Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.

Subject: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: Cool Beans
Date: 13 Aug 13 - 05:55 PM

How do I convince my Canon printer that I really did put in a new ink cartridge? It claims the cartridge has run out of ink and won't let me print anything. How can I persuade it otherwise, short of taking a sledge hammer to it?

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: maeve
Date: 13 Aug 13 - 06:06 PM

Mine tells me that. Turn it off with the new cartridge in position. Turn it on again. That may well clear its little mind. Sledge hammer not recommended- too messy and bad for your hearing.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: Leadfingers
Date: 13 Aug 13 - 07:14 PM

It always amazes me how Powering down and just switching on again can clear all sorts of Puter problems

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: Amergin
Date: 13 Aug 13 - 07:20 PM

Did you buy a third part cartridge, or is it Canon? Sometimes printers will not recognise the chip in a third party cartridge. Also the chip could well be corrupted.

how long ago did you buy the replacement cartridge? if it was recently, I would take it back with your receipt and see if you can do a switch.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 12:52 AM

On some (at least our one) Canon printers, you can open the deck and replace an ink cartridge without telling it that's what you're going to do. The printer software may "remember" the previous cartridge content setting, and continue to report "empty." A reboot of either the computer or the printer = or both - may get a current reading - usually.

On ours, there's a menu setting for "replace cartridge" that (theoretically) you need to select before you close the paper output tray, remove the paper from the quick-feed, open the deck, replace the cartridge, and close everything back up and print a "test page" (also an ink path cleaning cycle) in order to get an accurate new reading.

Since the rules - and model numbers - change weekly to encourage replacement sales, YMMV.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: DMcG
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 02:01 AM

Not a Canon in my case, but a HP6520. I had a Kodak for years but it got a bit unhappy when we printed a few hundred things on thick card, so I bought the HP some three months ago. Last week, the scanner started to sulk and every attempt to scan makes it display "Preparing to scan" but then it just sits there. Then four days ago it decided it needed an update. "Downloading update" ... "Download completed. Please wait". I left it turned on and waited for more than 24 hours, before I gave up and switched it off. Turn it back on and, yes, it notices it wants the update ...

Naturally, I don't have the receipt to take it back.
Oh, and by the way, the Kodak has recovered from its exhaustion and is now working happily again.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 02:27 AM

I despaired of the shark-pool that the printer business has become - no 'other' brands (or no state-of-play information if you do), no refilling, no access to Inksaver - all so you will continue to purchase minute cartridges which are made up of plastic boxes containing a sponge soaked in a few drops of ink - one change of which costs more than the ******* printer itself (or if you were moronic enough to buy one of these Epson thingummies with 4 separate-color cartridges - twice as ******* much).
Sharp practice or what?
It would be time to storm the castle with pitchforks and blazing torches if we weren't such a hopeless bend-over-and-take-it peasants.
Like the Anarchists used to say "Don't vote - it encourages the bastards".
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 02:52 AM

Does anyone have a printer they are happy with then?

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 03:09 AM

Well, as I say, I was pretty happy with the Kodak. Asking it to print over a hundred invitations on card beyond its specified supported weights was "above and beyond" its duty. And it did at least 80 before it started to make I'm-not-suire-about-this noises.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 03:19 AM

"Does anyone have a printer they are happy with then?"

I've tried most brands and have come to the conclusion that they're all shite!

For a couple of years I had a cheap Samsung black-and-white laser printer (I realised that 99.9% of the time I was printing b-and-w documents - and hardly ever printed photos). But, of course, that abruptly stopped working one day and I had to throw it out.

Now I've got an Epson (the only brand I hadn't tried up to that point) and that seems to 'sulk' all the time because it's the wrong phase of the moon or I've stirred its tea in a clockwise, rather than an anti-clockwise, direction. More total shite!

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 03:32 AM

I've had an HP Photosmart 2570 printer/copyer/scanner for a few years, it still works perfectly.

Dave H

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 04:09 AM

I have used HP Laser printers for a couple of decades, but gave up when the last one failed when I found that I couldn't get one without a bunch of trash features that were useless to me, and per page costs for the better inkjets are now comparable to lasers.

It is unlikely that I'll ever have another HP inkjet due to a series of "warranty replacements" (all with refurbished junkers) none of which were really usable "as received." In one case they replace a $480 large format printer/scanner with one DOB (Dead Out Of Box) that wouldn't turn on. That one was replaced by one with a broken power switch and couldn't be turned off. The third replacement ran ok (more or less) for about 30 minutes after the original warranty expired.

Two more recent smaller ones had a similar record of durability/warranty service difficulties.

