Canon Pixma iP3000 questions...

[trichard]

Hello,

We recently purchased a Canon Pixma iP3000. It's the first printer we
have bought since a bad experience with an Epson Stylus 800.

The Espon would constantly have problems with dried up ink cartridges,
nozzles clogged, etc. We were told by many people (including some Epson
sales reps) that we should turn the printer off to preserve cartridge
life. While this helped (only marginally I might add) we still had many
problems.

I am hoping someone might have the Canon iP3000 Pixma and be willing to
share with us any advice or tips on general maintenace of the printer.
It doesn't get heavy use in our household (maybe 3-4 times per week).
Would it be worthwhile to turn the printer off when not in use or does
it matter?

Any reason to close the paper trays (input or output) as well when not
in use?

Thanks very much for any help...

trichard

 

[Dan G]

Just use it any way you like. The only no-no I'm aware of is to never leave
an ink tank out of the carriage for more than a couple minutes.

 

[Burt]

Close the paper trays to keep as much dust out as possible. Go to Neil
Slade's site at http://www.neilslade.com/papers/inkjetstuff.html for
excellent background info on canon printers in general, third party ink
info, and most important for the answer to your question, printer
maintenance. Then go to
www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/ and pick up lots of info - mostly on canon
printers. Both of these sites advocate using third party inks (which I do
quite successfully), but you will find other very helpful info as well. I'm
not trying to push you toward third party inks - just directing you to some
very practical material for canon printers.

 

[Daniel Prince]

Just use it any way you like. The only no-no I'm aware of is to never leave
an ink tank out of the carriage for more than a couple minutes.

I have read that you should NEVER, EVER turn off the power with a
power strip because the print heads will not be parked on the thing
that seals them.

My Canon S750 has auto power on and auto power off functions that I
use so I never turn it on or off manually. I have never had a
problem with it.

 

[measekite]

Hello,

We recently purchased a Canon Pixma iP3000. It's the first printer we
have bought since a bad experience with an Epson Stylus 800.

The Espon would constantly have problems with dried up ink cartridges,
nozzles clogged, etc. We were told by many people (including some
Epson sales reps) that we should turn the printer off to preserve
cartridge life. While this helped (only marginally I might add) we
still had many problems.

I am hoping someone might have the Canon iP3000 Pixma and be willing
to share with us any advice or tips on general maintenace of the
printer. It doesn't get heavy use in our household (maybe 3-4 times
per week). Would it be worthwhile to turn the printer off when not in
use or does it matter?

Any reason to close the paper trays (input or output) as well when not
in use?

I have an IP4000 and I never turn it off.

 

[measekite]

I have read that you should NEVER, EVER turn off the power with a
power strip because the print heads will not be parked on the thing
that seals them.


TRUE

My Canon S750 has auto power on and auto power off functions that I
use so I never turn it on or off manually. I have never had a
problem with it.

 

[SleeperMan]

TRUE

agreed...
but then again, above is only valid if power cord is pulled while printing.
When printing is finished, head immediatelly goes into parking space and
seals carts. After that it's no harm done if power is lost. it's stupid to
do this, however.


Same with ip series...great thing.


I use my ip4000 about at same rate..3-4 times per week. No problems so far,
while at my old i550 there were also no problems regarding clogging, only
head died after year and a half...

 

[SleeperMan]

I have an IP4000 and I never turn it off.

hm...

did you ever hear of environment polluting? Doing this you waste precious
energy and thus pollute the environment... ;-)

 

[trichard]

Thanks for the helpful and friendly advice everyone.

-trichard

 

[Mapanari]

Hello,

We recently purchased a Canon Pixma iP3000. It's the first printer we
have bought since a bad experience with an Epson Stylus 800.

The Espon would constantly have problems with dried up ink cartridges,
nozzles clogged, etc. We were told by many people (including some Epson
sales reps) that we should turn the printer off to preserve cartridge
life. While this helped (only marginally I might add) we still had many
problems.

I am hoping someone might have the Canon iP3000 Pixma and be willing to
share with us any advice or tips on general maintenace of the printer.
It doesn't get heavy use in our household (maybe 3-4 times per week).
Would it be worthwhile to turn the printer off when not in use or does
it matter?

Any reason to close the paper trays (input or output) as well when not
in use?

Thanks very much for any help...

trichard

I too am an Epson refugee, for all those reasons above and because I
emailed them about my print heads being inoperative after spending hours
cleaning etc, and no answer.
I figure, if my unit is always clogging up, drying up, printing badly and
then no answer, screw them, I'll try someone else.
I did my research and bought the iP3000.
I couldn't be happier.

One creveat I can see, the only one, if you take your carts out to refill
them, use that orange plastic cap for the bottoms so they don't dry out.
the one that comes with the original carts you had to take off to install.

