Printer issues?

I'm heading out... I'll let you know later what I ended up picking up.

urbanfalcon7 said:Alright, I'm heading out... I'll let you guys know what I end up grabbing later.

Definitely touch base once you're done. We want to see what else you could have scored for the same amount—or even less—if you'd gone with a refurbished model. It’s always interesting to weigh the pros and cons of buying new versus used.

And since there's an option to return it if it doesn't meet expectations, we're actually pretty curious to see how that whole process plays out with a printer purchase.

First off, thanks again for all the advice and suggestions. After spending the entire day driving around town, I finally pulled the trigger on an HP DeskJet 3545; it was on sale, and they even threw in an extra pack of original ink for free. As for the Epson L210, after a lot of overthinking, I realized it’s just not necessary for us. I have to hand it to them—that color technology is genuinely impressive—but it feels more geared toward professionals churning out 20+ pages a day. I almost grabbed it, but it costs twice as much as this one, though I suppose if you actually read the fine print regarding page yields, you'd understand why. To be honest, the HP won me over because the original black cartridge covers 360 pages and the tri-color does 200; for my kid and my wife, that’s more than enough to last well over a year. Plus, the originals are about $78 plus $23, which was a major factor for me. But the real clincher was the fact that each color has its own dedicated print head, which was one of my non-negotiable requirements when shopping. Go ahead, feel free to chime in...

urbanfalcon7 said:....first off, thanks again for all the explanations and advice. After spending the whole day driving around, I ended up picking up an HP DeskJet 3545 on sale—it even came with an extra pack of original ink for free. As for the Epson L210, after a lot of overthinking, I realized I just don't need it. I mean, props to them and that color tech, which is actually great, but it feels more geared toward professionals churning out 20+ pages a day. I almost pulled the trigger, but it costs twice as much as this one, and I know you have to do the math on page yields... honestly, the HP won me over because the black ink (original) gets 360 pages and the tri-color (original) does 200, which is plenty for my kid and wife for over a year. Plus, the originals are about $78 + $23, at least that's what I was looking at... but the real clincher was that each color comes with its own print head, which was one of my big requirements when buying.... go ahead, tell me if I'm crazy...

If you had gone with the L210, you wouldn't have made a mistake as long as you were under warranty. But once you start paying for service and maintenance, the whole equation changes. That's when it becomes clear whether it would have been smarter to just get a CISS version like the SX 130—it’s basically 50% cheaper than the "use it and toss it" approach.

As for that DJ 3545, it might be smart to grab an Ecco mini refill set for $30, $50, or maybe $33, just so you have it on hand.

Take a look at this link; it might be useful to you.

And then you just refill the color cartridge.

urbanfalcon7 said:....first off, thanks again for all the help and advice! So, after spending the whole day driving around town, I ended up grabbing an HP DeskJet 3545 on sale—plus they threw in an extra pack of original ink for free... I gave the Epson L210 some serious thought, but honestly, I don't really need it. Major props to them and that color tech though, it’s seriously impressive (but still feels more like something for business folks cranking out 20+ pages a day), and I almost pulled the trigger on it! But man, it costs twice as much as this one—I get it, and I did my homework reading about the page yields... but yeah, truth be told, the HP won me over because the black (original) gets 360 pages and the tri-color (original) does 200, which is way more than enough for my kid and the wife for well over a year. Plus, those originals run about $78 + $23, at least based on what I saw... but the clincher was definitely that each color has its own print head, which was a huge dealbreaker for me when I was shopping... so, go ahead, tear me apart if you want...

In my humble opinion, the 3545 is kind of a bad investment. That "X number of pages" figure only really matters if you're printing everything in one massive sitting. Nowadays, if you print two pages today, five in three weeks, and maybe three more in two months, you won't even burn through the same amount of ink as someone who prints 10 pages all at once. That's where a CISS actually has the edge, since you waste less ink just cleaning out the heads.

And don't even get me started on how useless a tri-color cartridge is for a casual home user. You'll find that cyan, magenta, and yellow don't drain at the same rate, so you'll end up tossing cartridges that still have plenty of M and C left just because the Y ran dry—or some other annoying combo.

