Printer dilemma ..

[T i m]

Hi All,

I think this is just on topic... (and I'm asking here because quite a few printers are UK only and we may have different price issues) ..

The inks on my trusty HPDJ 840c (that I bought as a refurb 3 years ago for 25 quid) have now both run out again and a casual look through PCW showed they were 26 and 17 or so (ouch). Also the printer has ejected a couple of small components (that I have kept and should be able to refit) so thought it might bre time to get a replacement printer.

So I do a bit of Googling / asking mates etc and the Epson's seem quite common as do cheaper carts, but they do seem to have issues with print heads getting blocked if the printer isn't used regularly (I use mine sporadically.

So then Canon printers were put forward but again we are talking a fixed pint head (on newer models possibly) and again the 'blocked nozzles' thing comes up.

The HP's seem to have less issues with this and if you should get a blocked nozzle a new cart sorts that ;-)

I looked at the Epson Stylus C66 (44+Vat in Makro, no stock) and from there the Canon IP4000 (at nearly double the price) that has 5 carts and can print CD's etc (also feels very substantial) ;-)

Someone suggested the actual page cost for most of these printers are very similar (HP carts twice the price but do twice the number of pages type of thing) so it's possibly down to initial price, reliability and flexibility.

Wish list for said printer ..

Lower paper tray type feed (I don't like the paper sticking up at the back)

USB (for simplicity) and Parallel (cheap net printservers ertc).

Cheap carts (price / page)

'Reasonable' picture printing (I'm not a photographer)

Quick startup and print (not fast printing as such) the Epsons seem to go off on their own thing for 5 mins ..)

I don't want to have to print something 'everyday', just to keep the thing working cleanly ?

So, could you give me real feedback re what model printers you use (ideally the current models if I'm going to get one), how long you have left them between use and still getting a good printout and possibly what models to specifically avoid (unreliable / several trips to the shop with it etc).

Lastly, does anyone regularly re-fill their carts and what 'brand' refill kits do you use please (I have refilled a couple of times with mixed results).

All the best and thanks for your time ..

T i m

(p.s. I have asked similiar on comp.perifs.printers but they seem mostly from 'Over the pond' )

[Harvey Van Sickle]

On 05 Feb 2005, T i m wrote

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I'm very happy with the Canon I use (an i350, for home and one-man business use), and when it eventually gives up -- it's out of production now -- I'll definitely be going with Canon again.

It's not a fancy one -- two-cartridge (black + 3 colour) system -- but I particularly like the fact that (a) even the brand-name cartridges are cheap compared to many I've seen; and (b) I can buy very cheap compatibles (which have always suited my purposes).

I've had blocked nozzles two or three times over the past two years or so (after not using the colour for a bit), but the "standard cleaning" (there's a "deep clean" option as well) has cleared it up every time.

I buy ready-filled compatibles from

-- about £2 for black and £3.50 for colour. They've always given me good service, and at that price it doesn' seem worth re-filling them myself.

HTH

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I re-filled my old Epson Color 600 many times using ink from PC World. After two refills, bought new cartridges, as the seals go. Not had much success with my current Cannon i865 - perhaps they design the seals to fail if the carts are removed?

[T i m]

The only thing that worries me with that idea is that the manufacturers often 'fix what's not broken'? (or maybe it wasn't breaking often enough ..?). In one shop it was mentioned 'on the older Canon printers you could take the heads out to clean them but I don't think you can on the new ones". I mean yor 'replacement' Canon my not be the same 'design' as the one it replaces and has it's own (new) issues?

That's the same format as my HP and my daughters C44 Epson. I know it works with the HP but the Epson is quite new to us (made up out of broken C44's) so too early to give any feel re reliability / blocking etc.

Ok, that sounds 'bearable' ;-) It seems on the Epson that after you have got the heads clean you have lost half yer ink!

Oh indeed .. (been there, covered the sink in ink) ;-)

Cheers Harvey .. ;-)

T i m

[T i m]

Did you notice any difference in the printing Dave (quality, print depth, detail etc?)

I think that's what they suggest at the Cartridge places ..

You'd like to think not ..?

All the best ..

T i m

[Grunff]

We never buy (for us or for clients) anything other than HP. They last nearly forever, and maintain a very good print quality throughout their life. That's the reason the carts are expensive - they aren't just bottles of ink, they also contain the print head.

Pick whichever one of the current HP line up that fits your wallet. As they get more expensive, you gain print speed and resolution.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yes. But then I'm rarely using it for photographic printing, so the small differences didn't matter.

[T i m]

Fair nuff .. thanks Dave ..

T i m

[T i m]

That's part of my 'fear' .. going away from HP .. (never had anything else since my DJ500c (£350 as an HP 'staff sale'!)) and have seen too many Epsons put in the bin because they had print head problems. But, if they are cheaper to buy and cheaper to run (I said *IF*) then you can see why some folk buy a new Epson every year?

That's the reason the carts are expensive - they aren't just

Indeed. And hence the constant print performance. I did get some 'smearing' on the 840C a while bat but a damp cotton bud around / under the print carrage sorted that ;-)

Ok, well if I'm going to stick with HP maybe I just need to find a cheaper source of carts .. any suggestions please? (I did spot a twin pack of No17's in makro yesterday for ~34 + Vat ... (still 20 quid each though?).

All the best fella ..

