problem:epson printer/black & colour cartridges???

[ML]

I have a low-end Epson printer.
I have completely used up all colour ink and now there's a red "X" over the
ink level picture in the >Printer>Preferences.
I'd like to keep this printer for printing text docs as there is about 30%
black ink still left.

I want to know if there is a way to continue printing with only black ink.
I have tried clicking "Black Ink Only" but I still can't print.
The printer driver obviously wants me to buy another colour cartridge before
I can do ANY printing.

Is there any hope other than getting another colour cartridge as I am
considering purchasing a new printer, NOT necessarily EPSON either...

MJL

 

[Larry Lynch]

I have a low-end Epson printer.
I have completely used up all colour ink and now there's a red "X" over the
ink level picture in the >Printer>Preferences.
I'd like to keep this printer for printing text docs as there is about 30%
black ink still left.

I want to know if there is a way to continue printing with only black ink.
I have tried clicking "Black Ink Only" but I still can't print.
The printer driver obviously wants me to buy another colour cartridge before
I can do ANY printing.

Is there any hope other than getting another colour cartridge as I am
considering purchasing a new printer, NOT necessarily EPSON either...

MJL

Epson printers refuse to print when the driver says it
out of any color.

This is built in to prevent you from running the print
head dry. If it ever gets completely empty of any
color, the chances of it printing that color ever again
get pretty bad.

Not a good feature, not a bad feature, Its just the way
Epson protects the print head. Epson has been doing this
for a long time.

 

[Mary]

Epson printers refuse to print when the driver says it
out of any color.

This is built in to prevent you from running the print
head dry. If it ever gets completely empty of any
color, the chances of it printing that color ever again
get pretty bad.

Not a good feature, not a bad feature, Its just the way
Epson protects the print head. Epson has been doing this
for a long time.

Hi: I recently bought an Epson C64 which is new Epson Model, and all three
colors and a black cartridge ae in separate cartridges. Epson advertise this
feature as saving you money, but I
am not completely convinced about that yet. Since black is the color used
the most, I only have about quarter of black ink left, but a little more
than half of each of the other three colors. I think
all the cartridges have their own printhead.
I think that with my model of Epson printer, when any color runs out, the
printer probably won't
print at all, even if there is black ink left, which is to force you to buy
a new cartridge of whatever color is empty. I often print in black only and
even if a color is empty, I would have liked to have the option to print in
black only.

Mary

 

[Ayaz Ahmed Khan]

"ML" typed:

I have a low-end Epson printer.
I have completely used up all colour ink and now there's a red "X"
over the ink level picture in the >Printer>Preferences. I'd like to
keep this printer for printing text docs as there is about 30% black
ink still left.

I want to know if there is a way to continue printing with only
black ink. I have tried clicking "Black Ink Only" but I still can't
print. The printer driver obviously wants me to buy another colour
cartridge before I can do ANY printing.

With my ESC 480, I used to run the ink-cartridge replacement utility
without actually replacing the cartridge. It would charge-up the
cartridge, and the ink levels would, eventually, appear to be full.

My ESC 480 is, sadly, dead now, lying in one corner unattended.

 

[phucaduck]

Epson printers won't print if a cartridge is empty. Epson says that
the print heads will be damaged by air bubbles, so the printer shuts
off printing if one cartridge is empty (or close to it).

 

[Larry Lynch]

@twister01.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com>, not-
(e-mail address removed) says...

Hi: I recently bought an Epson C64 which is new Epson Model, and all three
colors and a black cartridge ae in separate cartridges. Epson advertise this
feature as saving you money, but I
am not completely convinced about that yet. Since black is the color used
the most, I only have about quarter of black ink left, but a little more
than half of each of the other three colors. I think
all the cartridges have their own printhead.
I think that with my model of Epson printer, when any color runs out, the
printer probably won't
print at all, even if there is black ink left, which is to force you to buy
a new cartridge of whatever color is empty. I often print in black only and
even if a color is empty, I would have liked to have the option to print in
black only.

Mary

It WOULD be nice if an Epson would work that way
(letting you use only one color) but they don't, neither
does Lexmark. Canon on the other hand, will let you go
right ahead and destroy your print-head if you wish.
(they dont stop printing AFAIK, they just tell you what
tank is empty)

Truth of the matter is, you bought a color ink-jet
printer, and they use up the consumables rather quickly.
Its not a conspiracy, its the rules of the game... You
want to print pretty color pictures, you need to buy the
ink.

