Thinking of a New Printer/Scanner Read this.

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Strange, but moved to yet another newer Epson this week and happy camper
for generations of Epsons. Yes, I've encountered the new printer that
had clogged heads, but after calling up Epson, going through their
diagnostic steps, and found that the print head was bad, they took every
step to make sure I got a working printer, shipped free, fast. (Same
has occured with a few Canon printers we've used as well.) It's really
not an issue -- most electronics test fine at the factory, but through
whatever happens during shipping, somewhere like 5-15% of these just go
bad for no good reason at all (or sometimes, because the shipper drop
kicked the box). It's a fact of life, and no matter what, no matter
what brand, you may simply wind up with a bad, new printer.

Thankfully, all of these companies have instant exchange programs, so
call them, go through their diagnostic steps, and if it's a problem, you
get a new one shipped to you for free.

Simple, quick, easy.

That said, all of the inkjet printers I've had that work fine, work fine
for years. So it may simply be how you maintain a printer. Keep it
clean, wipe off dust, cover it when not in use, feed it recommended
papers & inks, and you should discover, like most users, that it'll run
for years w/o a problem.

Of course, if you've spent $$$$ on a printer, you can always buy
extended warranties from the manufacturer of some brands for peace of
mind. Also, keep in mind that with new printers selling for <$50 after
rebates, that really isn't a concern - it's cheaper to buy a new printer
that has a new color and black cartridge than the cartridges for your
old printer alone! Just stock up on new printers instead of cartridges,
and sell, donate, or give away the old ones once they're out of ink. =P
 
Arthur said:
I don't disagree that Epson's design could probably be better to make
clogging less likely, but I also recognize, as do others, apparently,
that sometimes there are trade offs in going for one technology over
another.

It has been argued infinitum on this group why one printer is better
than another. Truth be told, better is a very subjective word. Cost
of running the printer, color accuracy, fade resistance, each of use,
ease of cartridge replacement, image resolution, paper choices, speed,
noise factor, and dozens of other things enter into the decision.

If every printer had similar specs across the board, chances are
eventually only one company would remain,
Click to expand...


Even after the shaekout, there are enough PCs and all of them have
similar specs.
which would be the one that produced the cheapest costing, cheapest
running and most reliable printer made. However, it was Epson's
introduction of a color printer with 720 dpi that shook up the inkjet
printer world. Until then, 150-300 dpi and large picolitre blobs of
ink were what other manufacturers were offering.

Epson, in spite of many flaws as a company as well as their products,
has often been the one to push the line in the sand forward, and they
have captured a specific market with their products. So have the
other manufacturers. I suspect that one will soon drop out of the
running,
Click to expand...

Why don't you say L....E...X...M...A...R...K! :-D
as people determine the quality isn't there, and the cost of the
nearly free printer is not worthwhile when the consumable costs come
into the equation.

For now, Epson's printers serve a valuable market niche. Personally,
I think if Epson were smart they would get out of the low end inkjet
printer market completely, and work on expanding the fine art and
photo image product market, but I can understand their reasons for
remaining with the low end stuff. It might be what allows them to
support the semi-pro and pro clientele.
Click to expand...


Printers that cost between stree price $100 and $200 are not what I
think are low end. The ones for $50 to $90 are. High end consumer are
around $250 to $600. Above that are professional printers.
 
I've said it before in this group...original ink costs are higher for
all print sizes here in Canada. Costs in the US are similar.

I don't believe it's practical to print your own photos at home unless
you only print a select few and don't mind the high cost of those few
prints.

If you intend to print dozens of photos, a lab is much cheaper, unless
you refill your ink cartridges.
Click to expand...

And I repeat, not in the UK.

--

Hecate - The Real One
(e-mail address removed)
Fashion: Buying things you don't need, with money
you don't have, to impress people you don't like...
 
What you say makes sense and has been my experience, in general with
printers... I do hope your prediction of 5-15% failures (for whatever
reason) is high. That could be enough to kill some companies,
considering the profit margin.

Art
 
printers... I do hope your prediction of 5-15% failures (for whatever
reason) is high. That could be enough to kill some companies,
considering the profit margin.
Click to expand...

I would guess and think that's about right given the large number of
refurbished units available for sale from the makers nowadays. I think
they all know these printers have a significant failure rate from the
start, so they protect themselves with a generous 1 year exchange
warranty (what other computer part comes with warrenties like this?
okay, hard drives....).

Anyways, that's a good point, too!

check out the refurbished section at www.epson.com and other sites -
you'll get the same nice all-in-one as you wanted + full 1 year
warranty, fresh set of cartridges and everything (like new), but cheaper
than retail.
 
As the old saying goes, if you have to dismantle it, you are doing in
wrong ;-)

More seriously, it is rare that a clog in an Epson printer requires any
dismantling, in fact, it is often a sign that the person doesn't know
what they are doing, and they may be asking for trouble.

This is an area I can speak of with just a bit of authority, having
helped over 5000 people deal with assorted Epson print quality issues,
the majority being temporary head clogging.
Click to expand...

So how do I clean my clogged Epson (cough cough Canon) printer?
Colors work. Black is completely out.
 
Cough, Cough (seems to be something going around) email me and ask for
the Epson Cleaning manual. I will send you a copy for free. No spam.

Art
 
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