Posts by hollowmarlin27

Joshua Ramos14 said:Hey everyone, I need a printer that actually has affordable replacement ink. Honestly, I only care about black and white; color is irrelevant (funny enough, my parents have a photocopier, so I just go there when I need to scan or print in color). This thing would basically just handle a few bills a week and some random stuff my wife needs to print occasionally.

What’s the best value move right now?

EDIT:

Maybe https://www.amazon.com/example-printer-link?

I'm a lazy bastard, so if there's an option for LinkedIn in San Francisco, I'm probably taking it.😁

Looking at this:

https://www.bestbuy.com/example-printer-link
Ink $30, prints up to 360 pages. I'll probably only hit maybe 300 pages a year, so that might actually work out.

When you're buying gear like this, ask yourself one extra question: how long do you expect this $500 investment to actually last? $200 Basically, after how many cycles will you be okay with shelling out the cash to buy the exact same thing all over again.

Once you figure that out, look up which models preceded the ones listed above.

Then, check this forum or Google to see if those specific devices actually survived their intended lifespan before someone tossed them in the recycling bin.

Pretty simple.

With any other option, at best, you're just subsidizing the government by 25%, the retailer by 10-20%, and the national deficit by 50%—once every couple of years.

So, just ask someone here who dropped $500 $200 and is still perfectly happy two years later without wanting to throw it out a window.

Alex Flores49 said:Hey,

I'm stuck in this massive loop of indecision over which printer to pull the trigger on. Canon just dropped their new CISS models, so reviews are pretty thin on the ground right now, but I’m leaning toward them because of the borderless printing feature. On the other hand, the Epson L series gets glowing reviews, but honestly, the lack of borderless options is a total dealbreaker for me. Does anyone actually own one of these series and have some real-world feedback? And is this whole CISS setup actually worth the hype, or is it just clever marketing?

Maybe check with a local Best Buy or similar shop to see if they let you take a unit home for a weekend trial.

If you love it, keep it. If it's a dud, return it. No questions asked. From what I know, that kind of thing exists for professional inkjets using CISS systems for edible ink—you know, the ones used for printing on cookies and cakes.

I haven't a clue, but maybe there's a similar deal for these standard CISS printers too.

Either way, sounds like a smart move.

steelfalcon17 said:I've got an HP OfficeJet 7000 that's pushing five years old now. It’s been a workhorse, honestly—always worked perfectly until recently. Now, the black ink just won't print, even though the cartridge is brand new. Ten days ago, black was printing fine, but suddenly, nothing. I tried cleaning the printhead manually and ran the software cleaning cycles, but no luck. I’ve always stuck to genuine ink, so I don't think that's the issue. Anyone have any ideas on what else I can try to fix this? 🙏

Honestly, without seeing it in person, there isn't much I can say for sure.

It's either fried heating elements or the pre-filter on the head is clogged.

Usually, you see stuff like this when people use those cheap third-party cartridges that start leaking ink all over the
nozzles.

darkowl72 said:Beethoven, back at it again with the ink drama, I see. 😬

Back to the point...

Are you actually reading what she's typing, or just seeing whatever fits your narrative?

The breakdown:
1. The printer was completely dead.
2. She popped in some old original cartridges.
3. Suddenly, it’s working.
4. Swapped back to the generic ones.
5. The printer and scanner function fine now, but there's zero print quality.

Bottom line: SHE NEEDS TO INSTALL NEW DRIVERS.

Look, instead of wasting cash on those off-brand cartridges that clearly don't work, just return them. Of course, that's assuming they aren't those overpriced knockoffs where the dealer gave you a "30-day guarantee" just to close the sale. If you missed that window, feel free to take a picture of your empty wallet. Otherwise, maybe use that same money to buy an actual refill kit—assuming you ever actually see a refund.

fadedbear92 said:Alright, I did everything else. Now I'm just stuck on step 5—the actual fix.

Thanks anyway!

When I pulled the color cartridge out, the ink warning lights started flashing. Usually, it’s just the black ink light blinking, but 🤷then I pulled the black one too, and now all the lights are flashing at once.