Our current Canon multipurpose was a replacement for an earlier Canon that gave good service for about 10 years, mainly for LiK use, and although performance has been okay it's not really what we expected. Ink costs, the usual complaint, seem rather high. In our area, Canon also has the problem that hardly any retail outlets (including the one we bought the printer from) maintain decent availabilty of Canon inks. There are "super capacity" cartridges available that would be more economical, but aren't stocked here, and shipping costs for small quantity "factory order" negate any advantage.

I'm currently using two Epson multipurposes inkjet units, one a "large format" (11 x 17 inch) and after all the junkware is turned off they've been at least "reliable." Per sheet (ink) costs are fairly reasonable, but not spectacular, and Epson cartridges are a little more available than Canon's. Either of these claims "two sided scanning" but do it by scanning one side, turning the page over, scanning the other side, turning the page over, and on one turnover or the other reporting "paper jam" in the turnover which DESTROYS at least one out of 10 original pages. (I scan a lot of old papers that don't feed as well as you'd encounter in a working office - maybe.)

My most-used accessory is a letter size Epson "scan only" unit that scans both sides of a page in a single pass (direct to BMP, JPEG, TIFF or PDF). I'd prefer something with an Ethernet connection, and this one is only available with USB, but I can work around the USB crashes. It has the "hidden" feature of demanding a feed roller replacement every 100,000 sheets (~$50) and I'm on my third roller, but for what it does it's acceptable for me.

Location makes a lot of difference, if you don't have space to stockpile consumables. Many of the brands best-rated elsewhere are simply not avalable - or unsupportable - in my town. Here, making sure you'll be able to find enough ink for the one you buy to give it a good test is more of a problem than finding one that will outlast the warranty.

My experience puts Epson far ahead of HP, but there are so few others available in my location that I can't say it's better than lots of others that get decent ratings from reviewers. Our Canon is a bit of a disappointment, but still better than the several recent HPs. (And of course one person's experience isn't a large statistical sample.)

John

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: Newport Boy
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 05:44 AM

I've only ever had one inkjet - HP Deskjet 1220C, an A3 printer with excellent line quality. I can't complain about it; I've had it about 15 years but it's only printed about 1500 sheets. It lives in the workshop these days - 0C in winter, 20c in summer - and I get it out when I need it. The ink cartridges usually still work, once after 4 years, and I buy new if needed. I doubt I'll use it again - I've discovered a local print service that will print 1-off from a PDF I provide at only a little above the per-page cost of the HP.

I've bought 3 lasers in 18 years - HP Laserjet 4L (mono) still in regular use. Has printed at least 20,000 sheets (at 4pp/min, that's 83 hours printing). Been using 'compatible' supplies since the 3rd year.

Konica Minolta Magicolor 2450DL - finally retired this year after 12 years and over 100,000 pages. I used a mixture of compatible cartridges and refilling with toner. Also reset the 'out-of-toner' mechanisms to get 6000+ pages instead of 4500 and doubled the life of the drum by inserting a new fuse at 40,000 sheets.

Samsung CLX-3305 All-in-one, new this year. Printing a bit light, but seems OK so far (about 1500 sheets). It's still in warranty, so I haven't looked into lower cost toner or increasing the cartridge yields yet. I think it may be more of a problem than on the KM, but at less than £200 for a colour laser all-in-one I can't complain.

Phil

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: PuterMan
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 06:05 AM

@JohnInKansas

>>ran ok (more or less) for about 30 minutes after the original warranty expired.<<

That is a design feature that ensures you are up to date with the latest cheap low durability plastic rubbish.

I have an HP Color (Colour as far as I am concerned) LaserJet CP1515n which works very well on the two occasions a year that I actually need to print something. Everything else gets PDFed. The cartridges are of course more expensive than the printer.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: MikeL2
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 06:32 AM

Hi

< Does anyone have a printer they are happy with then? >

Yes, after having some problems like mentioned above with Epsons and Canon we bought a Brother MFC-235C.

We have had it some years now and it is still performing brilliantly. It takes any make of cartridge and we buy extremely cheap ones and the print out well.

We bought the Brother because it was much cheaper to buy than other brands and we have since bought 3 more for use in our business and they all are performing well.

We have had no problem in obtaining Ink and have never used Brother ink but cheaper compatible versions.

Cheers

MikeL2

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 08:56 AM

  Does anyone have a printer they are happy with then?

Yes, me too. HP Laserjet 1200 that's been running for 13 years. I probably print less these days, but it's printed a lot in its time. I gave up using HP cartridges about 8 years ago and use replacement maxi cartridges, usually bought 3 at a time for discount price, and they last me a years.

