OT: printer cartridge replacement reality

[Keith Williams]

I use none... I have an hp1320 Laserjet ;-)

Actually, my wife has an hp 1120C which prints tabloid (B) size.

I use it occasionally to print out the illegible schematics from
Cadence users ;-)

I often see their eye-charts projected via laptops. The company issues
mainly XGA (1024x768) laptops, so they're not easy to read. The one
reason I keep the ThinkPad A21p (1600x1200), even though I've had it
almost five years.

My design philosophy is, "If it takes more than an A-size per cell,
it's poorly designed". (Except if it's sonar... for Mark/qrk

I like legal-size paper, with a landscape orientation. It gives me
more room for signal names at the sides, while being able to use pretty
much any printer.

 

[The Phantom]

I can confirm that Canon cartridges are the easiest to refill, and HP are among the
most difficult. It's not easy to figure out where to drill the refill hole on the HP
cartridges, but it's very easy on the translucent Canon cartridges.

One of the refill kits I bought at Costco contains little rubber plugs to put in the
hole drilled in the cartridge. These plugs get damaged after a few insertions and
removals, and you get very few in the refill kit. But, then I figured out what to do to
plug the hole without wear and tear. Rather than drill a hole big enough for one of the
rubber plugs, just drill a hole big enough for the hypodermic sized needle on the ink
refill bottle. Then after refilling, put a dab of RTV type silicone rubber over the hole.
You get a perfect seal, and the next time you refill, the silicone rubber peels off
cleanly. I have some cartridges that have been refilled about 7 times with no problems so
far. After having done it a few times, I can now refill a cartridge in about 2 minutes
without even getting ink all over my fingers any more.

One big advantage of the translucent Canon cartridges is that you can see when the
cartridge is full; with the HPs, you have to squirt in the ink until it overfills and runs
out. Also, the Canon printers (so far) have separate cartridges for each color of ink.
The HPs and some others have them all in one cartridge so that you have to buy a new one
when just one color runs out. Big disadvantage.

 

[Richard Crowley]

In terms of user-unfriendlisness towards refilling,

I think that Epson is the worst,

IME, the Epson printers I've seen/used have the print-
head built into the printer and just swap out the ink
cartridges.

HP is in the middle,

But the HP printers have the print head right in the
replacable ink cartridges.

I bought a continuous ink supply for my Epson R300
printer (mostly used to print on CD/DVD discs). I
got it from a guy in Hong Kong on Ebay and it works
great. It has special chips that reset to "90%" when
they reach "15%" (that avoids the ink-wasting purge
cycle when the printer thinks it has a new cartridge).

 

[Jim Thompson]

I often see their eye-charts projected via laptops. The company issues
mainly XGA (1024x768) laptops, so they're not easy to read. The one
reason I keep the ThinkPad A21p (1600x1200), even though I've had it
almost five years.


I like legal-size paper, with a landscape orientation. It gives me
more room for signal names at the sides, while being able to use pretty
much any printer.

I'm only averaging 10 *printed* pages per work day.

Most of my "printing" is PDF.

...Jim Thompson

 

[Richard Henry]

I use none... I have an hp1320 Laserjet ;-)

Actually, my wife has an hp 1120C which prints tabloid (B) size.

I use it occasionally to print out the illegible schematics from
Cadence users ;-)

My design philosophy is, "If it takes more than an A-size per cell,
it's poorly designed". (Except if it's sonar... for Mark/qrk

All my Orcad schematics are B-size, except simple things (e.g. adapter
cables) which are A-size. Occasionally I increase a page size to C to work
some things in, then split the page into 2 Bs.

 

[Richard Henry]

It's a devious plot to sell *unnecessarily expensive* ink cartridges.

A method pioneered by Kodak: loss-leader cameras, profitable film (and
processing) sales for years.

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

A method pioneered by Kodak: loss-leader cameras, profitable film (and
processing) sales for years.

I thought Gillette was the classic example..


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[Joerg]

Hello Robert,

Does HP put a "lock" on their inkjet cartridges and/or inkjet printers?

