[ale] Picking a home paper / photo printer

Jim Kinney jim.kinney at gmail.com
Sun Aug 2 01:50:53 EDT 2009


It really depends on which Epson model you have as to the nozzle
clogging problem. The cheap ones for home owners will clog unless you
print one page about daily. The higher end models have a better
fitting nozzle cap (some really cheap models don't have one at all -
think single-tank color and black). Once you get into the $200+ range,
they are all pretty good.

I have had excellent success with unclogging any inkjet print head
with a paper plate with a folded paper towel on it. The paper towel
has a small amount of isopropyl alcohol on it to the point of being
moist but not dripping. Stand the print head onto the moist towel for
a few minutes. Lift and move around often to keep fresh alcohol in
contact and prevent cross-ink contamination. Be careful to not wipe
the nozzle line with the paper towel. The towel lint will really clog
the nozzles. If you decide to wipe use a lens paper with alcohol.

I can not recommend at all any HP inkjets. Now that they embedded a
"kill date" in their ink cartridges they have crossed the line into
Lexmark jerk category.

Lastly, if you need to leave the printer off for a week or so, pull
the print heads out and put them separately in a zip lock bag with a
bit of alcohol moistened paper in it. Be sure to remove as much air as
possible. I have seen that freezing them like this is OK but I have my
doubts. However the 'fridge is likely not a problem but I really don't
see the need. The alcohol vapors will saturate and stabilize the
evaporation rate to an equilibrium point.

On Sat, Aug 1, 2009 at 5:41 PM, Greg Freemyer<greg.freemyer at gmail.com> wrote:
> All,
>
> I've got a high-end printer at the office with all the high-end
> features I can dream of, but now I want to replace my home printer.
>
> I don't need huge speed, duplex, etc.
>
> I do want good paper handling (ie. no mis-feeds), photo printing
> (including 4x6 photo paper, etc.)
>
> A simple copier / scanner would be nice as well, but not at the
> expense of reliable paper handling.
>
> I've been reading reviews and looking at printers in Target/Micro Center/Costco.
>
> And I think I know less now than when the day started.
>
> Micro Center says Epson have ink issues with it gumming up.
>
> The reviews by the pros seem to totally ignore reliability and focus
> on features / speed.  The reviews by the users seem to be pretty
> negative in general.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Obviously the cheaper the better, but I'm more concerned with reliable
> paper handling than anything.
>
> Greg
> --
> Greg Freemyer
> Head of EDD Tape Extraction and Processing team
> Litigation Triage Solutions Specialist
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/gregfreemyer
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>
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-- 
-- 
James P. Kinney III
Actively in pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness



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