printe?

[ivtec]

My friends i went shopping for a printer and got one very cheap at Walmart, i got a Lexmark Z2300 and i got home i was prepared to hook it up and for my surprise there was 2 slots for the in-jet in and only one cartridge in the package the #15 colour ,and with small letters in the box
(black Printing speed requires the purchase of black ink) so the printer,(not the all in one but just printer) if i keep it and buy the black will cost me a total of printer 2500 and if i buy the black more 24.00 bucks so will be 49.00 US dollars isn't this a rip off because the printer it sell is very week material, made in china as usual. i will return it tomorrow.what you guys think?

[willawake]

Re: printe?

reminds me of a cheap hp my friend bought. usb cable was extra.

looks like hp tries this no black cartridge stuff on the cheaper printers also. the new trick

still cost of printer is a minor consideration. cartridge costs over the years is what you need to compare

[PCBONEZ]

Re: printe?

I agree.
I look at the cost of cartridges first.

Beware of Epson situation. (Cartridges are much cheaper for a reason.)
In Epsons the jets are built into the printer where-as most other brands have the jets built into the cartridge (and so the jets get replaced every time the cartridge does.)
The good is that makes Espon cartridges very inexpensive.
The bad is if you don't print often enough the jets clog from dried ink.
There is a software routine to clear the jets (but it wastes some ink) and if that doesn't work it you have to go through this pain in the arse messy process to get it working. If that also doesn't work the whole printer is now junk.
[Printing a test page any day that you don't use the printer usually keeps the Epsons going fine but you have to remember to do it. If you go on vacation you should pull the cartridges and flush the jets. (They sell special 'solutions' for that but windex works fine.)]

Dried ink in the jets for other brands is fixed by simply replacing the cartridges.
But the cartridges are more expensive.
.

[i4004]

Re: printe?

>the new trick

yeah, i think they need trick to sell anything.
i'm trying to figure out why should i have printer at all(lcd screen is good enough for reading), and find no good reason.

yeah, soon enough ink costs more than printer itself; that's how they make profits on these things.

laser printer should consume less toner, but they'll probably apply same tricks there soon(because paper is less and less needed), like (for example) smaller cartridge etc.

so what i think is that i'll never buy a printer <period>
i had lexmark z31, and when ink run out, i gave it to kids to play with...i could get a new printer for the price of that cartridge.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: printe?

I find it rather difficult to refer to a monitor while under a car.
Not too convenient to haul one into the kitchen when I'm cooking either.
I prefer to not take my laptop on trips to the grocery or hardware store.
Also too expensive to send them as receipts or letters.
I don't think I'll tape them to boxes for address labels either.

[willawake]

Re: printe?

i only print for business. the only time i might have needed it for home would be to print e-tickets for travelling. you see the airline companies are conspiring to make you purchase a printer....

[i4004]

Re: printe?

>I find it rather difficult to refer to a monitor while under a car.
Not too convenient to haul one into the kitchen when I'm cooking either.
I prefer to not take my laptop on trips to the grocery or hardware store.
Also too expensive to send them as receipts or letters.
I don't think I'll tape them to boxes for address labels either.

for car and kitchen, there are small laptops these days(asus eee etc.)
there are also those "digital frames"...put in any digital image you like...

grocery and hardware? come on, you'll forget how to write with hand allltogether!
use that!
<wink>

last things you mention constitute running a business, i would imagine.
receipts, letters, boxes?

well, yes, i get the receipt when i order something from web-shop...heh...
email and letter printed on printer are about the same to me.
written letter...that's something else.

[willawake]

Re: printe?

some people in the office piss me off when they buy some new product and print the entire 300 page pdf manual

[i4004]

Re: printe?

no manual in the box?
shouldn't that be mandatory by law?

[willawake]

Re: printe?

it would kinda weigh down the shopping a bit

[Gianni]

Re: printe?

Beware of Epson situation. (Cartridges are much cheaper for a reason.)

You are right they are cheaper and that's why I bought an Epson DX4000... but if I knew that it needs all cartridge OK otherwise you can't print in BLACK, I would have chosen another brand.
Why I have to buy color cartridges if I print only documents in black?
I don't know if other brands work like Epson, but my old Canon was able to print in black even if color cartridges were completely empty and had not that annoying software warning you all the time that you need to buy new cartridges because they are almost empty.

@ i4004: I couldn't stay without a printer because very often I need to print document, sometimes maps, or just to copy official document. If I will try to write down something... probably I will be able to read just 50% of what I have written because I have forgotten how to use a pen since I write 100% of the time with the keyboard

Ciao
Gianni

[i4004]

Re: printe?

>it would kinda weigh down the shopping a bit

only thing that i remember not getting full (printed on paper) manual with was my adsl modem...
but it had the instalation instructions etc.
and going into its settings...well...it's not like THOSE folks(that print 300 pages pdfs) would be doing it anyway...hehe

>probably I will be able to read just 50% of what I have written because I have forgotten how to use a pen since I write 100% of the time with the keyboard

yeah, heh...i still like and use pen and paper frequently...

[zandrax]

Re: printe?

