Question re Canon iP1500

[zakezuke]

I would like to ask something - do you think Canon and Epson and HP are

all equally good printers?

See for your self

http://www.tomshardware.com/2004/10/25/in_living_color/page9.html

The HP DJ 8150 might be similar to the DeskJet 5940, they at least
share the same cartridges. With the 5940 you have the option to buy a
"99 photo cartridge" or use the regular #97, at least that's what a rag
said.

The epsons are still sold, the r220 has not changed.

But here is a brief lowdown

1. Epson -
- dye 6 tank printing
- pigment 4 tank or 6 tank printing
Their dye printers like the r200/r300 are not multi purpose
printers... expect text to cost more. Their cheap printers I find to be
fickle requiring manual head cleaning, and the head can not be removed.
Technicaly a longer lasting technology than what HP and Canon use.
The C series offers durabright pigment inks, quite good for text, quite
archival.
The R (800, 1800, 2400)series offers ultrachrome pigment inks, not as
archival from what i'm told, but beautiful. Not cheap.

All have aftermarket supplies.

2. HP
- 8150 and similar
Head on the cart type, optional photo cartridge and optional grey
cartridge. Slow to dry ink, but very archival on the right papers.
the Tri-color tank, while wasteful, isn't horrible in terms of cost per
print. Very good general purpose printer

Nice in the fact you can spend extra bucks to get extra spiffy photos
with smooth skintones, not so nice in the fact that their lower priced
models in this class only take two inktanks leaving one out to dry.

3. Canon
-ip3000/4000
Very good general purpose printer. Gets away with using only 4 colors
by using a very small drop size. Quite waterfast on canon's glossy
plus paper, and other microporous papers. Not so lightfast. Photos
tend to be a tad punchy for my taste... but still very good. Newer
Pixmas offer a smaller drop size, but no aftermarket supplies except
for bulk ink exist for those yet.

 

[Mary]

I have to tell you something. I phoned Canonn right now and you are
right they ask your problem and I told the guy about the pinkish tinge
on photos and about the waste absorber almost full message and he said
it was two different problems.
He said the color problem is probably due to the print head, and said
they would send me a printhead by courier in the next 3 days. Then said
when I get the printhead to try it and phone them back to get a
refurbished IP 1500 because the message "waste absorber almost full"
will keep coming up and eventually will overflow.
I asked if I need a refurbished printer anyway, why don't they just send
me the printer with the printhead in it in the first place rather than
two separate procedures, and he said they can't do that, that they need
to do it separately. I still can't figure out why. But he insisted I
have to do things a certain way. Seems strange to me to do two separate
things.

In the meantime, I found my receipt and the warranty with Canon is up on
Apr. 14, so the guy said we should be able to do things in time. He
wants me to fax the receipt from when I bought the printer and won't
matter if its tomorrow as they don't send out Puralator stuff tonight,
with my name and address and he gave me an order number. I have a fax
machine at home, but haven't had it long and didn't get time to figure
it out, so don't know how it works. If I can't figure it out, I can
probably use the one in the office of my apt. building tomorrow morning.

I knew that STaples would let you bring a printer too them even if under
first year and Canon has warranty on it and they will give you another
one, for I have done it and the guy said yesterdayjust to bring it in
and get another one, but maybe I should just get the print head and get
a refurbished printer.
I never knew about this Advanced warranty exchange as they call it. I
don't think the guy at Staples knows about it either or he would have
mentioned it. So you were right Zak.

Mary

 

[zakezuke]

He said the color problem is probably due to the print head, and said

they would send me a printhead by courier in the next 3 days. Then said
when I get the printhead to try it and phone them back to get a
refurbished IP 1500 because the message "waste absorber almost full"
will keep coming up and eventually will overflow.
I asked if I need a refurbished printer anyway, why don't they just send
me the printer with the printhead in it in the first place rather than
two separate procedures, and he said they can't do that, that they need
to do it separately. I still can't figure out why. But he insisted I
have to do things a certain way. Seems strange to me to do two separate
things.