Nobody ever tells the average buyer that those "X page" ratings are based on pages that are only 10-15% covered in ink.

Print resolution is another interesting thing. Ink prices fluctuate depending on how well the printer sells. Back when the 650 ink first dropped (with the 2515 model), it was about $23 for colors and $26 for black, but today those prices have jumped by about 10%. The printer itself used to cost about 60% or 40% of the price of the beefier 3525 or 4625 models, but you basically pay back that difference with the first round of ink once the starter cartridges run out. Those 3525 and 4625 models (both are EOL now) used four separate $23 tanks each, yielding 550 pages of black and 600 pages for each color.

And that's just talking about the ink. I'm intentionally staying quiet about the build quality and those rollers that pull the paper in.

graniteeagle25 said:The 3545 is honestly a waste of money if you ask me. That "X number of pages" claim only really matters if you’re cranking out massive print jobs all at once. In reality, if you print two pages today, five more in three weeks, and then another three in two months, you’ll end up using way more ink than if you just printed ten pages in one sitting. This is why a CISS is such a huge win—you aren't wasting half your ink just on head cleaning cycles.

And don't even get me started on how those tri-color cartridges are a total scam for a regular home user. Cyan, magenta, and yellow never run out at the same rate, so you always end up tossing out a cartridge that still has plenty of Magenta and Cyan left just because the Yellow ran dry, or some other annoying combination.

Please put a bold font on those two options. I was watching my own Canon 4800 the other day, and I could literally see the ink levels dropping in real-time on the control panel every single time I ran a head cleaning. It's ridiculous when you have to do it three times a week... I didn't care much back when I was using $6.25... until the print head finally fried and I realized I had four brand new cartridges just sitting in my desk drawer, hahaha... I think I'm going to give this L355 a shot.

Aaron Thomas28 said:**Bold these two.** On my old Canon 4800, I used to watch the color levels on the control panel drop in real-time during head cleanings. It was wild. How much can a machine take if you have to run that three times a day? Honestly, I didn't think much of it when I switched to $6.25... until the print head finally fried, leaving me sitting there with four brand-new cartridges just lying in my desk drawer, haha. I think I might give this L355 a shot.

Before you pull the trigger, maybe call up an Epson service center and ask what they charge for a brand-new print head and the labor to swap it out.

Why?

Because you need to know how that stacks up against the cost of a Canon 4800. With these setups, when things go south, you aren't just tossing a printer and a print head; you’re losing the CISS and everything else you paid for. You end up paying for two or three Canon IP 4800s all at once. That's probably why the Canon IP 4800 and similar models aren't even being made anymore.

I am absolutely loving this thread. 😁 It’s hilarious when someone who makes their whole living off CISS, ink refills, and refurbished gear starts lecturing us on the price of a brand new Epson L355 (which we can all easily check at any local Best Buy or similar shop here in the States), only to compare that price against a Canon IP 4800 that’s been EOL for years. You can't find them new anymore, and every used one out there is basically trashed from being run on cheap third-party inks.

Even if you actually manage to track down one of those models in "mint" condition regarding the print head, you still have to wonder about the actual mechanics of the printer itself—you know, the rollers, the gears, the rubber parts.

All those printers mentioned are meant for home users and were designed for a specific print volume. Trying to beat a dead horse or forcing some "old relic" to stay alive long after its expiration date just ends up costing you—money, time, and sanity.

Here’s the reality:

0. "Home" printers aren't forever. Their lifespan is X years, where X is a single digit.
1. CISS is the cheapest way to go for inkjet printing.

So, what are we looking at? A new printer with factory-installed CISS, or an "old relic" Frankenstein-ed together with a CISS mod that comes with zero manufacturer warranty (not that it matters since it's an old model that's been EOL for ages anyway)? If you already own the Frankenstein setup, sure, it’ll be cheaper than buying new... but if you don't? Honestly, the price gap is just too small to make repairing an old unit worth the hassle.

The ink for the CISS costs the same regardless.

But really, who actually needs color printing at home these days in the age of digital everything? Cheap photo prints? Making custom wrapping paper for movies you ordered online? Yeah, right.

