Inkjet printers - argh!

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scottydl

scottydl

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Anyone have any longstanding luck with a particular make/model of inkjet printer?  I did fine when older inkjets would willingly take refilled cartridges and work fine.  My last two all-in-one printers (a Canon Pixma and a Lexmark S-series) are great, UNTIL the factory ink cartridges run out.  Then they are too "smart" to use refill ink, and simply refuse to print without factory cartridges... which usually cost more than the printer itself.

I've looked into going back to an HP printer which seem to have a longest reputation in the consumer printing realm, but so many of them are negatively reviewed (on Amazon where I mostly read reviews) that I'm reluctant to buy yet another one.

This is mostly a rant, but I'd be happy to hear if anyone has an inkjet product that they just LOVE.  :)  I don't print enough pages to justify a color laser printer, unless I can find a good used one locally (I'm always checking Craigslist).
 
Many years ago I was a big HP inkjet printer fan, primarily because of their then-superior paper handling. As time went by, HP didn't support newer revs of Windows with updated drivers. Just found this again with my HP high resolution scanner.

A few years ago I went back to HP, and had issues with refilled cartridges.

For a few years, I've been using Canon inkjets, and have seen the same issues with refilled cartridges. I resigned myself to buying OEM cartridges, and try to manage usage (e.g. printing in draft unless I absolutely need higher quality prints).

Bottom line, this is the razor and razor blade story all over again and again.
 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MOSGSC0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I used this printer for over a year and was extremely happy with it since refilled cartridges costs about a buck a piece at Amazon. Then I found the printer was full of bugs (real bugs) and threw it away. They no longer sell this printer and the replacement uses more expensive cartridges, but they are still way cheaper than Canon cartridges.
 
Yeah, the printer mfgr's make their money selling ink, so they work hard to avoid letting others cut into that market. And seem to be pretty successful at it. I've found a few brands of aftermarket cartridges that work in my Epson NX300, but not reliably. One set works, but I buy more and they don't,  or maybe only 2 of the 4 colors work.  I don't use enough ink to put up with the aggravation, so started buying OEM again.
 
Here is the latest one we bought.
So far, it's working pretty well.
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/118538/HP-OfficeJet-4650-All-in-One/

 
I stopped buying ink jets years ago.  We don't print all that often in color, and so when we'd go to use the thing the cartridges would be dry..... in goes the new cartridges for one or maybe two print jobs..... then some time passes.....dry again.
black and white lasers are the way to go IMO, unless a person has some specific and frequent need printing photos, charts, or graphs....
For the occasional photo, upload the image file to walgreens.com and go pick it up in an hour.
 
I haven't had an ink jet printer in about 10 years. We have a mono laser in the motorhome and a Samsung color laser in the house. I just watched for a sale to come around at Best Buy.

After replacing ink cartridges that dried up or leaked, and never because the ink was used up, I'm convinced that laser printers aren't any more expensive in the long run.
 
We've had good luck with Epson printers.  They complain about OEM cartridges but they print with them just fine.
 
I got tired of ink drying out before I could use it, so I bought a color laser printer. That was more than two years ago and I'm still using the original toner cartridges.

Of course I probably just jinxed it by saying that. :(
 
I have 4 bottles of ink and all the syringes necessary for the cartridge refills, so I'd love to find some that work.  ;)  Supposedy there are ways to "fool" my Lexmark printer into thinking the cartridges are new, but so far I haven't had much luck with those techniques.  There are also chip reset devices that can be purchased to accomplish that task too (the ink cartridges have a microchip in them that tells the computer when the ink is gone), but I don't know how well those work either.

If I could find a decent price on a B&W laser I'd probably go that route.  My wife has a home business though and likes to print color items with her business logo, etc. sometimes too.  That's where our need for a color printer comes in.
 
Ink cartridges don't really dry out.  Only the nozzles do.  I've been able to get them working again by setting the cartridge, nozzles down, on a wet paper towel for about 10 minutes.  It's worked for me a number of times.
 
I thought about the $30 here, $60 there for ink cartridges. Then added in the nuisance of either moistening the old cartridge heads or going out to buy new ones... I decided to get a laser printer.

I paid around $250 for this color laser printer over 2 years ago. Just this weekend I hit the on switch, waited a minute for it to warm up, and printed 6 pages of neat and clear color documents. I then turned it off, and now it will sit there for another week, month, or more.

I like the convenience of knowing it's sitting there ready to print any time I want to. For me it's worth the extra I paid up front.
 
Since I am working out of my Class C, space is at a premium. A small footprint inkjet combined scanner printer is almost a necessity. My color laser is a monster. Heavy and it sucks the electrons. The lights in the house dim when I power it on.

The new line of HP inkjet combination units are near perfect for my needs.
 
If I could find a decent price on a B&W laser I'd probably go that route.
Click to expand...

Scott, check out laser prices on amazon.
 
Laser printers are really bad a printing photos. 

If you rankle at buying regular cartridges you'd really hate buying supplies for a dye sublimation photo printer.
 
I have had really good luck with HP inkjet printers but I routinely find something I want to keep a print.  I try to take a picture of my campsites and CG's plus copies of posts here that contain useful info for future trips and possible problems I might have.  I cannot remember the last time I had a dried cartridge problem.

BUT, I might not want to buy an HP inkjet in the future if they continue to try to force their new "instant ink" contract onto customers.  If selected then "Instant ink" requires the customer to estimate his/her monthly print usage and HP sends cartridges automatically each month.  The number that is sent cannot be adjusted down.

I've read that supposedly if one elects not to have this automatic service, then any cartridges that are bought apart from the automatic plan will cost more and have about half the ink.  :(

 
8Muddypaws said:
Laser printers are really bad a printing photos. 

If you rankle at buying regular cartridges you'd really hate buying supplies for a dye sublimation photo printer.
Click to expand...

I've had good luck printing pix (not for publication, but 8x10 for wall hanging, as example) with my HP Color Laserjet 3700N -- it's as good as any inkjet I've seen, and isn't subject to dampness or smearing problems the way inkjets are. And the toner cartridges, while expensive, are cheaper than buying ink for the inkjets, over time, and last much longer.
 
8Muddypaws said:
Ink cartridges don't really dry out.  Only the nozzles do.  I've been able to get them working again by setting the cartridge, nozzles down, on a wet paper towel for about 10 minutes.  It's worked for me a number of times.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip!
Am watching this thread with interest because while I'd love to have a trouble-free laser in the MH, I only have the room for one of those little old Canon Pixma inkjets.  :(
 
I have one of those Pixma printers as a backup at home.  It's the best free printer ever.  I may not use it for a year but it always works.

Wish I could say that about the $$$ wireless multi function one. 
 
8Muddypaws said:
I have one of those Pixma printers as a backup at home.  It's the best free printer ever.  I may not use it for a year but it always
Click to expand...

The problem is once you need ink.  The factory cartridges only come about halfway full, and it will cost $60 to replace them.  Once the printer "thinks" it is out of ink, it won't accept refills and essentially becomes a plastic brick.
 
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