Very simple.

1. If you can't get at your printhead, i.e. if it's stuck, you get a
new printer. same model
2. If you can get at the print cartridges... you get a new printhead
3. If you still have a problem, you get a referb printer without
printhead.

As you pointed out before, "how do they know it's the printhead, it
could be something else". Odds are if it's not printing quite right,
it's the printhead, so they just send it. If it's not that then they
replace the rest of it. This is cheaper than the service center as
anything will cost Canon $60.00 bucks plus parts.

Now it being odd not to replace your printer... well that's beurocrasy
for you, they only replace the printer if it's a full malfunction where
you can't replace the head on your own.

I knew that STaples would let you bring a printer too them even if under
first year and Canon has warranty on it and they will give you another
one, for I have done it and the guy said yesterdayjust to bring it in
and get another one, but maybe I should just get the print head and get
a refurbished printer.

The referb printer might disquality you from the staples warranty as it
would be under another serial number, and the full diaper can be
resolved with a screw driver I believe. That's entirely up to you.
But getting the head is a good thing esp since it would be a pain for
your to replace the ip1500 as it's no longer made, and there is not a
printer in the thimble sized cartridge class that doesn't use head on
the cartridge presently. While the cost per page on the ip1500 isn't
all that great... there is indeed worse out there.

I never knew about this Advanced warranty exchange as they call it. I
don't think the guy at Staples knows about it either or he would have
mentioned it.

Keep in mind that they are hip to selling extended warranties, which is
almost pointless for many products. Canon has a spiffy warranty
program... you usually get the option to get an advanced replacement or
the service center. Advanced replacements, for the most part, save
them money.

Also, Staples only deals with canon as a dealer. Consumers get
different treatment. It's up to the consumer whether to deal with the
store or to deal with Canon directly.

Epson is decent, though they didn't give me the option for an advanced
replacement, others did for some reason. I've never returned an HP so
I have no idea bout them.

 

[Mary]

Very simple.

1. If you can't get at your printhead, i.e. if it's stuck, you get a
new printer. same model

The rep knows I can get at the printhead and he says they will send a
new one, then I have to send the whole printer back with my old
printhead I presume.

2. If you can get at the print cartridges... you get a new printhead
3. If you still have a problem, you get a referb printer without
printhead.

If it had just been the printhead, I would have just got the print head.
but since I have the problem of the message about absorber almost
filled, that is why I will need to get a refurbished printer. I thought
that if I got the printhead replaced, I wouldn't get that message, not
realizing completely that that is a different problem.

As you pointed out before, "how do they know it's the printhead, it
could be something else". Odds are if it's not printing quite right,
it's the printhead, so they just send it. If it's not that then they
replace the rest of it. This is cheaper than the service center as
anything will cost Canon $60.00 bucks plus parts.

In that case I would have taken the printer back to STaples and got a
new one.

Now it being odd not to replace your printer... well that's beurocrasy
for you, they only replace the printer if it's a full malfunction where
you can't replace the head on your own.

But I told him I could replace and by not sending the refurb. printer,
it is more trouble for me, because I have to send the receipt , they
send the printhead, and its better if I stay home for the courier, as I
am in an apt. building and they have to buzz me from the lobby or they
leave a ticket in the lobby and I have to get it when I get home if I am
out and make arrangements to be home for them to re-deliver, then phone
them to say I got the printhead, then they send me the refurb. printer,
so have to be home again, and then I send back the old printer so have
to phone Puralotor to pick it up and be home again.

The referb printer might disquality you from the staples warranty as it
would be under another serial number,

That also occurred to me, and would wipe out my year of warranty with
STaples when I would have had another year and got a new printer.

and the full diaper can be
resolved with a screw driver I believe. That's entirely up to you.
But getting the head is a good thing esp since it would be a pain for
your to replace the ip1500 as it's no longer made, and there is not a
printer in the thimble sized cartridge class that doesn't use head on
the cartridge presently. While the cost per page on the ip1500 isn't
all that great... there is indeed worse out there.

