Noob here ... with an old Canon BJC-4300 ... need help

[beatmaniac]

I just got myself a Canon BJC-4300 for 99 on eBay .... now i thought this printer needed a BCI-21 cartridge and that's it ... but the cartridge is way to small to fit in the printer ... it looks like i have to get somekind of rack for both black and color cartridge to fit together in the printer.

Can anyone explain to me what i'm missing ... because no sales rep in any stores knew what to do with this printer that was probably made before those sales rep were born.

thanks in advance

Beatmaniac
beatmaniac@sympatico.ca

 

[zakezuke]

I just got myself a Canon BJC-4300 for 99 on eBay .... now i thought this printer needed a BCI-21 cartridge and that's it ... but the cartridge is way to small to fit in the printer ... it looks like i have to get somekind of rack for both black and color cartridge to fit together in the printer.

Can anyone explain to me what i'm missing ... because no sales rep in any stores knew what to do with this printer that was probably made before those sales rep were born.

Probally a printhead. The basic canon design has changed very little, though during that time canon offered more of a choice. The only thing different is on a modern canon printer you typicaly can't buy the head at the same store as the ink, and if you do they typicaly don't come with ink.

1. BC-20 black high yield - This was a huge black tank with intragrated head. Cost a pretty penny but offered a huge yield in the same class as the HP 45a. 40ish ml IIRC OEM - $30ish
2. BC-22e photo cartridge - intragrated head OEM-$40ish
3. BCI-21E This was the printhead that took BCI-21B and BCI-21C tanks sold with the ink tanks attached IIRC. OEM $50ish $10 and $20 aprox for the replacement tanks.
4. BC-29f Floressent ink cartridge - intragrated head

IIRC there also was an option to replace your ink head with a scanner head.

It's a good question whether you want to shell out money for a black and color head or buy a new printer. A modern equilivent would be a ip1500 or ip2000 which take those small thimble sized tanks and cost about the same. But on the other hand near as i'm aware those huge blacks with intragrated heads are not offered on modern printers. Some of those older canons can emulate an Epson dot matrix printer which make them desireable when dealing with older envrioments such as dos for a *nix terminal using transparent printing.

 

[beatmaniac]

Thank you for the quick answer !

So i think i'll jus go back to the store with the BCI-21 (Black) tank i have and get a BCI-21E which includes the intergrated head, and both black and color tanks (BCI-21B and BCI-21C) ... i hope that's all i need to start printing !

 

[Nifty]

Wow, I did a search for the printer and is sure looks a lot like my very first Canon, a BJC-1000. Here's what I saw doing a search for BJC-4300: http://pictures.ask.com/pictures?qsrc=1&o=0&q=BJC-4300

Is that what it looks like?

Boy was my BJC-1000 a workhorse! Not the best resolution, and I had to swap out black and color tanks, but I would refill those cartridges up to 30+ times. Sometimes I'd even refill them with straight alcohol and they'd still print, but the colors would just get lighter and lighter.

 

[zakezuke]

Thank you for the quick answer !

So i think i'll jus go back to the store with the BCI-21 (Black) tank i have and get a BCI-21E which includes the intergrated head, and both black and color tanks (BCI-21B and BCI-21C) ... i hope that's all i need to start printing !

I just checked to see if you can still buy the ip1500 or the ip2000 in the store for $50... and it seems they have been replaced by the ip1600 which sells for about $50 which is very very very bad in terms of printing economy... as in the black ink costs $20 and provides less volume and yield than the $16 tank you'd get with a printer that's more expensive and ease of refilling hasn't been established.

But some stores still do carry the ip1500 or ip2000 which cost $50ish. They are available via mail order. A newer model would give you the benifits of passable photo printing, higher resolution text printing, and faster than 1 page per min at no higher cost per page than the older bj-4300. While I don't have direct experence with the bj-4200 I do have direct experence with the bjc 2100 also taking the BCI-21E head. It's my nieces, the head must be cleaned with windex due to lack of use which is not unique. Given the choice between spending $50 on a new head with ink or a new printer with a head and ink... i'd pick the new printer hands down even if it's a model that takes the same style thimble sized tanks. They may be small and the cost per page isn't great, they can be refilled and there are far worse options on the market.

 

[beatmaniac]

Actually zakezuke, i have to thank you ... you pointed me in the right direction and now i understand what i'm missing ... i'm looking to change the printer ... i just got this Canon BCI-21B tank for 8.40$CAD, i could get a refund and buy the BCI-21E for 48.50$CAD ... but instead ... i just ordered a used BCI-21E from eBay ... only 5$US (free shipping) ... they might still be some ink in it, but i don't count on it.

I'll probably just swap the used black tank (BCI-21B) for my new one, that's all i need ... i'm not looking for photo quality or color printing for all that matters .. i even bought the cheapest paper ... it's just that i prefer to read my e-mails on paper on my way to work in the bus for exemple ... i don't want to invest much more either !

But again ... thank you for your help ! Do you have a paypal account ? if yes ... what e-mail ?

(you may send it privately to beatmaniac@sympatico.ca)

 

[zakezuke]

Actually zakezuke, i have to thank you ... you pointed me in the right direction and now i understand what i'm missing ... i'm looking to change the printer ... i just got this Canon BCI-21B tank for 8.40$CAD, i could get a refund and buy the BCI-21E for 48.50$CAD ... but instead ... i just ordered a used BCI-21E from eBay ... only 5$US (free shipping) ... they might still be some ink in it, but i don't count on it.

I'll probably just swap the used black tank (BCI-21B) for my new one, that's all i need ... i'm not looking for photo quality or color printing for all that matters .. i even bought the cheapest paper ... it's just that i prefer to read my e-mails on paper on my way to work in the bus for exemple ... i don't want to invest much more either !

But again ... thank you for your help ! Do you have a paypal account ? if yes ... what e-mail ?

(you may send it privately to beatmaniac@sympatico.ca)

Don't worry about it... this is trivial information about a printer similar to one I get annoyed with on a regular basis.

If your not looking for color printing....and don't refill your self... think about the huge black. BC-20 may cost $42.00 canadian but I believe it's slightly over 4 times the volume of the BC-21B that costs $12ish. The $12 deal isn't all that good in the long term.

 

[beatmaniac]

Well ... you're a god sent !

Thanks again ... i'm pretty sure i can manage from there !