WTB: HP Photosmart D5160 CD/DVD media tray (UK)

[Empterdose]

This is a long shot, but I'm in the UK, looking for this guy:

The longer version of the story is that I want to print onto some CDs, I'm already using HP 344/338 cartridges in my Officejet k7103, and a very cheap D5160 is on eBay, but it doesn't include the media tray. Hoping someone here either has one to get rid of (a long shot this long after the printer's release...) or can point me toward an equivalent part from another printer.

 

[Pixman]

Hello! Did you ever get that media tray for OfficeJet K7103?

 

[Empterdose]

Alas, no, I did not. (I was looking for a tray for the D5160, not the k7103, but either way I didn't find one.) I ended up buying an Epson ET-8550.

 

[Pixman]

Thanks for getting back to this old topic. That's unfortunate. I kept all these bits and pieces for my Pixma IP4000 and Epson XP-750. They both have the CD/DVD media tray. But it would probably not work with a HP printer, even though they look very similar.

How is the Epson ET-8550 treating you? Does it have a CD/DVD media tray? I managed to break my Pixma TS8350 last night by spraying a bit of synthetic adhesive lubricant at the back where the motor and main gears are. I did this to quite it down because it was making annoying noises as if running dry, and I didn't want to undertake the big operation of disassembling everything (presumably) to get to this mechanism. Now it runs so smoothly and loudly, it complains that there is a paper jam and only gives me error code after error code. So now I face either a service charge to have it repaired or buy a new printer. I'm afraid there are not many left on the market that have the CD/DVD media tray. I have thought about getting an EcoTank.

 

[Empterdose]

The ET-8550 can print to optical media, yes, as can its little brother, the ET-8500.

There are lots of positive reviews of the ET-8550's print quality to be found on the Internet, and my opinion is consistent with those – its output is quite good (for photos; at or even a smidge below average for text). As a complete system, I find it rickety; it makes alarming sounds; I had a plastic bit inexplicably fall out the bottom of it when I moved it after a couple of months (and yes, I shut it down with the “prepare for moving” process); and integration with the native OS print system is bad on macOS and miserable on Linux (I cannot speak to Windows). I would buy it again, but only because there is nothing else on the market that meets the same levels of photo print quality, media handling, and economy.