Skip to Content
 

A Printer That doesn't break

12 replies [Last post]
Redcap
Redcap's picture
Offline
Joined: 07/26/2008

So about 2 years ago I bought a HP Color LaserJet 2600n for about $350 and it still hasn't run out of ink; however, about 6 months after getting it it started to do a darker amount of ink down the middle of the page. Doing my research I found that this is the case with these printers, and fixing it is nigh to impossible unless you want to spend 5 hours of time with the risk of breaking your printer permanently. So I have used it as is; however, when prototyping my games, no matter how good the artwork is, the print stinks because their is a big streak down the middle of my cards.

So question is, what printer will not break and won't run out of ink for a long time and can print on cardstock.

Thanks!

genericm
genericm's picture
Offline
Joined: 08/11/2009
Could be...

Take the toner cartridge out of the printer and shake it end to end like a soda can (an ensuing practical joke anyway). the toner may not be evenly distributed and could be part of your problem.

Its worth a shot as its free!

Eric M

genericm
genericm's picture
Offline
Joined: 08/11/2009
...

On the other hand I use an HP office jet pro 8500, it gives me good results but its an inkjet not a laser.

They advertised that the ink would be even more cost efficient than a color laser, but that remains to be seen...

Hope it gets resolved..

Eric M

truekid games
truekid games's picture
Offline
Joined: 10/29/2008
i use a xerox phaser 8860

i use a xerox phaser 8860 solid ink printer. handles cardstock, prints double-sided, and ink is significantly cheaper than a laser or inkjet printer. the downside is the initial cost of the printer ($2500), and that i have to use a cold laminator when i want to laminate something (heat lamination messes up the ink).

the phaser 8560 is also solid ink, has only a slightly worse ink consumption, and costs between $600 and $700.

schmanthony
Offline
Joined: 12/18/2008
My recommendation

On the cheap? Buy an $80-$120 HP or an Epson inkjet. Buy an ink refill kit for both cartridges - this will probably cost you $25 or so but you'll get 4 or 5 refills out of it. Rinse and repeat until your printer or one of its cartridges breaks. Then buy another $80-$120 printer. I seriously doubt it will get much cheaper than this for relatively small volume operation.

I wouldn't spend $2500 on a printer unless I were actually self-publishing hundreds of copies. For that you could get 20 cheap inkjets and refill kits each time. Those would probably last you the rest of your life.

OPM
Offline
Joined: 12/16/2009
Beware chipped printers

Better to buy an old Epson 600/800 for card work. The problem may be finding newer drivers for it. I can email them to you if you need it, but Epson has them from its support site.

A lot of the ink cartridges now are microchipped to prevent third party cartridges or refilling being done. Try to buy old used Epson stuff is the best. Stay away from Canon and Lexmark. Canons jam alot, and you Lexmarks eat ink like crazy (three pages sometimes if you are lucky). They both routinely microchip the cartridges just as IBM and HP do.

The ink for old Epsons is like ten bucks a cartridge and the quality of the images on photo paper is very good for prototypes. I also have the old HP you mentioned and that model does chug along well. It sounds like you need the drum replaced.

I broke my Epson 800 Stylus last week by accident and am still crying in my beer over it. Cost me ten bucks to buy a few years back and just kept going. That thing went for years with no problems. Only thing with inkjets if if they sit for more then a couple days you have to clean the heads each time before using them for any serious quality work at 720dpi or higher. The low res 360dpi on them look like crap. They are no good for letters or correspondence, but good and cheap for printing cards.

schmanthony
Offline
Joined: 12/18/2008
My relatively new (bought

My relatively new (bought about a year ago at Target) HP Deskjet has the chip "prevention" against refills, I guess. The only symptom is that the printer and its included software report that the cartridges are empty even though I refilled them. This is not a big deal for me. I just refill them once every 2 weeks so I know they are never empty. I clean the syringes with alcohol each time to ensure none of the ink cakes in the needle and is later released into the cartridge the next time I refill it.

truekid games
truekid games's picture
Offline
Joined: 10/29/2008
OPM wrote: I broke my Epson

OPM wrote:

I broke my Epson 800 Stylus last week by accident and am still crying in my beer over it. Cost me ten bucks to buy a few years back and just kept going. That thing went for years with no problems. Only thing with inkjets if if they sit for more then a couple days you have to clean the heads each time before using them for any serious quality work at 720dpi or higher. The low res 360dpi on them look like crap. They are no good for letters or correspondence, but good and cheap for printing cards.

i had an epson stylus color 880 for 10 years prior to my current printer, i do agree that those things are workhorses if you treat them right (though it was still an ink-gobbler)

bluesea
bluesea's picture
Offline
Joined: 07/28/2008
I'm excited about the memjet

I'm excited about the memjet technology coming to market...although it's been a long wait...there does seem to be a real push for Q3 or Q4 this year. Could be a real game changer.

Check out the videos:
http://www.memjethomeandoffice.com/technology/videos/

schmanthony
Offline
Joined: 12/18/2008
I haven't heard of memjet but

I haven't heard of memjet but at first glance I'm a bit skeptical. The only technical difference between this and a common inkjet seems to be the super wide print head - that I assume to be a separate part from the cartridges. I wonder about the maintenance and replacement cost of the printhead.

I suppose there are much fewer mechanical moving parts, which is a common area of breakdown for today's inkjets. I'd look at that giant print head with the multiple ink ports to be a point of failure, and possibly high initial cost. Probably the viability of this technology will depend on how cheap, robust and maintainable that print head is.

InvisibleJon
InvisibleJon's picture
Offline
Joined: 07/27/2008
re: Canon and memjet

Regarding a previous Canon jamming comment: I'm super-happy with my Canon S9000. Never had a jamming problem with it. However, it is a straight pass-through system.

Regarding memjet technologies: If it'll do that with cardstock, I'm much more interested. =)

Redcap
Redcap's picture
Offline
Joined: 07/26/2008
So I have been doing a lot of

So I have been doing a lot of research and it seems that the price range I am looking at just doesn't accept 110 lb cardstock. That is what I am mainly looking for, something along the lines of $120 that can print on cardstock...

guildofblades
Offline
Joined: 07/28/2008
The printer we use cuurently

The printer we use cuurently was more like $8K and it prints 12pt, but its not speced to do so.

The ones that are speced to do so run more like $40K, which is what we have to ugrade to shortly.

Ryan S. Johnson
Guild of Blades Retail Group - http://www.gobretail.com
Guild of Blades Publishing Group - http://www.guildofblades.com
1483 Online - http://www.1483online.com

Syndicate content


forum | by Dr. Radut