Oh-oh. CD printer?

[Humbum]

Ah, thanks ThrillaMozilla, I didn't realise it was to stop clogging. I assumed it was a feature to combat laziness that wasn't strictly needed and is generally included for the main reason that it increases ink sales. How long have you had your HP? As I say the initial price isn't too much of a problem if the quality is good, I just don't want to keep spending excessive amounts on ink only to buy a new one in a year or less!

 

[The Hat]

@Humbum The problems you face are twofold, if you buy a Canon printer for up to £150 you will indeed get a good quality printer and you’d be very happy with its smashing output and CD print capability’s but.

You will then have fallen into the Economic trap of getting a new printer that is very difficult to refill and so deny you the ability to use 3rd party inks to refill your OEM cartridges with ease.

As mentioned by @ThrillaMozilla previous these newer printers use ink for self cleaning quite a lot so 3rd party inks are all most essential to use to keep your print cost down and make printing enjoyable.

As there are no discounts available in the UK for Canon Pro printer you might be better off looking at the other three HP, Epson and Brother printers to see if they would be any more economical than the desktop range of Canon printers are.

The other alternative would be to see if you can pick up a Pro printer on EBay UK for a reasonable price, because there’re running costs (Easy refill) are much less the theses newer little printers are..

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

Peter, thanks for the reference. I will try at least some of that. Different problem, though. It's working perfectly, except that the paper transport is making alarming clunking noises, and it occasionally complains about some supposed paper jam, and then there's the mysterious, intermittent error code before or after printing a CD.

Humbum, I've had the HP for 4 years. It's gone through two wireless receivers (parts not available). It's a good printer, but most people hate them. I have a feeling it's the junk software that they hate, and also, it can be hard to use at first. It has a good head, though. Opaque cartridges, no chip resetter, but tolerant of running the head dry.

The Hat, what is the problem with these new Canon all-in-ones? The new PGI-250/255 PCI-251 cartridges are opaque and there's no chip resetter, but I'm used to that. Are there other problems for a refiller?

Do you have an Epson recommendation? Requirements: CD printing, wireless, scanner, doc. feed, duplex, prefer 5 or 6 inks. (And hopefully somewhat fade-resistant 3rd-party ink available -- a tall order, I know).

 

[Smile]

Most easy to use software is called Discus
http://www.magicmouse.com/h_discus_detail.html

It works on all printers, MAC and PC. Even the dedicated automatic ones.

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

Thanks, Smile. I have no problem with software for CD printing. It's the hardware.

 

[Smile]

Thanks, Smile. I have no problem with software for CD printing. It's the hardware.

Well you could get EPSON L800 or P50/T50 if it still availabe where you live. It's same printer as L800, or should I say vice versa. 6 inks nice printer.

Can't recommend any Canon except the PRO models, but that would be too much if only used for CD printing. It's a major Canon shortsightedness that they make no true Photo printer A4 size. Last such printer was IP6700D great little printer.

 

[The Hat]

The Hat, what is the problem with these new Canon all-in-ones? The new PGI-250/255 PCI-251 cartridges are opaque and there's no chip resetter, but I'm used to that. Are there other problems for a refiller ?

@ThrillaMozilla you said it, opaque cartridges with a chip that can’t be reset and refilling of the start-up cartridges is a nightmare (4 ml) and then there’s the dreaded cleaning cycles.

When you use these printers with no ink monitoring they will do far more cleaning than normal and your 4 ml of ink goes nowhere, the only usable alternative are compatible carts with ARC chips which most owners are using.

it’s a major Canon shortsightedness that they make no true Photo printer A4 size. Last such printer was IP6700D great little printer.

@Smile The Canon desktop A4 printer are all excellent at photo printing and will do a far better job at it then the old 5/6 colour CLl-8 printers could, but are nowhere as user friendly as these old classic printers were, inexpensive printing is getting a thing of the past unless you’re prepared to move up to the Pro printers !..

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

Thank you. I forgot about the funny cleaning cycle. I just figure on a set of cartridges anyway with almost any printer, even if it's OEM XL cartridges.

 

[Humbum]

Well, my head's reeling a little, but I'm a lot more clued up now. Is the difference between Pixma and Pro that large? I've found this one, a Canon Pro 100, but it's double my budget. Is it worth it? We seem to have plenty of cheap Pixma printers around in England but if the price of ink will get ludicrous then I'd rather spend more now on the Pro. Where would you suggest for cheaper replacement ink? I think I'm drifting more towards Canon as I'm slightly more familiar with it now.
@ThrillaMozilla I see, I don't think I'll be investing in that then. I'd like to have full control over my ink, or as full as possible! Though at this moment I'm not sure what that even means. I've seen a few printers on eBay advertised without heads, what's the deal with that?

 

[The Hat]

@Humbum it’s better to have your head in a twist now than to have your pockets constantly emptied by buying expensive inks all the time.

Your choice of a Pro 100 is a good one, all be it expensive in the UK but sell for (50 bucks in the US) and you’ll get your money back on it using 3rd party inks in no time, you can get all your refill gadgets and inks here at:- http://www.octoink.co.uk/

They can sell the Pro 100 printers on eBay without the print heads because they buy the printers very cheaply and then sell it on and then the heads separately later, win win..