There are some third party cartridges for Epson that are
very inexpensive and work well, there are also third
party inks that will destroy your printer. I recommend
www.inksupply.com (MIS Assosiates) for printer suplies
for Canon, Epson,& HP. I have several years of
experience re-filling those brands of printer, with MIS
inks (or using cartridges supplied by MIS for Epsons
that I dont re-fill)

If you have a great percentage of your documents that
ONLY require black, you need to get a Laser-printer.
Dont buy a cheap one though, as the consumables on those
babies are VERY expensive.

Expect to spend over $300 (US) for a laser that will
have less expensive consumables. The $200, and $149.99
Lasers all have cartridges that cost more than half the
price of the printer ($75 -$100).

The $300 to $400 range of HP Laser Jet use cartridges
that cost around $50 - $60.

There are no free rides on the printer train.

 

[Gary Tait]

Hi: I recently bought an Epson C64 which is new Epson Model, and all three
colors and a black cartridge ae in separate cartridges. Epson advertise this
feature as saving you money,

It does, in the sense you will be replacing one empty cartridge,
instead of a three or more color one that has some ink in the other
colors when one goes.

but I
am not completely convinced about that yet. Since black is the color used
the most, I only have about quarter of black ink left, but a little more
than half of each of the other three colors. I think
all the cartridges have their own printhead.

Not for current Epsons. Only HP and Lexmark (of the big 4 anyway), use
printheads built into the cartridge.

 

[tomcas]

You don't say what model you have but if it uses cartridges that are not
chipped, as in the 640,740, 880 models, then you can fake it out in a
pinch. However be forewarned as Larry has said, it's preventing you from
printing for your own good. I too am a fan of MIS supply ink but for my
cheap epsons I've had very good luck over the years with Voltexx.com .
At $4 for black and $5 for color, there really isn't any reason not to keep
several on hand.

 

[Mary]

@twister01.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com>, not-
(e-mail address removed) says...

It WOULD be nice if an Epson would work that way
(letting you use only one color) but they don't, neither
does Lexmark. Canon on the other hand, will let you go
right ahead and destroy your print-head if you wish.
(they dont stop printing AFAIK, they just tell you what
tank is empty)

I have a Canon 2100 which I have been using for the past couple of years,
but in my last post, I mentioned that the printhead was gone on the black
and color printholder and was going to cost me $70.00 Can. to get a new one,
so thats why I bought the Epson which was cheaper than the Canon printhead,
but for all I know, it could cost me more in cartridge expenses. All of the
time with the Canon, the black ink would run out first and you need black
ink even for colored pictures. With the Canon 2100, there is no way to know
if the cartridge is empty. You just have to guess by shaking it. The only
utilities it has , are for head cleaning and roller cleaning.

Truth of the matter is, you bought a color ink-jet
printer, and they use up the consumables rather quickly.
Its not a conspiracy, its the rules of the game... You
want to print pretty color pictures, you need to buy the
ink.

Actually, I hardly ever print color pictures and on the box of the Epson 64
it says "high speed performance for everyday text and color printing". I
bought it at Staples and I don't have a lot of money to spend for a printer
(Christmas spending) so the Epson 64 and Canon i350 were both on sale, so I
chose the Epson 64 as it was a bit cheaper. Both of them were supposed to be
All purpose printers. Most printers that I saw, all say either All purpose
printing, or focus on photo printing. I do mostly plain text and thats why
the black cartridge is empty and I won't be getting another one till I can
get compatible cartridges which are not out yet for the Epson 64.

There are some third party cartridges for Epson that are
very inexpensive and work well, there are also third
party inks that will destroy your printer. I recommend
www.inksupply.com (MIS Assosiates) for printer suplies
for Canon, Epson,& HP. I have several years of
experience re-filling those brands of printer, with MIS
inks (or using cartridges supplied by MIS for Epsons
that I dont re-fill)

I am in Canada, and there are a few online compatible ink refillers, but I
found Island Inkjet which is a company which sells online, plus they have
small stores in some malls and they have a few stores in Toronto where I am
located, and one not that far from me, so I got my black only Canon refilled
there a few days ago for half the price of Canons own brand, so I will have
to see how it goes.

If you have a great percentage of your documents that
ONLY require black, you need to get a Laser-printer.
Dont buy a cheap one though, as the consumables on those
babies are VERY expensive.

Since I just bought the Epson 64 Inkjet printer a few weeks ago, it will be
a whilke before I buy another printer of any kind.

