"Ink Cartridges Are A Scam"

[EccentricM]

 

No idea they did that. There's a chip that tells your PC the ink in the priner is empty or low, when the ink cartridges are half full or more, but the chip prevents the ink from being ejected onto the paper to maintain the lie that it's empty, but if you reset the chip, it shows you the "real" amount and works again. It's a scam to make you buy more ink, and on top of that. the actual price of manufacture is extremely low compared to the selling price.

 

[New World Explorer]

Thanks ..I am depressed now ..need yellow and red ink for my printer for tomorrow ...

[Shawnster]

He is incorrect about o r point.  They're is a difference between pure black and black mixed with the other colors. I know this because it's my line of work as a graphic designer. 

 

Flat black is straight black.  Third or funny and the best choice for text. If you are printing a letter or and text document, this is the choice for you. 

 

Rich black or registration black is a mixture of all the ink colors.  This gives the black a rich color or depth.  This is preferred for art. 

 

There is a noticeable difference between flat black and rich black, especially when compared side by side.  The flat black will look flat or dull while rich black will look more black or richer. 

 

Now to Google how to reset ink cartridges 

[Miss Bea]

I bought a printer at Costco. When I went back to get cartridges, they had none. They said I could get a new printer. And gave me my money back. $100. Off I went. I mulled over what was there. More sale printers. Then I looked at the cost of the ink. $146. A scam I thought. Then there the salesman over there. I went and talked to him. The fact the ink cost more then the printer sort of upset me. 

There’s that lazer jet over there on sale. A bit pricy. $100 dollars off. You don’t buy ink for them. Toner. 

Okay, let me see. I have a $100 in my hand. The ink is $146, which I don’t have to buy. $100 dollars off. I bought a wonderful laser jet printer for, well the printer was on sale for $299. 

I’m still smiling. It’s a bit of a different beast. The printing is finer. The colors are beautiful. 

I don’t care how much the toner is. It’s already declared its worth to me. 

(This was like at work. I replaced toners) 

Edited October 15, 2018 by Miss Bea

[dove]

I used to use the printers with 4 colors of ink and was always running out and buying ink. Then I decided to get a laser printer with toner. It's so much easier and the toner lasts a long time. I don't miss the color as everything I print is text that only needs black. That was many years ago and I would never go back..the laser's may be more at the initial purchase but  the other kind are cheaper because they get you on the ink replacement all the time. 

I'd rather cry once than many times...☺️

[dove]

Another thought about the toner, I read a really good tip online. When it seems like it's running out, take the cartridge out and shake it back and forth a few times. This makes it print for another long time because it wasn't really empty; I think it just gets dry or something. Anyway it works and can save a lot of expense buying new cartridges..

Edited October 15, 2018 by Dove

[Miss Bea]

8 minutes ago, Dove said:

Another thought about the toner, when it seems like it's running out, take the cartridge out and shake it back and forth a few times. This makes it print for another long time..it wasn't really empty; I think it just gets dry or something. Anyway this works..

Thanks for the reminder. At work, I did this many a time! 

[jwhess]

I buy my ink cartridges on line from a reputable dealer.  I get a set of five for my printer for about $7 with free shipping.  The toner can be purchased in this way also, but according to my calculations over the last 30 years (I began in the computer business in 1984), the cost for ink is still cheaper than toner per page printed.

 

As to the chips, they are set for the number of pages that the manufacturer states is the average run length.  If a cartridge is advertised to last 700 pages, that is what the chip is set for.  If you do not use as much ink per page the "ink out" notice will still appear.  It is not based on volume in the cartridge, it is based on page count.  I usually run my ink cartridge many pages past the notice with fine results.  I do own an electronic "chip-resetter" but with my ink being only a $1 or so per cartridge, I am not worried about whether the total pages are 700 or 900. I just replace them

 

Laser printers are much nicer in output, but cost more to start and cost more to repair or replace.  You can buy less expensive refilled toner cartridges as well.  I have a local business that makes very reliable replacements for less than half the price of new ones.  One dealer will refill you own (basically you drop off a couple of empties and pick them up in a couple of days).  That is even cheaper.  There is a limit to laser refills, the photo-sensitive drum will wear and become damaged after 15,000 pages or so.  I got new ones after 5 or 6 refills.

[cricket246]

Get an HP printer with an instant ink program capability. You pay so much per month for so many pages to be printed and it's regardless of how much ink you use, they simply charge by page. We get like 300 pages for around $10.59 a month. The printer notifies them when it's about halfway empty and they send another cartridge straight to your house to have on hand before you run out of ink. If there are any problems simply contact them, they are pretty good with customer service.

