Comments: To print or not to print

I've got a kyocera which is good

Posted by Debster on 9 May, 2022 at 1:07 PM

Is that a laser printer Debster?

I've just been reading up on Ecotank inkjet models and they seem to have short lifespans due to doing lots of auto-cleaning and the waste ink pads getting full quickly. The cheaper models also don't have flash drive slots, and can't print on card, and the inks fade quickly and run if they get damp. Plus the worst printer I ever had was an Epson...

Posted by Blue Witch on 9 May, 2022 at 1:15 PM

Not only has the cost of genuine HP inkjet cartridges increased they seem to have done so whilst the amount of ink seems to have shrunk.

I have been using Stinky Ink replacement cartridges for some time and despite HPs warning messages about using the wrong cartridges I find work fine And at £4-99 for a black ink cartridge a big saving over HP one ( best I remember seeing was a 4 pack of black ink cartridges for £75=)

Posted by Ray on 9 May, 2022 at 2:43 PM

I've got an HP printer, bought at the start of lockdown. It's an Envy 5010 and so far it's coped well with the demands placed on it by full-time working-from-home plus various quantities of school-from-home. It's wireless and very occasionally my work laptop (also an HP, funnily enough) finds the printer a nanosecond slower than it's expecting for acknowledging an incoming print job and ping a momentary error message, but mostly it's good - it prints wirelessly from iPhones, iPads (new and ancient), MacBooks (Air and ancient) and Windows laptops. I went for their ink subscription as it came free for three months; now I pay £2 a month for up to fifty pages, and they just send ink when the printer registers as low. It's a very lazy option but I can't fault it thus far, despite being deeply suspicious!

Posted by Tamsin on 9 May, 2022 at 3:25 PM

Forgot to add, returning the used cartridges for recycling is done via pre-paid envelope; you can send I think six at one go, and again so far problem-free.

Posted by Tamsin on 9 May, 2022 at 3:27 PM

I have an HP Envy that is wireless. Very occasionally it will act up but it usually works if I do the unplug, wait , plug back into wall outlet thing. Ink is expensive however the local Target store has best price and uses recycled cartridges.

Posted by Martina on 9 May, 2022 at 9:39 PM

I think the HP printer fan club may be a bit like the Apple fan club...

When we bought the current printers, they were the cheapest inkjet to run, per page, for high usage, and on electricity usage (many printers use a lot of electricity on standby), it's just the cost of ink now and waste of plastic that I want to get away from.

Ray and Martina - when you use refilled HP cartridges, how do you get round the printer identifying a non-HP cartridge and refusing to work? Every firmware update seems to close any loopholes people have found.

Tamsin - I request free recycling envelopes from the HP website, but the return address is in France. Are yours the same? Sending heavy plastic used cartridges through the post to France doesn't seem ideal to me, and no ink company wants/buys these particular used cartridges for refilling.

Posted by Blue Witch on 10 May, 2022 at 7:29 AM

I also have an HP (for no reason other than it being the cheapest at the time). I also use stinky ink for replacement refilled cartridges. I have never had any problems with the cartridge not being recognised. Also, stinky ink have a 12 month return policy on cartridges not working

Posted by Sarah on 10 May, 2022 at 8:41 AM

Yes, return address also France for us, but if they're happy to take them I'm happy to send, not least as I haven't seen local options; I think Tesco used to have a recyling bin for printer cartridges, but like their plastic packaging recycling option these seem to have achieved mythical status now. Using their ink subscription seems to me to do away with the expensive nature of the cartridges - it costs me about £25 a year to run the printer based on 600 pages of printing, and there are cheaper options for those who print more as they charge less per page the more you have, IYSWIM. But to be honest I'd just reached the point where simple was good!

Posted by Tamsin on 10 May, 2022 at 2:22 PM

I have an HP colour laser printer, and an Epson A3 inkjet. I don't use Epson cartridges though, I get very cheap ones from FirstCallInks; they give excellent results.

Posted by Tim W on 11 May, 2022 at 7:20 AM

As the joke goes, Rage Against The Machine never specified what machine it was, but it's probably a wireless printer.

You say you've tried reloading the printer driver; have you tried deleting the printer from Windows and adding it as if it were a new one? Other than that, I've got nothing other than to suggest connecting the cursed thing to the network with a cable.

I too won't be buying another hp printer after mine decided that the nearly full toner cartridges weren't there at all, and HP support decided that as the printer was more than 3 years old that this wasn't something they wished to engage with. I wonder if one can put other things in their free cartridge recycling envelopes

Posted by Ian on 11 May, 2022 at 8:22 AM

... although if you have the space, I picked up a huge used office spec Colour LaserJet, complete with part used toner for about a hundred quid off eBay, and because it's designed for office print volumes, it lasted for years.

Posted by Ian on 11 May, 2022 at 8:32 AM

HP 953XL catridges (set of 4) from StinkyInk £141.10, £73.60 for their compatibles, which adds to my theory that HP put up the price of cartridges on older machines to force people to buy new printers - also borne out by what Ian describes from HP Support's attitude to a machine older than 3 years. Compatibles are then priced against the HP originals which pushes their prices up too.

However, FirstCallInks sell the individual cartridges for £14.99 each. Thanks Tim, I hadn't heard of them and £60 a set is a more reasonable price, so, when I have used the 3 sets I have in stock (for 2 machines, never be without a spare spare as I found out on a Sunday back in the late 1990s when I ran out of ink and my spare cartridge was faulty, the night before I had to hand in an important document first thing on Monday morning), I will try them.

The Epson EcoTank inks are (comparatively) cheap enough, and I don't think compatibles are available, but it's just the poor fade resistance and tendency to run when something gets even slightly damp that was described in various of the reviews.

Posted by Blue Witch on 11 May, 2022 at 8:57 AM

Ian - I hadn't deleted the printer and then put it on again, I will try that, thanks for the idea.

Posted by Blue Witch on 11 May, 2022 at 8:59 AM

Yes it's a laser. The prints are waterproof which the inkjet ones aren't

Posted by Debster on 11 May, 2022 at 2:00 PM

Ian - after 3 attempts it finally worked, I can print again, thank you for the idea.

Debster - the HP ink in the 953 cartridges is definitely waterproof (we use it for honey labels, and for signs, hence why it has to be). But, out of interest, for future reference, for when replacement time eventually comes, to give options, which model number do you have please?

Posted by Blue Witch on 11 May, 2022 at 2:11 PM

In answer to your question BW, never had a problem with machine recognizing cartridge. I think the cartridge case is an HP one and that the reuse company somehow gets the empty returned ones and reloads them with ink. They come with a seal/tape to remove before install just like new HP ones.did get one no ink cartridge but called the company and they sent a new one at no charge,as proper businesses should do.

Posted by Martina on 11 May, 2022 at 8:53 PM

It's an ecosys. I'm away at the moment but eMail me as I'll never remember.

Posted by Debster on 15 May, 2022 at 11:14 PM