Master your printer – not the other way around

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HARDWARE Master your printer – not the other way around By Michael Lasky “I hate printers, but I love what they can do!” That’s the mantra recited by
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rexr, SueW, geekdom

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re: Spooler jam
I have had this batch file for ages, used from time to time:

net stop fax
net stop spooler
del %systemroot%\System32\spool\printers\* /Q
net start spooler
net start fax
pause

Deals with the problem very quickly.

 

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doriel

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I have this printer: Brother HL-L2350DW B&W laser

working very well, but

wi-fi router occasionally has to be re-booted (Comcast down for a while) and when wifi restarts, printer wifi connects OK, but

desktop PC still wifi prints OK, but laptop instantly shows print error when wifi printing

(both print OK all the time using USB cable; but I must move laptop to other room to connect USB cable)

Troubleshooting laptop fixes nothing. I know its connected via wifi because I can adjust printer settings from laptop via wifi  (USB cable disconnected)….it just won’t print.

Troubleshooter checks spooler and says its OK (or fixes it) and no other problems.

What should I look for to fix wifi laptop printing; Re-install driver?  (what a pain)

Doug

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Found a solution.

did “add printer”

found same printer, added to laptop (duplicate) with same name + #2

Did a test Page print and it works OK via wifi

Not sure what went wrong before as I added it in same way…but for now it is fixed.

But oddly, “find printer” to add a wireless inkjet printer…it could not find it…yet I use it from my PC…but for now I’ll live with that.

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Any chance the printer gets a new IP address when the router comes back online? Of course, you can give the printer a static IP so it doesn’t need to query the router for an address. Generally, it will get the same one as yesterday and the day before…. But if it is different, the PC will be addressing the wrong “old” port when it tries to print. Give the Printer a static IP (usually at the top of the range, like using 250 – 254 for the last three digits, or “octet”). Then add the printer to Windows using the new address.

 

Maybe??

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Set print scale to 80% of size unless doing final copy where full size is required.

When what I’m printing goes a peculiar color or prints blank, then I change the printer cartridge.

Set draft and grayscale as default. There’s no point in printing reading copy or bills in color.

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The biggest thing I did to improve printing was to give up on inkjets and go laser. I don’t have much need to print anymore, and the net result of that is that print cartridges were good for a couple of pages each! I’d need to print something, only to find that my nearly full cartridge has dried out. I’d try all of the various methods to resurrect it, but none of it ever worked. I’d end up going to buy a new cartridge, using that to print the thing, and then a year later when I need to print the next thing, go through the same thing all over.

Laser printers have toner, not water-soluble ink (have you ever gotten an inkjet printed page wet?), and it doesn’t dry out. Every couple of years, you may want to take the toner cartridge out and give it a shake, then put it back in… otherwise, you’re good to go.

I didn’t bother to go with a color laser, as all of the rare things I needed a printer for called for black and white (prepaid printing labels from UPS and similar things). I bought my black and white laser/scanner for $89 a bunch of years ago (it was before I started migrating to Linux, which was in 2015), and it’s still on its original toner cartridge and working as well as ever. It doesn’t have wireless printing (and I have no need for it), but it does what it should without drama or complaint. It hasn’t had the feeding or jamming issues I have seen with a lot of the “cheaper than the print cartridges” color inkjets either. (It’s a Canon MF3010, in case anyone wanted to know. I don’t know if it’s available anymore, but it’s been the most reliable printer I have had since the dot matrix days.)

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Alex5723

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There are decent inkjets out there, yes, but none of them manage to do much about ink drying in the cartridge… and if you want to do photos at home, inkjets are still just about the only reasonable way to get good quality.

Lasers are a lot easier in many ways, it’s just that they don’t do photos well. Also waterproofness of the results is a plus, especially if you print anything that’ll be used outdoors. (I’ve been doing my own maps occasionally…)

Still, either way, get something that takes a reasonable generic control language. Model-specific drivers get outdated but if your printer can take generic PostScript, PCL or even PDF, you can always revert to that. (And replace the printer with another that can take the same thing if/when it breaks.)

