Which Epson printer?

jjames_3

In any case, if you're using the printer for documents, you should be using a laser. Cheaper, better results, faster, more reliable.

The usefulness of inkjet printers is spurious IMO right now. It's cheaper to get photos done professionally and cheaper to print docs using a laser. So where does that leave the inkjet? How often do you genuinely need colour prints?

The only real use I can see for them is printing CDRs/DVDRs, which is overkill anyway when all is said and done.

Which is why I've recently bought a Samsung ML1610 (16ppm mono laser) and relegated the Canon to occasional use.

intel

Mind you theese days it works out cheaper to buy a new printer than cartrigdes.

jjames_3

intel wrote:

Mind you theese days it works out cheaper to buy a new printer than cartrigdes.

Indeed, and that is the basic problem.

How dare manufacturers charge as much as they do for inkjet cartridges?

Lexmark is the worst culprit. Their printers are dirt cheap. The carts are monstrously expensive.

The carts they include in the box are of no worse quality than the ones they sell for more than the printer.

Is it any wonder people use compatible cartridges?

thetope

i used to rep for epson... yet bought a canon! I got the i865 which has now been superceded now, i think the modern equivalent is the pixma ip4000/4200 - it's an excellent printer.

nightswimmer

jjames wrote:

Going by the amount of ink the Epsons waste head-cleaning every five minutes I suspect this is an inherent Epson problem

I have an Epson Stylus Photo 950. I can't fault the quality of print, but the thing that stops me recommending Epson printers to friends is the cost of the ink. Like you say, they waste a lot of ink in the head cleaing process (not sure if it actually is wasted, or whether the levels just go down).

The other problem with the Epson cartridges is that they are chipped, and there is often a lot of ink left in them, even though the chip reports them as being empty. It was costing me so much in ink that I almost bought a new printer, as it would have been cheaper. However, I then bought a gadget off eBay that resets the ink cartridges, so that you can use the remaining ink. You have to be careful and make sure you don't run them dry, but you can usually get 50-100% more printing from them.

nightswimmer

jjames wrote:

How dare manufacturers charge as much as they do for inkjet cartridges?

Because that's how they make their money. they make very little, if any, on the printers themselves, and recoup their costs on the consumables. This is a common practice. For example, the Xbox 360 is being sold at roughly a third less than what it costs to make it - profits come from the sale of games, joypads, etc.