Alternatives to (low volume) inkjet printers? | FerrariChat

Alternatives to (low volume) inkjet printers?

Discussion in 'Technology' started by Fast_ian, Oct 9, 2014.

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  1. Fast_ian

    Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

    Sep 25, 2006
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    Ian Anderson
    #1 Fast_ian, Oct 9, 2014
    Hey,

    We live in a digital world..... My handy-dandy Epson printer gets used only rarely - The occasional photo (very nice) and, right now, for a bunch of legal BS that needs signing, scanning and returning. (When the practitioners get that right, it's also digital).

    But it seems whenever I fire it up one or another of the print heads is not working right. As evidenced by a quick 'nozzle check'.

    OK, clean the heads. It's not possible to do just the one that's hosed of course, so I go thru that nausea, and all is good, except I've now used almost half the ink in the damn thing! :(

    Anyone got any ideas for a color printer that doesn't screw me?..... I'm almost thinking a cron job that simply prints a couple of pages by itself every day may be the way to go, but surely there's a better alternative?

    Thoughts appreciated,
    Cheers,
    Ian
     
  2. TexasF355F1

    TexasF355F1 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    #2 TexasF355F1, Oct 9, 2014
    Go back to dot matrix, they had some color options. :p

    How often do you print?
     
  3. Fast_ian

    Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #3 Fast_ian, Oct 9, 2014
    :p ;)

    Maybe a week or two between jobs in the normal scheme of things...... I think that's a large part of the problem - when I need it, the damn ink's dried up in one of the cartridges at least.

    It's great quality, particularly for the occasional photo, onto photo paper, but I know I use the *vast* majority of ink doing 'head cleaning' after it's been sitting for a while. An option to just 'clean' the recalcitrant cartridge would be good, but of course that's not possible.... (?)

    Short any other ideas, I really think an automatic print job every morning may be the best bet.......

    Cheers,
    Ian
     
  4. TexasF355F1

    TexasF355F1 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    #4 TexasF355F1, Oct 9, 2014
    If you're printing that often it seems odd they're drying up that quickly.

    I'll speak to my dad and see if he has any opinions. He sold printers and print supplies for over 20 years.
     
  5. opencollector

    opencollector Formula Junior

    Feb 1, 2005
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    Thomas
    #5 opencollector, Oct 9, 2014
    I really like my Brother color laser. It's networked, does duplex printing, double-sided scanning, even has WiFi (disabled), on and on. There's a FAX machine and a POTS interface on there. It will scan pictures directly to a USB thumb drive if that's more your style. It supports every protocol known to man, including PCL and Postscript of course but also network services like http, telnet and ftp. You can e-mail a file to its SMTP server and it prints out, for goodness' sake. All built-in, no PC host required.

    These printers can be had on Amazon.com for several hundred bucks. I've printed over a thousand pages and I'm still on the small starter toner cartridges. There are hacks to reset the factory cartridges for longer life and there are also 3rd-party refill kits. Per color page, this thing is absurdly inexpensive to operate. And it's fast.

    The only downside are photos. Color lasers are great for most purposes but the photo printing is nowhere near as good as the ink jets. For that I have an Epson which, like yours, is dried out and inoperable whenever I get around to turning it on.
     
  6. Fast_ian

    Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #6 Fast_ian, Oct 10, 2014
    Very interesting, hadn't even looked at lasers. Thanks!

    I wouldn't say it's 'inoperable', but a 'nozzle check' often shows one of the cartridges missing some dots - not bad for text etc, but shows in photos. I wouldn't mind so much if I could then run cleaning on just that nozzle, but no, gotta do all 5. And that eats ink. :( Even with the little printing I do ~$60 for a new set gets old pretty quick.... The printer itself was under a hundred! OK, we know they're like razors, they give you thing then rape you on blades, but it still pisses me off!

    I wonder if removing the cartridges, putting the covers on and stashing them in a baggie would help? Maybe even store them in the fridge till needed like we used to do with film? Jason, any insights from your dad would be much appreciated!

    May also be worth noting my 'office' does get pretty toasty most days. I'm sure that doesn't help either.