Put the old cartridges back in and let me know what happens.

darkowl72 said:Nonsense. Did it ever occur to you that manufacturers can just request to block specific searches or YouTube videos? They do this ruthlessly for small companies, let alone on behalf of a giant like Canon. You really think someone manufactured an Epson system (I don't know, maybe just one unit specifically designed to mess with someone here in the States) just for those cartridges and that printer, then sold it on eBay without getting slammed by negative feedback?

Sometimes you write a decent post, and sometimes... well...

I couldn't find any installation instructions for the HP Envy anywhere. Just nothing. Eventually, I stumbled onto a forum where some guy had actually done it and even drew a diagram showing exactly how to cut out space so the ribbon cable could actually move... Now, it works like a charm.

I'm not saying the OP needs to be some pioneer researcher, but if the people selling the Epson kits tell him it’s possible and show him how (or even do it for him)—why not? It would save him a massive amount of cash.

It's just stupid to buy something when nobody in your neighborhood knows if it actually works or not.

Basically, if nobody is offering it as a complete package, there’s probably a catch you won't discover until after you've dropped the cash. All it takes is the manufacturer adding one tiny little flaw that some dealer hasn't encountered because they've never installed an Epson kit on that specific model. If you don't have experience with this stuff, there's a 95% chance you're just throwing money and time down the drain.

So, someone has to waste their time printing a few thousand copies on that exact device before they can safely offer it as a ready-to-go bundle.

If there isn't a pre-packaged solution available, it means there are better ways to spend the same amount of money—specifically, solutions where every part of the chain has been tested.

That's why, once an Epson kit is integrated into new printers, you can be sure the manufacturer did everything possible to make sure you get burned. You'll end up wasting your money and your time, and then you'll just say, "I'm done playing games with you guys."

Nicholas Moore7 said:So basically, a CISS is just larger ink reservoirs you can refill, you just have to install them into the printer—they sit on the outside.
Thanks a ton. I'll give the guys from that link a call on Monday to see what they say.

Before you drop any cash on this, do some digging. Check if anyone in the States is already selling an MF unit with a built-in CISS system.

If you find one, ask if the vendor will honor your receipt. You need to know the actual cost for installation, testing, and whether they’ll even touch the warranty. Just a heads up: looking for a similar device with CISS won't help much here, because apparently, this specific HP LaserJet of yours would be the first one with a CISS in the whole country. And we all know how Americans treat early adopters.

Nicholas Moore7 said:I've got an HP OfficeJet Pro—my wife uses it for her bookkeeping work—and honestly, the color issues every single month are driving me nuts. It’s basically screaming at me to just stick to grayscale since it won't print colors anyway, yet it keeps draining the ink tanks, not just the black one. Is there some kind of workaround to trick the thing? Or maybe some cheaper ink options out there? Has anyone tried ordering stuff from eBay, like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-CARTUCHO-...EAAOSwmrlUthwe

If you're just looking for B&W prints, you aren't going to get anywhere with that setup. Those cartridges have tiny capacities, and by the time you pay shipping from eBay, you'll have spent more on postage than you actually saved on the ink.

Basically, $34 for roughly 30 ml is a decent price. That puts you at about $1 per ml, or effectively $100 for 100 ml.

For that same amount of cash, you could probably find a similar Canon here in the States with a built-in CISS system. Later on, a 400 ml bottle of black would run you about $50 plus tax.

Or better yet, check the local classifieds for an old HP OfficeJet Pro that comes with 100ml of refillable black ink for maybe $200— $100. That's definitely your best bet for an IBM-style solution for bookkeeping needs.

If all you really need is B&W for accounting, the smartest move is finding a laser printer that uses high-capacity toner—around 4,000 pages—for maybe $150 to $67 or roughly $500. $667 You can just keep using your current Canon on a different USB port as a scanner. As for copying, there are plenty of programs that'll emulate an IBM multifunction device.

So, when you crunch the numbers, grabbing a B&W Canon HP OfficeJet Pro for $200 $100 is the winner, provided you can still find one bundled with 100 or 200 ml of refillable black ink
.
You could always go buy a brand new LaserJet, but you'll quickly realize you're right back where you started.

