What is it about Epson Cartridges?

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What is it about Epson Cartridges?
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dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 05 11:10 am Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Well after my Epson Photo 830 got through a whole colour cartridge in six months after only using it to print about 5 colour pages I doubt I'll buy another Epson.

That will be pretty much *exactly* the same with ALL inkjets - *regardless* of the make.
The things get ready to print in colour when they start up, and must clear the nozzles at shutdown.
That is why you must *switch-off-at-the-printer* not just at the mains! It needs to "go to bed" properly!

Quote:

I need to find a printer where you can turn the colour setting off until needed as now I have to spend another ï¿½20 on a colour cartridge just to print with black ink only.

No such thing.
BUT look for Canons which have a *swappable* print unit. Such as the BJC3000. This can take *either* a big black-only cartridge with integral nozzles (BJ30?) or a colour printhead unit which takes smaller individual ink colour *tanks* (BJ31c etc?). There is a special (not tupperware) box to store the other unit so that it doesn't dry up too quickly.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 05 12:02 pm Post subject:

dougal wrote:

ALL inkjets - *regardless* of the make.
The things get ready to print in colour when they start up, and must clear the nozzles at shutdown.
That is why you must *switch-off-at-the-printer* not just at the mains! It needs to "go to bed" properly!

But that is exactly what I do and the printer only gets used a couple of times a month. I just don't need to print much which is a good thing and most printers can't cope with this?

I may consider getting another laser as the one I had a few years back lasted several years without having to do anything to it.

tawny owl

Joined: 29 Apr 2005
Posts: 563
Location: Hampshire

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 8:45 am Post subject:

[quote="Treacodactyl"]

dougal wrote:

I may consider getting another laser as the one I had a few years back lasted several years without having to do anything to it.

I would definitely go for a laser every time, unless I really needed colour printing. You might even be able to get an old one from a local company - my last one was a freebie, and even came with a half-used toner cartridge that lasted me about a year.

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 12:23 pm Post subject:

tawny owl wrote:

It may be worth noting that lasers use *lots* more electricity than inkjets (but still hardly a vast amount) and emit a bit of ozone.
Today's Times has an ad for a new HP laser, around the ï¿½70 mark. The "cartridge" should do 2,000 pages (standard text).

tawny owl

Joined: 29 Apr 2005
Posts: 563
Location: Hampshire

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 4:02 pm Post subject:

dougal wrote:

It may be worth noting that lasers use *lots* more electricity than inkjets (but still hardly a vast amount) and emit a bit of ozone. Today's Times has an ad for a new HP laser, around the ï¿½70 mark. The "cartridge" should do 2,000 pages (standard text).

Agreed, but because the laser prints out so much faster, it works out at actually slightly less than the inkjet (assuming you switch it off when you're finished). A laser will print out between 8 and 25 pages/min, whereas an inkjet will probably still be chugging through the 3rd or 4th.

I use a Samsung, and the cartridge on that lasts for about 3000 pages, at about ï¿½55/cartridge. Well worth checking how many pages a cartridge will last for, and work out cost per page, and also, check if you need to replace a separate drum; most modern lasers incorporate the drum as part of the cartridge, but some don't and that can be another 200 quid every couple of years. IMO, the HP is a bit flimsy-looking, as is the Canon. Brother and Samsung seem to do much more substantial ones, and some of the lesser-known makes such as Oki and Kyocera are supposed to be good.

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 6:34 pm Post subject:

tawny owl wrote:

.. but because the laser prints out so much faster, it works out at actually slightly less {electricity} than the inkjet (assuming you switch it off when you're finished). A laser will print out between 8 and 25 pages/min, whereas an inkjet will probably still be chugging through the 3rd or 4th.

Hmmm. Generalisation is never accurate. But because lasers *must* heat up their "fuser" roller to a temperature that risks setting fire to your paper if there's a jam, they do use a large amount of energy in preparing to print. (To prevent fires, the "paper jam" sensor shuts off the fuser heating.)
Its called a "fuser" because it melts the toner powder so that it sticks ("fuses") onto the paper.
Turning the printer off after each and every print job is not a realistic or sensible recommendation. The excessive thermal cycling is likely to cause problems such as premature failure of the fuser heater, never mind all the other electrical and electronic components.
Some machines, (I recall the original Canon colour office lasers), count the life of the drum in "turns". And startup costs more turns than printing a page! Exactly TD's inkjet problem!
"Pages/minute" specifications of lasers don't accurately represent real world performance. They just show the maximum paper transport speed. Even the slowest is fast enough for home use.
But lasers are generally much faster than inkets.
And usually have a higher "duty cycle" - a useful figure that indicates the maximum usage that the machine is designed for, eg 5,000 pages/month would be reasonable for an office laser, overkill for most homes. It indicates just how "heavy duty" the thing is supposed to be.

Quote:

I use a Samsung, and the cartridge on that lasts for about 3000 pages, at about ï¿½55/cartridge. Well worth checking how many pages a cartridge will last for, and work out cost per page, and also, check if you need to replace a separate drum; most modern lasers incorporate the drum as part of the cartridge, but some don't and that can be another 200 quid every couple of years.

I pointed out the cartidge capacity on that HP because its on the low side. (Many inkjets manage 1,000). 5,000 was normal for office lasers. Some (such the old HP 4mv - a magnificent beast) would give 10,000 A4's on a fill.
Cartridges with integral drum can often be refilled, as with inkjets.
Kyocera have long advocated a separate drum to reduce 'total cost of ownership' - but for very light duty such things are likely to prove uneconomic. And a machine with a ï¿½200 drum is going to cost way over ï¿½200 for the machine...

Quote:

IMO, the HP is a bit flimsy-looking,

The ï¿½79+vat HP 1020 has a duty cycle of 5,000 pages/month. The ï¿½105+vat HP 1022 is said to be good for 8,000 a month.
Heavyweight is not always heavy duty, as will be attested by anyone that ever lifted one of the original Canon CX engines (whether badged Canon, HP or Apple).

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 9:02 pm Post subject:

dougal wrote:

And startup costs more turns than printing a page! Exactly TD's inkjet problem!

Not quite as I would only turn the printer one about once a week. So, allowing for about 10 pages I printed and 26 weeks of 'startup ink' I still think the Epson either has some form of timer in the ink cartridge or wastes an unacceptibly large amount of ink to only allow 36 pages worth of printing.

I think the bigest problem with a laser printer is the ease of use so I'd end up printing far more than I need. But then there doesn't seem to e a design of cheap printer that's designed to last.

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