Well, I am not sure if its good about getting the printhead and refurb
printer because of the STaples warranty which would be good for another
year and I could have just gone to the store and got a new printer. I
guess its too late now. the guy at Canon probably made arrangements for
me to send the printhead to me even though waiting for my fax with the
order number.

Keep in mind that they are hip to selling extended warranties, which is
almost pointless for many products.

I don't mind getting it for some things. for the printer for $10.00 I
think its worth it to get Staples warranty.

Canon has a spiffy warranty

program... you usually get the option to get an advanced replacement or
the service center. Advanced replacements, for the most part, save
them money.

Also, Staples only deals with canon as a dealer. Consumers get
different treatment. It's up to the consumer whether to deal with the
store or to deal with Canon directly.

It seems much easier for me to get a new printer and not all this
waiting for Puralator. It would be different if I only had the Canon
warranty. What I might do is phone the guy I know at Staples and ask him
if the refurb printer from Canon exempts me from Staples warranty. It
likely would I am guess, which isn't so good. I am not sure now what I
should do. Get the printhead and refurb printer or get a new printer. If
the guy at Canon has sent the printhead, its probably too late for me to
bother with Staples. I am not sure what to do.

 

[measekite]

NOW ANAL MARY IS JERKING ZOOK DA KOOK OF. BOY DOES SHE HAVE OCD. TAKE
A PILL

 

[measekite]

I have to tell you something. I phoned Canonn right now and you are
right they ask your problem and I told the guy about the pinkish tinge
on photos and about the waste absorber almost full message and he said
it was two different problems.
He said the color problem is probably due to the print head, and said
they would send me a printhead by courier in the next 3 days. Then said
when I get the printhead to try it and phone them back to get a
refurbished IP 1500 because the message "waste absorber almost full"
will keep coming up and eventually will overflow.
I asked if I need a refurbished printer anyway, why don't they just send
me the printer with the printhead in it in the first place rather than
two separate procedures, and he said they can't do that, that they need
to do it separately. I still can't figure out why. But he insisted I
have to do things a certain way. Seems strange to me to do two separate
things.

In the meantime, I found my receipt and the warranty with Canon is up on
Apr. 14, so the guy said we should be able to do things in time. He
wants me to fax the receipt from when I bought the printer and won't
matter if its tomorrow as they don't send out Puralator stuff tonight,
with my name and address and he gave me an order number. I have a fax
machine at home, but haven't had it long and didn't get time to figure
it out, so don't know how it works. If I can't figure it out, I can
probably use the one in the office of my apt. building tomorrow morning.

I knew that STaples would let you bring a printer too them even if under
first year and Canon has warranty on it and they will give you another
one, for I have done it and the guy said yesterdayjust to bring it in
and get another one, but maybe I should just get the print head and get
a refurbished printer.
I never knew about this Advanced warranty exchange as they call it. I
don't think the guy at Staples knows about it either or he would have
mentioned it. So you were right Zak.

Mary

OH NOW ANAL MARY IS CLLING DA JERK ZAK

HE IS MATT ZUKOWSKI

 

[Mary]

Now it being odd not to replace your printer... well that's beurocrasy
for you, they only replace the printer if it's a full malfunction where
you can't replace the head on your own.

But I told him I can replace it myself. He must know its a printhead you
can take out. He made it sound like some kind of Canon policy that they
can't send a part and send a refurb printer at the same time. But if
they send the whole thing it would come to the same thing. seems a waste
of time to send one thing when you know it needs a whole printer
replacement.

The referb printer might disquality you from the staples warranty as it
would be under another serial number, and the full diaper can be
resolved with a screw driver I believe. That's entirely up to you.

Do y ou mean I could fix the problem of the waste ink absorber myself? I
thought you can't see it by just looking into the printer?

Mary

 

[measekite]

But I told him I can replace it myself. He must know its a printhead you
can take out. He made it sound like some kind of Canon policy that they
can't send a part and send a refurb printer at the same time. But if
they send the whole thing it would come to the same thing. seems a waste
of time to send one thing when you know it needs a whole printer
replacement.

