Posts by Mark Hill90

Back in the day, a VCR would set you back something like $150—a serious chunk of change—whereas nowadays you can pick up a DVD player for maybe $30. Honestly, who even bothers buying VHS tapes anymore? I mean, who actually looks at a grainy tape and tries to argue it has better picture quality or performance than a DVD? It just doesn't fly.

hollowmarlin27 said:Look, it’s not all doom and gloom—if you really want to hear me ramble about HP ink cartridges and printheads, I can certainly spin a yarn for you.

By all means, go ahead.

btw, have you ever thought about changing your handle from hollowmarlin27 to something like Don Quixote? It seems like fighting windmills is basically your full-time job at this point.

If you're dealing with an Apple monitor, you'll pretty much have to (re)program the DDC chip on the circuit board itself.

Samuel Anderson34 said:Does anyone know which printer I should grab if I want the cheapest possible ink costs? I’m mostly just printing stuff in black—about 95% of the time—so I don't really need some high-end machine that produces photo-quality prints. Just something reliable enough for text.

http://www.epson.com/viewcon/co...ac=1&WT.z_ap=0

And maybe this one too...

http://www.epson.com/viewcon/co...s/index/10413/

rustysurfer79 said:This article should definitely open your eyes to the reality of things

http://news.com/A_news/example_article_link

Honestly, it just made me laugh.

Michael Jackson10 said:I suspect when it comes to warranty claims, they check which specific importer handled your monitor—especially if there’s more than one player in the market. Let's be honest, nobody wants to foot the bill for someone else's customer.

That's a bit of a misconception—I mean, I don't want to be rude, but... LG actually reimburses the authorized service centers for every single repair, regardless of which importer brought the unit in. As long as the service center is listed in the warranty documentation, they are obligated to fix that monitor for free during the coverage period, no matter who the original importer was.

wiredcanyon18 said:It really ought to come with compatible replacement cartridges—though I suppose we can't count HP in that category, given how they operate.

I'm curious, though—what exactly leads you to believe that HP doesn't offer any third-party toner options?

Justin Ortiz55 said:I'm hunting for an all-in-one printer—something that handles faxing, scanning, and copying in one go.

Why specifically a laser?

What could possibly be better than a laser printer?

With that kind of budget, you’re looking at either an Epson or an HP. If I had to weigh them out—and there's always a trade-off, isn't there?—Epson definitely wins on the cost per page. HP, on the other hand, tends to pack in more bells and whistles and extra little features if that's what you're after.

An original black ink cartridge for an Epson runs about $20 and should net you roughly 4,000 pages.
Now, an original black ink cartridge for an HP costs about $77—though you can grab a generic one for around $100—and it'll get you through maybe 2,300 pages.


or perhaps

Gregory Scott4 said:If he tries to peddle any of his homemade DIY nonsense, just tune him out. Otherwise, if you want a clinical definition of this particular breed of troll, you can find it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia
"Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder characterized by a chronic, serious mental illness that primarily affects one's ability to think—essentially distorting reality, which leads to behavioral changes and distressing sensations.
The term itself stems from the Greek schizo (to split or cleave) and phrenos (mind or soul), which translates roughly to a 'split mind.'
The first sign is often considered a fragmentation of basic thought processes and cognition, alongside an inability to distinguish internal experiences from external ones. Those suffering from schizophrenia might report hallucinations (or appear to be reacting to them), or express views that have no grounding in reality. Social or occupational impairment, combined with other symptoms and the absence of a clear organic cause, can help confirm a diagnosis. Research suggests a mix of biological and socio-cultural factors contribute to its onset, while more recent studies point toward biochemical and genetic drivers within brain neurobiology."

My advice? Just buy whatever brand the local refill shop happens to stock. Honestly, forget about rustysurfer79. He’s just looking to sell some "super-premium" ink—the kind of stuff they probably used back in the day to print fake currency and fly it over the US in planes. That’s how they triggered hyperinflation in the 40s. They even used that same ink to forge documents for Hitler. And apparently, he’s still hiding out in Brazil. Even Radovan didn't use Adriatix Colibri ink, which is why he got caught when he tried to pass off those counterfeit dollars—printed without Adriatix's "top-tier" ink and their high-quality paper.

Man, his "Facebook friends" really saw right through him, didn't they? How tragic. We could probably throw a few more labels his way besides just schizophrenic.

rustysurfer79 said:When it comes to toner, there really is one golden rule you should live by.

But if we’re talking about the absolute gold standard for anyone just starting out with printing, it’s this: THE CHEAPEST PRINTERS END UP HAVING THE MOST EXPENSIVE OVERALL COST.

