Printer Problems

[mikkidee]

Hi there, I'm hoping someone can help me here!! if not then it's going in the bin. Our printer stopped working a few months back (Epson Stylus Photo R360 2 years old) I had a go to try and sort it out but after a lot of hitting and slapping the bloody thing I gave up.

Anyway Nic asked me if I could have another go at hitting and slapping it, sorry fixing it, before it went wrong we were able to print using the hub without any leads, now it tells me it can't find the printer even though I have the drivers installed. So today I tried plugging the usb lead directly into the laptop from the printer, then I get a message saying that the USB device has malfunctioned eh!! The printer works, as I did a nozzle alignment test page.

So does anybody think it could be the USB cable that is dodgy? I've tried using another laptop but still get the same message:Angry:
Hope someone has the answer, right, back to the wine, much more of this stuff and I won't be able to sort anything out:thumb:
Mike

 

[con-tiki]

I would uninstall the printer software and re install it with a new usb cable

Shirl

 

[yorkshirepudding]

I gave up on Epson a couple of years ago. I had an A3 printer (cost around £450). The heads became clogged and it's not a DIY job to clean them. Spoke to the Epson repair agent who told me that it would cost more to repair than to buy another. I now have an HP one where I can remove and clean the heads at home.

 

[mikkidee]

Thanks Shirl, I will give that a go it's the cheapest option to start with, thanks for the reply
Mike

 

[steveclecy]

Have you tried different USB ports on your PC? Another USB lead? (you suggested that).

I had one of these and all printers have to be used regularly or they can literally "dry up" and block the jets. There are downloadable utilities that try and reset everything but eventually I did give up and binned mine.

The price of replacement printers suggests to me that they are the loss leader and the company make oodles of profit from the cartridges.

Steve

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[yorkshirepudding]

The price of replacement printers suggests to me that they are the loss leader and the company make oodles of profit from the cartridges.

Steve

I recon that at £450 the loss was all mine

 

[Gooney]

I gave up on Epson a couple of years ago. I had an A3 printer (cost around £450). The heads became clogged and it's not a DIY job to clean them. Spoke to the Epson repair agent who told me that it would cost more to repair than to buy another. I now have an HP one where I can remove and clean the heads at home.

Over the years I've had three epson printers now and run each of them on compatible inks, current one is a Photo PX710W, use compatible chipped 6 cartridge packs from local market for about £7 with superb results on photos and text :thumb:

 

[mikkidee]

The price of replacement printers suggests to me that they are the loss leader and the company make oodles of profit from the cartridges.

Steve[/QUOTE]

Yeah your right there Steve, to replace all 6 cartridg cost somthing like £65 I've tried compatables but the printer doesn't like them. It's a no brainner really I should just bin it.



I'm open to printer suggestions, nothing to complicated though, and maybe van freindly:thumb:
Mike

 

[1Oll]

Re drying of print heads. Tip!

Regarding the drying up of print heads. Printers are like cars and batteries they work better if used on a regular basis. We use an Epson printer that will print 44 inch wide prints. If we take a holiday we leave a damp cloth near the print heads, to keep the humidity high. This is often a problem in the dryer states of America, not normally here in Macclesfield.
Beware running various cleaning cycles uses quite a lot of ink.
Our printer has been one of the best pieces of equipment I have ever bought.
Good luck with the other problem.

 

[scotjimland]

The price of replacement printers suggests to me that they are the loss leader and the company make oodles of profit from the cartridges.

Steve

Absolutely correct .. , I was talking to a guy in a cartridge refill shop about this very thing.. he said that some printer manufacturers give printers to the big stores free.. or at next to no cost.. hence the 'deals' in the likes of Tesco and PC World.

However, bear in mind, the cartridges in a new printer have only a small amount of ink.. perhaps 5cc .. so no sooner have you bought it than you are shelling out for new inks.. back to square one.. it's just a rip off ..

