Does HP ink magically deplete?

captaink

I got a new HP printer a few months ago, after my old one apparently bricked itself.

I have printed out maybe 50 pages since. Now it's telling me my black ink is low.

Is it just lying to me? My old one did this too. Despite very low usage, it was regularly running out of ink.

Greenish

Ink like that starts to dry up after a few weeks if you don't use it. Its lame but there are a few things you can try. Run the Cleaning utility that should be under a tab in the printer's properties or in the HP start menu folder. Another thing that I can get to work sometimes is to get an old rag or a paper towel and wet it with hot water then rest the head of the cartridge on the rag for 15-20 minutes.

captaink

That was my other fear.

Is there a good test image or something to print every week or two to keep things from getting dried out.

Greenish

I just print out the test page under the printer's properties, it prints enough black and color to keep the ink flowing.

captaink

Awesome, thanks.

Bowen

If you can, in the future, get a laser printer. Toner tends to last a hell of a lot longer than ink.

I mean you look at the page yield from toner it's about 2,000 pages, you look at ink it's 30,000 ish. But in practicality the ink will last you a ream maybe.

ryjasen

Also keep in mind if it's the ink cartridges that came with the unit, they're typically half the capacity of the ones you purchase new in store, one of the ways they market those ink jets so cheap because they know you're going to be out spending $30 on a cartridge shortly after the initial purchase.

Alistair Hutton

bowen wrote: »

If you can, in the future, get a laser printer. Toner tends to last a hell of a lot longer than ink.

I mean you look at the page yield from toner it's about 2,000 pages, you look at ink it's 30,000 ish. But in practicality the ink will last you a ream maybe.

HP used to do two excellent cheap lasers (the HP1018 & 1020). They must have started to cut into their inkjet sales though because they discontinued them and their new cheap lasers are by all accounts flimsy pieces of crap.

Bowen

Yeah they are, the good ones start at $150. Brother makes some good laser printers.

Fats

I recommend the Brother 2170W, which is currently $90(!) but generally fluctuates between $100 and $150.

Gdiguy

Alistair Hutton wrote: »

bowen wrote: »

If you can, in the future, get a laser printer. Toner tends to last a hell of a lot longer than ink.

I mean you look at the page yield from toner it's about 2,000 pages, you look at ink it's 30,000 ish. But in practicality the ink will last you a ream maybe.

HP used to do two excellent cheap lasers (the HP1018 & 1020). They must have started to cut into their inkjet sales though because they discontinued them and their new cheap lasers are by all accounts flimsy pieces of crap.

I picked up a refurb'ed HP1020 from fry's at some point, and it's been great (especially considering how cheap it was)... and yeah, it's worked pretty consistently for a few years, despite the fact that I don't print more than a page or two per month

Hamare

I've been having the same problem for ages, i just assumed it was because my printer is over 5 years old, i'll definitively check this out!

Dratatoo

The cleaning process also wastes ink like a hobo empties out a bottle of booze. Especially if you haven't used your printer for a longer time period.

yellowdart2

The HP LaserJet P1006 is an excellent choice if you're looking for a cheap laser printer. Toner is pretty cheap and lasts for about 2,000 pages before needing to be replaced.

RBach

Fats wrote: »

I recommend the Brother 2170W, which is currently $90(!) but generally fluctuates between $100 and $150.

I've got the same printer. It's wonderful.

Barrakketh

captaink wrote: »

I got a new HP printer a few months ago, after my old one apparently bricked itself.

I have printed out maybe 50 pages since. Now it's telling me my black ink is low.

Is it just lying to me? My old one did this too. Despite very low usage, it was regularly running out of ink.

FYI, new printers generally don't come with full ink cartridges.

Think of ink printers (especially the cheap ones) like you would a razor and blades - the razor is cheap, comes with a couple of blades, but you don't get nearly as many blades as you do when you buy a replacement pack. And they're usually as expensive, if not more, than a new razor with blades.