Expect to spend over $300 (US) for a laser that will
have less expensive consumables. The $200, and $149.99
Lasers all have cartridges that cost more than half the
price of the printer ($75 -$100).

The $300 to $400 range of HP Laser Jet use cartridges
that cost around $50 - $60.

There are no free rides on the printer train.

Price of printers are not the problem - but make that "cartridge train".

Mary

 

[Mary]

It does, in the sense you will be replacing one empty cartridge,
instead of a three or more color one that has some ink in the other
colors when one goes.


Not for current Epsons. Only HP and Lexmark (of the big 4 anyway), use
printheads built into the cartridge.

Does that apply to the new Epson C64 as well? I probably need some education
here about cartridges, but isn't the small circuit board at the bottom of
the cartridge a printhead? or is the printhead something else?

Also, I would like to know, when people talk about "resetter", what exactly
is a resetter? Also, the other day when I got my Canon cartridge refilled at
Island Inkjet who are a Canadian company but have stores in the US as well
where they refill your cartridges while you wait, or they sell compatible
cartrdiges also, the guy there said they don't have the ink yet for my Epson
64. So I said, I thought black ink was black ink and he said no, there are
different shades of black ink so it takes us a couple of months to get the
ink. I am curious to know, how can those ink refill companies get the
correct kind of ink when the printer manufacturers want you to buy the
manufacturers cartridges, and don't want people to be able to buy from the
refill cartridge companies?

Mary

 

[Gary Tait]

Does that apply to the new Epson C64 as well? I probably need some education
here about cartridges, but isn't the small circuit board at the bottom of
the cartridge a printhead? or is the printhead something else?

No, that PCB is where the "chip" resides. The head is the asssembly
the cartridge fits into, had has an array of nozzles that sqirt ink
onto the paper.

Also, I would like to know, when people talk about "resetter", what exactly
is a resetter?

It is a device that sets the above mentioned chip to it's "full"
state.

Also, the other day when I got my Canon cartridge refilled at
Island Inkjet who are a Canadian company but have stores in the US as well
where they refill your cartridges while you wait, or they sell compatible
cartrdiges also, the guy there said they don't have the ink yet for my Epson
64. So I said, I thought black ink was black ink and he said no, there are
different shades of black ink so it takes us a couple of months to get the
ink. I am curious to know, how can those ink refill companies get the
correct kind of ink when the printer manufacturers want you to buy the
manufacturers cartridges, and don't want people to be able to buy from the
refill cartridge companies?

They manufacture a compatible ink. They have to get the correct ink to
match the original chemistry and colour/tone of the original ink, to
give consistant results and minimise possible damage to the printer
lesser quality and matched inks may.

 

[Mary]

No, that PCB is where the "chip" resides. The head is the asssembly
the cartridge fits into, had has an array of nozzles that sqirt ink
onto the paper.

Oh, OK. I guess the printhead is the place where you put all the cartridges
into? With my Canon 2100, the printhead is on the bottom of the holder which
held the a multi color and one black cartridge. Or you can use the all black
cartridge like I got refilled the other day and has its own printhead, which
locks into place on the printer. But both those printheads can be taken out
of the printer and are not part of the printer. I thought the Epson
printhead worked the same - but maybe not. Is the printhead for the Epson
C64 the part of the printer where you put all 4 cartridges into? If that is
the case, and that printhead goes, the printer would have to be taken to a
repair shop and replaced. The printhead cannot be taken out as in the case
of the Canon I have? Is that correct?

It is a device that sets the above mentioned chip to it's "full"
state.

Oh, OK.

They manufacture a compatible ink. They have to get the correct ink to
match the original chemistry and colour/tone of the original ink, to
give consistant results and minimise possible damage to the printer
lesser quality and matched inks may.

Yes, that is logical - but how do the ink refillers manage to do that?
Or is that the $64,000 secret question?

Mary

 

[ML]

RESETTER/DAMAGE - OUT OF SYNCH...

I wouldn't do this but - is it possible to fittle with the restter chip
(maybe for home refilling of ink) and damage the print head due to the
driver thinking there is ink when it there is actually none?

I've often thought about this - having the driver's ink level and actual ink
level out-of-synch...

 

[Safetymom123]

Epson print heads are permanent, where the Canon heads are semi permanent.
You shouldn't have to replace a head on the Epson.

 

[Larry Lynch]

@news01.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com>, not-
(e-mail address removed) says...

Price of printers are not the problem - but make that "cartridge train".