@ ivtec:
All inkject printer manifacturers charges very little for their models because the main revenue comes from sales of cartridges: this is the blade and razor buisness model.
Lexmark is famous for offering printers at manifacturing cost (when not less) and charging a lot for ink, usually more than competitors (Epson, HP, Brother, Canon), nevertheless I never heard of this cheapness: unfortunately it was "advertised" on the box.
If you want to keep the printer anyway or buy another Lexmark, read which cartridges the printer requires (there're photos on the box) and look which ones don't have the infamous "meter chip" (a chip which extimates ink level according to how many pages are printed: if you don't know its specs, you can't build compatible cartridges nor reset the original ones after the refill ...): chipless cartridges can be refilled with cheap ink so you don't empty your wallet with expensive cartridges and keep the printer until something brokes; you can do the same with chipped ones (mostly Epson: specs are known), you need a chip programmer to reset it.

@ PCBONEZ:
Every manifacturer had produced or is producing printers with fixed, unreplaceable head and with headed cartridges, Epson isn't alone (e.g. all Canon Pixma models have a single head and headless cartridges. On bigger models the head is replaceable, but is the replacement convenient?). AFAIK, new Epson cartridges are less expensive than older ones because they cointain less ink: again you get what you have paid for ...
Anyway, you can try to clean the clogged holes by keeping on the head an old tissue full of alcohol for a few hours: ethanol is the main ink solvent so alcohol reaches the block into the hole by capillary action and helps in solving it. This is most effective with clogging due to dried dye ink, less with pigment ink.

Zandrax

[Krankshaft]

Re: printe?

This is why I buy laser printers.

I have been running an HP 1200 B&W since 2001 and since then I have only performed 1 course of basic maintenance on it this year.

A new transfer roller, new paper pickup roller, and a separator plate. Even though the printer was still printing fine these parts were beginning to show their age. Plus the service manual said that I should have done this 20K pages ago . 50K pages later it's still going strong. I picked up another one from Craigs list for $45 bucks for my second floor.

I only use my 1 HP Inkjet for printing photos that's it. It's just not cost effective to print black with an inkjet.

For 48 bucks I have a cartridge that lasts me a good long time. From averages I took we're talking from 2,500 to 3,000 pages with the regular yield cartridge.

Don't mess with those crappy non OEM Cartridges you get what you pay for.

I remember when I used one once I was printing UPS shipping labels and the smell of burning plastic was coming from the fuser. I am familiar with the normal aroma of fused toner from the OEM cartridges. It is only detectable by getting within a few inches of the fuser.

However I could smell this disturbing burning smell within 2 feet of the printer. Not suprisingly the toner was flaking off my labels . That was a Staples brand cartridge and they have since stopped selling that line at my local store. I wonder why ?

Going back to OEM fixed the problem.

[ivtec]

Re: printe?

well i returned the Lexmart and bought me a HP Desk jet 2545 printer only i don't know if it's better or not the only thing it's up and running good, it came with 2 cartridges, that cost around 15bucks each which is a good deal when need to be replaced, beside that it has a separated power sup, and it costed me 50bucks.while the Z2300 Lex has an integrated power sup,what is not so good. and had good info on the box where people can reed about contents, not like that shirty cheapo z2300 Lex.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: printe?

I know how to clean them but thanks.
I know because I have a wide format Epson Photo Stylus for when I need color.
Can do photo quality at something like 14" wide.
I use it so rarely that I flushed the heads and it's been parked in box for almost a year I think.

For normal stuff I use 3 old [black only] Laserjet 4+.
Have one in each office area and the LAN add-on cards so they are via LAN.
The printers are cheap (if you don't have to ship them).
Cost per page is cheap because to toner cartridges do so many pages.
- I have two working spares for the LJ too. I think I paid $15 each.

About ? 4 years ago I gave two of my nieces brand new Epsons and told them to make sure they print something at least every couple days. Well, they didn't and neither printer lasted a year. I wasn't local anymore so they hit the trash bin before I ever heard about the problems.

I forgot about maps.
I print maps to take on the road with me frequently.

i4004: Send me your laptop.
I have a 40+ year old car I'd like to leave it underneath for a few days.
Then I'll send it back and you can figure out how to degrease it.
I'll try not to hit the LCD with one of my ratchets.... Too hard...

.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: printe?

I've never had a single problem with non-OEM laser jet cartridges.
I got the LJ4 because I was already familiar with the model since the early 90's.
The Navy had zillions of them. (And used mostly non-OEM 'rebuilt' cartridges.)

When the LJ rollers start going bad it's because the surface got hard and smooth and so it won't 'grab' (have any friction on) the paper.
You can extend the life about a year by 'combing' the rollers with a wire brush.
Just want to break the glaze and roughen it a little, not to remove a lot of material.

.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: printe?

I have a chip 'resetter' for Epsons.
Never used it though because the cartridges can be had for $3 and $5 or less.

[Bobdee]

Re: printe?

most epsom cartriges in UK cost £20 plus, I wish we could buy them at your prices, It would be a treat

[i4004]

Re: printe?

>I have a 40+ year old car

mine is just about 25 years old...yiihaaaa!
heh..we seem to equally care about getting a new car.
however, i would like a new bike.

here
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-10-2-i...562964&sr=1-22
wear glasses!