how to "loosen" "load bar" -tighten), though you run the risk of excluding results that may talk about both loosening and tightening.

[@ethelredhardrede1838]

@@notoriousresearcher "Google will require those words to be non-negotiable in the search results a" If only that were true. Its SUPPOSED to work that way but I often get a lot of results, near the top of the search that are not adds, that even mark it as not being there.

[@brw3079]

I can just hear them saying, "We know better what you want than you do!!! Trust us! Send us your money and be happy! You don't know what you want!”

[@mikecowen6507]

@@ethelredhardrede1838 Paid ads seem to override any logical operators in the search string.

[@fubar116]

Owner of a professional print shop for over 10 years.we run eco-sol printers (mostly Roland) and i think it's what you would want for your needs or perhaps a layex printer. Roland makes some smaller hobby style for not a lot of money.Yes they are higher maintenance and not a "hit print and go" solution. But would be durable and over a lot of options. We Would happily print and digital die cut whatever custom stickers/decals you would ever need. Cover the shipping and they are yours!

[@jrainsford]

I came here to say exactly this. Eco solvent print and cut printers allow you to do real vinyl stickers, paper prints, metallics. We've fed all sorts of materials through ours. Worth the investment.

[@scotth6814]

And I thought I was alone in spending hours searching for things and going thru pages & pages of the wrong results!

[@niveks_]

Whenever searching anything on google, I tend to frequently put terms in quotes to be sure those exact words are mentionned in the pages, otherwise you end up with results that sort of are related to, but not quite, which just happen to have the best referencing

[@stinkerguy489]

I normally append "reddit" to the end of my searches if I'm looking for product reviews. I invariably get some reddit posts in whatever subreddit that is dedicated to the type of product (in this case r/printers) with some recommendations.

[@PLAYERSLAYER_22]

This^ hope adam does a follow up on this unrelated to printing

[@ieatlegos]

Works often but NOT WITH MATTRESSES

[@puupipo]

Yeah, this right here is probably the easiest, least time-consuming thing to do that has the biggest impact to your search results. Works great when troubleshooting computer issues as well.

[@tastygoldfish]

loved using xerox when I worked at a print shop. would agree with previous comments that changing paper type to slow it down can help, have used plenty of non standard paper stock and you just have to play with settings till it prints correctly. also could be dirty fuser or drum from all that toner that isn't sticking to the paper.

[@mikecowen6507]

Yeah, I loved using their DocuTech machines! We used to *joke* it would print on sheet metal. I sure did a "Buckwheat" (Little Rascals reference. If you don't get it, you're too young.) when we were able to run index tabs (for separating sections in a catalog or manual with plastic tabs) without any adjustments whatsoever. It was truly astounding when you're used to any nonstandard paper jamming frequently.

[@kurtnelle]

I actually did the google search as he said to. And I landed on the same link that he did. Lol. I love interactive content!

[@AndyP126]

In your printer driver, pick the thickest paper possible. That will get the drum as hot as it can go. Also check advanced options and see if there is an “improve toner fixing” option or any option to heat up the drum as hot as possible.

[@D4M14N1989]

Ok so first off, “large format printer” means something different to what you think. Large format generally means around A2 or larger paper. At those sizes most printers are plotters which are ink based. If you’re talking 11x17 you should search for A3 laser printer. But even then you don’t really need to search. There’s only half a dozen brands so you’re better off just checking the specs for each of those brands: HP Konica Minolta* Brother Kyocera Fuji/Xerox (personally I hate these printers due to driver issues) Ricoh* Canon* *these guys are kind of the top 3 in office laser photocopiers / professional laser printers and they all make desktop units so I’d start with them.

[@HoJoGoGo]

These are called tabloid laser printers in the US, since 11x17 is considered tabloid size.

[@theragingdolphinsmaniac4696]

Adam, you have to slow the printer down so the toner gets hot enough to adhere to the glossy surface. Many laser printers have heavy weight paper or gloss paper settings that will cure that problem.