The truth is, between a new inkjet and a new LaserJet, there isn't much difference regarding toner or ink costs; if there were, manufacturers would have locked the whole system down ages ago.

wiredotter14 said:Just post it here already. I don't even own an HP anymore. The OP needs advice, not me—I have zero use for PMs.

Don't sweat it.
Maybe once they hit rock bottom will they actually bother looking for a real solution.
The thing is, most people aren't interested in those kinds of answers. Everyone prefers living in blissful ignorance. From basic math all the way up the chain. You have to look at the big picture, not just what's convenient for one person.

wiredotter14 said:Look, I didn't start this thread, and honestly, I don't really care

Feel free to drop a public suggestion for a better fix here—like, what exactly should someone buy? And if you aren't keeping secrets, maybe share those "experiences" of yours (that was the whole point of 🙄 )

One more thing

Take a good, long look at that usage graph, step by step. It’s pretty obvious—every time you swap out a cartridge, the ink level indicator drops by about 5%. So, if you go through all four cartridges in a row, you’re looking at an 80% reading after the first swap. That means 20 + 15 + 10 + 5% just vanished into thin air right after you finished the set. Basically, you're throwing 50% of a single cartridge down the drain every time you replace a full set, whether you're using third-party stuff or the name brands.

If you're using high-capacity tanks, though, it doesn't really matter because the ink costs next to nothing.

That's all I've got.

wiredotter14 said:Look, just give me a suggestion—like, an actual link. I know there are other ways to go about this, but without a direct link to a specific solution, this conversation isn't really getting us anywhere.

Sorry, no link coming your way.

But if you're actually interested in hearing about someone else's experience with XP T1811 ink sets, I can easily dig up two private emails from people who swear by these third-party cartridges. Just go ask an actual user what they think about using permanent XP T1811 cartridges. See how reliable or cost-effective they’ve been compared to all the other knock-off inks out there.

Or, you know, try Googling it. You'll probably stumble onto a useful link eventually.

wiredotter14 said:I didn't really dig into the technical side of things, and honestly, I'm no expert here. My knowledge mostly comes from just doing it.

The seller I suggested has been reliable for me, and obviously, thousands of people on Amazon have given them great reviews—including for the HP stuff we're talking about.

Just tell me specifically why my suggestion is bad.

To me, this looks like a solid, highly-rated product.

http://www.amazon.com/Compatible-E...ks+epson+t1811

Fine.

Let's break this down.
1. The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing. The text mentions 1811XL cartridges, but the photo shows standard 1811s, not the XL versions. So, you don't actually know what you're getting. Is it what the picture shows or what the text says? And frankly, nobody knows what kind of ink is actually inside those Intel chips.

2. Genuine cartridges don't have sponges inside. These ones do. It's that Tipićan ink quality. Same manufacturer for the plastic casing, same cheap plastic.

3. With genuine cartridges, even when they seem empty, the Intel chips hold onto an extra 10-20% of ink at the same density just as a safety measure for long-term storage. You definitely shouldn't leave a printer sitting idle with empty cartridges anyway.

4. These random sellers on Amazon brag about having 18.5 ml in their XL cartridges. Meanwhile, HP states that an 1811XL cartridge holds 11.5 ml, which is basically the capacity of a refillable tank. It's just your typical sales gimmick and bait-and-switch.
http://www.hp.com/us/en/viewcon...overview/11628
5. These Amazon sellers claim you get 15 ml of ink with the CMY set. A buyer might think they're getting 15 ml per cartridge. But with refillable tanks that lack sponges, you physically can't fit more than 11 ml in there. Plus, the manufacturer says the 1812-4 XL cartridges hold 6.6 ml. That’s the absolute max volume an XL chip can handle before it's done. Again, classic deceptive marketing.
http://www.hp.com/us/en/viewcon...overview/11632

6. Once again, total confusion—they've swapped the colors and black cartridges for the "18.5 ml" set. They list it as 3*6.6, but it's actually 15.1 ml, and even then, the last two digits should be swapped. Just typical shady business tactics where the customer always loses.

7. Every time you toss one of these cartridges out, it ends up polluting the environment. Why deal with that when you could just use a refillable one that isn't meant to be thrown in the trash?

