Help please!

[dagent]

I have been reading this forum for a while searching for answers but I can't find any info to my questions so here comes my first post. I have been searching for an All In One for my home office and after a bunch of research I really like the features of the Epson Workforce 635. It has the speed, especially double sided speed which is what we really need. We mostly print double sided black and white applications and a color letter here and there. The problem is that it is a fairly new design so there is no refillable cartridges, ink systems or any kind of support so I am not sure what to do. Obviously, low cost printing is important to me so when will the support for this printer be available, or is there something with the design that will prevent that from ever happening. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[websnail]

Any new printer takes a while for 3rd party consumables to catch up as the chips change, the firmware has new tricks, etc... and it's for this very reason that Epson, Canon, etc... release new printers and/or new firmware, to keep the 3rd party folks on the back foot.

No idea on timeline but you can bet someone will be working on the problem.

 

[dagent]

Any new printer takes a while for 3rd party consumables to catch up as the chips change, the firmware has new tricks, etc... and it's for this very reason that Epson, Canon, etc... release new printers and/or new firmware, to keep the 3rd party folks on the back foot.

No idea on timeline but you can bet someone will be working on the problem.

Thanks for your input websnail, I appreciate your help. I'm sure, the aftermarket will catch up eventually with the newest printers. I hope it's not going to be long , because I' not buying anything without the aftermarket support.

What other options do I have with other multi functions. I know a lot of people here like Canon's, which is why I'm considering the MX870 also. It is a little bulky and on the slow side which is why I like the workforce 635 better. What I do like about the Canon is the fact that it has a removable head which is nice for cleaning. On the other hand how often do you need to clean heads and I've read that the epson head is tougher. I need something that will work with a CIS for the ease of use although I'm not sure our use warrants one. We print around 20 pages per week but sometimes we go a week or two without any printing.

 

[RMM]

If you need a CIS then Epson is your ticket. Canon and CIS do not work well together.

 

[qwertydude]

If you don't want to wait you can get the Epson Workforce 610. It seems like it's pretty much the same printer as the 635 but uses a cartridge system that can currently be converted to CIS.

 

[The Hat]

dagent
If you decide to get a Canon then stick with OEM cartridges and refill, its the easiest option.
When you print less than 500 sheets a week a CISS is totally unnecessary and a waste of money.
If you really want to get a CISS then go with Epson because Canon printers are not very compatible with CISS units..

 

[dagent]

qwertydude

Thanks for the suggestion, I did look at that printer for a long time but we really need a fast duplexer which is why I want the next gen 635, the 610 doesn't have one. We print a lot of double sided applications and want to be able to hit print and do something else without having to have to worry about flippin pages.

The Hat and others

Why are Cannons not good with a CISS, is it because it's easy to burn up the head?
Also, do you guys think my 20 pages a week with sometimes a week or two in between print jobs is enough to keep a CISS functioning properly?

 

[qwertydude]

It won't really print all that much faster. Often times these auto duplexers have to wait for ink to dry before sucking the page back in and internally flipping the page. On my Canon IP4600 and 4700 duplex mode not only was slower but it annoyingly printed lighter colors and used dye black too even with monochrome plain paper checked. All this which added to the annoyance I had with auto duplex. It probably did all that in the hope that the page won't bleed because of the use of thin paper. It's really easier and faster to just print a whole stack of the odd pages then do one flip and load them all into the printer again.

Canon's aren't good with CISS because of their print head design, it doesn't create as perfect a seal to create as much of a vacuum that the CISS needs. This means you end up with bubbles in the cartridge and they work their way to the print head, then you burn print heads. To solve this you need less vacuum so sometimes the siphon system needs to be raised, this might work but then you could end up just siphoning all the ink reservoir into the printer, this makes a big mess. I mean just refilling there are enough people with flow issues, CISS requires a more robust design to be fool proof and Canon's are just not that robust anymore, especially with every succeeding generation they get cheaper and cheaper. There's also the waste ink system, with the amount most CISS users print you definitely want an external waste ink tank, Canon is tough to do this, my Epson Artisan 50 I just pull the hose out and put it into a tank. So Canon and CISS are just a recipe for disaster.

As for print volume 20 pages a week is good enough to keep from getting clog problems. If you're worried about the clogs you can always just use dye inks in your CISS. But ideally at least once a week you want to print a full color document or a colorful photo on plain paper just to keep everything flowing. I just end up printing free photos for anyone I know so they keep my CISS healthy.

 

[The Hat]

dagent
Canon printers are designed to give the user hell on earth if you dont have the time to fiddle with it every time you want to print something.
So the answer is install the CISS and then you do all the feckin work, just get OEM cartridges and refill them its easer faster less worry and above all very reliable.
CISS unit are used mainly for volume printing and with 20 pages a day, the thing wouldnt even break a sweat.
Say you were to get a CISS for your printer, I bet youd just about have the time to print 20 sheets a week and thats all.
Do yourself a big favour and forget about a CISS you wont regret it in the end..
Besides dollar for dollar the cartridge route will be as much a saving as the CISS ever could be a speciality in time..

 

[david1010]

Help with Epsom tx111.
Just replaced black cartridge again over aftermarket product which would only print top half of alpha numerics. Replaced with Epsom cartridge and now just get a few back dots instead of script...Done all the maintenance stuff, alignment, cleaning etc replaced and replaced cartridge cleaned pins etc etc.. ready to throw the thing out the window now as cost of new cartridges 9 rapidly depleting after all the bloody cleaning cycles equals the price of a new printer anyways...any ideas guys?? thx