I Hate My Printers

**jimhanus** · 17 July 2010, 04:19 PM

Does anyone ever really LIKE their printer or inks? I currently use 2 Epson Stylus Photo R300 printers. One has a bulk ink system and one uses refillable cartridges. Both will give me problems with the print heads clogging and leaving blank lines. They use different inks. Has anyone found a good way to keep printheads clear and functioning without wasting a lot of ink to do it? Both printers are used daily so it's not from a lack of use. My current last resort method is I have a set of refillable cartridges filled with Windex window cleaner. I put those in and run a few cleaning cycles. It's a lot of work, but it does clear them.

Jim

**Scotty** · 17 July 2010, 05:19 PM

Hi,
I have the Epson RX500 Photo printer and I have had no problems ( i don't do a lot of printing tho') but when I do I have no problems. I buy my my Ink from ebay Ink jet or something they are cheaper. I found using refilables the bulk ink isn't as good.
JimM

**HayTay** · 17 July 2010, 05:45 PM

Jim, that printer is probably 5-7 years old by now and print heads don't last forever. The print elements either get permanently clogged, or the resistive/piezoelectric elements burn out or fail. You can try to have the print head replaced but it is usually cheaper and easier (unfortunately) just to throw the printers out and purchase new ones. You can then donate the old printers to an organization you don't like.

There are several advantages with purchasing new printers; they are typically faster, use ink more efficiently, have better print quality, cost the same or less than what you paid for the R300s, and have at least a one year warranty. Depending on what you're actually printing it may be time to look into purchasing a mid-level color laser printer or better.

On another note, the hundreds of nozzles in a print head are smaller in diameter than a human hair and it doesn't take much to clog them. Depending on how many times you've actually refilled the ink cartridges you're using in those printers you may want to consider throwing them out and buying a complete set of OEM ink cartridges to replace them. Maybe even two sets to help flush out the feeder mechanisms and heads. Build up, dried ink and foreign matter, in the printer's components will only get worse before they cause a non-recoverable print head failure. Once again, unfortunately, two complete sets of ink cartridges are probably more than the cost of purchasing a new printer.

Unless you are printing on photo paper or other paper stock that specifically requires you to use ink I recommend you start looking for a decent toner based printer, either color or black & white. Or one of each!

The Epson recommended replacement for the Stylus Photo R300 is the Artisan 50 Ink Jet Printer and its MSRP is $99.99 US.

It's probably not what you wanted to hear but, hey, I'm an honest guy.

IHTH,
Harry

**PixelDust** · 17 July 2010, 06:53 PM

I have a Canon Pixma Pro 9000 that I really like. The output is really good and looks pretty much like what I see on screen, even though I haven't calibrated. (I'm not a pro though, so what's good enough for me may not be good enough for you.) And mine hasn't clogged up yet, even though I don't use it a lot.

Only thing I don't like is that it's so big and bulky. Next printer I get will likely be a letter-sized printer, since I haven't done any really large prints. But I wanted the extra ink colors, and the smaller printers don't seem to have those.

Also, I've heard Epson printers are especially prone to clogging - seems to involve the way the ink is stored in a reservoir or something. They do have nice output, though.

**steve.ledger** · 17 July 2010, 10:34 PM

Originally Posted by jimhanus

Has anyone found a good way to keep printheads clear and functioning without wasting a lot of ink to do it?

Inkjets are a pain, but they make good money on selling inks.

Have you checked:
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/

I use a colour laser, but I don't do a lot of printing these days.

**Scotty** · 17 July 2010, 11:03 PM

I agree Steve!
I read an article when we were complaining here in Canada (BC) of the price of Gasoline.
In the article printer ink was in the neighborhood of $1000 dollars per liter.
JImM

**pushomikuor** · 18 July 2010, 02:59 AM

Originally Posted by Scotty

Hi,
I have the Epson RX500 Photo printer and I have had no problems ( i don't do a lot of printing tho') but when I do I have no problems. I buy my my Ink from ebay Ink jet or something they are cheaper. I found using refilables the bulk ink isn't as good.
JimM

Hi,

Thanks for the idea. Looks like a nice way to save some dough since I need ink quite often.

**Big Frank** · 20 July 2010, 12:03 AM

I love my printers, Pixma ip4200 and Deskjet 1200. Never use refills, never use anything but quality paper and printer manufacturers' inks. Maybe costs me more but the printers just keep on going (and is certainly less hassle than buggerring about refilling print cartridges)

**jimhanus** · 27 July 2010, 09:34 AM

Thanks everyone. It's been 10 days since I started this thread and not one single problem with either printer. I think they know we're talking about them...