8. In this 16-cartridge set, no matter how much you try, you can't use more than 4*3*6.6 = 79.2 ml plus 4*11.5 ml = 46 ml, totaling 125.2 ml. When you factor everything in, you're looking at at least $200. $100 Compared to buying the same cheap Chinese ink locally, which costs three times as much $50 plus tax, and adding the cost of refillable cartridges that aren't disposable. At least with that method, you aren't throwing ink away; you're just paying for the weight in shipping costs.

Enough?

wiredotter14 said:Everything you said is technically true, and I never claimed this ink wasn't Chinese (honestly, I've received some labeled as German before, but most have no markings, so it's a safe bet they're coming from China)

I’m recommending this seller based on actual experience, their massive sales volume, and the huge amount of ink we've already bought from them.

But you're looking at a link, deciding the ink is Chinese, and immediately dismissing the possibility that it's actually good quality. It's not like American companies don't sell Chinese ink; and just because an American company refills them doesn't mean they're better. In my experience, they're right in line with the cheapest stuff on eBay.

Bottom line, I'm basing my recommendation on the fact that we've printed through about 400kg of paper, and we're still getting the same reliable quality from this supplier.

If things go south in the future, I'll switch suppliers. Until then, they're better than any American suppliers we've tried.

edit:

Here, specifically regarding these inks—I've bought smaller amounts for home Epson printers, but this is what we used for almost everything.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-XL-Ink-...item3a7b207e91

edit2:

The same brand is sold on Amazon and through their own direct site.

You can check it out here via Amazon; I think Amazon reviews give a pretty decent picture of how reliable something is (unlike eBay).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Go-Inks%C2%A...=Go+Inks%C2%AE

Look, you're comparing apples to oranges.

First, you talk about Epson compatible cartridges and then immediately generalize based on your experience with Canon compatibles. Someone might actually take you seriously if they didn't know you were mixing up your signals.

The difference between Epson and Canon printers is night and day. The cartridge construction, how the chip behaves, and even the ink formula are completely different.

Basically, you shouldn't trust anyone on forums like this who isn't aware of that distinction. One person's experience doesn't apply to the other case.

For example:
With Epson, using permanent Chinese cartridges plus verified Chinese ink is a plug-and-play solution. Even without competition, it's easily the best Option A. Finding similar one-time-use cartridges is a tough sell.

But for Canon, permanent Chinese cartridges are a hard pass. The replacements rated 1-95% are okay, but those 95-100% ones? Those replacement chips absolutely wreck Canon printers.
So, for Canon, the winning combo is original cartridges + verified ink + a resetter. That's because those specific chips can be reset, whereas original cartridges don't use a sponge—they use a billion tiny components.

wiredotter14 said:Look, it's true. I've messed around with random inks from eBay before, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to how good the specific product actually is.
So far, my experience with cheap inks sourced locally here in the States (probably just some generic Chinese ink)

The stuff I linked on eBay isn't even close to the absolute cheapest thing out there. You can find inks for just a couple of bucks a bottle, but they run out faster and make a bigger mess.

I didn't link this particular Seller for nothing; we've been ordering from them for years and the ink has always been solid and lasted a long time (their Brother inks are better than anything else we've tried).
The Seller is reliable, ships from the United Kingdom, and has responsive customer service. Plus, shipping is just 5 pounds ($17) flat-rate, no matter how much you grab.

Now, getting into the technicalities of how his chip handles pulses... I'm probably not qualified to weigh in on that, but my gut tells me they're extremely dependable.

Hey, if you don't like it, whatever. Over the last four years or so, we've burned through maybe 15-20 large bulk packs of A4 paper—lots of heavy printing included—and we haven't had a single issue with GO Inks.

That’s all I'm saying. I'm not trying to sell anyone a bridge or anything; I'm just sharing what's worked for me.

I checked out that link. It's definitely a Chinese manufacturer. Believe me or don't. Your call.

That doesn't mean Chinese companies can't make high-quality stuff when they want to. It's just that you're missing one key detail: a single Chinese merchant usually has at least three different tiers of quality and price for the exact same product. Once someone starts haggling with a Chinese merchant after being happy with the quality, that merchant becomes incredibly flexible on price because they've got two other versions tucked away that look identical but cost way less.