[@fxm5715]

For that kind of stuff, I find it best to search directly on various manufacturers websites. We've got a Xerox 11 x 17 color laser printer at the office that I think cost around $3k. That's five or six times what the home consumer color laser printers cost, but this thing is designed to be a daily workhorse, not just a weekend ride.

[@alanhersch4617]

What I have found is when you want something more Niche/robust/specific/etc. Is I find a company that makes the product and search on THEIR website. In this case, it looks like you want something that essentially Commercial Business grade. Which is a small market, so finding the top companies and searching there is the way to go. Not saying anything you said here is wrong, you are totally right and have an amazing point, just pointing out what I have found works to find the specific tools I need.

[@ghostyFPV]

that "signal to noise" analogy hit me in my core

[@HotelPapa100]

For your applications you may also want to look into UV fusing ink jets. They can print really robust lacquers, and even do relief.

[@nesdonbooth9726]

Off topic strange coincidence recalled by your image. I was in a mostly deserted kinkos at 3 am prepping a change to a prop requested by a director for a 6 am shoot. He wanted to change the color of a mic cube logo to red. I put the oversized BW graphic onto the scanner of a copier and made one test copy to see how it was working. I intended to print on clear film, in red, and knew I needed some reduction to fit the 2" cube. Astonishingly, the test copy that came out if the machine was not BW, full size, on paper, but in red, on clear film, and reduced so that the image was 2". I felt like I had fallen into the Twilight Zone. That all three of these changes had already been set on the machine and left that way by some previous customer seemed impossible and miraculous. Like a legitimate miracle, or maybe I was dreaming. Gobsmacked, I noticed another guy at another machine and asked him if he had used the one I was on or seen who had. He confessed he had been using it, and proudly showed me the document he was making. It was a very prop-ly doc, but he was actually trying to fake a red rubber stamp over a prison transfer request in an effort to get his brother moved to a lower security prison. I don't recall the details of his text, but the coincidence that would find the only two folks in a 24 hr kinkos setting up a machine to make the same changes (also coincidentally similar to the print out you showed) seemed impossibly unlikely. But I realized there are zillions of moments in our lives, and everyone is in some ways a zillion to one longshot that we should be experiencing that moment in that place at that time. It was not a miracle, it was a coincidence, an uncanny one no doubt, just like every other miracle.

[@liftphx3071]

No expert here but my wife had a very specific use case, she needed to be able to print on 110lb paper on a laser printer. So we went down the rabbit hole of consumer vs pro and stumbled across the xerox workcentre 7556. It had everything we needed, ultimately you need a pass thru or straight paper path to be able to handle the higher poundage paper. Worked like a charm and we got it for $900 usd used. You can order it refurbed online for $1500. Couldn’t recommend it enough. Feel free to reply if you have any questions.

[@aliennetwork08]

Ur awesome Adam used to watch mysthbusters with my papa all the time growing up .. RIP :(

[@AnalogX64]

Check the supply status from the information page of the printer, you might find that the Fuser in the laser printer is due for a replacement with a fuser maintenance kit. I run laser printers in a cold warehouse without any printing issues.

[@jakotheshadow]

This is the correct answer. Fusers in laser printers are considered wear parts and need to be replaced regularly.

[@DrewNorthup]

I frequently search for incredibly specific things. Over the last ten years doing so has become increasingly difficult. I can even search for something I'm actually looking at and get either zero hits or completely unrelated results.

[@jojo-qu1qj]

you usually have settings in the print driver (printing preferences on windows) or on the machine to match the stock you are printing on that will get the toner hot enough to stick to the page you are printing on, most printers are capable of doing that. konica and ricoh are favorite printers. if you are doing any business type of printing you might as well just get a full size copier (cheaper to run in the long run and easier to fix) or you can lease. you can get one that's a little smaller also but konica and ricoh also make consumer size machines as well that are much more well made than your typical hp, canon and epson printers...

[@Shannon3DTest]

Something useful in this context is adding +"laser". This tells the engine that you're only interested in the word laser and will prioritise those results. You still get crap but it's less crap when you tell Google that the word laser is more important.

[@dykam]

Just quoting it is enough AFAIK.

