Infrequent use of printer causes problems

Topic

New Reply

I have an ink jet printer that has infrequent use, several weeks between tasks. The problem is the cartriges dry out and, most of the time, cannot be recovered. I have two questions:

Would a laser printer have the same problem?
Is there any solution to the ink jet problem. I have tried removing the cartriges from the printer and storing them in a guard provided when they were bought.

Thank you Bill

Reply | Quote

Replies

Do you turn off the printer after each use. It used to be that turnning the printer to off set the print heads onto the area inside the printer that helped to prevent clogging print heads.

I know I often have to clean print heads 2 or 3 times before I can get a clear print depending on how long it’s been since last use. For those of us without heavy print needs this seems to be an on going problem, and printer ink gets costly!

Reply | Quote

A laser printer does not have the same issue with print heads drying out and is more economical on a per page basis. I picked up an older HP laserjet for free two years ago and i haven’t changed the toner yet.

Some Inkjet printers are worse than others for the drying out problem. I have a multi function Canon that gets little use that I leave on all the time and the heads don’t dry out. If you use third party cartridges, some are worse than others for this issue.

As for turning off the printer between usages, I would read the owner’s manual and follow their recommendation. Many inkjets waste a lot of ink recharging the printhead when you power on. Most Inkjets now go to a low power state when not in use when you leave them on.

Jerry

Reply | Quote

My Canon does dry up, even with Canon cartridges. Perhaps there is a way of preventing this, but I have not found it yet. I have a Pixma MP620.

What model do you have Jerry?

Reply | Quote

My Canon does dry up, even with Canon cartridges. Perhaps there is a way of preventing this, but I have not found it yet. I have a Pixma MP620.

What model do you have Jerry?

interesting
first canon ever that i heard had a problem

i have had several with no problems
at the photo club no canon owners ever complain
but the epson owners are frequently noting their problems

Reply | Quote

I have a Pixima MX892.

Jerry

Reply | Quote

Many times you can clear a dried ink issue by removing the print head an cleaning it with a moistened paper towel.
Jerry

Reply | Quote

I have used rubbing alcohol to clean clogged heads.

I got so fed up with them clogging I bought a laser printer..

To avoid the expense of toner refills I bought a refill kit and so far it works fine…

Reply | Quote

From post #1 I’m getting the impression, although information is lacking, that this is most likely an HP printer.

In HP, Canon, and some other brands, the print head is on the bottom of the ink cart, that’s why they are so expensive.
When you replace a cart. you also are replacing the print head.

On the other hand, EPSON has a print head that’s built right into the print carriage and cannot normally be replaced.
In times past, as an Epson printer tech, I have replaced many a messed up print head. That most often happened when the
user would buy low-cost non-OEM ink that would foul the print head.

I use only EPSON printers (I have several of them) and they still have a very high-tech print head that’s a permanent part of the printer.
Much care must be taken when using non-Epson ink. I buy all my ink from a company in Tx, called InkSell.com
They also sell ink for other brands of printers.

For inkjet printers that get little use, it’s a good idea to set up a print test page and print it every few days, to keep the print heads from
drying out. I used to know one guy who did that from a batch file in his Task Scheduler.

As has been mentioned, a laser printer that uses Black toner is more economical than a Color Ink Jet, but it only prints in Black….NO COLOR.
I have one, but don’t use it because I really like COLOR in my prints.

Cheers Mates! Happy 4th!
The Doctor

Reply | Quote

I have been thinking of getting a black laser printer and use it with my color one.They are cheap..

I also refill my HP toner cartridges so I save money that way..

Reply | Quote

lasers do not have that problem – at least b&w , not sure about color ‘lasers’ – there are several types of ink used

get a canon
never had one of them clog ever
epsons are notorious for clogging problems

turn the printer off when not in use
most printers have a landing zone to keep the heads from drying out
and they may do an initial start up priming when you turn it back on

do not remove the cartridges
that will make your problems worse

are you using oem ink cartridges?
many of the cheap replacements have drying problems beyond the normal issues that could happen

Reply | Quote

In HP, Canon, and some other brands, the print head is on the bottom of the ink cart, that’s why they are so expensive.
When you replace a cart. you also are replacing the print head

With a lot of Canon inkjets (including mine), you replace the ink tanks only. The print head is in the printer like your Epson. You can buy cheap third party chipped cartridges for most Canon printers so you can avoid the mess of refilling. Like refill ink, third party cartridge quality varies and you can’t go by price. If you get a bad one, the heads could clog. I read reviews of third party carts before I buy any of them. The same applies to toner refills or third party cartridges for Laser printers.

Jerry

Reply | Quote

It would seem logical that manufacturers of inkjet printers in which the print head is part of the printer would sell cleaning cartridges just to solve this problem. I have never seen such an item listed for sale anywhere.

Reply | Quote

Several third party vendors sell cleaning cartridges for Canon and Epson printers. An example is:
http://www.meritline.com/canon-bci6bk-black-cleaning-cartridge—p-24187.aspx
If you need one, do a Bing/Google search for your inkjet cartridge model number cleaning cartridge.

Jerry

Reply | Quote

While it is true laser printer toner does not have the same issue, it does have an expiration date. If you do not replace the toner before the expiration date, you may encounter clumping of the toner – which can also occur if the toner is stored or used in very high humidity.

I had an HP LJ 4M+ for over a decade and did encounter this problem once: about a year after the expiration date, text was poorly formed because it was missing black bits – to the point of being illegible.

Just mentioning this so you will check the expiration date when you buy new toner… If you buy it only once every 4-5 years, the expiration date can be significant.

Reply | Quote

I have had an HP Photo Smart ink jet printer for a couple of years. I do not print much and sometimes go a week or more without printing. I have never had the ink dry up. Maybe using cheaper refills causes the print head to clog? If so, the cost savings of using refills does not seem much of a savings.

Reply | Quote

DrWho,
My daughter has a Win7 64bit Sony S Series laptop with our home Epson R380 installed. She is leaving for college in a couple of days and she has an Epson WF 3520 waiting for her at the Staples (across the country) near her college. I have read many reviews that the CD with the 3520 is not reliable and that installing from the Epson site is the best way for a smooth install. Only thing is, my daughter and I will install together when we get the printer and neither of us are tech proficient. Could you possibly list the steps for installing the 3520 from the website for us? My daughter’s college does not allow wireless printing and there is no landline in the dorm to fax. So, if there is a way not to install wireless drivers and fax utility since they are not needed, I am guessing that is the better route. I can’t tell if I need to install the entire “combo package” or
if I pick and choose if I should save each driver/utility on her desktop to retrieve during setup. Next summer when she brings the printer home, she will probably want to use wireless (for her iPad) and maybe even the fax and I read a review that it might not be possible to choose USB connect when installing the printer an then go back and say I want to use it wireless. Also, can you confirm she can keep both Epson printers on her laptop without problems since at Christmas and breaks, our home Epson R380 is all she will have to print to? Should I uncheck Epson Status Monitor 3 in Start-up in system configuration since that is the R380 or just uncheck the R380 as the default printer while she is at college only using the WF3520. Thank you for any help you can give me and my daughter.

Reply | Quote

Given the cost of OEM ink, you are ahead after a couple of refills for the low cost printers (under $125) even if the printer dies. As I stated earlier, the quality of third party ink or replacement cartridges vary. A little research can get you a quality replacement for much less than the originals. Another good option is a refill service like Costco or Cartridge World that will stand behind their service.

Jerry

Reply | Quote