Sporadic Use Printer

  • Thread starter Thread starter Monroe
  • Start date Start date
M

Monroe

After a tenuous relationship with another Lexmark printer, I've
decided to look at purchasing a new printer. Requirements are good to
excellent text and photos, but after thinking a bit, perhaps the most
important consideration is an inkjet that is less succeptible to
drying out due to sporadic use. The printers I use routinely go a
week, two or more w/o any use, then I may print off say 10 to 20
sheets. I'm accepting the problems with the heads drying out (in the
case of the Lex's, head/cartridge replacement necessary if usual
cleansing does not work. To those in the know, are any inkjet
printers less succeptible to drying out due to consistent random or
sporadic use?
 
Monroe said:
After a tenuous relationship with another Lexmark printer, I've
decided to look at purchasing a new printer. Requirements are good to
excellent text and photos, but after thinking a bit, perhaps the most
important consideration is an inkjet that is less succeptible to
drying out due to sporadic use. The printers I use routinely go a
week, two or more w/o any use, then I may print off say 10 to 20
sheets. I'm accepting the problems with the heads drying out (in the
case of the Lex's, head/cartridge replacement necessary if usual
cleansing does not work. To those in the know, are any inkjet
printers less succeptible to drying out due to consistent random or
sporadic use?
Click to expand...

Canon.
 
Monroe said:
After a tenuous relationship with another Lexmark printer, I've
decided to look at purchasing a new printer. Requirements are good to
excellent text and photos, but after thinking a bit, perhaps the most
important consideration is an inkjet that is less succeptible to
drying out due to sporadic use. The printers I use routinely go a
week, two or more w/o any use, then I may print off say 10 to 20
sheets. I'm accepting the problems with the heads drying out (in the
case of the Lex's, head/cartridge replacement necessary if usual
cleansing does not work. To those in the know, are any inkjet
printers less succeptible to drying out due to consistent random or
sporadic use?
Click to expand...


----

Al I can say is that my Epson 300 sits for two or three weeks without being
used,then produces excellent photo's. I use another Epson for text and less
important graphics, so the 300 really does have very little use. It's about
4 moths old and has been used for only a couple of hours in total - but just
worked perfectly when I ran a test print prior to answering your post.

I'm still using the original cartridges - have some non-genuine replacements
and it will be interesting to see whether they clog through lack of use.
 
You do NOT want an Epson under these circustances.

This is one of the rare times I'd probably recommend an HP since the heads
are in the cartridges.

However, my Canon i950 has sit for 2 months without clogging, but I use only
original Canon ink and RedRiver Paper.

-Larry
 
After a tenuous relationship with another Lexmark printer, I've
decided to look at purchasing a new printer. Requirements are good to
excellent text and photos, but after thinking a bit, perhaps the most
important consideration is an inkjet that is less succeptible to
drying out due to sporadic use. The printers I use routinely go a
week, two or more w/o any use, then I may print off say 10 to 20
sheets. I'm accepting the problems with the heads drying out (in the
case of the Lex's, head/cartridge replacement necessary if usual
cleansing does not work. To those in the know, are any inkjet
printers less succeptible to drying out due to consistent random or
sporadic use?
Click to expand...

I've personally never had any problems with my Lexmark (3200, uses the
#70, and #80 carts). My printing schedule is sporadic too, sometimes
printing 3 or 4 times a week, sometimes going up to a 4 months without
turning it on. The only issue I've encountered with it is that the
printer has to be on a perfectly level surface, with all feet
touching. When the thing's on even a 0.5 degree tilt in any direction
(one of the feet had gone off the edge of my printer table), the
cartridge would exhibit the same symptoms as a clogged up or empty ink
cartridge. Took a while for me to figure that out on my own, after
pitching what may have been a perfectly good cartridge.

I've even left my printer alone for a couple of 4 month stretches and
come back to it without a problem.

I would be warry of the Canons that use the BCI 24 cartridges though.
They seem to require at least a print session or 1 "head cleaning"
page every 2 weeks. The cartridges don't so much dry out as the ink
just congeals in the printhead, killing it. Attempts to flush it with
water, and isopropyl alcohol don't help. The ink in the cartridges
themselves remain fluid and likely useable, but by the time I'd have
used up the ink that came with the printhead, those carts would have
dried out. Only way to avoid it is to do a maintenance print every
couple of weeks or so. Canon tech support is reasonably good *under
warranty*. Once the warranty is up, that may be another story. I've
not dealt with Canon printers for about 2 years, but back then tech
support required a serial number, and if the warranty was up, they
wanted a credit card. Things may have improved since then though.
 
To those in the know, are any inkjet printers less succeptible to drying
out due to consistent random or sporadic use?
Click to expand...

Consider the environment the printer is kept in before blaming the
manufacturer. Any inkjet printer is liable to drying out in a dry
atmosphere.

Jon.
 
Back
Top