I printed out a 4/6 borderless picture and it looks better than drug store
pics!

 

[Mapanari]

hm...

did you ever hear of environment polluting? Doing this you waste precious
energy and thus pollute the environment... ;-)

This said while typing on your keyboard in the back of your familie's SUV,
you looking for a stable wifi connection to up this post on your way to
McDonalds to eat hamburgers and drink Coca cola, and then stop at the trash
dump to dispose of the 40# of clamshells, wrappings, plastic forks, many
unused ketsup packets, salt and pepper.... <s>

 

[SleeperMan]

This said while typing on your keyboard in the back of your familie's
SUV, you looking for a stable wifi connection to up this post on your
way to McDonalds to eat hamburgers and drink Coca cola, and then stop
at the trash dump to dispose of the 40# of clamshells, wrappings,
plastic forks, many unused ketsup packets, salt and pepper.... <s>

lol

 

[Ar Q]

I too am an Epson refugee, for all those reasons above and because I
emailed them about my print heads being inoperative after spending hours
cleaning etc, and no answer.
I figure, if my unit is always clogging up, drying up, printing badly and
then no answer, screw them, I'll try someone else.
I did my research and bought the iP3000.
I couldn't be happier.

Could you refill the ink for iP3000? Thanks

Ar Q

 

[measekite]

Could you refill the ink for iP3000? Thanks

Ar Q

Of course and depending what you use it could clog as well.

 

[Burt]

Again, I find myself agreeing with Measekite! Either I am slipping or he is
becoming more reasonable. Please excuse my repeating an old, long post as
we have someone with legitimate questions about printer maintenance and use
of third party inks.

Inkjet printers have the potential to get clogged heads with their own brand
inks as well as quality aftermarket inks. The two major issues are 1) the
quality of the aftermarket inks and cartridges and 2) the frequency with
which you print. In addition, there is always some buildup of dried ink on
the underside of printheads that can sometimes cause clogs with months or
years of normal, regular use. Since you are interested in your supplies
beyond just going to the store and buying Canon cartridges it would be a
good idea to become more educated regarding these printers, inks and
cartridges. Measekite is right that there are some poor quality inks out
there, but he is critical of all the vendors, small businesses that
repackage other brand inks and sell them with their own labels on the
internet, and he writes about them in a disparaging manner. Moreover, he has
never used these products and yet makes authoritative statements based on
what he has selectively gleaned from reading posts on newsgroups. Although
few of the vendors advertise which inks they are selling, you can call or
email them and ask, if you so desire. I have personally used MIS inks to
refill Canon carts and have been very happy with the product (which I have
been told is Image Specialist ink). Look through this newsgroup for posts by
many third party ink users, including Ron Cohen and Taliesyn, for info about
their personal excellent experiences with third party inks. Following are a
few sites that have excellent information by people who don't just give you
their opinionated response - they have used these products successfully, and
they also report when they have had problems. Neil Slade's info on Canon
printers, papers, and inks is at www.neilslade.com/papers/inkjetstuff .

Then follow the link he gives near the top of that site to
www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/ for the forum on ink jet stuff. Lots of
information there as well. It's a good idea to know how to trouble shoot
printer problems that can occur with any ink, OEM or third party, and that
information is on those sites. Sensient Formulabs inks are available bulk
and also in prefilled cartridges, and this ink has quite a good reputation
with people who have used it and reported on this and other forums. In
addition to the site often noted by Measekite (not a personal endorsement as
he has never used aftermarket inks) Formulabs ink is in cartridges sold by
Alotofthings (their Arrow carts, not Rainbow), Weink (carts that have the
CRU id in their product listings), and, I have been told, Wiredbeans carts
which are available on ebay. You can contact each of them to verify that
their cartridges are filled with Formulabs inks before purchasing. Do sign
in to the Nifty-stuff forum and ask any questions of them that you wish.
They are very helpful. There are also some extremely helpful participants on
this newsgroup as well. Read all info, both pro and con, and make up your
own mind. Don't be put off by rants and invective.

 

[measekite]

Again, I find myself agreeing with Measekite! Either I am slipping or he is
becoming more reasonable. Please excuse my repeating an old, long post as
we have someone with legitimate questions about printer maintenance and use
of third party inks.

Inkjet printers have the potential to get clogged heads with their own brand
inks as well as quality aftermarket inks. The two major issues are 1) the
quality of the aftermarket inks and cartridges and 2) the frequency with
which you print. In addition, there is always some buildup of dried ink on
the underside of printheads that can sometimes cause clogs with months or
years of normal, regular use. Since you are interested in your supplies
beyond just going to the store and buying Canon cartridges it would be a
good idea to become more educated regarding these printers, inks and
cartridges. Measekite is right that there are some poor quality inks out
there, but he is critical of all the vendors, small businesses that
repackage other brand inks and sell them with their own labels on the
internet, and he writes about them in a disparaging manner. Moreover, he has
never used these products and yet makes authoritative statements based on
what he has selectively gleaned from reading posts on newsgroups. Although
few of the vendors advertise which inks they are selling, you can call or
email them and ask, if you so desire.

