Why does ink jet suck so much ?

[Vegito]

I been in this computer world since 1984, started with a trash-80 with a "audio" cassette drive..

WHY IN THE WORLD does ink jet suck so bad...

I bought one long time ago and it just sux so bad, you put a new ink cart in, the printer can't tell whats in it, if it's full or empty or whatever.

I haven't used one since 1998 and it's sitting in a box somewhere...

Everyone I know that has a inkjet are having massive problems, they cheap enough to replace but you'll just get the same problem. You put a new cart in and it gets confuse, you reset it, etc,etc it just sux,

Is it me or everyone else having the same problem ?

 

[AkumaBao]

Never had that problem, and I'm using a HP! I don't know what's up. Your not still using the same ink jet from 1984 are you? That could be a problem.

 

[Vegito]

nah, it's mostly the people i service

epson
canon - i bought one and never again
lexmark

u know those ones you can get for 30 bucks that people buy from best buy...

 

[nagger]

If u think that inkjet sucks so much get a color laser printer then...

 

[BCYL]

Well what are the real alternatives? If ppl wanna print color occasionally, they pretty much are forced to buy an inkjet printer... color laser printer simply costs too much for the average users...

 

[corkyg]

You raise some good points. I had a really great handle on my H-P 990Cxi under ME . . . the H-P toolbox would actually show me the ink remaining in each cartridge. Then along came XP Pro . . . and of course, I upgraded. None of that is available any longer. There are a lot of things that ME did better than XP does.

I am in hopes that someday, H-P will rewrite that software for the next generation of OS's and computers.

It's a real paradigm shift when a spitter becomes a sucker.

 

[LoneWolf1]

<< u know those ones you can get for 30 bucks that people buy from best buy... >>

There's the problem. You get what you pay for.

Spend a little more, and get better quality.

 

[Dan]

I read somewhere recently that the lifespan of an inkjet printer is 3 years.

 

[pukemon]

Hrmm maybe its just my luck, but I still have my HP DeskJet 550C from 1993. It still works. Supported by all Windows versions from 95 to XP, has good "alternative OS" support. Then again its a completely hardware driven printer. Most of the el cheapo inkjets nowadays are Winprinters, but even so, the output quality easily outclasses the older ones of yesteryear. BTW, even that old model had ink level monitors that were actually pretty accurate.

Nowadays budget lasers have reached a price point such that using an inkjet for black/white doesn't seem worth it. (in terms of price/page vs a laser) The cheapo inkjets weren't really designed for heavy usage anyway. They are pretty much disposable in a sense, the cartridges often cost more than the printer.

 

[DaviDaVinci]

Recently got my Epson Stylus 888 for $60 shipped from Epson.

Black ink replacements cost $2.88
Color ink replacements cost $4.66

The status monitor shows how much ink i have left.

For me, I have Zero complaints. Plus I'm always printing CD labels, pictures, and other stuff.

It really depends on which inkjet you get.