He was also saying that his business (refilling cartridges ) was doomed.. the latest printers (he didn't say what makes) will have software that can recognise a non branded or refilled cartridge and will shut down... requiring a reset from the maker that will cost you money.. warning labels will be on these printers.. no idea if this is true or not.... but it it came from someone who should know.

My advice is to look at the price of replacement cartridges .. before choosing the printer.. and don't be sucked into a cheap loss leader, which may cost more to run..

I have a Canon IP4500 .. no complaints, does what it says on the tin.. I use generic Sigma cartridges which cost about £30 per set.. half the cost of Canon branded..
The printer head is easy to remove and clean.. a bonus, if like me you don't use regularly and the heads clog up. It's four years old and in no hurry to change it.. especially if a new one has this anti piracy software ..

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[mikkidee]

Thanks scotjimland, that all makes sence, I must admit I didn't do any research into how much the cartridges would cost, so they saw me coming so to speak. I'll be better prepared next time with all the info from this forum.
Mike

 

[Terry]

Hi not arguing with what Jim has said (it could be true) but Epson tried that a few yrs back and lost-(they put chips on cartridges)in court.The range of SX Epson printer scanner copied/ all in one/ start at £40 :thumb:Excellent :thumb: take compatible inks @ £12 for 20 cartridges--been using one for above 2 yrs trouble free.Tried all sorts of printers over the yrs but always come back to Epson,mainly for the fact they print V,good and take compatible dirt cheap inks EPSON RULES :thumb:
terry

 

[Janine]

I've just bought a Kodak printer (ESP 5250) for £85 and the cartridges are really cheap to buy.

It works wirelessly or with a usb cable but you have to install it for either not both configuration.

It's brilliant and prints 450 bw copies for £3.50 if you use remanufactured cartridges!

Shame Kodak have gone bust :Sad:

 

[scotjimland]

Hi not arguing with what Jim has said (it could be true) but Epson tried that a few yrs back and lost-(they put chips on cartridges)in court.


terry

Hi Terry, only repeating what the ink guy said.. chips in cartridges are old hat, been around for a while, and plenty of ways of beating them.. what this guy alluded to was something new ..
had a quick google, he may be referring to this

http://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/news/hp-introduces-new-anti-counterfeit-technology/

 

[knokinonabit]

Hi Terry, only repeating what the ink guy said.. chips in cartridges are old hat, been around for a while, and plenty of ways of beating them.. what this guy alluded to was something new ..
had a quick google, he may be referring to this

http://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/news/hp-introduces-new-anti-counterfeit-technology/

Just had a read of the above site and it seems that it is counterfeit cartridges they are after. ie ones that claim to be originals, but aren't.
I would have thought that anyone who says that they are selling refills or alternatives would be ok. Pattern parts for a wide variety of goods have been around for years.

The press release also says that the new system will advise people that they are not using original and can take appropriate action.
If you know you have bought a Cartridge World refill and are happy with that then no problem.

I may have over-simplified it, but that is how it reads to me.

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[Terry]

Hi Terry, only repeating what the ink guy said.. chips in cartridges are old hat, been around for a while, and plenty of ways of beating them.. what this guy alluded to was something new ..
had a quick google, he may be referring to this

http://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/news/hp-introduces-new-anti-counterfeit-technology/

Yeah Jim yrs ago they tried to make you use there ink - they got took to court and lost.Epson still tell/warn you are using non epson inks and it may cause damage to your printer do you want to continue --for forty quid (printer) and twelve quid for 20 cartridges Iii take my chances
terry

 

[scotjimland]

Yeah Jim yrs ago they tried to make you use there ink - they got took to court and lost.Epson still tell/warn you are using non epson inks and it may cause damage to your printer do you want to continue --for forty quid (printer) and twelve quid for 20 cartridges Iii take my chances
terry

yes Terry , I use to have an Epson.. remember the warnings.. in fact used them since the days of dot matrix .. but changed to Canon, it's also easy to use non Canon cartridges or refill them ..