Jubal77

It has been awhile since I was in computer maintenence but I am not sure if they fixed issues with the beginner line of 1000 laserjets crashing the spooler if you print a PDF. That was a major issue we ran into with some of the intro HP 1000 level laserjets we had around work. It was a driver issue and if I remember correctly.

GnomeTank

With as much as I've spent on InkJet ink in the last year, I am very seriously considering ordering that Brother laser printer for my wife right now.

I honestly think InkJet's have become a damn racket. We've gone through three packs of cartridges in a year (so basically double the cost of that laser printer, in ink), and my wife doesn't print that much, maybe 10-15 pages a week for her business.

autono-wally, erotibot300

Barrakketh wrote: »

captaink wrote: »

I got a new HP printer a few months ago, after my old one apparently bricked itself.

I have printed out maybe 50 pages since. Now it's telling me my black ink is low.

Is it just lying to me? My old one did this too. Despite very low usage, it was regularly running out of ink.

FYI, new printers generally don't come with full ink cartridges.

Think of ink printers (especially the cheap ones) like you would a razor and blades - the razor is cheap, comes with a couple of blades, but you don't get nearly as many blades as you do when you buy a replacement pack. And they're usually as expensive, if not more, than a new razor with blades.

yeah, supporting this. I work pc hardware retail and printers you buy come with the cartridges filled between 20 and 50%

GnomeTank

It's not just the half full starter cartridges either, it's the ones you buy off the shelf. Either the jets jam up, or the ink dries up, or HP is just shafting us all. The ink is expensive and doesn't nearly last as long as they say it should.

Bowen

2,000 pages will probably last you a lifetime. If you take good care of that printer, the OS will probably stop supporting it before you run out of toner.

autono-wally, erotibot300

the page number is counted with 5% of the page covered, which really isn't all that much
if you regularly cover 10%, you're already cutting that in half

Wrizzik

My five year old LaserJet 1020 is still on its initial drum of toner; which by all accounts is supposed to be half full. I love it to death.

autono-wally, erotibot300

I got a pixma ip1500, which works with dirt-cheap (5€ for two black cartridges and all three colour cartridges) jet-tec ink and usually manages to squeeze out 50 or so after the "cartridge is almost empty" warning

Rothgarr

For some reason, the title of this thread reminds me of this old commercial:
(NSFW if you work with nuns)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GjyyUUq4eA

"Did you ever wonder how your ink magically depletes?"

Imperfect

Fats wrote: »

I recommend the Brother 2170W, which is currently $90(!) but generally fluctuates between $100 and $150.

Seconded. This is exactly the printer I have and it is fantastic.

(Also apparently when the toner cartridge on this sucker starts to report being empty, you can cover up the "sensor dot" and it'll print another hundred pages or so before you even BEGIN to notice a dip in quality. Thank-you Amazon reviews page!)

psyck0

HP Inkjets are just shit. Avoid them next time you make a purchase.

Mr Heist

I have heard it said that, to counter the drying process, one can shoot a hairdryer at the port on the ink cartridge for a few minutes. Best not to do this when someone might walk in on you, because they'll think you're crazy no doubt

Also, maybe look at getting some of those fancy-fangled refillable cartridges? More and more companies are putting tech in their cartridges to keep that from happening, but it'd be worth looking up.

Lastly, see if you can get some off brand ink that's compatible with your printer. In college, I kept my printer going with refills from 123inkjets.com and didn't have any quality issues.

Seeks

So, do Brother printers typically work well under linux?

Jubal77

Seeks wrote: »

So, do Brother printers typically work well under linux?

Perhaps

EliteLamer

I just bought some new ink. 37 bucks total and each cart only prints 220 pages

Pheezer

I have a Brother b&w laser printer. A DCP-7020. The toner cartridges are dirt cheap at monoprice and it's fast and I love it.