Not that I know of and most of my printing gear is HP.

Regards, Joerg

 

[mike]

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 17:08:48 -0700,



...so you can waste the 10 minutes you just gained on Usenet posts. Do
you really use that much ink? ;-)

robert

That's a whole nuther issue.
There are a few consultant type people who seem to post to many
different newsgroups.
I'm grateful for their input. But I can't understand how anyone can
spend so much time in newsgroups and still make a living.
I'm retired and I still don't have time to follow all this.
mike

--
Return address is VALID but some sites block emails
with links. Delete this sig when replying.
..
Wanted, PCMCIA SCSI Card for HP m820 CDRW.
FS 500MHz Tek DSOscilloscope TDS540 Make Offer
Wanted 12" LCD for Compaq Armada 7770MT.
Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below.
MAKE THE OBVIOUS CHANGES TO THE LINK
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[mike]

A method pioneered by Kodak: loss-leader cameras, profitable film (and
processing) sales for years.

Yes, But...you always had the option to do your own film developing.
Nobody sold you a camera that had to be taken to Kodak for processing...
at least not until recently. And it was clearly marked on the box.
mike

--
Return address is VALID but some sites block emails
with links. Delete this sig when replying.
..
Wanted, PCMCIA SCSI Card for HP m820 CDRW.
FS 500MHz Tek DSOscilloscope TDS540 Make Offer
Wanted 12" LCD for Compaq Armada 7770MT.
Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below.
MAKE THE OBVIOUS CHANGES TO THE LINK
ht<removethis>tp://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/4710/

 

[[email protected]]

Yes, But...you always had the option to do your own film developing.

Nobody sold you a camera that had to be taken to Kodak for processing...
at least not until recently. And it was clearly marked on the box.

Not quite true, Super 8 film included processing in the price, you had
to send it back to the film vendor for the "free" processing.

 

[Jim Thompson]

That's a whole nuther issue.
There are a few consultant type people who seem to post to many
different newsgroups.
I'm grateful for their input. But I can't understand how anyone can
spend so much time in newsgroups and still make a living.
I'm retired and I still don't have time to follow all this.
mike

I'm VERY GOOD !-)

...Jim Thompson

 

[John Woodgate]

I read in sci.electronics.design that [email protected] wrote (in

Not quite true, Super 8 film included processing in the price, you had
to send it back to the film vendor for the "free" processing.

In UK, Kodachrome still-camera film was sold retail 'process-paid'. If
you wanted to develop your own or have a good lab do it, you had to buy
Ektachrome.

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

I can confirm that Canon cartridges are the easiest to refill, and HP are among the
most difficult. It's not easy to figure out where to drill the refill hole on the HP
cartridges, but it's very easy on the translucent Canon cartridges.

One of the refill kits I bought at Costco contains little rubber plugs to put in the
hole drilled in the cartridge. These plugs get damaged after a few insertions and
removals, and you get very few in the refill kit. But, then I figured out what to do to
plug the hole without wear and tear. Rather than drill a hole big enough for one of the
rubber plugs, just drill a hole big enough for the hypodermic sized needle on the ink
refill bottle. Then after refilling, put a dab of RTV type silicone rubber over the hole.
You get a perfect seal, and the next time you refill, the silicone rubber peels off
cleanly. I have some cartridges that have been refilled about 7 times with no problems so
far. After having done it a few times, I can now refill a cartridge in about 2 minutes
without even getting ink all over my fingers any more.

One big advantage of the translucent Canon cartridges is that you can see when the
cartridge is full; with the HPs, you have to squirt in the ink until it overfills and runs
out. Also, the Canon printers (so far) have separate cartridges for each color of ink.
The HPs and some others have them all in one cartridge so that you have to buy a new one
when just one color runs out. Big disadvantage.

How about using short 4-40 or 6-32 Allen set screws to plug the
holes? As long as its a tight fit it should work, and I have a few
hundred 4-40 x 3/16" screws on hand. I am going to try it on some of
the donated cartridges.