Technology moves on and will get cleverer and the cloners will try to keep up..

Thinking about it, ink printing is old hat, been around since William Caxton in the 15th century we really need to move on..

 

[pappajohn]

Absolutely correct .. , I was talking to a guy in a cartridge refill shop about this very thing.. he said that some printer manufacturers give printers to the big stores free.. or at next to no cost.. hence the 'deals' in the likes of Tesco and PC World.

However, bear in mind, the cartridges in a new printer have only a small amount of ink.. perhaps 5cc .. so no sooner have you bought it than you are shelling out for new inks.. back to square one.. it's just a rip off ..

He was also saying that his business (refilling cartridges ) was doomed.. the latest printers (he didn't say what makes) will have software that can recognise a non branded or refilled cartridge and will shut down... requiring a reset from the maker that will cost you money.. warning labels will be on these printers.. no idea if this is true or not.... but it it came from someone who should know.

My advice is to look at the price of replacement cartridges .. before choosing the printer.. and don't be sucked into a cheap loss leader, which may cost more to run..

I have a Canon IP4500 .. no complaints, does what it says on the tin.. I use generic Sigma cartridges which cost about £30 per set.. half the cost of Canon branded..
The printer head is easy to remove and clean.. a bonus, if like me you don't use regularly and the heads clog up. It's four years old and in no hurry to change it.. especially if a new one has this anti piracy software ..

also look at the option of individual ink cart's.......with a combined cartridge you will end up throwing out a lot of ink just because one or two colours have run out and the rest still have ink.

 

[staging lady]

We have 2 Epsons and I bought a portable cheap little HP when we were working away.
The Epson photo 220 is blocked, has been back to repairman, came back and within 3 pages was blocked again!
The other is ok but both cartridges cost a fortune and the utilities won't work to use compatibles. I've wasted hours trying to get mine to work but I've hooked up the HP cheapie and it works no problems. Sad 'cos I really loved my Epson....

 

[SuperDuty]

In our RV we have a Epson Stylus SX218 all in one.
There are always problems with any colours.
The paints dry out?
Is it too warm in the rv (30 ° Celsius)?
I used cheap ink.
I will test original Epson ink.
We will see.

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[656]

We have just bought one of these - Link Removed. These are film driven and the paper comes on a roll in 3 sizes - 6x4 7x5 9x6. OK the outlay for the consumables are about £100 and the printers between £750 and £1050, but the prints are from 5p to 25p each - and no blocked nozzles

 

[scotjimland]

We have just bought one of these - Link Removed. These are film driven and the paper comes on a roll in 3 sizes - 6x4 7x5 9x6. OK the outlay for the consumables are about £100 and the printers between £750 and £1050, but the prints are from 5p to 25p each - and no blocked nozzles

have you started a photo printing business.... Dave ?

otherwise I can't see how I could justify that outlay for home printing..

 

[656]

have you started a photo printing business.... Dave ?

otherwise I can't see how I could justify that outlay for home printing..

I have started doing an in house portrait service through my web design and photography arm. Take 20 pics, customer chooses 5 @ 7x5, delivered next day. Pay up front. Sorted. Also I have a few options for event photography. Print and pay on order, ready by the end of the night.

 

[MHVirgins]

We've had an Epson R240 for a couple of years now, it has been working fine without any problems at all. We never buy the replacement cartridges from Epson because they are so expensive:Blush:

We buy the Wilkinson's equivalent set of all colours and black for £12, which seems alright at that price. The printer will tell us when we install them that they are not the "recommended Epson" ones, but they install and print fine, no problems:thumb:

 

[scotjimland]

I have started doing an in house portrait service through my web design and photography arm. Take 20 pics, customer chooses 5 @ 7x5, delivered next day. Pay up front. Sorted. Also I have a few options for event photography. Print and pay on order, ready by the end of the night.

fair enough Dave .. makes sense now, I'm sure it will pay for itself .... or you will be in deep poo with Ed ...

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