T i m

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I managed to remove the head from an Epson ok to clean it - it was well and truly blocked after months of disuse. Used various solvents - alcohol, ammonia and distilled water, and eventually got it clear. I used one of the ink refill squeezy bottles with some tube to force water through. Eventually got it clear, but broke it when removing the tube - even although I'd done this many times. ;-)

Sad, as I liked that old Stylus Color 600 rather more than the Cannon replacement.

[Owain]

"T i m" wrote | Wish list for said printer .. | Lower paper tray type feed (I don't like the paper sticking up at the | back) | USB (for simplicity) and Parallel (cheap net printservers ertc). | Cheap carts (price / page) | 'Reasonable' picture printing (I'm not a photographer) | Quick startup and print (not fast printing as such) the Epsons seem to | go off on their own thing for 5 mins ..)

If you could afford the initial outlay - under 500 now - look at colour laser. My (IBM, b/w) laser is 11.5 years old and on its second toner cartridge. The colour laser photo print quality has really improved in recent years, and they produce good results on cheap paper.

Owain

[Mark S.]

I'm the opposite, if I want a laser I'd buy HP but for inkjets Epson. ;-)

I'd say Epson R200 or R300 (R300 myself so biased there) using compat. inks for months and not had any trouble with it at all. I'd be the first person from experiences at work to abuse anyone one using non orginal inks but when a full set runs to about £70.00 for orginal Epson ones your almost forced to buy a compatible set for £12.00 instead. :-)

Mark S.

[Lurch]

On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 09:21:18 GMT, T i m strung together this:

I decided not to try and cram all the features into one printer so I use a HP Laserjet 4+ with a Jetdirect card for general quick printing off letters, invoices and other text or draft stuff.

My other printer is on another machine, but network shared, and it is a Epson C44 Plus. It takes too long to print, and spends ages wearing itself out before it even prints anything but it was free! I think when that one goes I'll get the latest incarnation of the HP 5550 as that's always been a good personal printer, (I've sold them to clients before).

I've only ever used genuine manufacturers cartridges, but for the Epson as it was free I got 2 sets of black and colour cartridges from for about £25. They seem to be on a par with the originally supplied Epson cartridges from what I've seen of them.

[Harvey Van Sickle]

On 05 Feb 2005, T i m wrote

It'd be worth checking the cartex site I mentioned in my other post --

-- for that, as they do original brands as well as compatibles.

I don't know how competitive they are on the brand-names, but they'd be worth a look.

[T i m]

My daughter C44 is made of a mix of old and new bits .. I even managed to swap the print head / ribbon cables about an it still works ;-)

Used various solvents - alcohol,

It's good when a plan comes together ;-)

I used one of

Don't you hate it when that happens .. ;-(

This 840c is well 'ensconsed' in it's current location but I'll have to drag it out and see if I can fit the loose bits back on (and maybe give it a cleanout). Maybe a pair of new carts might be worth the cost ..

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

Are HPLJ's still made by Canon?

I think the use of compatble carts is less of an issue than it was. Any that didn't make the grade have probably gone down the pan (with margins as they are?).

Ouch! I dare say there are loads of 'Co's'' out there that always buy std factory carts .. but what a difference!

All the best Mark ..

T i m

[EricP]

On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 09:21:18 GMT, T i m babbled like a waterfall and said: Get one of the new Canon Pixma range. I have the new IP5000. Brilliant machine and lab quality printing. One colour transparent tanks and they are dirt cheap, no chipping.

Oh and it really does Duplex printing, a bit slow but the luxury!

[Jeff]

I used to run an HP850c and what you say is correct, superb printing and basically a new printer every time you change the carts but at £50 a time for carts it had to go to the attic ( too tight to throw anything away ) next Canon S6000 - general printing, still ok next Canon i550 - general printing, faster - lasted 26 months next epson 900 - disk printing - current next canon ip3000 - current

the canons do suffer with the problem of clogged heads if stood for a long time as do the epsons, the i550 died 3 months ago, needed a new printhead which at £75 was an uneconomic repair so it was replaced with the ip3000, i wish i had got the ip4000 for the extra cartridge ( better for photo printing)

But at £2 a cart, a bit of head cleaning now and again is only a minor chore (£5 a set for the epson)

imho - the ip4000 fullfills all of your criteria and gives you duplex and disk printing into the bargain

Hope this helps

Regards Jeff

[John Rumm]

I have used Epsons inkjets myself for many years and have generally not had issues with clogging, that a cleaning cycle or two would not fix. Having said that, I have had a couple of clients with dead Epsons recently - both C82s - that no amount of cleaning would fix.

Yup, the price you pay is the cost of the cart.

I installed a Canon Pixmar? IP3000 recently. That was actually quite impressive. Uses sepearate ink tanks (no print head, no chip!), these are clear so you can see the ink level inside them nicely. The canon originals are only something like 5.50 each. Compatible carts can be had for under a quid! Hence running costs are very low.

The print head itself a plug in module, and hence also redilly replaceable - this would seem to be a good solution to the "printhead in cart" dilemma.

The above mentioned canon has a lower tray (like a laser), the traditional vertical slot at the back, and also a CD printing slot at the front.

USB certainly, can't remember if it had parallel.

See above!

Check

Seemed to be under 5 secs.

[T i m]

Thanks for that .. about 11 and 15 for the carts for the DJ 840c (cheaper if you give them an empty cart) or 20 quid for a twin pack .. so not so bad ..?

Give me something to work to .. thanks Harvey .. ;-)

All the best ..

T i m