Basically, you might get a great product today as a trial, but tomorrow, once your dealer negotiates an even better price, you'll get something that looks exactly the same but costs the Chinese manufacturer 50% less to produce.

That's just how eBay works.

wiredotter14 said:So you're actually suggesting every single cartridge yields the exact same page count?
In my experience, that’s just not how it works. There are noticeable differences with third-party ink—not quite triple the yield, but you definitely feel it in terms of longevity and quality (like how much it gunk up the print head, etc.).
We had some pretty bad luck with various "local" inks, including those refill kits, mostly because they kept clogging the printer heads.

Anyway, I've had great luck with the Seller I linked. Shipping is cheap, and I’d definitely recommend them if you're looking to place an order for something around $15 or $20.

What I'm trying to say is that the seller is basically pulling one over on people. Sure, there might be 13ml in the cartridge, but you can't actually use more than 5ml because the printer's software is hardcoded with such a limited impulse for that specific chip type.

There are plenty of these XL cartridges out there with different chips, but some Chinese manufacturer just prints one single type of packaging that says "13ml" because that's what the average consumer wants to see. It doesn't matter if it's objectively false.

Or, to put it simply, a Chinese merchant will pack the exact same box with a 13ml cartridge, a 7.5ml one, a 5.5ml one, or even a 3.5ml one. It's way more profitable for them to mass-produce one single box design and then just slap on whatever label or chip description fits what's actually inside.

It’s as simple as it gets for both the manufacturer and the retailer.

>>> At the end of the day, the customer sees whatever they want to see. <<<

wiredotter14 said:If you're printing a lot, I seriously recommend GO Inks

Shipping is just $5 regardless of how much you grab, so it ends up being cheaper than buying locally in the States

The ink quality is solid; we've run tens of thousands of pages through our Brother and Epson printers using their stuff
We used to buy from local office supply stores when we were in a pinch, but GO Inks turned out to be more reliable and longer-lasting

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/16-Ink-Car...item84e514f442

- Capacity: 18.2ml (Bk) & 15ml (C/M/Y)

For comparison, the original T1801 only holds about 5ml of ink

That’s just a classic merchant's trick.

It's simple: it doesn't actually matter what the box claims the ink volume is. What matters is how many print cycles are programmed into the chip.

And how many cycles the manufacturer decides to hardcode into the chip's firmware? That's the real limit.

End of story.

That's why Option 3 was the only smart move from the start.

Robert Morales56 said:Where can I grab these and what's the damage on the ink? 😬

Like this one and /0/']this one? Is it really the same thing even if there's a $4 difference? Are those third-party ones actually any good?

Why aren't you promoting

They claim they offer a 30-day warranty.

Sean Vaughn35 said:I hooked the printer up to my laptop via USB and everything works fine—no blinking lights, no issues. So, clearly, my desktop computer was causing some kind of interference.😁

Then, because I’m apparently a genius, I decided to flip the plug on the outlet for the desktop. When I plugged it back in, the printer started buzzing while still connected to the PC via USB. I have no idea what kind of conflict that caused, but when you swap the polarity on a standard US outlet, things can get weird. In all that chaos, I actually blew the circuit breaker in my attic. The printer acted like it hit a short circuit—that nasty burning smell started wafting out, and the USB cable got pretty hot. I swapped out the breaker, plugged the computer into its own outlet, and the printer seems okay now. Nothing else burned, though so maybe that smell was just something inside the printer overheating from the surge. All in all, I've never seen flipping an outlet plug cause a short through a computer like that.

Maybe you don't have three-phase power in your attic? Like, what if the printer is on one phase and the computer is on another??

Sean Vaughn35 said:Tried everything. Same result. When the USB is plugged in, it just keeps blinking, even if I turn the printer off. But get this—if I leave the USB connected but pull the power cord, the blinking actually stops. Honestly, sounds like a power supply issue inside the unit.

P.S. Even if I just lean the USB cable against my PC case, it starts blinking. Doesn't even have to be plugged in, just touching the metal housing triggers it.

So I just switched it over to Wi-Fi and suddenly it's fine.