Printer ink levels...

I have an HP photosmart all-in-one. I bought it this summer. I've used it maybe twice or three times tops. For some reason now my ink levels are really really low. Does the ink....evaporate or something after time? Or.... ?

 

Hmm, does it auto-clean periodically? It may use ink when it does that.

 

It's because printer companies (like HP) put kill switches in the cartridges to make them appear empty after a certain amount of time, even if their not. This is to prevent the "integrated plumbing" of newer printers from getting clogged by "expired ink".

Read more about it below (#5), more links in the article. Caution: language.
5 Ways Hi-Tech Retailers Are Secretly Screwing You | Cracked.com

I've had it happen to myself too and it stinks. I have a really old printer that I use semi-regularly at home and have had the cartridges for years. My roommate's one at school is less than a year old and is out of ink with less printing than the one at home. And ink isn't cheap, but there's not much you can do about it, and they know that.

 

if you can, go laser

Staples regularly has a HL-2140 Refurb for ~$30 after coupon.... It'll cost around 1 cent per page for B&W printing(3rd party toner replacements + HL-2140 cost amortized over the life of the device, 10000 pages before you have to replace the drum and most parts)

they don't dry up or expire like ink

 

I have a nice Cannon and it ran out of ink super fast too.

One reason is the over abundance of cleaning. About 10 years ago a printer would clean now and then.

Now this cannon will clean every time it is powered on if you turn it off and after every few print jobs and it uses more ink to clean than it uses to print several pages.

 

No, it doesn't auto-clean automatically.

I just might end up going laser, but I need. I'll think about it. Crazy thing is I can get a pretty great new printer for less than the cost of the ink.

Not only that, this bloody thing has FOUR ink cartridges. What happened to one black and one color?

There's gotta be a way to "hack" the cartridges. Because man, I've literally maybe only printed about 5 documents with this thing.

 

I don't even have a color printer. I use b/w laser only. If I need color I send it to Kinko's or whatever the hell it's called now. For photos to Walgreens. It's cheaper overall that way. A little inconvenient, but still a LOT cheaper than buying new ink every six months.

 

I'm going to try to run Greenp0ison on my ink cartridge. haha.
"Your ink cartridge is now FULL. You have pawned HP."
LOL

 

Well having four cartridges is supposed to be a "benefit" so that you only have to replace the cartridge that's empty instead of the whole thing when only one color has depleted.

When I had an inkjet I used to buy generic ink, but to be honest those didn't seem to have the same color saturation as the name brands. And would never seem to register ink levels in the software, so was also a pain in the butt. I think unless you use color all the time, it's not worth it to get an inkjet printer.

 

I had a business refilling toner and ink cartridges. The Ink printer is a major ripoff (5-10 cents worth of ink). I'd go Laser it has the lost cost per page and if you need color there are some nice color laser printers available.

 

Yeah color laser printers are available now fairly cheap. But then you're buying four toner cartridges and also a new drum unit for every toner for every 2-3 toner cartridges used?

 

the cartridges that come with new printers usually are "starter" cartridges. they come with less ink than "normal" cartridges that you buy off the shelf

for color, if you use it often enough(that the ink in your inkjet won't dry out), then of course inkjets make sense

otherwise, buy a B&W printer, send color printouts to kinkos or your library to print... it's more cost effective in the end, and it makes you think whether you really need color (color 4x6s, go to photo printer...

 

I have a Epson Artisan 810. Have owned it for over a year now..and it's been fantastic. The ink cartridges last a long time.

I had another Epson printer a few years ago. I made the mistake of putting "generic" ink refill cartridges in it, and they pretty much leaked inside the printer & ruined it. Because I used a generic brand of ink cartridge refills, it "voided" my warranty.

I contacted the B&M store where I bought their "brand" of ink cartridge refills & they agreed to refund me the amount I paid for my Epson printer.

 

also, those "ink indicators" sometimes don't work that well... it might say you need to replace cartridges, but they might be 50%