posted
I've had my Epson C80 for over 2 years. I tried non-epson inks once. That is the only time I've had any problems with it. "OFF" doesn't begin to describe the colors coming out of it and that was after I ran the cleaning cycle several times to get any ink out. Even letting it sit just a few hours before printing again meant several cleaning cycles. Flung the cartridges in the garabge, put real epsons back in and haven't had any problems since. Paying a few extra $ for cartridges is worth it to me after that experience.
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Thanks for the replies. It's so hard to tell whether it's the printer or the cartridges...the chicken or the egg, so to speak.
On one hand, there have been several people happy with third party cartridges, and on the other hand...several people like Kissy that have had poor results with third party cartridges.
It could be the difference between cartridge manufacturers (third party ones)or it might be as Kissy suggests, best to stick with the originals and avoid the quandry altogether.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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The desire to get something for free or at a great savings is not just limited to Letterheads Roger. I'm pretty sure all of us have tried fixing our own cars, appliances and other devices in an effort to save the money hiring a pro involves.
Sometimes we are actually successful, and other times we just end up creating bigger problems and more cost. As professionals, we have a certain amount of distain for those who fail to recognize our talants and make their own signs.
We're all guilty and its not going to change. This is one of those things we can talk about forever, yet change nothing. The point I am trying to make is that Letterheads are people first, and subject to all the good and bad traits all humans share.
-------------------- Steve Shortreed 144 Hill St., E. Fergus, Ontario Canada N1M 1G9 519-787-2673
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Very well said Steve. The analogies make perfect sense.
Here's a self-effacing example:
Some time ago I dropped a computer when coming down the stairs into my office. Of course it bounced wildly down the stairs like a rickshaw careening down an alley.
It stopped after it had lodged itself into my drywall.
I spent about two weeks screwing around trying to repair it myself. I finally had it done to near perfection, when a piece of masking tape along the ceiling/wall fell down and stuck onto the newly painted wall. When I tried to peel it up, it took a strip of the paint and primer with it....exposing the bare drywall. Obviously, something wasn't prepared correctly .
I finally relented and called in a professional and he had it completed and ready to paint in three days.
Now there is a case where I could have saved a lot of time, money and aggravation by hiring a pro in the first place.
But, I like doing home improvement stuff, and really wanted to give this a shot. I thought patching a small section wouldn't be too difficult as I had originally done all the drywall when building my office...and it came out pretty nice. But patches are a little different...tougher to blend in to adjacent wall panels I discovered. But if a guy is willing to try...that's a good thing.
Sometimes doing things yourself, or finding a viable alternative which saves money is a very rewarding experience. And if you are willing to learn and try new things, you will most likely have more successes than failures.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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Update: After letting my printer set for a couple weeks while I was on vacation....I printed a couple of tabloid size prints after doing a few cleaning cycles and now they're printing fabulous again??!!
I must have had a piece of fuzz or something dragging those hairlines across the page....I'll see how this goes.
Maybe it wasn't the ink cartridges after all.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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I have long hair and shed constantly. I think it's just more noticeable because the hairs are long. Anyway, every once in a I print something and get a wierd looking ink pattern/smudge on it. Open the print cover, remove the hair & it's A-OK again.
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Well I'm going to keep on printing with my Epson and see how it goes. I was hours away from picking up a new HP 9650 at CompUSA. Saved the company some $$.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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OK, I'm sure no one needs me to weigh in on this topic but I couldn't resist dropping m my two cents. I have used both Epson and HP printers for several years. I have only used non-oem type cartridges twice. When I used them in a year-old Epson , the print heads went out before I finished the cartridges. Don't know if that was happenstance or not but it sure made me suspicious. When I used them in a HP the quality was so poor I yanked em and went back to HP. I am now using an Epson 2200 and buy oem cartridges from www.atlex.com at $8.90 a pop. Small price to pay for consistent quality. I consider my time to be more wisely spent producing work for pay rather than tinkering with equipment. The only thing I would consider other than oem cartridges is a Lyson bulk ink conversion (http://www.lyson.com) whose system is used by a lot of photographers and so has a proven track record.
Just my 2¢... Jack "Did I spel that write?"
-------------------- Jack Keith Keith Signs and Graphics 12400 Stemmons Drive Cabool, MO 65689 Posts: 131 | From: Cabool, MO | Registered: Feb 2004
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I spoke with folks at Tyler and the company Si mentioned, and ordered from the latter. The man at that business was more knowledgeable than anyone I've spoken with on that subject and they're two days shipping closer to me and the same price. Thank you Si!
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6855 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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my last home-refilled cartridges were a disaster and 'inexplicably' printed terribly.(they wereon their fourth refill), but putting new generic brand ones ("Fullmark") in got it back on track perfectly, thank goodness, and no operator- scheduled cleaning cycle was needed. (edit a typo)
[ July 15, 2004, 10:22 PM: Message edited by: Ian Stewart-Koster ]
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7026 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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Todd, I'm pleasantly using the first of the generically labeled refilled cartridges I received from them. "Compatible Inkjet Cartridge" is what it reads on the package.
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6855 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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-------------------- Mindy Cassingham Way Out Ideas, LLC 182 W Main Street Green River, Utah Posts: 13 | From: Green River, Utah | Registered: Jul 2004
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