suggested replacement for my psc 1210?

[jayjay22]

Hi all, new user here. Glad I found this forum, as I have been messing around with refilling my hp psc 1210 56 and 57 carts for some time. The problem is I am tired of the hp cartridge design with the printhead built into the cartridge. In a way it is good since it basically extends the life of the printer because if the printhead dies, just replace the cartridge and you have a new printhead. From a refill perspective it is not the best system as in my experience the printhead built into the cartridge is not very well made for durability (they are only really made well enough by hp to be used once for sure) since they only last for 3 refills max for me before some resistors appear to go and i begin to get minor banding from the cyan. This is even when i am refilling at about half empty. I would like a canon design with the separate ink tanks. However I have also been looking at epsons lately in my quest to replace the HP. I like epson's for the ability to print directly to printable dvd's, specifically been looking at the r200. I know most of this forum is slanted towards canon, but as far as ease of refilling and number of times you can refill a cartridge before replacement, which would some of you recommend? I print my own DVD Case inserts, so cost per refill is important, the lower the better. A couple features i definitely want are print direct to printable dvd and separate ink tanks. Also, easy to refill. Thanks for reading, and TIA for any advice. I hope to pickup my next printer when i get paid on thursday.

Also, if some of you know what I am doing wrong with the HP carts, I would welcome the advice, but this was a new cart that was purchased just last week (less than a week actually, about 5 days ago) and I have refilled it from about half empty 3 times. All the while I have kept the printhead clean and followed all the cartridge care advice that I found on numerous sites (refill when about half, keep printhead clean, never allow to run out of ink, etc.)

Thanks again for the advice and sorry for my ramblings...

Moderator, should this be in the "inkjet printers-general" forum?

 

[fotofreek]

Without a doubt the Canon carts are the easiest to refill. So far, no chips, transparent carts, good inks available, minimal risk of clogging as compared to Epson. There have been some negative info on the r200 on the comp.periphs.printers newsgroup. Go onto that NG and look for the threads about that printer. Also, check out info on that NG about the cd printing tray. I recall that after not too many cds have been printed the tray gets glitchy. There are also some posts here about adapting the US Pixma printers to accept a cd tray, and also some info on fabricating a cd tray for the adapted Pixma printers. I don't know how well they work, but someone on this forum can probably direct you to the posts about this subject. I believe that these posts were from Zakezuke - you can look them up. We do have participants who can help you with the HP carts as well.

 

[jayjay22]

Thanks for the reply fotofreek... I think i will look into a canon pixma as I like the idea that it seems able to print direct to the edge of the page like most epson's. This comes in very handy when printing full-size dvd case covers as they will easily fit on a standard 8 1/2 x 11" sheet, but most printers do not have the printable area to print close enough to the edge of the page. What I have been doing is tricking it by taking a 3-4" piece of paper and taping a 2-3" piece of photo paper and a piece of regular 8 1/2 x 11" photo papertogether on it. Then I tell the computer I am using legal paper. Works perfectly, but it is a pain, and will be nice to be able to just put the 8 1/2 x 11" paper in and hit print and be done with it. Also, I like that they can be modified to print on DVD directly. Nice feature! Shame on Canon for not offering it to their customers. I was looking at either the Pixma 3000 or 4000. I will probably get it at circuit city, since they have that extended service plan for 2 years for about $30. Anyway, thanks again for the suggestion fotofreek. I still welcome anyone else's suggestions on a new printer. So far I am liking the Pixma 3000/4000 for the price and features.

 

[fotofreek]

The ip3000 uses cyan, magenta, and yellow to create black in color printing plus the black pigmented ink for plain paper printing, whereas the ip4000 has CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) plus the black pigmented ink for plain paper printing. For the few dollars difference I would chose the ip4000 between the two. Excellent reviews on the ip4000. Amazon has this printer for $93 after collecting the $20 rebate. They have a one year replacement policy for $15 that starts when the manufacturer's labor warranty ends. I don't know if this replacment policy is any good - you'd have to check it against the circuit city price and policy details. With Amazon - no tax, no shipping.

 

[jayjay22]

Thanks very much for the feedback fotofreek, much appreciated. Good find on the amazon price, a bit better than the circuit city price by about $10 after $20 rebate. $92.99 with amazon, and $99.99 with CC. The one reason I would go with circuit city is 1- I like that I can order it online and pickup in store for free, (or just go and buy the darn thing at their store) 2-They have an easy return policy should I not like it (though from what I read I am sure i'll be thrilled with it) 3- After reading both companies protection plan terms of agreement, I like CC's better for a few reasons. However I do appreciate you taking the time to reply and help me out. I think the 4000 is definitely the one I will go with. Thanks again, you have been very helpful fotofreek Can't wait until thursday when I go down and pick this bad boy up