Mick

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: treewind
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 09:40 AM

Get a laser.

Last printer I bought was a tiny HP monochrome Laserjet.
Not used much - only for travelling really, because it packs up neatly in a small box, but it's perfect - works well, fast enough, and laser toner is an order of magnitude cheaper per page than inkjet.
I'm very happy with that.

My HP Laserjet 1100 has been in regular use for about 12 years and still going fine. I can't remember when I last replaced the toner...

I'm also happy with my Konica-Minolta 5670 colour laser, but that cost a lot. It knocks out double sided colour print at a frightening rate, and toner cartridges are expensive, but they last for years and the printer is used daily. If you print enough, a colour laser probably works out cheaper than inkjet.

The only inkjet printer I use is an Epson that can print onto CDRs, which is the only thing I use it for. It is a complete pain, but fortunately I don't have to do it often.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 11:23 AM

I wonder if Cool Beans ever got his problem fixed.

I had an HP printer for 7 years. It was so old that it actually came with a printed manual. About two years ago, it quit working, and I read the manual, followed procedure, and fixed it. It began having problems recently, and I decided to spend the $70 bucks te replace it because it affects items (computer, etc) that are worth considerably more than $70.

Last month I replaced it with a Canon. (I would have bought another HP, but Office Depot was out of the one I wanted.) The Canon seems to be working fine, but the 'manual' is on my screen and has yet to be tested.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: Cool Beans
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 11:32 AM

Thanks for all your advice/commiseration. Nice to know I'm not alone. My printer itself suggested a fix. It has a button marked "Continue," which it suggested I hold down for five seconds to disable its nonstop Chicken Little warnings that the ink supply is low or nonexistent. It took a couple of tries but it appears to have worked. When the ink supply actually is low the printouts will start to fade. That's always done the trick for me.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 12:08 PM

While most older inkjet printers gave you a warning when ink was "low" but would continue printing until the ink was "gone," some newer ones will stop printing when a certain amount of ink remains. The purpose of this usually is to leave ink in "feed lines" to prevent them from drying up and getting clogged, and if you have one of these kind you probably should replace the cartridge when warned. You may, or may not, get separate "low ink" and "replace ink" warnings.

This behavior is most often seen with printers that have separate "print heads" and "ink magazines" - intended for high-volume printing - rather than the more common cartridges with built in print nozzles, so it's not too frequently seen on lower priced printers favored by home-users, although some printers where it's not helpful may incorporate a "stop printing" feature as a pretense that it's useful.

With many of the cheaper inkjets, when the black ink runs out they'll "make black" using all of the "colors," which eats up ink rapidly and results in the need to replace the whole set instead of just the black, so there can be a slight "cost" for running after the first black ink warning. Many of the printers that do this have a "black" cartridge a little larger than the others, simply because much of what most people print uses more black than color, and separately purchased black cartridges may be a little cheaper than separate color ones. It's usually a little cheaper to purchase "sets" with all the cartridges your printer needs than to buy individual colors, if they're available, although you'll need to run the numbers to see if that's the case for your printer.

Some printers also can use "XL" cartridges that come with more ink in them, and if you do enough printing to use them before they dry out these may be a little more economical, although local suppliers don't stock them as often as would be helpful even for printers that can use them.

Most printers come with a "user manual" but sometimes you can download a more complete one from the maker's website, and sometimes there's a separate "maintenance" manual you can get. You can, sometimes, get lots of helpful info if you RTFM, even though they're mostly written by the illiterates in the advertising departments.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: Bill D
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 12:58 PM

HP Officejet R-80...combination printer, scanner, fax.... (will enlarge scans in settable increments...has 3 different document feed choices...etc.)

9-10 years now- works like a charm, never jams. Ink cartridges are a 'bit' more expensive, but we don't print huge amounts of stuff.

Was looking a new one awhile back, and told salesman what we had. He said, "Oh, that was a good one! The new ones are lighter and not nearly so well built. Keep it till it dies."

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: GUEST,Peter
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 01:45 PM

My HP Laserjet 1018 is the best home printer that I have used. Not perfect but a massive improvement on inkjets where the heads always seemed to dry out and clog if not used frequently, and needing a second mortgate for toner if they were.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: Greg F.
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 02:26 PM

Have had & heavily used an HP Office Jet Pro K550 for 5 years & not a minute's trouble with it throughout.

A $100.00 printer is a $100 printer. Sometimes, as John Arbuckle used to say, "Ya gets what ya pay for".

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 02:41 PM

HP LaserJet P1005 for several years. No problems. I would rate excellent for the price (about $100).