YOU ARE A WASTE OF TIME

YOU MUST BE AN OLD MAID

Do y ou mean I could fix the problem of the waste ink absorber myself?

DO IT ON YOUR CARPETS

HA HA HA HA

 

[zakezuke]

It seems much easier for me to get a new printer and not all this

waiting for Puralator. It would be different if I only had the Canon
warranty. What I might do is phone the guy I know at Staples and ask him
if the refurb printer from Canon exempts me from Staples warranty. It
likely would I am guess, which isn't so good. I am not sure now what I
should do. Get the printhead and refurb printer or get a new printer. If
the guy at Canon has sent the printhead, its probably too late for me to
bother with Staples. I am not sure what to do

I would get the printhead regardless. It's free and it's owed to you.
This will give you a printer that at least works.

This is where we likely differ in terms of personal preference, and I
don't know if you have another year on the printer under the staples
warranty.

I would not bother with the referb and go for the give me money tward a
printer that is cheaper per page. This will cost you $80 above and
beyond, but keep in mind that $80 comes with the equilivent of 2 more
refills than the ip1500 comes with. If talking the Staples brand,
that's $40 of extra ink $40 for a printer that is cheaper to operate.
You will see savings in under a year. Text will be 3c (canadian) per
page rather than what was it, 5cents per page assuming OEM 500 pages
vs 130pages per refill.

But you seem to enjoy the fact that the color and black tanks are
cheap, even if they are 1/3 the volume and not 1/3 the price. If you
wish to continue using a thimble sized black and a thimble sized
tri-color tank by all means get the referb unit. You will NOT be able
to buy this new, nor anything similar. It's a a choice between head on
the cart or not head on the cart, $50 printer that costs an arm and a
leg to operate or a $150 printer that's somewhat reasonable to operate
with a ton of compatables on the market, or your current printer with a
ton of compatables on the market.

 

[zakezuke]

Do y ou mean I could fix the problem of the waste ink absorber myself? I

thought you can't see it by just looking into the printer

The waste counter you can reset with the service tool QY9-0066 as Tony
explained. You can get it here
http://www.printersiam.com/data/download/iP1500 Service Tool.zip
http://www.printersiam.com/data/DOWNLOAD.HTM

There are also the following keystrokes
1. Turn off the printer. And disconnect the printer cable.
2. Press and hold the POWER button, turn on the printer.
3. The indicator (L.E.D.) should be green.
4. Press and release the RESUME button , the indicator (L.E.D.) should
be orange.
5. Press and release the RESUME button again, the indicator (L.E.D.)
should be green.
6. Release both buttons.

The diaper requires a screwdriver to replace, and a service manual
would be handy. All the free sites to get them are no longer offering
them, so you're left with the pay for the file bozos unless someone
else can walk you through it
http://www.2manuals.com/product_info.php?products_id=578

There is an e-mail address of someone else who might have it
http://forum.eserviceinfo.com/viewtopic.php?p=19280
But they might be another pay for a download bozo, I don't know.

 

[Mary]

I would get the printhead regardless. It's free and it's owed to you.
This will give you a printer that at least works.

If I get the printhead, they want me to phone them and get the refurb
since I told the guy that I get that message and he said the printer
needs to be replaced, not just the printhead, but will only send the
printhead first, then I phoned and tell them I got the printhead I
guess, and then they send the refurbished one and I have to send back
the old printer.

This is where we likely differ in terms of personal preference, and I
don't know if you have another year on the printer under the staples
warranty.

Yes, I have another year. First year was with Canon, second year which I
paid $10.00 for when I bought the printer is with Staples and the
printer would be replaced with a new printer if anything happened. If
its something under $200.00, Staples will give you a new printer and you
can choose any printer you want, if it costs more than $200.00 they
don't give you a new printer but send it for repair.. If you buy one
thats more money, you pay the difference.