[New World Explorer]

21 hours ago, Dove said:

Another thought about the toner, I read a really good tip online. When it seems like it's running out, take the cartridge out and shake it back and forth a few times. This makes it print for another long time because it wasn't really empty; I think it just gets dry or something. Anyway it works and can save a lot of expense buying new cartridges..

Can I shake whole printer instead? LOL

Apparently helps to deal with frustration as well...

[Miss Bea]

2 hours ago, Gregexplore said:

Can I shake whole printer instead? LOL

Apparently helps to deal with frustration as well...

Oh, there’s  been times when I saw the computer and the printer over the bridge and in the river. Sometimes...

I'm still not friends with that computer! 

Edited October 16, 2018 by Miss Bea

[dove]

5 hours ago, Gregexplore said:

Can I shake whole printer instead? LOL

Apparently helps to deal with frustration as well...

If you would rather do it that way...😏

[jwhess]

8 hours ago, Gregexplore said:

Can I shake whole printer instead? LOL

Apparently helps to deal with frustration as well...

It improves muscle tone and print quality....😉

[GrumpysWife]

Reset toner:

1. Turn the printer off.
2. Open the front cover of the printer (as if you were replacing the toner).
3. Press and hold the Go button down while turning the printer on. Hold button down for 5-10 seconds, then release the Go button.
4. The Toner light should remain solid at this point.
5. Press the Go button two times. The message in the LCD window will change to say USER MODE.
6. Press the Go button 5 times for the standard toner cartridge or 6 times for the high yield cartridge.
7. Close the front cover.
8. The toner cartridge counter has been reset and the Toner warning will end. Make sure that the Drum LED is now off. 

[pnutts]

I just replaced my wide carriage inkjet with a HP Pro 8710 - there is an updated version, but at under $100 Canadian online from Staples it was a good deal.

It handles really long printing page ink. If I get ink online I can save a bundle. Have printed quite a few pages and hardly used any of the "Setup" cartridges.😎

[jwhess]

I always used HP Printers, for the most part.  But a couple of years ago, they sent out an electronic "update" to the firmware that caused all of the non-HP in cartridges to become inoperative.  They claimed it was preventive maintenance and warranty protection and so on.  It was a preemptive strike to clear out other vendors.  It rendered about twenty of my previously purchased cartridges useless.  What was worse, it even made my older genuine HP cartridges not function.  I finally gave the printer away and donated my ink to the Kingdom Hall which had a printer that could use them.

 

Later (under threat of lawsuit) they issued an electronic firmware adjustment to return the printer to usefulness with a warning when non-HP ink was used.  It sort of soured my relations with that formerly fine company.  I had many good experiences with the brand and its reliability.  My last unit was an 8600.

[Qapla]

I have been using Kodak printers .... they print quite nice and render excellent photos - and, the ink is less than other brands

[Zebra555]

Of course, i use a Brother.

I tend to find them the most reliable and trustworthy.🖨️

[outwalkin]

I find this interesting. I do a lot of printing for the congregation – invitations, etc. I recently did a run of over 1000 meeting invitations ( time & place) for a special cart work activity. A brother told me his printer counted pages so it was very expensive for him to do. My poor little Canon printer plugged along and got the job done in time (all the while it said ink was low). We do order refilled cartridges online (not a cheap as jwhess), but it seems the cartridge is near empty when replaced. We have been doing this for many years.

Edited October 17, 2018 by outwalkin

[dove]

4 hours ago, Zebra555 said:

Of course, i use a Brother.

I tend to find them the most reliable and trustworthy.🖨️

And a Pioneer TV?..😊

[jwhess]

11 hours ago, outwalkin said:

I find this interesting. I do a lot of printing for the congregation – invitations, etc. I recently did a run of over 1000 meeting invitations ( time & place) for a special cart work activity. A brother told me his printer counted pages so it was very expensive for him to do. My poor little Canon printer plugged along and got the job done in time (all the while it said ink was low). We do order refilled cartridges online (not a cheap as jwhess), but it seems the cartridge is near empty when replaced. We have been doing this for many years.

Sr. Carole, I use my old Canon MP830 to print the invitations also.  We do about 3600-4000 of the Memorial and RC invitations each time.  I use up a complete set of black and color to do the entire batch (the print is set to 80% black so it won't bleed through to the other side of the invite. 

 

I just checked my price...I paid about $16.00 for four sets of 5 cartridges and $6.00 for a single set of four of the same color.  The shipping was free.  So depending on quantity it was 75 cents to a dollar and a half for a single ink cartridge (on average).  I have only had two fail in the last 3 years.  If you are interested in the supplier, send me a PM.

[ChrisC]

I must have bought about 8 printers the last 20 years. The one before this I pretty much gave up on after it did everything it could to avoid printing my letter to President Putin!