kevs

Okay, so I've had this Epson Stylus C84 printer for a little less than a year and my color ink has officially evaporated as of this afternoon.

The STUPID thing is that I've never printed in color. And now, as a result, I can't even print documents. My black ink is fine and I have enough cartridges for that, but I'm completely restricted.

As ink is pretty expensive, here are my questions:

1. Should I just replace the toner?
2. Should I use the "Ink Refill System"?
3. Is it possible just to reset the chips on my dry cartridges?
4. Should I just buy another printer that's not Epson?

Thanks for the input, everyone.

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kevs

look_ma

1. lol, yup better check that toner. (p.s. toner is only for laser printers only)

2. Ink refil systems are a bad idea because they just add more ink, and do not replace the heads. Overall a waste of your money as well as the ink is not as good of quality.

3. Remove your catridges for 30 seconds out of the printer, then set them back in and then align them.

4. Epson's are not bad printers, I like Epson, HP and canon, all have their issues. HP claims that thye are better for the occasional printer user such as your self. I like the fact that you can see through canon cartridges to see the ink levels and if they have really dried up.

As for ink being expensive, it is not that bad. 12.99 each at a retail outlet. ALOT less say at walmart or espcially sams or costco.

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kevs

Toner, Ink, whatever.... LOL.

Okay, so the taking it out for 30 secodns didn't work, but I did see on eBay there's these Ink Chip Resetters or something.

Would that work if I reset the chip, but still put back an empty cartridge? I really don't need the color, which is why I am dreading purchasing color cartridges.

Thanks for the help.

DarkFury

Sounds like a good reason to "Buy an HP" the next time around.

Epson's are OK... but I just don't get with them having the print head in the machine which over time can get clogged and render the printer inoperable...

/me eyes a dead Epson Stylus Color 440 sitting in the corner of my office gathering dust.

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zippyjuan

My Epson all-in-one (CX 5200) has a nozzle cleaning function, but if the ink has dried I don't think that would work. If one color is out, even if I ask it to print in black only it will not work. One thing I do not like about mine (and perhaps it can be adjusted I just haven't found out how) is when I print a web page it seems to cut off some of the right side of the page. Otherewise I do like it. I have never had another printer so I have nothing to compare it with though.

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Mike_N_Ike

Go watch Office Space

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-Mike

pain2010

Ok Here is some good info for everyone. I bought a ink refill system from inproducts.com for my i560 and it is awsome. I save a hell of lot of cash!!! They have a new set up for the cannon 3000 system and the printer. I know its kinda steep at first but if you do alot of printing its well woth it. Oh i have been useing it for 2 months now and no problems. All so iam not trying to seel anything just giveing some good info to you-all here. Allso the photo prints average about $.05-.10 per picture for the ink for 8x10 i think.

psycho-

Epsons are pretty okay. THis is coming from a guy who works at HP printer group. But, you're right. Their heads clog and dry up if you don't use it for a while.

My friend (who is an epson manager at US HQ in Torrance) told me the little trick.

Disassemble the printer. Take apart theprint heads. take only the print head out and soak it in warm (not hot, but can't be cold either) water and then dry, reassemble, and run the extensive print test to clear out the heads.

Personally, i say: Disassemble the printer, throw it over an overpass, and go buy an HP.

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Victor

ramazank2

Another vote for HP.If you can afford it get a HP4650DN soo soo nice.

Jeffbx

Take it out.

kevs

Okay, sooooo......has anyone had experience with that Epson Chip Resetter?

CHIP RESETTER

I think I might go for this and then not put any ink in there...

GilbertsGrape

i would just buy a laser printer if you dont print in color.

kevs

How much does toner cost?

And how long does it last (typically)?

look_ma

I know bestbuy has a nice samsung laser printer for 99 after 50 MIR. Comes with a starter toner good for 1000 pages at 5% coverage. Each additional toner cartridge is 79.99 and yeilds 3,000 pages at 5% coverage. Most Hp black cartridges yield 450 pages at 5% coverage for 19.99 a peice. The newest gen of HP ink cartridges actually contain less ink, but yeild just as many pages as well as the ink is brighter.

Jeffbx

My first laser printer had a high capacity (7000 page) toner - lasted me about 8 years before I had to replace it.

If you do the cost per page calculation, laser is almost always cheaper than inkjet over the long run.

Merlin

I had many of these same problems with my Epson printer so I $hitcanned it. Cannon, same thing. I don't print very often, only like a page or two a month so the heads had a tendency to dry out. And when I did print I never used color. Color sounds nice but mostly I print out either letters to mail or mapquest direstions. A couple of weeks ago I threw it all out as worthless and bought the Samsung laser printer that was mentioned above and it seems to work well and is perfect for my needs. I still need to get used to the lights in my apartment dimming when it starts up but that is another issue.

Also I've tried the ink refill kits and had very poor luck with them. I just made a mess and it didn't print very well.

Bottom line, if you don't print very often and the bulk of what you do does not need to be in color I would suggest you drop the $100 and just get the laser. I'm happy I did.

You'll wind up replacing your inkjet printer long before you'll need to replace the toner in a laser printer.

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kevs

Haha, I found a gift card from Circuit City so I can use it to buy THIS .

It's time to sell the Epson, my friends. You have convinced me in less than 24 hours to get rid of it. Thanks for helping me see the light.

One last question...in the future, if I ever need to utilize a color printer, is HP still the way to go or anything non-Epson?

ramazank2

Unless your gift card is 30 or more.....

OfficeDepot - Samsung ML-1740 Laser Printer for only $68.99 After Rebate and Coupon!! (Posted by: Brian)
The Samsung laser deal is back!If you need a laser printer, here`s an awesome deal for you. OfficeDepot has the Samsung ML-1740 printer for $148.76 - $50 Mail In Rebate - $30 Coupon = $68.99 with FREE Shipping!

Click here (see deal page)and add the printer to your cart for $148.76. SAMSUNG ML-1740
Click here and add some paperclips to your cart to bring the total over $150. PAPERCLIPS
Upon check out, enter in coupon code 31022987 for $30 off $150. Expires 10/31/2004.
Send in your $50 rebate. Expires 10/30/04. REBATE
Check out the price of this printer at other places. PRICEGRABBER

kevs

Ah, ramazank2, thanks for the info. I can't believe I missed that even though it's on the deals page for Tuesday, LOL!

Using my $78 Gift Card (actually, it's money I've spent in the past), my cost out the door would be about $22 from Circuit City after rebate.

With Office Depot, my cost would be $69, a difference of $47 (I know, I'm a math whiz) after rebate.

Should I just save my gift card for something later and take advantage of this deal at Office Depot since the $78 from Circuit City is more like store credit?

ramazank2

I would save it and use it for Xmas gifts

Jeffbx

HP is the way to go for general use color printing. If you're doing a lot of photos, I'd say Canon instead. IMHO.

kevs

Aaaaand....ordered. Thanks, everyone.

kevs

*sigh*

I just got my new Samsung ML-1740 printer and love it. It's so tiny for a laser printer, but prints really well.

It's a little loud on the startup, but nothing unbearable.

Thanks for the help guys!