The way it is, if I get the printhead, and get a refurb printer which
they have got me down to get, then the second year extended warranty
will never be used. And if the refurb one conks out in a month or two, I
don't know if Canon give any warranty. But might be too late now as I
have an order number from Canon and it sounded like he was going to
start arrangements with Puralator to send me the printhead, so maybe he
did that by now and has it arranged and they need my fax tomorrow just
for their records.

I would not bother with the referb and go for the give me money tward a
printer that is cheaper per page.

You probably print a lot more stuff than I do so more worth your while
to buy in bulk.
My needs are more spaced out.

This will cost you $80 above and
beyond, but keep in mind that $80 comes with the equilivent of 2 more
refills than the ip1500 comes with. If talking the Staples brand,
that's $40 of extra ink $40 for a printer that is cheaper to operate.
You will see savings in under a year. Text will be 3c (canadian) per
page rather than what was it, 5cents per page assuming OEM 500 pages
vs 130pages per refill.

What will cost me $80.00 above and beyond. A new printer?
With the ip1500, I can do a couple of months or more without buying
cartridges.

But you seem to enjoy the fact that the color and black tanks are
cheap, even if they are 1/3 the volume and not 1/3 the price.

Thats because to me it doesn't seem so bad to lay out a lot of money and
when the carts get low, I just don't print much, so the carts last me a
while. I think more about what I have to pay each time even though in
the long run it costs more. Its the same with everything you buy. The
more you buy the more you save. Each way of thinking has its own merits.
Depends on how you look at things.

If you
wish to continue using a thimble sized black and a thimble sized
tri-color tank by all means get the referb unit. You will NOT be able
to buy this new, nor anything similar. It's a a choice between head on
the cart or not head on the cart, $50 printer that costs an arm and a
leg to operate or a $150 printer that's somewhat reasonable to operate
with a ton of compatables on the market, or your current printer with a
ton of compatables on the market.

I will have to think about it and it might be too late anyway if the guy
went ahead with arrangements.

 

[Mary]

The waste counter you can reset with the service tool QY9-0066 as Tony
explained. You can get it here
http://www.printersiam.com/data/download/iP1500 Service Tool.zip
http://www.printersiam.com/data/DOWNLOAD.HTM

I got an attachment from Tony in my email which I haven't had time to
check out yet. It must be the one you mention above. From what Tony
said, I was under the impression it just stopped the message from
appearing on the screen but that the overflow problem is still there and
according to the guy at Canon, he said that eventually it won't just say
the waste ink absorber is almost full. it will say its full. He said the
only way to solve that is to replace the printer.
I don't think I want to go into service manuals.

Mary

 

[Burt]

I agree with Zakezuke that the wisest choice is to pay the additional amount
for an ip4000. I hadn't even thought about the fact that the new, factory
sealed ip4000 comes with OEM Canon ink that is worth around $70 US. As I
recall, the extra cost to Mary is about that much. She's really buying ink
and getting a far better printer in the bargain!!! The reality is that she
will nearly get the printer free the minute she accepts that deal as the
money out of pocket will be offset by the larger quantity of ink that the
ip4000 comes with. Although she would be given an ip1600 on warranty, the
ink costs downstream will be much higher than aftermarket carts for the
ip4000 - especially if she would buy a few sets in advance of needing them
on the internet to offset the mailing charge rather than buy just a few
carts at a time.

Each person looks at these issues through his/her own eyes. To my way of
thinking spending a bit more up front will pay off with considerable
savings, as well as a better printer, in the long run. It is difficult
for me to understand the insistance on staying with a tricolor cart when it
is absolutely obvious that the per page cost is higher than the five cart
printer and greater savings would flow to Mary long term with the ip4000.
In addition, the ip4000 comes with a mfgr one year warranty, so she doesn't
lose the year of warranty for the two guaranteed years of printer use she
originally purchased. She may even be able to buy an additional year of
extended warranty from Staples for the ip4000.

