RANT: why cant i print in black when my color cartridges are empty!

[jtvang125]

My company recently threw out some old lexmark laser printers. I took one along with 4 extra brand new toner cartridges. With the amount of printing I do this will probably last me a good 2-3 years.

 

[RayH]

In some cases it can be cheaper to throw the old printer away and buy a new one when the ink runs out.

 

[Saga]

The real answer: Because small amounts of color are typically used for black and white printing, presumably to force you to have to replace cartridges early.

We have a $800 HP Laser Printer that shows a record of some 32000 pages of black and white and ZERO color (photo replication so this printer is color capable but is NOT used to print color images of any kind - we have specialized equipment for that). The stat sheet for the printer shows ONE color page printed, and that was the test page for the printer upon install.

It currently shows all 3 color cartridges as empty. They were full when purchased. Fancy that.

 

[Schfifty Five]

I read somewhere that the markup for printer ink is something like $10,000 profit per gallon.

I have no links or proof of this so it could be completely wrong, but if you think about it, you get so little ink in those catridges and they cost you like $30-50 MSRP.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: RayH
In some cases it can be cheaper to throw the old printer away and buy a new one when the ink runs out.

yip.

 

[frostedflakes]

Did you set it to black and white under printing options? It doesn't matter if the document you're printing is already monochrome, if you have printing options set to do color it won't work (or at least this has been my experience). However, set the printing preferences to black and white and it should work. My color cartridge has been empty for years, I've just been getting my black ink cartridges refilled.

I've considered laser, but I can't help but suspect the amount of power these things uses offsets savings in ink. I think they can use upwards of 500w when printing, and quite a bit in standby to keep the internals warmed up.

EDIT: Looks like some models even spike at over 1000w.

 

[evident]

Originally posted by: rezinn
Learn how to use your black cartridge to print black and white.

tell my printer that

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: Ns1

Originally posted by: evident

Originally posted by: Ns1
grayscale printing ftw?

yes, my rant is that even greyscale it still uses the color cartridges, which is BS. and wont let you print without them, period.

Originally posted by: spidey07
Because it uses CMYK for the color?

and there is an extra black only cartridge too

wow that's pretty shitty

the canon i have at home tries that shit too. all black page, won't print cuz of no color cartridges

grayscale pwns that shit though

My canon MP160 doesn't have that problem. I can set it to "use black cartridge only" in the printer settings panel in Windows.

 

[RESmonkey]

I'm in the market to buy a printer for college. What should I buy?

 

[Nohr]

I have a friend still using an old HP DeskJet 672C. It must be around 10 years old now. Anyway, it absolutely will not print at all without having a color cartridge inserted. Having it set to color or B&W doesn't matter, it refuses to print. He doesn't print color much at all so he leaves an old dried up color cartridge in it. The printer doesn't seem to care that it's empty, just that it's there. Pretty ridiculous.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Originally posted by: Aikouka

Originally posted by: SphinxnihpS
Greed

A more expensive printer will not have this issue. When you buy a cheapo printer you are paying a cost that the manufacturer EXPECTS you to subsidize with ink purchases.

The 3210 is about $250-ish (or was when I picked it up for my mom), which is actually rather high for a personal printer. The highest personal printers you usually see are $350-400, so it's still up there compared to those cheap $50-100 printers.

$100 or so currently. Anything under $800 and anything multi-function is a cheapo regardless of the intended market. i.e all printers marketed for home use are cheapos.

Originally posted by: Schfifty Five
I read somewhere that the markup for printer ink is something like $10,000 profit per gallon.

I have no links or proof of this so it could be completely wrong, but if you think about it, you get so little ink in those catridges and they cost you like $30-50 MSRP.

Watch this!

 

[frostedflakes]

Originally posted by: Nohr
I have a friend still using an old HP DeskJet 672C. It must be around 10 years old now. Anyway, it absolutely will not print at all without having a color cartridge inserted. Having it set to color or B&W doesn't matter, it refuses to print. He doesn't print color much at all so he leaves an old dried up color cartridge in it. The printer doesn't seem to care that it's empty, just that it's there. Pretty ridiculous.

Hah, I'm using a DeskJet 648C (probably at least a decade old as well). The printer is a piece of junk, I have to feed it one page at a time or else it jams. As little printing as I do, though, I've just kept on using it. I don't really need anything better, so I figure might as well keep running the printer until it keels over. No need to toss it in a landfill yet.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: evident

Originally posted by: Ns1
grayscale printing ftw?

yes, my rant is that even greyscale it still uses the color cartridges, which is BS. and wont let you print without them, period.

