Printer issues

[bigboxes]

Currently, I have an Epson C84 inkjet printer. A month ago the colors started looking fuzzy. I used the printer controls to "clean" the printheads and also the adjusted the alignment. A little improvement was noticable, but not much. So, I figured that I just needed new ink. I bought the four tanks ($40-$50 worth) and replaced them. The quality still was awful. I ran a test page and the cyan and the magenta were not printing correctly. After many rounds of "cleaning" the heads I got the cyan back, but not the magenta. After all that "cleaning" I had wasted much of the black tank in the process. What really bothers me is that I just wasted all that $$ on the ink tanks.

The printer is only 17 months old. Is that the normal lifespan of inkjet printers these days? I have heard good things on Canon inkjets (cost/performance ratio). Anyone have a recommedation on my next printer?

 

[bigboxes]

*bump*

 

[kitkat22]

You must be from Nebraska. Anyhoo, I am not familier with the problem other than possible contact problems with the ink cartridges. If you are looking for printers my suggestion would be to have two printers; a laser and an inkjet. As you have just experienced ink is horribly expensive. I can't remember numbers off my head but cost per sheet is quite a bit compared to laser. From my experience lasers are extremely durable and print forever. HP is a good choice as well as Brother, depending on your needs. As for inkjets I like HP's and Canons. Newegg has the Canon Pixma i4000 for ~$100. However, it has been several years since I've shopped inkjets

 

[bigboxes]

I would love to be able to afford two printers. If I was using my printer a lot, I would go with the laser for sure. As it is, I need a printer that can do a variety of tasks (read: I need a color printer). So, I will most likely stick with an inkjet printer. Unless of course, one of you can come up with an affordable color laser printer.

*bump* for additional recommendations

 

[Richard98]

Are the print heads removable? I have a xerox printer and dried up ink had clogged the print heads. I was able to unclog the print heads with a little rubbing alcohol and water. Found the fix for mine with a few google searches.

 

[Jeff7]

If the printheads are replacable, give that a shot.

Or, try soaking them in rubbing alcohol, as high a percentage as you can find. I did that on an Epson 600 I owned - took out the "nonremovable" printheads and soaked them in alcohol, and also used a syringe to shoot alcohol into the ink intakes. Might not be the best way, but it did let me get some additional life out of the printer. Of course, with school out of the way, I realized that I didn't really need color printing anymore, so now there's a Minolta 1250W laser printer in place of the Epson.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

my friends epson prnter crapped out last week

no warning just a message saying "parts inside your printer have reached the end of their servicable life" or something like that. aka short for chuck that thing out n buy a new one

bought a canon this time so hopefully things will be better....and the print quality is astounding!

 

[bigboxes]

Any personal model recommedations? I am resigned to my printer's fate.

 

[Don66]

Look here..

You might get some help here with your printer problems..

 

[bigboxes]

*bump* for printer recommendations

TIA

~bb

 

[kitkat22]

What is the price range you are looking for?

 

[Zepper]

The Canon iP4000 (regularly $150.) is available quite often for around $100. after rebate as the new Canons (which may have CD/DVD printing) are due to arrive shortly. It is probably the best all-around printer right now (it just got a "Best Buy" rating from Consumer Reports and that was at the $150. price - I wonder what they would think of it at $100.?)
Canon really has the inkjet mojo right now. No clogging problems like Epsons and extremely cheap 3rd party supplies. And the print head is easily user-replaceable (usually for less than the cost of a new printer).
. If you want to spend less, the iP3000 (~$100. MSRP) is also excellent and can be had for around $50. now. I use the iP3000 and it is excellent. Picky people will prefer the 4000 as it has true photo black (two different black ink tanks: one for text (pigmented), and one for photos (dye based).
. Or if you'd rather spend more, you can go for the iP5000 (~$200. MSRP). It is basically the 4000 with twice the resolution. Gives six-color results from only 4 colors as the dots can be so small. I've seen that for under $150. AR recently. Use the various shopping tools to find the best price (the HotDeals section here, Pricegrabber, Shopping.com, pricwatch, froogle, etc.). Check the Canon site for current promotions/rebates.

.bh.

 

[Macro2]

Only one printer should be on your list. A Canon.

1. Canon Pixma ip3000. Can be had for around $50 after rebates.

Can be run very cheaply with generic cartridges.

 

[travis1223]

I'm partial to HP printers. I've had the same HP Deskjet for 7 years now and print thousands of pages every year. I haven't done any maintanece unless replacing the ink cartridges counts lol. I vote for any mid-range HP they last forever.

 

[ProviaFan]

I never have liked HP's photo quality in what I have seen of their lower end printers (of course, the wide format models that cost $$$$$ are a different story). Your choice is between Epson and Canon, but Epson is not a good option if you don't print regularly (at least once per week, absolute minimum). The Canons that have been recommended are good, from what I've heard.

 

[imported_2x]

Here is a tried and true method I use at work and home in my experience for printers:

Black and white laser printers - HP
Color inkjets - Canon

In your case, you will not go wrong with a Canon inkjet. Pick the Pixma that is within your budget and go for it.

 

[Richard98]

Originally posted by: ProviaFan
I never have liked HP's photo quality in what I have seen of their lower end printers (of course, the wide format models that cost $$$$$ are a different story). Your choice is between Epson and Canon, but Epson is not a good option if you don't print regularly (at least once per week, absolute minimum). The Canons that have been recommended are good, from what I've heard.

the wife loves the HP photosmart 8150 for printing/editing her snapshots, but maybe you're including it in the "wide format model". It's currently $150 at Amazon. She also has a photosmart 130 which was unacceptable (to her).

 

[Ike0069]

I have a Canon ip1500. Prints text great, and pictures look fine. Not amazing, but still nice. Couple this with the fact that I can get a generic set (color and black) of cartridges for <$3.00 (although cartridges are much smaller than my Epson cartidges), and I'm extremely happy. I noticed no difference in performance when going to the generic ink either.

I like my Canon much better than my Epson. My Epson continually needs to have the heads cleaned, and the text has never looked that good.

 

[bigboxes]

Just a quick update. Ordered the Canon Pixma i3000 from Newegg today. $64.95 + $5.95 shipping = $70.90.. a whopping $29 cheaper than Fry's and I'm not including tax. There is also a $20 Canon mail-in-rebate on this model so the end cost for me is close to $50. I thought about the i4000 and i5000, but really couldn't justify them at this time (not that I didn't want these models). $50 is such a sweet spot. At this price, if it lasts a couple of years I will be happy.

Thanks to all who participated in this thread and helped me make an informed decision!

 

[Blues X]

Here's a few pros and cons:

Canon: good, vibrant colors; but archivability stinks
HP: good, long-lasting prints; but inks are expensive
Epson: good, long-lasting prints; user cannot replace print heads

Do a google search for the Epson windex trick. You can soak a papertowel in Windex, let the print heads sit on the towel, and usually it will clear the print head blockage. That might be your only problem right now.

I'd try that b/f I buy a new printer.

And I have the older model of your printer (the C-80) at home, and it's still going strong. Had it for about 4-5 yrs now.

EDIT: I obviously need to read the entire thread b/f posting. I think you'll be very happy with the Pixma, as I've read good things about them.

 

[Jeff7181]

I have an Epson C86... I've been told not to use anything other than genuine Epson ink or it'll cut the lifespan of the print heads in half. I've almost gone through a set of color carts... about to put in my 3rd black cartridge. I've gone over a month without printing anything and it prints just fine.