Reminds me of that one time when after a Windows Server upgrade, the new driver for that exact same printer (large laser) had different margin definitions, and label sheets straight from Crystal Reports were misaligned… until I made a second printer definition that fed to the same printer using Generic PS.

(And if it can take generic PS or PCL, it’ll most likely take it from other operating systems too. Unix/Linux has been big on PS for decades by now anyway.)

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“…but none of them manage to do much about ink drying in the cartridge…”

I have used Canon ix6820 inkjet color printers for last couple years when my old Epson finally gave out.

I have a travel reqmnt, so I must shut down my printer for 6 months every year.

My old Epson would clog for sure.

My Canon has not clogged in 3 years. Only thing I do “special” is after I turn off printer and unplug 110v and USB  (I leave ink carts in place); I use the plastic bag it was shipped to me with (you could use any plastic bag that won’t tear easily) and “bag” the printer completely, close the bag by folding it under printer.

Voila, 6 months later, I simply ‘un-bag’ and turn on printer and it prints like it was off a few hours..nothing special to do, no clogs or dried ink.

I do only use official Canon ink carts purchased via Amazon.

Doug

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SueW

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My biggest complaint is with software “updates” that are intended to detect ink cartridges supplied by firms other than the original manufacturer. I thought that the courts had ruled that practice illegal, but it is still occurring. I have not updated my Epson software since buying it 4 or 5 years ago for exactly that reason and it continues to work with the most recent versions of Windows 10. I found a script on the internet that will roll back updates to the Epson model I own just in case I need to. I know that Epson is doing that because my cartridge supplier had to recall cartridges in order to make changes needed to keep them working.

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Steve, Alex5723

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[Alex5723]

GoldenNorm wrote:

I have not updated my Epson software since buying it 4 or 5 years ago for exactly that reason and it continues to work with the most recent versions of Windows 10.

I do the same. I have an all-in-one color Samsung laser printer which I haven’t updated since it has been bought. Just recently I have replaced all 4 color toners with compatible that cost 20% of the original.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by Alex5723.

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A gallon of printer ink can cost you $12,000. When in cartridge form, it’s more expensive than vintage Champagne and even human blood. In fact, it can be cheaper to buy an entire printer than it is to purchase new ink cartridges. So why is printer ink so expensive?

https://www.businessinsider.com/why-printer-ink-so-expensive-2019-8#:~:text=Following%20is%20a%20transcript%20of,to%20purchase%20new%20ink%20cartridges.

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I have a Canon inkjet printer. I use it to print a lot of 8 X 10 photos. Using original ink was very expensive, but I’ve since modified the printer to use re-fillable cartridges (replace the print-head cartridge seals) and I have never had a problem. The ink is 1/10th the cost of original ink and it’s not cheap Asian ink but good quality made in USA ink. AND it’s almost water resistant. The trick is to never upgrade the firmware and to always keep an eye on the ink levels (as the printer software will no longer estimate what’s left). In 4 years, I’ve had to replace 1 cartridge (the chip broke off – $10) and used about 3 bottles of each colour at $19 per bottle. The special photo paper I use costs a lot more than the ink. I’ve never had a cartridge dry out.

The only problem with inkjets is the propensity to clean the head as often as possible, causing a sponge in the base of the printer to absorb all the wasted ink. At some stage that sponge will be saturated and the printer will stop working. There is a service code that will reset that but maybe someone could write an article on how to remove and wash out the sponge and reset the printer. I’ve been told I need to take it to a service tech to have it done, when the inevitable happens. The more you use the printer, however, the less the head needs cleaning so I haven’t had that happen yet.

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I found the perfect solution to my inkjet printer frequent use of expensive cartridges.  I talked to a salesman at the local Best Buy that i don’t print much and don’t need colour.  He suggested a black & white laser printer (Samsung ML-2165W was on sale for $70cad).  I turn the printer off after a print operation even though it will sleep to save power.  Cartridges last a year or two and cost less than the old printer. Best of all, a wireless printer works for all our devices.

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Steve

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