--
Link to my "Computers for disabled Veterans" project website deleted
after threats were telephoned to my church.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

[Robert Baer]

Quick update: I'm told that the new Canon printers from just the past couple
of months (e.g., ip4200 -- the ones that say 'new' at
http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fcategoryid=103)
ARE now using chipped cartridges. :-( Better get the current models before
they're gone if you're planning on refilling.

Is the clue derived from the blurb "And with the new smart LED ink,
your LED lamp flashes when ink is running low, and flashes even faster
when nearing empty. When you install a new ink tank this smart LED
system will even glow to let you know if its not properly installed,
making it an ease to use." ??
It seems the ip4200 is the onlyone with that statement.
It also seems what is common in the "new" printer is the
"ChromaLife100 system" - which might be a clue?

Is there any specific way to determine this "chipping" on any of
their other printers?

 

[Robert Baer]

The Epson C61 black ink cartridge contains 20 millilitres of ink at a
retail price of $70. That’s $3.50 per ml or a staggering $3500 per
litre. By comparison the cyan, magenta and yellow inks in the 42ml
colour cartridge divided into three 14ml tanks are a comparative
snip at $1550 each per litre


martin

Gasolene is a *lot* cheaper!!!

 

[Robert Baer]

To re-initialize an individual cartridge, or to re-initialize the printer
after it has supposedly reached its age limit?

I don't think there's any dispute that individual cartridges are digitally
coded and not reusable, with various printers. What I'm talking about is
the claim quoted above -- that there is an arbitrary limit on the total use
of the printer.

I find that hard to believe because (1) it would probably violate laws of
many countries, and (2) there are high-volume photo studios using Epson
printers and I've heard no complaints about them from the photo industry.

I dare say that the Epson printers that the studios use were either
made before this chip mania happened, OR are top-of-the-line printers
that cost LotzaBucks (so Epson got their Moses/profit up front).

 

[Robert Baer]

That's why I continue to point out that we have no confirmation of any such
thing, only rumors. The FTC would object very strongly (and the EC even
more strongly) if the printer had a built-in life limit that was not
disclosed to the customer.

The printer *does* have parts that wear out. And it may have a counter that
says when they need replacing. Automobiles have similar things. But that
is not the same as simply rigging it to stop working at a particular age.

Before you get angry at Epson, try to find out whether they are really
guilty as charged. We have, at the moment, NO SOURCE for the allegation.

It was made perfectly clear that the printer inquestion had *years*
of life left in it.
Would you be happy to have your printer cease to function after a
month's worth of use - only because of a *counter* inside needed
resetting at $70 a pop?

 

[Robert Baer]

I should clarify... an hp1320 is a LaserJet, NOT an InkJet.

For Spehro, my current cartridge (11/30/2004) stats are:

Pages Printed = 1973
Pages Jammed in Printer = 1
Pages Mispicked in Printer = 6

Not quite sure what that last one means, unless it's manual feed
pick-up ??

...Jim Thompson

I know; and LaserJets seem to be rather robust.
But they are a bit out of my pocketbook range (moer especially the
color versions).

 

[Robert Baer]

I didn't say that, now

I am aware, through "back channels", that a few models of inkjet with
fixed print elements did keep track of pages and shut down after a
certain number. The rationale here was that the print head is really a
consumable item and it will inevitably become unreliable. It was
considered better to have it stop functioning than to let it function
intermittently or with poor results (streaks, large droplet size, etc).
Not sure how much I believe that argument, but I AM sure I believe that
this kind of justification could be put forward seriously by marketing.

My Canon BJC4100 just stops printing when one or more heaters in the
head goes open.
No counter is needed, only a simple current sensor and/or
over-voltage sensor per heater is needed, to impliment the "stop
function" mode.
I have never had an intermittent or other problem due to a bad head.
They either work, or not.
Have used it for many years, and it is still going strong.
On rare occasions, and just for ducks, i clean the inside, including
the "cleaning well" section.