For color, I have a Canon Pro 9000. Bought when it first came out.
Excellent reproduction, but the 8-ink system is pricy.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: GUEST,Tony
Date: 14 Aug 13 - 11:03 PM

I like my Canon MP250 printer/scanner/copier because it costs less than an inkjet cartridge and it comes with two cartridges. When the ink runs out I just buy a new printer.

True, it sometimes lies about being out of ink, as described in the original post. But I solve that by either:
a. pressing the Stop/Reset button and holding it for ten seconds, or
b. taking the cartridges out and putting them back in again

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 15 Aug 13 - 05:08 AM

My HP laser printer has been and still is great - it has so far out-survived 3 inkjet printers.

My only gripe is that when the toner is running out, it doesn't fade but just cuts out and flashes its amber light! But,toner cartridge refills cost me £50 a time and last between 4-6 months.

Of course, according to sods law - the toner always runs out when I have urgent printing to do, or when I am busy and I don't have time to go to the cartridge shop.

I don't use my inkjet printer for printing at all, only scanning one the rare occasions I need colour work done, eg printing calling cards or letterheads I just get a print shop to do it for me.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 15 Aug 13 - 05:32 AM

Lexmark Interpret S405, which I've had for three years now.

Using compatibles, I pay £23 for the set of four, each filled to maximum capacity, and buy two sets a year, approx.

The trick, however, is never under any circumstances to accept firmware updates, the first of which will make it impossible to use any other than Lexmark cartridges.

Occasionally a compatible won't be recognised and I have to break an electrical contact on the back of the cartridge. I scratch off a tiny stip of carbon joining to contacts and re-insert the cartridge. Works every time.

Don T.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 15 Aug 13 - 05:38 AM

Now all I need is a bloody keyboard that types what I tell it!

I scratch off a tiny strip of carbon joining two contacts and re-insert the cartridge. Works every time.

DT

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: GUEST,Philip
Date: 12 Oct 13 - 08:26 PM

I have an interesting youtube video on my site about that. It should help you to clear up your mess with your printer http://www.gogetink.net
Hope that helps you
Phil

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: Bert
Date: 13 Oct 13 - 06:53 PM

GUEST,Tony,

Yes, I have a Canon 250. The trouble with buying a new printer instead of a more expensive cartridge is that the new ones have much less ink in the cartridges.

I usually refill the cartridges myself, but you have to be VERY careful not to push the syringe in too far because there is something inside the cartridge that if you puncture it, the cartridge will not hold ink. All of the ink will leak out of the bottom of the cartridge.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: GUEST,Peter
Date: 14 Oct 13 - 05:44 AM

Of course, according to sods law - the toner always runs out when I have urgent printing to do, or when I am busy and I don't have time to go to the cartridge shop.
I make a point of having the cartridge refilled as soon as it is changed so that there is always a full one available.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: GUEST,Bruce Michael Baillie
Date: 15 Oct 13 - 03:54 AM

Take a hammer and SMASH the fucking thing! It's expensive but hell it does give you some satisfaction!!!

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: GUEST,MikeL2
Date: 15 Oct 13 - 07:01 AM

HI

<" Does anyone have a printer they are happy with then? ">

Yea we have a Brother MFC-235C cost peanuts compared with the Epson/HP/Canons we had had previously.

It has done sterling work for my wife's business needs for about 4 years now and is still going strong. We buy and use cheap cartridges and they don't upset the printer at all.

Occasionally we do get the thing about not updating the insertion of a new cartridge but it is cured simply by closing the program and re-opening it. No sledgehammers needed !!

Our next printer is certainly going to be a brother.

.....he ain't heavy.....he's my Brother.

Cheers MikeL2

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: GUEST,Denis McKay
Date: 15 Oct 13 - 08:03 AM

You probably need to reset the chip in the cartridge. This is one of the things that Canon does to stop you refilling the cartridge. You can buy a chip resetting gizmo on EBay to do this for a very low cost. Similar evics are available for other brands.

Subject: RE: Tech: My printer is a lying sack of excrement.
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 15 Oct 13 - 09:35 AM

Well, we have a very cheap, basic Epson printer and it behaves impeccably. I do a lot of printing on thin card (and ordinary paper too, of course) for various committees and Church groups I belong to, and it doesn't play up. But you do have to press the red button for a bit longer than you'd imagine just after you've loaded a new cartridge in order for it to twig the cartridge is in. I always buy the recommended Epson ink. My only gripe is that if a coloured ink has run out, it won't print in plain black. I know you can change the settings on the computer for that, but I'm far too old to fiddle about and just get the new ink that's needed. It scans and photocopies nicely too.