Printing photos at home just isn't worth the money anymore, honestly. Color comes in handy... not really for snapshots, but maybe for some random documents here and there... You could totally get by without color, which makes lasers a decent option too, but since this HP Ink Tank thing popped up... from what I can see, the cost per print is pretty much right there.

Greetings. I’m not entirely sure if this is the right corner of the forum for such a triviality, but I’d rather not clutter things up with a brand new thread just to get a single answer...
- The hardware in question: an HP DeskJet 3545 (which I picked up a few posts back 🙂)
- I'm dealing with a tax form downloaded from the JPMorgan Chase website as a Microsoft Excel file. It’s covered in pink and blue shading, but my wife is insisting on printing it in "50 shades of gray"—just kidding, obviously—but she really wants it in black and white. The issue is that the file seems to be locked within Microsoft Excel, and the software won't let me change the fill colors in the fields (the button is just greyed out and unresponsive). Could someone please tell me if there's a way to force a black-and-white print through the printer settings or perhaps via the printer itself? Thanks.

Set the print preferences to grayscale in the advanced settings

...thanks, that covers it...

P.S.
I honestly think Reddit should implement a "Thanks" button, similar to what you see on other boards... I've had the pleasure of interacting with quite a few people here who truly deserve a bit of recognition....

urbanfalcon7 said:....thanks, that covers it....

P.S.
I honestly feel like Reddit needs a "Thanks" button, similar to what you see on other platforms.... because up until now, I've been interacting with a whole host of people who truly earned a bit of gratitude....

No need for a button; I'd settle for a burger instead. 🙂

...I can do that once you're in the States... I'll send the number over via DM

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some solid recommendations for a reliable printer-scanner-copier combo... mainly just for printing out documents.

I've been messing around with an HP OfficeJet 6310, but honestly, I'm feeling pretty lost here... Is it actually normal for the ink to dry up this fast? On top of that, it's being super stubborn and won't accept any third-party cartridges—just keeps throwing error messages at me. To make matters worse, the little access door where you swap the ink has basically snapped off, and now I'm sitting here wondering if it's even worth trying to fix it or if I should just cut my losses.

Linda Ward312 said:Can anyone recommend a decent printer-scanner-copier combo? Mostly just for text.

I’m currently struggling with an HP OfficeJet 6310... honestly, I can't quite make sense of it. Is it actually normal for the ink to dry up this quickly? And now it won't even accept third-party cartridges—just keeps throwing error messages at me. On top of that, the little access door where you swap out the ink has basically snapped off. I'm not even sure if it's worth trying to fix it at this point.

The smartest move is probably grabbing a multi-function Epson with those continuous ink tank systems. It's a proven setup. They don't break down easily. Usually, the older models were built much more solidly; I mean, if they weren't reliable, they wouldn't still be working perfectly today. But you won't find those hand-picked, high-quality older models for less than $167 plus tax.

Everything else hitting the shelves right now for the same price is essentially designed to fall apart and fail as soon as you try using anything other than the most expensive original inks. At the end of the day, you'll feel it in your wallet. You'll know exactly how much money you just threw straight into the trash.

HP is honestly the most obnoxious when it comes to being strict about third-party inks. Epson is definitely the way to go, like my colleague mentioned, and maybe even some Canon models wouldn't be a bad choice either...

You seem pretty fixated on quoting the price plus sales tax. Is there actually a way to get these figures without the tax included? Maybe you have some kind of connection?

Drew Castillo5 said:You keep bringing up the price including sales tax. Is there actually a way to get these without the tax added? Maybe from your guy?

All I know is where you can pick up those reliable, field-tested Epson models equipped with continuous ink systems. And, of course, using ink that’s actually been vetted for quality.

I'm sure there's a way to find the same setup without the sales tax somewhere out there. It's just not on my radar. Why don't you try reaching out to Linić? He might be able to point you in the right direction.

Linda Ward312 said:I'm looking for some solid recommendations for an all-in-one printer, scanner, and copier...

You might want to check out the Brother models over at Best Buy. They offer a two-year warranty, plus you can get an extra year just by registering the device online. I've personally found that there are plenty of high-quality third-party inks available for them, and I haven't run into any issues even when taking them in for service—it's as if the distributors themselves actively encourage using those compatible inks during sales 🙂.