To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=135495
29 messages

BS: Printer ink cartridge trick

07 Feb 11 - 02:42 PM (#3090595)
Subject: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: gnu

I weas gonna post this to the You Tube Gems thread but I wanted to make sure everyone sees it. I dunno if it works but...


07 Feb 11 - 02:52 PM (#3090599)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: Dave the Gnome

Funnily enough I was sat here with an old cartridge in front of me! No hole in mine:-( (HP342) but it wouldn't at all surprise me if a lot did. We used to do very similar with laserjet toner cartridges - Used to last about 50% longer.

DeG


07 Feb 11 - 02:57 PM (#3090606)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: McGrath of Harlow

I tend to ignore the warnings, and change the cartidge when it actually stops printing.


07 Feb 11 - 03:00 PM (#3090608)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: Ebbie

Great idea- now all I have to do is remember.


07 Feb 11 - 03:02 PM (#3090610)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

My Canon cartridges are a little different. If they have the feature shown, one might get a little more mileage.
I will look next time one runs out.

For day-to-day copies, I use a laser Black and white (When that shows signs of quitting, I take out the cartridge, shake well, and return. This works for a couple of times before i have to replace the cartridge).

I turn on my color printer (eight inks) only when I want high quality prints.


07 Feb 11 - 03:26 PM (#3090638)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: frogprince

Nuts; just looked at my cartridges, and they have the circuit board (that much I already knew) but there isn't any reset on them.


07 Feb 11 - 03:26 PM (#3090639)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: gnu

Q... thanks for reminding me to shut off my printer.

I would also shut of my monitors but both of them are HPs so the on/off swicthes don't work.

There's a good question... how many people have HP monitors on which the on/off swich is busted?


07 Feb 11 - 08:02 PM (#3090798)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: kendall

I just bought a new printer, a Kodak and already it says the color cartridge is empty! I haven't even used it yet! It says on it, Introductory cartridge. WTF? I thought I bought a friggin' printer! It's like buying a new car and finding out the engine is temporary!


07 Feb 11 - 08:50 PM (#3090822)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: Janie

Rats! No hole in my Cannon cartridges.


07 Feb 11 - 09:37 PM (#3090848)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Janie, just drill a little hole and enjoy the latest fad- colored fingers!
My Canon cartridges look like they have in part a sponge-like filling. I have always suspected that only half the ink was delivered before they quit, and Gnu's first post adds a little weight to that.

A Google adv. below this post from Canon.ca/Ink states free same day shipping on $100+ orders. I think I am into the thousands by now. I think inks keep both Canon and Staples profitable.

There are cheaper substitutes, but people I know who have tried them have gummed up their printer.


08 Feb 11 - 12:05 AM (#3090912)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: EBarnacle

Sorry, Kendall. They even use that trick on laser cartridges now--both color and black and white. Plus they've made the laser cartridges smaller.


08 Feb 11 - 12:31 AM (#3090914)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: Gurney

Like Q, I have both an inkjet and a black laser printer. I use the inkjet so seldom that the ink sometimes dries up (on the jets?) and the only way I've found of clearing the clog is near-boiling water.

Try it at your own risk. It works for me.


08 Feb 11 - 07:28 AM (#3091040)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: GUEST, topsie

Cheap substitutes messed up my old printer.

If the printer comes with cartridges they will be the smallest size available. If you then use a larger one, the printer will think it needs changing when you have used the amount of ink that was in the small one. I only change them when the printing starts to come out pale.


08 Feb 11 - 07:43 AM (#3091047)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: GUEST,Jon

I've had inkjets clog through lack of usage but no problems I'd attribute to the use of substitute cartridges. I'm not particularly concerned if in the longer term they did cause problems either...

I guess I paid around £100 for Epson Photo R200. Genuine cartridges seem to retail at around £15. I can get substitutes for £2.50. I only need to get away with 8 changes to have saved the cost of the printer.

I've had this printer a few years now and it is no longer made. The savings on just 7 cartridges would replace it with a new and better specified Epson P50 photo...


08 Feb 11 - 10:55 AM (#3091145)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: Greg F.

I would also shut of my monitors but both of them are HPs so the on/off swicthes don't work.

Um, ever think of pulling the plug? Or plugging them into a power strip with a switch?


08 Feb 11 - 01:26 PM (#3091186)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: Joe Offer

A while back, I got notice that I could partake in a class action award against HP. The suit claimed that HP printers consistently gave false notice of ink levels, thus making consumers replace cartridges long before they were empty. The award gave me a discount on a cartridge or two if I bought them at the HP store. The discount brought the price down to approximately what I pay at Amazon, so I didn't bother.

What kind of class action settlement is that?

-Joe-


08 Feb 11 - 01:43 PM (#3091207)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

The 8 PIXMA cartridges for my Canon Pro9000 cost $Can20.00 each at Staples. Some combinations are available at cheaper prices. Some inks run out more rapidly than others, but I keep spares on hand.
If the ink runs out on any cartridge, the printer stops and replacement is necessary before printing can re-start.