[@paulmarchesi7020]

The pages that Adam was talking about still have the word laser in them somewhere even if none of the printers are actually laser printers. This is a great tip that normally works but unfortunately not in this case. :(

[@Dracarrion]

That can help but also tacking on -inkjet and/or -ink jet. I've had times where searching for more obscure things required filtering out the noise lest I need to look through pages of unrelated content.

[@matthewellisor5835]

@@paulmarchesi7020 Even if that "somewhere" is hidden text just for SEO. Slam enough keywords in every combination into every corner of your site, link and link-back (even farmed), farm clickthroughs and rake in the hits.

[@blahorgaslisk7763]

Makes me long for the days of AltaVista. It had some pretty good advanced search mechanics that I haven't seen the equivalent of in a online search engine since. Sure AltaVista was far from perfect but it was pretty powerful. To be honest though I haven't really made a habit of testing new search engines. It's the curse of "good enough", and Google have managed to fill that niche so far. So how many real search engines are there anyway? With real I mean that they have their own database and spiders scraping the net for data and are not piggy backing on search engines like Google, Bing and whoever else.

[@michaelthompson3678]

Adam, been in IT for thirty years and have torn down various printers to the screws. I’m sure you have likely already tried changing settings to heavy or thick card-stock. Those types of settings are a given. Your problem is contributed to heat, uneven heat in particular. The striping you are getting is due to the toner not adhering to the paper, more likely due to damage the toner drum than the fuser applying the heat to print. Cheap or off brand toner cartridges typically cause this issue. All that said, my personal favorite for a laser printer is an HP. A LF color printer 11x17 will be expensive but would be worth it as there life cycles can be 150,000 or higher. Xerox is my second choice and either again will have what you need for a price. I will provide a recommendation in another comment as this one is getting long in the tooth. :)

[@ted3681]

Yes, this, if card stock settings are failing it will be issue with hardware components as stated.

[@GrantButler]

I'm a Sharp & HP laser printer technician. Depending on what you have (hopefully not brother) you may be able to change the settings. If not. I'd say look at an HP laser printer if you can find one (supply shortages) and in there I'd say make sure you are telling the machine when you load the paper, and from your computer the proper paper type, like label paper. If it's still doing that, try the heaviest paper setting on the printer. Sharp image color quality isn't perfect, and printing quality degrades over time, however, the new phoenix series (mx-3050(1) to mx-6070(1)) can feed shoebox thickness cardstock. Might be worth looking into

[@coling1258]

While it does not always work, adding quotations around the vital parts of your search frequently helps me a great deal when I'm getting a lot of noise. In this case it might be: Large format "laser" printer, or the like. For printers specifically, I have prior knowledge that HP and Brother are two of the main producers of sub-professional laser printers, so I started there when looking for a color laser of my own. If you're going pro/commercial-grade, Konica-Minolta is widespread, but I will warn that they have very specific incompatibilities with anything Windows 8 and newer, and they are aware of them but are uninterested in resolving them.

[@semster5989]

I love a good rant

[@tigershirew7409]

Have you tried going directly to Canon, HP or Ricoh, etc to see what they might list on their sights? Maybe they have a different way of naming this printer and it will help your search?

[@WindPh0enix]

Kyocera 1102P32US0 Model ECOSYS M8130cidn Color A3 MFP is the model I use at work with many options for media thickness. Great image quality as well.

[@jamest684]

I'd take a serious look at the Xerox VersaLink C8000 or 9000. I use the 7800DN at work (we print on 12x16 sheets for screenprinting) and the Xerox machines are fantastic!

[@lunhil12]

There's an old adage, "If you sold the customer just what he wanted, you haven't sold anything." We're all constantly under a barrage of garbage.

[@ElectroDFW]

That's why people sell their souls before taking a Marketing position. They'd just get in the way of profit.

[@Knuckle_Sandwich_Hand_Wraps]

Watching this while I’m at my printing job in London. Try to find a wax toner laser printer. They are more efficient and robust. Its just a regular laser printer which has wax mixed into the toner.

[@sandy1653]

So like a bunch of others, my first thought would be to up the thickness and paper types in your printer driver. That tweaks how hot the fuser gets and how it feeds it through. Failing that, I've leased Konica and HP machines to my clients for years and they're both pretty solid.