Just to put things into perspective—take an HP inkjet printer using 951XL ink; a single color cartridge can churn out about 1,400 pages, and that cartridge will set you back $53. Meanwhile, that aforementioned color laser printer with its single toner cartridge priced at $150 can handle roughly 1,500 pages.

quietowl39 said:Just wanted to drop a quick note to say I finally settled on the HP OfficeJet Pro K8600 as my go-to A3 printer. Since they aren't really making them anymore, it was a bit of a scavenger hunt to track one down—but I managed. I’m pretty happy with it so far; those ink tanks are substantial. And look, before anyone comes for me, please don't beat me up for going a bit off-topic here. Quick question for rustysurfer79: is there any way to shrink the margins on the A3 format? Ideally back to a "Default" level. Those cheaper HP models usually come with 0.3cm margins right out of the box—or at least a "minimize margins" option. That’s what I’m aiming for if it’s even possible. Thanks, and sorry again for the tangent.

For the K8600 on A3, the left and right margins are 5mm, while the top and bottom sit at 20mm. That's what the user manual specifies.

Angela Peterson83 said:My printer takes like half an hour just to copy a single page—did I press something wrong or what? Please, I really need some help here, thanks.

The issue is almost certainly those third-party ink cartridges you're using.

The issue lies with the laser itself, not the toners.

The red toner sits at the very bottom of the printer—which means the red laser optics are also positioned right at the bottom. Because of basic gravity, dust and grime naturally settle right onto those red laser optics, causing the intensity to drop and making the red output look terrible.

Kyle Martin67 said:The headache started right after I picked up this printer—whenever I try to print an ID card (roughly 3.9 x 5.7 inches), the machine throws a fit about the paper size because it's stuck on these pre-set industry standards.
Thanks!

Does the printer actually grab the card once you hit print, only to realize the dimensions are off and spit it back out? Also, what OS are we dealing with here—Windows, macOS, something else?

Take a look at this link, might help http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...=3418705#N1512

Thomas Davis4 said:Just a basic laser printer for home use—printing out scripts and presentations in black and white... That should be fine, right?

Honestly, regardless of which new printer you settle on, just make sure it comes with a decent warranty. Because let’s be real—once one of those cheap printers gives up the ghost after twelve months (if it even manages to survive that long), you might as well just toss it straight into the trash.

rustysurfer79 said:You see, when someone drops a question like that into the void, what usually happens is that some other interested party—someone with a bit more foresight—steps in to perform their own little market analysis. They basically organize themselves around the problem to pitch the perfect solution. It’s a delicate balancing act, really—finding that sweet spot where the customer actually sees a real saving, while ensuring the provider secures their own profit margins and keeps the whole application running smoothly without any hiccups. It’s all about maintaining that continuity, I suppose.

I’d say your issue lies in the fact that such a solution isn't really a global fix. In other words—if you look at any "universal" solution out there—they’re almost always designed with one primary goal in mind: ensuring some printer manufacturer can squeeze more profit out of you down the road. It's all just part of the cycle, really.

The problem with these local setups—if someone actually comes to you offering that kind of solution—is that it starts feeling less like helpful advice and more like they're just trying to force their own software down your throat. It stops being about what’s actually good for you and turns into a blatant attempt to dictate which tools you use. Honestly, once that dynamic shifts from utility to control, it becomes nearly impossible to have a real, objective conversation about it. Everything gets clouded by that underlying sense of being pushed around.

Look, we can only really discuss this if we're talking about a very specific set of circumstances—you know, those rare instances where the settings actually align with what’s being asked. In any other context, or frankly, in any other environment, that application is just completely ill-suited for the job. There are too many reasons why it fails to hit the mark outside of such a narrow window.

Cut the nonsense—I’m asking a straightforward question here, so let's just stick to a clear, direct answer.

P.S. You really need to ditch this dealer—and fast.

rustysurfer79 said:Canon ImageClass Duty Cycle suggestion

The duty cycle basically implies the machine can handle ten toner cartridges a month—for all twelve months of the warranty period, anyway. Though, honestly, finding a device that actually manages that for under 10$0.00
seems like a bit of a stretch.

Stop talking nonsense and quit trying to push those ancient, used printers on us just so you can offload your junk.

slycobra11 said:I’m trying to figure out how much these Dell Latitude keyboards actually run. My brother's laptop keyboard is basically shot—barely working at all—and he got quoted up to $1000 just to fix it. I need to know what these things usually cost before we get ripped off. Looking for a quick answer here!

Who on earth gave you that diagnostic? If they're charging $1000 just to look at it, there has to be more going on—because if that's just the price for a simple keyboard swap, it's daylight robbery. I mean, my brother wouldn't even $100 his own sibling like that, obviously, assuming it really is just the keyboard.

You can set the Rings to answer option to its maximum limit—basically deciding exactly how many rings should pass before the fax machine decides to pick up automatically.

Alternatively,

you could just handle the incoming fax settings manually by adjusting the Answer mode. You’ve got a few choices there, like AUTO, TEL, or FAX/TEL. Personally, I’d suggest sticking with TEL. If you go that route, the machine will just keep ringing until someone actually picks up the handset or the caller hangs up. The downside—and it’s a bit of a nuisance, really—is that if someone tries to send a fax after hours, the machine won't catch it unless you're physically there to lift the receiver and hit the button to accept the transmission.