Some will refurse to tell you.

I have personally used MIS inks to
refill Canon carts and have been very happy with the product (which I have
been told is Image Specialist ink). Look through this newsgroup for posts by
many third party ink users, including Ron Cohen and Taliesyn, for info about
their personal excellent experiences with third party inks. Following are a
few sites that have excellent information by people who don't just give you
their opinionated response - they have used these products successfully, and
they also report when they have had problems. Neil Slade's info on Canon
printers, papers, and inks is at www.neilslade.com/papers/inkjetstuff .

Then follow the link he gives near the top of that site to
www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/ for the forum on ink jet stuff. Lots of
information there as well. It's a good idea to know how to trouble shoot
printer problems that can occur with any ink, OEM or third party, and that
information is on those sites. Sensient Formulabs inks are available bulk
and also in prefilled cartridges, and this ink has quite a good reputation
with people who have used it and reported on this and other forums. In
addition to the site often noted by Measekite (not a personal endorsement as
he has never used aftermarket inks) Formulabs ink is in cartridges sold by
Alotofthings (their Arrow carts, not Rainbow),

alofotcrap is unprofessional. they did upgrade their website and now
has a webstore. they now have 2 webstores and charge different prices
on each

Weink (carts that have the
CRU id in their product listings),

WeStink is a hawker trying to screw you on price. Why buy a no name
prefilled ink cart for $7.00 when you can buy Canon OEM from Costco for
$9.00.

and, I have been told,


Wiredbeans carts
which are available on ebay.

Do not know much about them but I do not like the setup on eBay.

You can contact each of them to verify that
their cartridges are filled with Formulabs inks before purchasing.

Why should you have to contact anyone to find out what is in the box.
The box should be properly labeled and the webstore should properly in
writing tell you what you are buying.

Do sign
in to the Nifty-stuff forum and ask any questions of them that you wish.
They are very helpful. There are also some extremely helpful participants on
this newsgroup as well. Read all info, both pro and con, and make up your
own mind. Don't be put off by rants and invective.

I do read the info on those sites. As a matter of fact it was on
nifty-stuff that I learned that inkgrabber.com has had poor batches of
yellow ink that clogged print heads. And they did admit it also. Now
many people were scared when the next batch would be bad and what color
would be next.

We need government regulation of ink standards like we have of gas.
Plus a truth in labeling law. People should feel as comfortable in
buying aftermarket ink as they do in using generic drugs.

All the major OEMs need to do to weed out the hawkers and whores is to
low the cartridge price to $5.00. I believe they can afford to do this
and still make a profit.

 

[Ar Q]

Of course and depending what you use it could clog as well.

I saw Best Buy has a sale on Canon iP6000 this week. Do the good things you
said regarding iP3000 also apply to iP6000?
Thanks.

 

[measekite]

I saw Best Buy has a sale on Canon iP6000 this week. Do the good things you
said regarding iP3000 also apply to iP6000?
Thanks.

I would buy an IP4000 over the IP6000 unless you plan on printing and
editing without a computer. The IP 4000 will produce about the same
photo prints and substantially better business documents. Other than
the ability to do some minor editing without a computer there is no
other reason I can think of to get one.

Watch the sales at Fry's. About once a month they have the IP4000 $150
list with an instant store rebate of $30 and a Canon rebate of $20.00
netting the printer at $100.00. That is the best price I have seen them
for.

 

[Ar Q]

I saw Best Buy has a sale on Canon iP6000 this week. Do the good things
you

I would buy an IP4000 over the IP6000 unless you plan on printing and
editing without a computer. The IP 4000 will produce about the same
photo prints and substantially better business documents. Other than
the ability to do some minor editing without a computer there is no
other reason I can think of to get one.

Watch the sales at Fry's. About once a month they have the IP4000 $150
list with an instant store rebate of $30 and a Canon rebate of $20.00
netting the printer at $100.00. That is the best price I have seen them
for.

I saw this week OfficeMax has iP4000 on sale at $100 while Officedepot at
$110. By the way, after carefully studying the difference among Canon
printers, I found only iP4000 meet my need since my computer runs Win98 and
uses Parallel interface. Thanks again.

 

[Mapanari]

Could you refill the ink for iP3000? Thanks

Ar Q

One of the main reasons why I bought it. It's ridicously easy.

And if refilling is some boogerman-type of nono with you, I've found carts
on the net around $5.00 apiece, .000034 Euros to you! <s>

If I had to buy my carts in europe it would cost me $30 each using our
useless worthless, rapidly declining dollar.