Replacing your inkjet printer? Think carefully!

OvenMaster

OvenMaster

VIP Member
After almost five years using an HP Deskjet 632C, I got sick of paying US$60 a year for a pair of new print cartridges, and standing at the printer to make sure two pieces of paper didn't get pulled in at once. So I looked around and picked up a Canon iP1600 for US$50, and found that the pair of ink cartridges would only run me about US$45.

The first sign of trouble was when I found online that some people were having error messages pop up, saying that their waste ink absorber was full and had to be replaced. Further investigation revealed that this means the printer has to be sent back to Canon for service; there's no user method for resetting the printer's software for this. If you don't do this, the printer will stop working until you DO send it in. Since it's a cheapie, Canon usually gives you another printer in exchange... as long as it's still in warranty. Nothing's said about what happens after the warranty ends in a year. Strike one.

After owning it for two months, the Low Ink warning is showing. WTF? Two months?? I got nearly a year's worth of service out of my old HP ink carts. Strike two.

Turns out that the Canon black cartridge is only 16ml, the HP's 28ml; the Canon's color cartridge is just 4ml x 3 colors (!) vs the HP's 22.8ml (7.6 x 3 colors). At this rate, I'll be paying a whale of a lot more for Canon ink per year than I ever thought possible with HP! And HP is considered expensive?? You cannot refill these Canon cartridges; they're "chipped" with counters, set at the factory and not alterable. At least HP carts can be refilled. Strike three.

After just two months, I'm dumping the new Canon and going back to the old HP. Even newer HP printers have tiny cartridges compared to this 632C, and cost way more per page.

Moral of the story here is to look over your ink costs VERY carefully when picking out a printer. I don't care for how slow the old HP is, but jeez, at least I only have to spend on ink once a year!

Tom
 
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OvenMaster said:
After almost five years using an HP Deskjet 632C, I got sick of paying US$60 a year for a pair of new print cartridges, and standing at the printer to make sure two pieces of paper didn't get pulled in at once. So I looked around and picked up a Canon iP1600 for US$50, and found that the pair of ink cartridges would only run me about US$45.

The first sign of trouble was when I found online that some people were having error messages pop up, saying that their waste ink absorber was full and had to be replaced. Further investigation revealed that this means the printer has to be sent back to Canon for service; there's no user method for resetting the printer's software for this. If you don't do this, the printer will stop working until you DO send it in. Since it's a cheapie, Canon usually gives you another printer in exchange... as long as it's still in warranty. Nothing's said about what happens after the warranty ends in a year. Strike one.

After owning it for two months, the Low Ink warning is showing. WTF? Two months?? I got nearly a year's worth of service out of my old HP ink carts. Strike two.

Turns out that the Canon black cartridge is only 16ml, the HP's 28ml; the Canon's color cartridge is just 4ml x 3 colors (!) vs the HP's 22.8ml (7.6 x 3 colors). At this rate, I'll be paying a whale of a lot more for Canon ink per year than I ever thought possible with HP! And HP is considered expensive?? Strike three.

After just two months, I'm dumping the new Canon and going back to the old HP. Even newer HP printers have tiny cartridges compared to this 632C, and cost way more per page.

Moral of the story here is to look over your ink costs VERY carefully when picking out a printer. I don't care for how slow the old HP is, but jeez, at least I only have to spend on ink once a year!

Tom
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Heh, thanks for the enlightnment(sp):D I have had very, very bad experiences with printers and cartridges.... It blows
 
I have had HP, Epson and Canon inkjet printers. I have been happy with each of my purchases. I currently have a Canon i560. I have had it for a few years and it is just starting to show signs of age. I purchase a combo with all 4 ink colors for about $20.00 online. I almost never have a problem with the ink. I use the printer a lot and so I have to replace the ink every other month. $10.00 a month on ink.. fine by me.

However, I think my next purchase will be a laser jet. My father has had an HP 5M black and white Laser Jet for at least 8 years and and was just talking to him and he bought his third toner cartridge recently.

It is amazing how one printer from a company can be so much different in terms of quality than another model from the same company. Best bet is to research what other customers say about a product before buying it.
 
@OvenMaster
I agree with just about everything that you said, except for using the amount (mL) of ink to make a point about cost effectiveness. Printhead technology has come a LONG way since the 632c came out, so it would be much more feasable to look at the rated page yield (this is for 5% coverage, but it's a good benchmark for comparison). However, yes, you must be very careful when buying a new printer, I've found it's better to spend a little more money on the printer, it'll prevent you from spending it on the ink in the future... :)

@SFR
HP black laser printers are actually made by Canon, the color lasers are made by HP (hence the difference in quality), but the black's shell is designed by HP and the innards are designed and produced by Canon. Just thought I'd pass along the info. :)
 
DCIScouts said:
@OvenMaster
I agree with just about everything that you said, except for using the amount (mL) of ink to make a point about cost effectiveness. Printhead technology has come a LONG way since the 632c came out, so it would be much more feasable to look at the rated page yield (this is for 5% coverage, but it's a good benchmark for comparison).
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Very true, but I was using the ink amount to make a comparison of nearly a full year's worth of ink with the HP carts vs. just two months with the Canon. I haven't increased the amount of pages I've printed, and I use fast draft mode for nearly everything. I know the 632's printhead isn't that great: just 300dpi, and slow as molasses going uphill in January. But since most of my printing is fast drafts of web pages, the quality of the HP was sufficient for my purposes. The Canon's output quality is great... but way too expensive for my wallet.
Tom
 
DCIScouts said:
@SFR
HP black laser printers are actually made by Canon, the color lasers are made by HP (hence the difference in quality), but the black's shell is designed by HP and the innards are designed and produced by Canon. Just thought I'd pass along the info. :)
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..cool. No wonder I like that printer!
 
ye we have got a colour laser printer, it is soooo much better than the bubblejet ones you buy the printer for about $100 and then ink costs 60
 
i used to work for Canon and everything said above is correct. The cheap models of all manufactuers are meant to be cheap and expensive on ink. Thus, you pay more for a model like the i560 (which isnt around anymore) that uses Individual Ink Tanks.

The old HP's were nice, but today they make more than half of their total revenue every year off of ink and paper sales.

And yes, Canon does make their B&W laser's, and also their entire current ink jet line. Canon also makes the some part of most digital cameras out their to some degree, with the exception of Nikon.
 
mpisarcik said:
i used to work for Canon and everything said above is correct. The cheap models of all manufactuers are meant to be cheap and expensive on ink. Thus, you pay more for a model like the i560 (which isnt around anymore) that uses Individual Ink Tanks.
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..exactly. You get what you paid for. Also, I will never purchase name brand ink. You can find many places on the internet that sell ink for less. I purchase ink from Meritline and, as I said before, it is very well priced and I have had very little problems with it.
 
SFR said:

..exactly. You get what you paid for. Also, I will never purchase name brand ink. You can find many places on the internet that sell ink for less. I purchase ink from Meritline and, as I said before, it is very well priced and I have had very little problems with it.
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That's good that you've found something that you trust... But, as with anything on the 'net, buyer beware!!! :)
 
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