[@L.Scott_Music]

Sometimes you have to target the search engine by category then sub-type. So, when you typed in "Large Format" the search engine started looking for large format anything, then it prioritized printer and then laser. I realized this as I listened to you and tried this search line, "Laser Printer large format". I got mostly laser printer results, many were larger format (bigger than 8.5x11) with a price range from $300 to $1700 dollars. Printer Laser Large Format got me even better results with more professional "Wide format" options.

[@bartoscar]

I agree with many people that “large format” refers to a significantly larger printer. You want to search for “wide format” or even “tabloid” instead

[@billdodson207]

Or A3 But def not 'large format' - the world of large format is dominated by ink jet roll-fed business and commercial machines

[@peterkelley6344]

Adam, your rant is becoming my rant. This last week I tried to do a web search for either a video c-stand or a stationary gimble to mount a projector for my home computer. All I got was crap, and crap, and more crap. I am also nearly dealing with the same problem for the projector itself. I finally turned to a local camera store to ask about such technology. Yep, they have it; Nope its not in stock. But I found a pathway towards what I want.

[@tamsinjessica782]

I've been pretty happy with my Xerox Phaser 7760. A manually entered 'custom page' lets me print 12.6" × 47¼" pages. (I did have to use a 'reel-end' of 100gsm paper, obtained from a local PaperHouse, and then trimmed a length to size.. but it works!). Reel ends might be available from any continuous-feed Litho Printer Houses where you are... Others have noted that it's a fuser issue, rather than any other issue.. hopefully you've tested that and have had success?

[@9to5techs]

Can you use aftermarket toner with black and white laser printers and if it spells their won't be a problem because they don't have TB(transfer belts) like color Lazer printer that can break. How do you clean it up though?

[@enlashok]

Have you tried cleaning the fusor?

[@acemilo]

Fusers don't get particularly dirty. At least not until they're at 400k prints and nearly end of life. I doubt he's hitting that.

[@BigAndyEz]

I had this same issue recently. I've been looking for bone conduction headphones for the shop so I can still hear everything happening around me and I can hear my coworkers trying to talk to me but the Google results are just auto generated lists of the top 10 and it's infuriating to me

[@EnergeticAdvantage]

Aftershokz are the only brand of bone conduction worth looking at, everything else is a lower quality copy of their designs.

[@deurkl]

Sony LinkBuds would work

[@scottwatrous]

A tip for those who face poor search engine results when wanting to research what equipment is out there. My strategy these days for wanting equipment/tools/etc is to basically skip searchig [equipment type] and instead try to get together the list of potential brands and manufacturers of that sort of equipment. For printers I'd be like "Brother, HP, etc" and then start pulling their websites. But also looking up what other brands there are that I'm not aware of. Maybe to help with that, find reputable retailer websites that sell those equipment that isnt an Amazon or something. A specialty online retailer that is hopefully somewhat curated and current. Then browse their online catalogs using filters and categories to narrow down towards the types of products I'm actually looking for. Then it's possible to start the comparison process using search engines, youtube, review sites, etc armed with models that are currently being made and currently available to actually buy. Yes this is old school and yeah searching and algorithms should have saved us from this, but as Adam says the signal to noise is ridiculous. (Tho I'm sure someone really search-savvy could filter results to effectively knock out the blatant BS) Now, a viable shortcut can be to jump straight to KZbin and look for review channels that are made by actual people... They tend to at least be a fairly decent starting point to see whats put there. They're gonna have their compiled lists and so on. But still can be hard finding ones that are current and unbiased.

[@kamaromike]

I have a Canon ImageClass color laser printer that works really well. I use it to make labels and multiple types of transfer papers. Both the paper and vinyl type of adhesive backed papers haven't had any issues. Also have used it on transparencies for making cyanotype print negatives without issues. The drawback would be you can only get them up to legal size paper. I haven't really found any laser printers that go up to 11x17. Mostly that size is used in photo printing and they pretty exclusively use ink-jet style printers with special photo papers for the most photo-like results.