Originally posted by: spidey07
Because it uses CMYK for the color?

and there is an extra black only cartridge too

my 8450 has the cmyk cartridges as well as a black and a grey. it also has a "photo" cartridge for a total of 7 print heads. if i dont set it to black only i cant print without all the color cartridges having ink. glad mine has that feature, its the reason i got rid of the 2230 i used to have. well, that and the cartridge price went from 14.99 to 29.99 and was ridiculous.

 

[manly]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: manly
I've got an HP OfficeJet d145 that's getting a bit older now. I rarely print with it as that's what the laser printer is for. The color ink has always depleted at nearly the same rate as black ink, even though I rarely ever print in color.

Worse still, even though the duty cycle has been very low (no more than 400 pages a year), all 3 color printheads need replacement ($34 each). Each printhead is rated at up to 30,000 pages!

IIRC it was about a $400 printer, so it wasn't worth the money. Since I do use the scanner on a regular basis, it hasn't been a total bust.

it's not HPs fault that you bought a small-business class machine for home use. All printheads dry up over time without regular use.

That's an absurd comment. A mid-range product isn't good enough for home use?

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: Ns1

Originally posted by: conehead433
Under printing preferences don't you have a grayscale printing box you can check. My Canon does and I would assume most recently made printers have that option.

l2r?

I had an HP that refused to use the black cartridge to print black text. No matter what settings you used, it just refused.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: manly

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: manly
I've got an HP OfficeJet d145 that's getting a bit older now. I rarely print with it as that's what the laser printer is for. The color ink has always depleted at nearly the same rate as black ink, even though I rarely ever print in color.

Worse still, even though the duty cycle has been very low (no more than 400 pages a year), all 3 color printheads need replacement ($34 each). Each printhead is rated at up to 30,000 pages!

IIRC it was about a $400 printer, so it wasn't worth the money. Since I do use the scanner on a regular basis, it hasn't been a total bust.

it's not HPs fault that you bought a small-business class machine for home use. All printheads dry up over time without regular use.

That's an absurd comment. A mid-range product isn't good enough for home use?

I think you misunderstood. Without asserting the validity of the statement, it was saying

"It's a small business machine. It's designed to be used, alot. Without such usage, the print head will dry out"

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: Izusaga
The real answer: Because small amounts of color are typically used for black and white printing, presumably to force you to have to replace cartridges early.

We have a $800 HP Laser Printer that shows a record of some 32000 pages of black and white and ZERO color (photo replication so this printer is color capable but is NOT used to print color images of any kind - we have specialized equipment for that). The stat sheet for the printer shows ONE color page printed, and that was the test page for the printer upon install.

It currently shows all 3 color cartridges as empty. They were full when purchased. Fancy that.

Those gas siphoning idiots attacked the printer =P

 

[EarthwormJim]

Color ink is used for black and white printing believe it or not.

 

[Pepsi90919]

my stupid Brother all in one does the same thing. during the night it would come to life and start cleaning itself, wasting all the colour ink in the process. now i can't print anything. :|

 

[RandomFool]

My printer (canon ip3000) allows me to print B/W without color carts. I just have to hit the button to acknowledge that I need to replace the ink.

 

[EGGO]

You know what I hate? I hate how my Canon i9900 has 8 cartridges, but if the photo magenta runs out, it refuses to use the magenta. I don't think I even changed the red and green cartridges for months and they're still full.

 

[RayH]

Part of the reason printers use color for printing B&W is to get more shades of grey. Doesn't justify using color though if what your printing is just black.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: StrangeRanger
PC Load Letter

j

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!!!

MotionMan

 

[Saga]

Originally posted by: DLeRium

Originally posted by: Izusaga
The real answer: Because small amounts of color are typically used for black and white printing, presumably to force you to have to replace cartridges early.

We have a $800 HP Laser Printer that shows a record of some 32000 pages of black and white and ZERO color (photo replication so this printer is color capable but is NOT used to print color images of any kind - we have specialized equipment for that). The stat sheet for the printer shows ONE color page printed, and that was the test page for the printer upon install.

It currently shows all 3 color cartridges as empty. They were full when purchased. Fancy that.

Those gas siphoning idiots attacked the printer =P

Actually, our printers are locked and I have the only key. >.>

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: StrangeRanger
PC Load Letter

j

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!!!

MotionMan

What did you quote the Clearplay version of Office Space? That is NOT the full quote!