Another thing you might consider is that the new printhead that Canon will
send you for the ip1500 would probably be salable on ebay as long as you
don't install it and try it. Even if you have to give the printer back to
staples, you will have a new, unused print head to sell.

As far as the full waste ink tank issue is concerned, if she wants to keep
the ip1500, there is a person named Tony on this newsgoup who is a printer
repair person in New Zealand. He may be able to privately send her the code
sequence for resetting the printer. I've read that one reset works ok on
other Canon printers without replacing the absorbent pad. Try it too many
times and you will probably have ink dribbling out from the base of the
printer, but once will probably be OK. If I were absolutely committed to
keeping the ip1500 I would first try the reset. If it worked I would then
install the new printhead. If it doesn't work, plan B would be to either 1)
get the refurb from canon, 2) accept the ip1600 and suffer the higher cost
per page or 3) pay additionally for the ip4000 and save enough on
aftermarket carts (or in my case refilling) to compensate for the additional
cost up front.

 

[Burt]

I got an attachment from Tony in my email which I haven't had time to
check out yet. It must be the one you mention above. From what Tony
said, I was under the impression it just stopped the message from
appearing on the screen but that the overflow problem is still there and
according to the guy at Canon, he said that eventually it won't just say
the waste ink absorber is almost full. it will say its full. He said the
only way to solve that is to replace the printer.
I don't think I want to go into service manuals.

Mary

Mary - the printer doesn't actually measure the ink in the waste pad like a
gas guage in a car. It is just an estimate. From what I've read, one reset
won't create a problem.

 

[zakezuke]

But you seem to enjoy the fact that the color and black tanks are

Thats because to me it doesn't seem so bad to lay out a lot of money and
when the carts get low, I just don't print much, so the carts last me a
while. I think more about what I have to pay each time even though in
the long run it costs more. Its the same with everything you buy.

The difference here, the real difference is ink is used even if you
don't print anything. If you have no ink, you risk pre-mature head
burnout. That's the thing about this model, users who picked it like
the idea of only spending a few bills those rare times they need color
and go the rest of the time without, with only a 5ml buffer, which
disapears with automatic head cleanings.

This is NOT a good procedure on this printer. You would be wise, if
being froogle, filling the tank with index so it at least is purging
something rather than burning out.

This is probally why canon no longer offers the model, because people
do exactly this, don't print color, they don't buy color.

The
more you buy the more you save. Each way of thinking has its own merits.
Depends on how you look at things.

If you replaced the tanks 10 times, I'd wager you'd save $50 per year
on if you used OEM ink. I'm too lazy to calculate the aftermarket.
If you print less than 1500pages per year of black text, and no photos,
odds are you won't see savings in a year.

The service utility should tell you how many pages you've actually
printed so you can have some idea what your needs are.

 

[Mary]

I agree with Zakezuke that the wisest choice is to pay the additional amount
for an ip4000. I hadn't even thought about the fact that the new, factory
sealed ip4000 comes with OEM Canon ink that is worth around $70 US. As I
recall, the extra cost to Mary is about that much. She's really buying ink
and getting a far better printer in the bargain!!! The reality is that she
will nearly get the printer free the minute she accepts that deal as the
money out of pocket will be offset by the larger quantity of ink that the
ip4000 comes with. Although she would be given an ip1600 on warranty, the
ink costs downstream will be much higher than aftermarket carts for the
ip4000 - especially if she would buy a few sets in advance of needing them
on the internet to offset the mailing charge rather than buy just a few
carts at a time.

Each person looks at these issues through his/her own eyes. To my way of
thinking spending a bit more up front will pay off with considerable
savings, as well as a better printer, in the long run. It is difficult
for me to understand the insistance on staying with a tricolor cart when it
is absolutely obvious that the per page cost is higher than the five cart
printer and greater savings would flow to Mary long term with the ip4000.
In addition, the ip4000 comes with a mfgr one year warranty, so she doesn't
lose the year of warranty for the two guaranteed years of printer use she
originally purchased. She may even be able to buy an additional year of
extended warranty from Staples for the ip4000.