Mary

Yeah! thats pretty much the problem!!!

I have a friend who bought a Lexmark Laser printer for
$149 (US) and the first time he had to get a toner
cartridge it cost him $109... Thats not economy...

I have an old Panasonic Laser printer that cost $900 a
few years back.. The toner for it is $24 a pop! (5000
pages) after 10 toner refills it usually needs a new
drum ($100)... That is economy.

 

[Mary]

Epson print heads are permanent, where the Canon heads are semi permanent.
You shouldn't have to replace a head on the Epson.

OK, but are the Epson print heads part of the printer? Canon print heads are
in the print holder thing you buy separately from the store. Thats what all
the Canon reps that I have ever spoken to, told me when I phoned them when I
had trouble with my printer not printing properly. The rep told me that the
printhead for my Canon printer at least, needs to be replaced every two
years. They then told me I probably needed to buy a new printhead.The
printhead comes with two ink cartridges enclosed in it - one black and one
consisting of the three colors. That goes into the printer and a small lever
locks it in place. I guess the Epson printhead of the new one I have, is
built into the printer and doesn't come separately as with my Canon.

Mary

 

[Mary]

@news01.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com>, not-
(e-mail address removed) says...

Yeah! thats pretty much the problem!!!

I have a friend who bought a Lexmark Laser printer for
$149 (US) and the first time he had to get a toner
cartridge it cost him $109... Thats not economy...

No, its not economy - its a ripoff. When I was looking around for a printer
recently, I told the guy at Staples don't sell me a printer that is going to
cost me a fortune in cartridges. I can't afford it, and not only that, its a
rip off. In fact before I even bought my printer, I looked at the price of
cartridges first. That gives you a bit of an idea. So the guy at Staples
(who I kind of know from previous dealings)
and where I had bought my Canon a couple of years ago told me Lexmark and
Hewlett Packard have the most expensive cartridges, though maybe they are
not too bad if you got your cartridge refilled by a refiller or bought a
compatible cartridge from Staples. Staples and Future shop here both have
compatible cartridges for most makes, and they are half the price of the
name brand cartridges.
I don't mind the manufacturers wanting to recoup some of their losses on
printer prices, but they overkill on their cartridge prices and want you to
keep the printer for a couple of years, then get fed up and buy another
printer, because its cheaper, in the hopes you will buy their brand.
As far as I've seen and from people I have talked to (regarding inkjet
printers) , the cheapest cartridges are Canon, then next is Epson and the
rest are more expensive. If you had to buy the name brand cartridges, you
would pay twice the price of the printer in about two months, which is
exactly what happened to your friend. Manufacturers of printers should not
be allowed to scam people on cartridge prices which is what it amounts to.
All they have done, is created a lucrative market for ink refillers. I
shouldn't have started on this

I have an old Panasonic Laser printer that cost $900 a
few years back.. The toner for it is $24 a pop! (5000
pages) after 10 toner refills it usually needs a new
drum ($100)... That is economy.

Well, if you need a laser printer, its about par I guess. But for myself who
doesn't print all that much and when I do, its mainly black text and now and
then some family photos, a cheap price Epson inkjet printer should be ok if
I can get it refilled, or buy compatible cartridges which is what I intended
to do all along. I will never buy name brand cartridges.

Mary

 

[Ototin]

@news01.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com>, not-
(e-mail address removed) says...

Yeah! thats pretty much the problem!!!

I have a friend who bought a Lexmark Laser printer for
$149 (US) and the first time he had to get a toner
cartridge it cost him $109... Thats not economy...

I have an old Panasonic Laser printer that cost $900 a
few years back.. The toner for it is $24 a pop! (5000
pages) after 10 toner refills it usually needs a new
drum ($100)... That is economy.

The "toner" cartridge for the Lexmark printer should be called the
imaging cartridge which includes the photoconductor drum and toner. In
order to do a proper comparison you must find out how many pages the
Lexmark imaging cartridge will print out.

 

[Safetymom123]

Epson print heads are built into the printer. They are not user removable.
Some have done it but there is a calibration utility that most do not have.

 

[Larry Lynch]

The "toner" cartridge for the Lexmark printer should be called the
imaging cartridge which includes the photoconductor drum and toner. In
order to do a proper comparison you must find out how many pages the
Lexmark imaging cartridge will print out.

The owner tells me "about 2000 pages"

I have an Epson Action Laser 1000 (an "oldy") which
requires a $160 cartridge, but it lasts > 6000 pages.