This can be a time consuming process. My old printer which I had for years and used often, gave up the ghost. So I knew I needed a new printer. When you buy a printer there are a few things to consider.
If you hardly ever print, then by all means buy a cheap printer. Some are so much cheaper than replacing the inks, just chuck the printer and start over. That seems to be the way the world is going. On the other hand, if your like me, you don't want to pay a fortune in inks then you have two options. The first option is to have external ink wells attached to the outside of the printer. This containers you just open and pour a stock ink into. On the surface, this seems like a cheap alternative if you do a lot of printing...and if you do TONS of printing, AND OFTEN, then that is by all means, a good way to go. Depending on whether the printer was made that way, or was customized there is one thing I did find annoying when I had one. There is usually more tubing to lead the ink into the printer and I found I was always fiddling with it to get the ink to keep flowing. If you stopped for any length of time, likely depending on temp. conditions of the room, it would gel. This could be very annoying and either meant going to have it cleared it you couldn't do it yourself, or buying a new printer. The other option is the one I used. I always look up on line the cost of inks and/or generic inks for the printers I was looking at. I didn't care about the sale price if the thing cost me tens times as much in inks! There are sites on line you can google. I could buy all the inks for under twenty dollars if they were generic and not brand name. Oh yes, before I forget, try not to mix your inks. It may come with it, but as soon as it runs out the first time, that is the best time to switch over to the cheaper brand inks! And stick with them. Your printer heads will thank you. Also note, that sometimes the chip in the inks don't work. It may have nothing to do with your printer if you get an error and it doesn't necessarily have to be the cheaper ink cartridge to have this issue! Just take or send it back. A word about on line buying of inks. There are sites like 123 Ink Cartridges.ca and inkjet superstore.ca (I will put links at the end of this). Most of the generic inks come from the same sources so it doesn't matter who you buy from (for Canadians), and the freight price is mainly the same. If you have an order over a certain size, then shipping is less or free so I usually try to get others in on my order. Even if I have to pay a few dollars for shipping for a smaller order, I find it still less expensive than going to a stationary supply store like Staples and buying the brand name. Mainly, your just paying for the name! Also a word of caution. I wouldn't recommend purchasing electronic products except inks from these sites. I have not heard good things about customer service however in the ink department, they are great. Will email you a shipping label and you can return easily any faulty ink cartridges. And on another note, NEVER LET YOUR PRINTER GO UNUSED FOR TOO LONG. Not only do the heads plug up, but even when they are working, they are designed to send a strong shot of ink through to purge the unit and keep it clear. This builds up and will leave an error. I recently gave a friend my old Camon MX 850. He is into computer repairs so for the fun of it, he stripped it down, washed it in the tub, put it back together, and it works! It seems there is a soft sponge like material at one to absorb extra ink and it have become over saturated. Not everyone can do this, so I suggest using your printer from time to time. You don't have to be fanatical however just don't let it sit in a hot room for over a month unused. If you can do it more often, the better it will be for it just like keeping it in a cool place is good for it. I ended up buying another Canon printer since I have always had good luck with them. The Canon Pixma MX 920 series I found, some models, like my 922 have reasonable inks. Oh yes, look to see also if you can buy all the inks separately or if you have to buy them as a unit like it is with some printers. I often find I run out of one ink colour and not them all so I don't like to buy them as one unit. And lastly, if you intend to print off drafts like I do, you should check before buying your printer to be sure it prints both sides. Not every printer does. www.123ink.ca www.inkjetsuperstore.ca/c-5614-canon-ink-cartridges-ink-cartridges-pixma-mx922
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June 2024
AuthorArtist, Buddhist, Educator, Traveller, Cabinet Maker, kayaker, etc and now writer! |