Another thing you might consider is that the new printhead that Canon will
send you for the ip1500 would probably be salable on ebay as long as you
don't install it and try it. Even if you have to give the printer back to
staples, you will have a new, unused print head to sell.

As far as the full waste ink tank issue is concerned, if she wants to keep
the ip1500, there is a person named Tony on this newsgoup who is a printer
repair person in New Zealand. He may be able to privately send her the code
sequence for resetting the printer. I've read that one reset works ok on
other Canon printers without replacing the absorbent pad. Try it too many
times and you will probably have ink dribbling out from the base of the
printer, but once will probably be OK. If I were absolutely committed to
keeping the ip1500 I would first try the reset.

Tony sent me something to my email address yesterday. He said it was a
utility to do with the absorber, but I havent installed it yet. I
thought from what he said (though I could be wrong) that it was only to
get rid of the message. I didn't know that resetting it had anything to
do with solving the absorbent pad problem. Zak's message mentioned a
tool and that you might need a service manual so I began to think that
would be beyond my skills.I don't know anything about printer service
manuals.

If it worked I would then

install the new printhead. If it doesn't work, plan B would be to either 1)
get the refurb from canon, 2) accept the ip1600 and suffer the higher cost
per page or 3) pay additionally for the ip4000 and save enough on
aftermarket carts (or in my case refilling) to compensate for the additional
cost up front.

That may be a good idea and is the middle road that still leaves some
options still open.. For now I think I will fax Canon tomorrow and let
them send me the printhead, but they said after I get the printhead that
I need to phone them to get a refurbished printer. They gave me an order
number. would that just be for the printhead only and not the refurb
printer. Can I just get the printhead and not bother to phone them to
get the refurbished printer?

Mary

 

[Mary]

Mary - the printer doesn't actually measure the ink in the waste pad like a
gas guage in a car.

Actually thats I thought it might be something like that.

It is just an estimate. From what I've read, one reset

won't create a problem.

I thought the reset was just to get rid of the onscreen message warning
you about the ink absorber being almost full. I know this may sound
stupid, but how can running a software utility lower ink levels?

Mary

 

[Mary]

The difference here, the real difference is ink is used even if you
don't print anything. If you have no ink, you risk pre-mature head
burnout. That's the thing about this model, users who picked it like
the idea of only spending a few bills those rare times they need color
and go the rest of the time without, with only a 5ml buffer, which
disapears with automatic head cleanings.

I have to agree.the cleanings do take a lot of ink.

I use it on a regular basis and wouldn't get dried up. I think I just
printed too many photos lately and maybe thats how it got clogged in the
first place, though it is probably more of an accumulation since I got
the printer. But I never went for a long time with no color printing..

This is NOT a good procedure on this printer. You would be wise, if
being froogle, filling the tank with index so it at least is purging
something rather than burning out.

Thats something else I hadn't heard of. You mean put windex in a
cartridge on the color end if you haven't used the carrtridge for a
while?

This is probally why canon no longer offers the model, because people
do exactly this, don't print color, they don't buy color.

I printed color, but maybe not everybody did. Its more of an all purpose
printer really but prints color photos ok though I am sure other
printers would print photos better. I thought it was ok.

If you replaced the tanks 10 times, I'd wager you'd save $50 per year
on if you used OEM ink. I'm too lazy to calculate the aftermarket.
If you print less than 1500pages per year of black text, and no photos,
odds are you won't see savings in a year.

I probably print more black text, but I print photos sometimes too and
when I do I sometimes print quite a few, then I might not do any for a
month or so, but still do color printing in the meantime..

The service utility should tell you how many pages you've actually
printed so you can have some idea what your needs are.

This service utility has got me wondering exactly how it works.
I think Burts idea is the best for me at the moment. Just get the
printhead for now and see if I can reset the absorber thing. If not,
don't bother with getting the refurb from Canon and I still have my year
with Staples to get a new printer. Also if I got a refurb from Canon, it
might not last long. I wonder if they give any warranty on a refurb
printer? you would think they have to give you something, even a short
time.

