Printer issues?

Does anyone know of a decent little printer I could pair with my laptop that handles standard letter size? And where would be the best place to pick one up locally?

Kimberly Wilson67 said:Is there any kind of small portable printer I can grab for my laptop that actually handles standard letter size? Where could I even find one?

The new ones are crazy expensive.

Finding parts for the older models is a total pain, too. But hey, I guess you'll figure it out.

So, which ones are actually crazy expensive?
Do you know anyone who might have an older model lying around that still works perfectly fine?

Kimberly Wilson67 said:Which ones are crazy expensive? Do you know anyone selling an older model that actually still works?

HP Envy series, 20/14ppm, battery included
Price $733.

while refurbished units are

500 - $333

Can you pick up refurbished units at any store that carries printers, or do you have to hunt them down at specific places? Also, is an HP Envy series actually decent? I just need something here and there to print out some random stuff, nothing fancy.

Kimberly Wilson67 said:Can I just pick up a refurbished one at any store that carries printers, or do I have to look in specific spots? Is it actually decent? I just need something to print stuff here and there, nothing crazy.

Do you even have a power outlet nearby?

Honestly, it’d be way smarter to just grab a compact inkjet and a 12V converter. Problem solved for about $167

I’ve got an incentive coming up soon, but honestly... why?

Kimberly Wilson67 said:I’ve got a plug nearby, so why wouldn't I?

The thing is, if you take a portable printer and start tearing it down to compare it to a cheap
printer from
Costco, you'll see they aren't actually all that different.

The main difference is just that the portable one has a battery and this $100Costco model doesn't. They use the same ink, the speed is basically the same, and the cost per page is identical.$667
The only real gap is the initial price tag.

Maybe look for something similar to this instead. You can always power it up using a 12V to 110V inverter in your car, on a boat, or even if you're stranded on some desert island.

So, I borrowed an HP OfficeJet from my sister just to see if it would actually play nice with my laptop, but I've already hit a little snag. As soon as I hit Power on, those two color lights just start flashing at me. She mentioned her cousin was messing around with the ink colors recently, so I'm wondering—what could be causing this?

Kimberly Wilson67 said:I borrowed an HP OfficeJet from my sister just to see if I could get it running on my laptop. But I've hit a snag—when I power it on, those two color lights just keep blinking. She mentioned her cousin was messing around with the ink cartridges recently. Any idea what's going wrong?

Try hitting that button right under the Power on and Carriage lights; it should cycle through and show you which specific ink is empty.

If it isn't the black cartridge, you might be able to score some partially used ink for free at an Epson service center. Just don't expect any warranty on it.

Most repair shops have a huge pile of cartridges left over after they swap out the originals for stuff like Colibar or other refillable brands. They don't just toss them.

Let me try to walk you through what's happening here; on the top left side of the printer, there's the power button, and right underneath that, you’ve got the icon for paper. Next to the paper icon, there's a light that just keeps flashing red at me. Then, right below that, there's the ink icon, and its light is also blinking red constantly. I'm honestly not sure if this is supposed to be happening all the time or if something is actually broken.

Do I need to install that separately, or does it just happen automatically?

Kimberly Wilson67 said:Let me try to be more specific about what's happening; on the top left side of the printer, there’s the power button, then right below that, there's an icon of a sheet of paper, and next to it, there's a light that just keeps flashing red at me. Below that, there's an ink icon with another light next to it that's also constantly blinking red. I'm not sure if it's supposed to stay like that or if something is actually broken.

If both those red lights are blinking

then you probably need to call a repair shop.

It could mean the printer can't sync up, there's a paper jam somewhere, or the waste ink pad is totally full.

Check your computer screen and see what the driver status says.

Can I actually clean out that tank myself? Like, where is it located exactly, or am I just gonna have to haul it down to a repair shop in Chicago?

Kimberly Wilson67 said:Can I actually clean that tank myself? Like, where is it even located, or am I stuck taking it to a repair shop?

You've gotta reset it first. And you'll need the right reset software for the HP DeskJet 4450 to do that.

I’m thinking the smartest move might be just taking it into a repair shop, but honestly? I'm a little nervous about how much they're gonna hit me with the bill.

I'm looking for a solid all-in-one printer for my home setup—something geared toward $183 where I can actually find cheap third-party ink without breaking the bank. It’ll mostly be handling Word docs, PDFs, and the occasional layout from AutoCAD—nothing crazy—but having Wi-Fi is a must.

Adam Fisher5 said:I'm looking for an all-in-one printer for $183 that uses cheap third-party ink. It'll mostly be for home stuff—Word docs, PDFs, maybe some light AutoCAD work, nothing crazy. Ideally, I'd want Wi-Fi too.

Look, you gotta realize that printer companies have zero incentive to actually make printers like that.

It’s pretty straightforward, really.

Bottom line? You might need to rethink what you're looking for.

So, what kind of price tag are we looking at for a setup like that?
And while you're at it—can anyone suggest a model where the third-party ink won't absolutely bleed me dry?

Adam Fisher5 said:So how much would a setup like that actually run me?
Can anyone recommend one that uses cheap third-party ink?

Look, here’s the breakdown so you can figure it out for yourself.

rustysurfer79 buys a brand new, shrink-wrapped Canon PIXMA or something similar—that's an investment of about $167. Then comes the Cisco system install, which is maybe an hour of work. Then testing, another hour. That’s 2 * $50. The Cisco kit with all the ink costs $100 plus tax. Just remember, once you do that, forget about having a warranty from Canon.

So, the whole thing brand new totals roughly $367 plus tax.

Or there's option two. rustysurfer79 grabs a refurbished PIXMA instead. From there, it’s the exact same process as above. But you put it through its paces daily, printing invoices and stuff, just to be sure the whole rig holds up long-term. You get a 90-day warranty or a 7-day money-back guarantee.

That equals $233 + tax.

Then there's the third way. Grab the latest PIXMA model for $167. Get a Cisco kit for $100 + tax. Then just DIY the installation by following some tutorial on YouTube. Of course, if anything breaks, you're looking at the guy who posted the video on YouTube for a warranty.

Keep in mind, you won't have a warranty on the print heads in any of these scenarios since they're basically consumables. But honestly, it still makes sense because for about $100 - $50, you can just buy new heads whenever you need them. Boom, you've got a "new" printer again.

On the other hand, if you go with an Epson that has a built-in Cisco system, the whole thing is basically e-waste the second you run into nozzle issues.

And with those other Canons or cheap HP models, the Cisco setups either don't work at all or they only work until the repair guys leave the building.