Post #405,509
10/22/15 2:41:19 PM
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Just got bit by HP's greed
Yesterday the wife was trying to print a letter on her HP OfficeJet Pro. Gets a message stating "the Yellow cartridge is depleted. Please replace to continue printing. Cancel print job?" Mind you her letter is nothing more than black text on white paper. So check the stores near us online for replacement ink cartridges. Turns out Sam's has the best price for the yellow cartridge for her model. Drive over there, can't find it. Grab an associate who says, "HP stopped sending us individual cartridges months ago; we only get these 3 color cartridge packs now." When asked why their web site still showed individual cartridges for sale not even 1 hour ago, all he could do was shrug his shoulders and say "contact corporate with an email".
So got home, replaced the yellow cartridge, & tried printing the letter. Nope, now she gets a message saying that the "the Cyan cartridge is depleted. Please replace to continue printing. Cancel print job?" Some swearing, cancel the print job, replace the cyan with the new one, and try again. Foolish mortal! Now she gets the message that the "the Magenta cartridge is depleted. Please replace to continue printing. Cancel print job?" Major stream of swearing ensues while I replace that one. Finally she's all set to print ... but wait! Now we get a pop-up box saying "Thanks for using authentic HP replacement cartridges, now go to HP's website to claim your reward points." Which we don't know what they are, what they're good for, and basically we don't give a shit about. All we want to do is print a stupid black text on white paper letter!
I wonder if any other inkjet printer manufacturer allows you to replace JUST ONE cartridge at a time and then allows you to continue on your merry way?
Satan (impatiently) to Newcomer: The trouble with you Chicago people is, that you think you are the best people down here; whereas you are merely the most numerous.
- - - Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar" 1897
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Post #405,515
10/22/15 5:55:57 PM
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dump black in all of the slots
you can kill people for America at age 18 but need to be 21 to buy a beer
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Post #405,536
10/23/15 2:40:23 AM
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HP printers see right through that
Colour in the colour slots, or NO PRINTY FOR YUO!
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Post #405,520
10/22/15 8:24:06 PM
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Epson does
I dumped HP years ago because of the 3-in-1 cartridges and the near impossibility to unclog them.
We now have a Stylus Color Pro 1400 and before that an R360. Both will let you print until a cartridge expires. You get plenty of warning when at least one is running low and the printer will tell you which ones with a simple check.
The only downside is that the estimate is based on what the printer *thinks* remains. If you have to unclog it, that is a >10% hit against all cartridges. But then I have no idea how HP accounts for cleaning.
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Post #405,535
10/23/15 2:37:50 AM
10/23/15 2:39:50 AM
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I bailed
Colour printing at home is for chumps. I pay One Vision Imaging now. They do a better job.
Sure, there's no instant gratification, but at anything bigger than A4, it's actually way more cost-effective - especially when you're considering framed prints.
Worked example: so I want to print and frame an A3 picture.
Epson Stylus 3000 - £600
Full set of inks for same - £130
A3 photo paper - £1 per sheet - you'll fuck up the print a couple of times at least
Frame - £10
The three internal mounts you'll fuck up before getting it right - £10
Framed A3 print, colour-corrected by an actual expert, from OVI - £25.
Best case, I save a fiver or so. I need to print 120 A3 framed prints before I'm up on the deal to get the printer cost alone back - and I bet you don't get 120 A3 prints out of a set of inks. At that point I'm better off getting a dyesub printer anyway.
OTOH, the in-laws have a little Brother B&W laser printer that seems to last forever on a £30 toner cartridge.
Edited by pwhysall
Oct. 23, 2015, 02:39:50 AM EDT
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Post #405,541
10/23/15 8:34:37 AM
10/23/15 12:20:17 PM
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You have to be a savvy shopper.
I got a Canon Pixma PRO-100 from B&H a while ago when they were having a sale. It was $500 or so, and if you bought some fancy paper with it, you got a $400-$500 debit card as a rebate. So, it was basically free. Ink isn't cheap, of course, but you could basically get the for printer free if you looked around. I bought spare ink for it, but haven't needed to use it yet. For routine color printing, we have a Lexmark CS410DN that works well and gives nice output. It hasn't needed refilling yet (though we don't use it a lot). Yeah, if you're doing a lot of printing, hiring it out is usually a better option. And < $100 color printers are a poor bargain, especially if it's not a Canon. FWIW. [edit:] Fixed dangling less-than sign which has bitten me before... Cheers, Scott.
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Post #405,551
10/23/15 10:37:03 AM
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we rarely print colors
I am on my second Brother laser printer, an HL-5140, which I've had for several years. Can't remember which Brother model I had previously. Before that I used an HP Laserjet 4L - which I still have, and still works at 4 ppm, since 1995. I've taken it with me whenever I've worked and lived away from the house.
She wanted a MFP so we could make copies and scan paperwork to send to the colleges the kids went to (you would not believe the amount of documents colleges demand to consider financial aid nowadays). Right after she bought it I showed her how to print anything in just black & white. She forgets to do that regularly but not every time.
Satan (impatiently) to Newcomer: The trouble with you Chicago people is, that you think you are the best people down here; whereas you are merely the most numerous.
- - - Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar" 1897
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Post #405,556
10/23/15 11:36:53 AM
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There are quite a few, actually
Regards,
-scott
Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
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Post #405,558
10/23/15 12:12:40 PM
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Brother laser here too. ... cheap and effective
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Post #405,582
10/23/15 7:27:47 PM
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I went through a couple of printers years ago.
HP, Epson, Canon.
I have a mid-range Canon printer, bought more than 10 years ago and chosen explicitly because of individual ink tanks, no funny ones (some high end Canons have 6 colours), and separate heads (removable cradle in the carriage). I've had it long enough that I had to replace the heads, for which ebay was most helpful. This is something HP and Epson expect you to buy a new printer for. My printer is now old enough that the inks have just started getting tricky to find so I'm kind of impressed Canon have been making those ink cartridges for all those years.
But I don't print very much anymore. For pictures, it's easier to take it to the local photo place. I usually print documents for situations where people just can't read it on a screen. In fact, it currently gets more use as a scanner.
Wade.
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Post #405,598
10/24/15 5:02:07 PM
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Canon found a way around that
Pixma printers now stop working after a certain number of prints. The assumption is that by then the ink absorption pad is saturated.
For fairness sake, other mfgs. employ similar methods but Canon's limit seems to be a lot lower and it is near impossible to replace the pad and/or reset the counter.
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