Mary

 

[Mary]

See for your self

http://www.tomshardware.com/2004/10/25/in_living_color/page9.html

Thanks for that information Zak. Boy, you guys are great !

Mary

The HP DJ 8150 might be similar to the DeskJet 5940, they at least
share the same cartridges. With the 5940 you have the option to buy a
"99 photo cartridge" or use the regular #97, at least that's what a rag
said.

The epsons are still sold, the r220 has not changed.

But here is a brief lowdown

1. Epson -
- dye 6 tank printing
- pigment 4 tank or 6 tank printing
Their dye printers like the r200/r300 are not multi purpose
printers... expect text to cost more. Their cheap printers I find to be
fickle requiring manual head cleaning, and the head can not be removed.
Technicaly a longer lasting technology than what HP and Canon use.
The C series offers durabright pigment inks, quite good for text, quite
archival.
The R (800, 1800, 2400)series offers ultrachrome pigment inks, not as
archival from what i'm told, but beautiful. Not cheap.

All have aftermarket supplies.

2. HP
- 8150 and similar
Head on the cart type, optional photo cartridge and optional grey
cartridge. Slow to dry ink, but very archival on the right papers.
the Tri-color tank, while wasteful, isn't horrible in terms of cost per
print. Very good general purpose printer

Nice in the fact you can spend extra bucks to get extra spiffy photos
with smooth skintones, not so nice in the fact that their lower priced
models in this class only take two inktanks leaving one out to dry.

3. Canon
-ip3000/4000
Very good general purpose printer. Gets away with using only 4 colors
by using a very small drop size. Quite waterfast on canon's glossy
plus paper, and other microporous papers. Not so lightfast. Photos
tend to be a tad punchy for my taste... but still very good. Newer
Pixmas offer a smaller drop size, but no aftermarket supplies except
for bulk ink exist for those yet.

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[Burt]

Actually thats I thought it might be something like that.

It is just an estimate. From what I've read, one reset

I thought the reset was just to get rid of the onscreen message warning
you about the ink absorber being almost full. I know this may sound
stupid, but how can running a software utility lower ink levels?

Mary

I've opened one printer that had what I expext was about the amount of use
yours does. It was a Canon bjc3000 that my wife used to print emails and
some web pages. There wasn't any liquid ink sitting in a "tank". Visualize
an absorbent pad that looks like a felt padding under a carpet. Ink that is
pulled through the printhead during the cleaning cycles ends up on the pad
in addition to a bit of overspray when printing borderless prints or from
having set the paper or image size incorrectly that results in ink being
sprayed into the printer instead of on paper. These inks are fast drying
and tend to dry up on the absorbent pads. Eventually the pad gets gunked up
and less absorbent. There is then the potential for liquid ink to sit at
the bottom of the printer and drip out when the printer is tipped. There
is a memory kept in the printer that keeps track of the number of pages
printed and number of cleaning cycles run, among other things. The printer
estimates the amount of ink going into the pad and signals that it is almost
"full", but that would make you think that it is like a glass of liquid that
is nearly full to the top and in danger of spilling over. At that point you
can keep printing, and you can also do a reset of the counting mechanism.
If you just keep printing or running cleaning cycles it will then tell you
that the waste ink tank is full and the printer stops working. At that
point you can not use the software reset, from what I've read. Apparently
these printers have a healthy margin of safety that permits at least one
reset without cleaning or replacing the pad. Especially with the kind of
intermittent use that you report, I would expect the ink that gets into the
pad area to have time to mostly evaporate and not stay as a liquid. To sum
it up, it would be most unusual for you have any liquid ink sitting in the
printer base at this point. The software reset doesn't alter the amount of
ink in the pad - it simply lets you continue to use the printer until the
counter decides that it should issue the next warning. It will think you
changed the pad when the reset is done, so this will give you approximately
the amount of time in the future that you've already enjoyed with your
printer.