    Cheers,
    Ian
     
  7. Zahiba

    Zahiba Formula 3

    Mar 29, 2005
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    #7 Zahiba, Oct 12, 2014
    If you're looking for a cheaper alternative to OEM ink, check out some of the 3rd party ink cartridges. I get mine from 123inkcartridges.com / .ca . Always worked flawlessly in ~3 years. YMMV. No affiliation.
     
  8. E60 M5

    E60 M5 Moderator
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    #8 E60 M5, Oct 12, 2014
    Just got a HP printer with "Ink Cartridge Program", purchased at Best Buy. We use our printer sparingly as well and ink was always dried up.
    Now I pay $2.99 a month for 50 pages, with rollover pages, so you can carry a max 100 pages at a time. HP sends you new ink when you run out. With the printer hooked up it sends signals to HP to let them know you need ink. PERFECT!!!
    Catch is, it has to be one of 10 different printers from HP, so I spent $100 and got a new all in one printer from them.
     
  9. E60 M5

    E60 M5 Moderator
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    #9 E60 M5, Oct 12, 2014
    forgot to mention, 100 pages a month was $3.99 and 500 pages was $9.99.
     
  10. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #10 dm_n_stuff, Oct 12, 2014
    HP Laserjet 200. HP LaserJet Pro 200 m276nw Color Printer, 4-in-1 | Staples®

    Really nice quality for a color laser. I have not run any photos, but have run dozens of commercial images as proofs and they compare favorably to the $20K Ricoh printer I used back in the day.

    Supplies can be had from Amazon at a reasonable price, and laser cartridges don't dry out. I replaced an Epson 1400 printer with this.

    also has the benefit of being a good quality scanner and copier.

    under $400, runs like a champ.

    D
     
  11. mwhitesell

    mwhitesell Formula 3

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    #11 mwhitesell, Oct 12, 2014
    I also have the color laser from Brother. The MFC-9320. Not only does it have wireless, but I can print right from my iphone. I love that printer. It also scans right to my iphone too.
     
  12. EnzymaticRacer

    EnzymaticRacer F1 Veteran

    Feb 27, 2005
    5,367
    #12 EnzymaticRacer, Oct 14, 2014
    +1 on Brother Color laser options. We have had one for several years now, the HL-3070CW IIRC. Been a real workhorse when necessary, but never has an issue sitting unused for extended periods of time.


    I hate ink jet printers and will never own another one.

    I've replaced each of the 60ish dollar toner cartridges exactly once since getting this printer. My old HP ink jet was burning through $60/month. We've had this brother printer now nearly 4 years. I'll let you do the math ;)

    Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
     
  13. ncjetskier

    ncjetskier Formula 3

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    #13 ncjetskier, Oct 21, 2014
    I would not buy another HP. When you refill the cartridges, the printer will eventually freeze up and not work any more.

    I use Cannon, and I print a lot. When the cartridge gets low, I just refill and roll on. I purchase the ink by the quart, so I have a life time supply.

    My understanding on how the ink cartridges work, is the printer keeps the cartridge warm so it is ready to print. If it sits for a long period of time, the ink will dry out.
     
  14. daviddallas

    daviddallas Formula Junior

    Jun 10, 2013
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    #14 daviddallas, Nov 4, 2014
    yes, go laser. I switched from ink-jet to canon laser and love the quality of the print and the speed.. its black-white only, but that is all I need...

    I got model mf880dw for about $130
     
  15. aranatecharete

    aranatecharete Rookie

    Dec 23, 2014
    2
    #15 aranatecharete, Dec 23, 2014
    Hp envy 4500 is a good all in one printer but if you only want a printer then Officejet Pro 6230 is a good chance
     
  16. aranatecharete

    aranatecharete Rookie

    Dec 23, 2014
    2
    #16 aranatecharete, Dec 23, 2014
    If you want to go HP then, HP ENVY 4500 e-All-in-One Printer is a good choice or HP Officejet Pro 6230 ePrinter if you only want to print stuff and not into all in ones.
     

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