08 Feb 11 - 02:57 PM (#3091256)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: alanabit

I bought one of these multi function efforts about fifteen months ago. The printer worked until the first cartridge change came up and I inserted generic cartridges. The printer stopped working and never worked again. The service staff at the shop explained that the printer was programmed to reject any cartridges which were not made by the company. Apparently, buying a printer also implies a lifelong obligation to product loyalty. It also appears that the things are programmed to reject any cartridges ever again if you even once deviate.
I took the thing back four or five times and the staff from the store treated me with exemplary courtesy. However, even when I inserted the printer's "own" cartridges, every time I got a reading "Printer Does Not Recognise The Cartridge". As every visit involves an hour long trip to the shop - not to mention the discomfort of carting the bloody thing to and from the shop from the multi-storey car park - I was not prepared to make another pointless trip. There would have been some temptation to keep the thing for use as a scanner/fax machine. However, until it was happy with the cartridges inserted (which in my case was never going to happen - because it had been programmed not to work) one was unable to access other functions on the menu. For approximately eight weeks use of the printing and photocopying functions, I paid for the price of the machine, one set of generic cartridges and another new set of the company's - not to mention several time consuming trips into town. As I have neither time nor money to repeat visits to the shop, I took it back for the last time today and asked the staff to return it to the company and dispose of it. Obviously I can not name the makers on a public forum, but I will be more than happy to tell anyone who it was in a PM!


08 Feb 11 - 04:20 PM (#3091308)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

My Canon 9000 does excellent work, been using it for two years. I would never subject it to cheapie cartridges.

As I noted before, my day-to-day printing done on a $100 BW laser (HP).

PM me with make- but why not name? Lemons are often named. It also seems to me that a good tech could re-set.


08 Feb 11 - 04:39 PM (#3091322)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: GUEST,Jon

We use both (colour - Xerox Phaser 6100N) laser and inkjet. I don't think I'd return to an inkjet for the ordinary/day to day stuff.


08 Feb 11 - 04:56 PM (#3091332)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: alanabit

I live in Germany, where the company could quite easily sue me if I told the truth about them in public. I should also add that I used generic cartridges in another printer with no ill effects for years. In my opinion I do not owe a company "product loyalty" just because I happen to have once purchased one of their products.


08 Feb 11 - 05:58 PM (#3091376)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: GUEST, topsie

Could a company in Germany force Mudcat to reveal your identity?
They wouldn't get far trying to serve a writ on 'someone somewhere in Germany who calls him[her]self "alanabit"'.


08 Feb 11 - 06:54 PM (#3091422)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Using a cheapie cartridge is akin to using a non-specified bolt in aircraft assembly. One is asking for a crash.


08 Feb 11 - 07:24 PM (#3091441)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: Janie

I've used Office Depot cartridges in my Cannon instead of the Cannon cartridges with no problem. They are not a whole lot less expensive, and Office Depot doesn't usually have all the cartridges available. But even a dollar or two off is an improvement.

Q,

I've got the Cannon MP 830. It is an ink hog - apparently uses the colors even when printing black. I've been looking at new printers - I have to have an all-in-one . No room for 2 printers, plus I need a fax. When I finally spring for one, I'm gonna pay close attention to the print costs listed in the CU ratings.


08 Feb 11 - 07:26 PM (#3091444)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: GUEST,Jon

Not quite, Q. I can afford to take the chance with my printer and I consider the risk very low.


09 Feb 11 - 03:01 AM (#3091590)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: andrew e

I have a Cannon iP4500 with four separate ink cartridges.

As I do quite a bit of printing, mostly black,[I direct A Cappella choirs] I refill the cannon cartridges myself.
I got the syringe and plastic stoppers from a company that goes round refilling from a van. I buy bulk ink from them.

To overcome the little chip you just hold down the "feed" button on the printer for a few seconds. It's all on the net.

Heaps cheaper than buying the cartridges, though I do have about six now, as I refill them all at once.

I know when the ink's run out as it doesn't print properly anymore! Just have to keep an eye on it.

Printer cartridges are way overpriced! Sometimes it's cheaper to buy a new printer. How silly is that!


09 Feb 11 - 12:05 PM (#3091837)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: kendall

If I bought a new car and found out after driving it a few miles that the tires were temporary I would be livid!


09 Feb 11 - 02:30 PM (#3091939)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Cars are sold with second-rate tires- a big business at dealerships and tire shops is selling good tires and removing the cheapies. Temporary? - yessiree!


09 Feb 11 - 02:52 PM (#3091955)
Subject: RE: BS: Printer ink cartridge trick
From: gnu

When I was shopping for a new truck I went to look at GMs and I could not believe the cheap rubber on them... and they were 4X4s.