Printer woes

[brossard]

I don't know what paper you are using but the stuff I have is the same both sides (HP Paper) and there are no instructions.  My printer has to produce good prints because I do quite a lot of Scalescenes kits.

 

John

[Nick C]

I found that every inkjet printerI've ever tried has been rubbish, especially as we don't tend to use them regularly, which meant that whenever I wanted to print something, the ink had dried up and head cleaning ended up using half a cartridge before you could print a single page. I've since bought a laser printer which ought to last much longer, and cost far less per page...

 

No one has pointed out that there's no chance of Cara catching her train if she's only just got to the station!

[Invicta Informant]

I can recommend Epson printers that have an 'eco-tank' whereby you fill the ink tanks (there are four, Black, Yellow, Magenta and Cyan) with bottles.

 

There are no cartridges at all, and ink consumption is very liberal.

 

My Mother who is into card making says it is one of the best investments she has made.

 

For me it is very useful for printing off paper copies of the quarterly 'fanzine' that I produce for my fellow members of the Erith MRS.

[Hroth]

6 minutes ago, Invicta Informant said:

I can recommend Epson printers that have an 'eco-tank' whereby you fill the ink tanks (there are four, Black, Yellow, Magenta and Cyan) with bottles.

 

There are no cartridges at all, and ink consumption is very liberal.

 

My Mother who is into card making says it is one of the best investments she has made.

 

For me it is very useful for printing off paper copies of the quarterly 'fanzine' that I produce for my fellow members of the Erith MRS.

 

If you are a heavy user, or have specific needs, then a fixed head printer with large capacity cartridges/bottles is more economic than using a printer with the printhead built into the cartridge.

 

HOWEVER

 

If you are an infrequent user, you stand the chance of the printhead becoming irretreviably blocked with coagulated/dried ink.  Replacement of such a printhead costs at least as much as buying a new printer, and it would be more cost effective to use a more "consumer" orientated printer.  I've found that once an inkjet printer starts giving problems beyond a reinstall of the driver or replacement cartridges, then its time for a new printer.

 

As for lasers, if you don't want colour then they're a good choice.  You just have to check that the toner cartridges are relatively inexpensive, produce a good number of copies per cartridge, and are easily obtainable!

 

 

 

[brossard]

2 hours ago, Nick C said:

I found that every inkjet printerI've ever tried has been rubbish, especially as we don't tend to use them regularly, which meant that whenever I wanted to print something, the ink had dried up and head cleaning ended up using half a cartridge before you could print a single page. I've since bought a laser printer which ought to last much longer, and cost far less per page...

 

No one has pointed out that there's no chance of Cara catching her train if she's only just got to the station!

 

Yes Nick, that was my experience and why I tried the Samsung laser.  It was good until it wore out.

 

I was leery of getting the HP ink jet printer but the salesman assured me that oil based ink didn't dry up, and he was right.  It has been a marvelous tool in the 3 or so years that I have had it and I have been able to use every last drop of ink.  A set of cartridges lasts roughly a year but, of course that depends on frequency of printing.

 

John

[MJI]

slack belt drive, collapsed bearing or broken tensioner if one

[Classsix T]

On 17/07/2020 at 00:36, kevinlms said:

Paper has a coating on one side and my printer proved to me that it was essential to print that side first, on double sided printing. I didn't believe it after I read the paper instructions (who needs and reads instructions for using paper?), tests quickly revealed that it was fact.

 

I agree with you about using non genuine cartridges, as I've never had an issue.

Hmm, dunno about a coating Kev, but when made, paper comes off the mill onto reels before being cut to size. The finished piece of paper has an inherent curl to it, the direction and severity of which can depend on its position on the reel. 

In litho printing moisture is added back to the sheet as well as physically curling it around the cylinders. On digital presses, photocopiers, desktop printers and the like you will add heat to (typically, one side of) the paper. Both of these print processes can "reinvigorate" this tendency of the paper to curl and in the worst cases make it virtually impossible to perfect (back-up/double side) an already printed sheet.

The recommendation on the packet is there to basically tell you which way the inherent curl in the paper is and printing that side first will go against that curl rather than amplify it.

 

C6T. 

Edited July 23, 2020 by Classsix T

[Classsix T]

On 16/07/2020 at 21:45, melmerby said:

IIRC paper is made with a "lay" and should be all the same way up in the paper feed.

Close, you probably mean grain, which runs in the direction of the mill as the pulp runs through it. Similar to nap on fabrics.

 

Lay is a term that describes which edge of the paper has had registration - uniformity of position - applied. Coupled with the edge known as the grip, the printshop then knows which edges should be a constant for further processes to be applied.

 

C6T. 

[kevinlms]

On 17/07/2020 at 11:38, brossard said:

I don't know what paper you are using but the stuff I have is the same both sides (HP Paper) and there are no instructions.  My printer has to produce good prints because I do quite a lot of Scalescenes kits.

 

John

The paper I usually buy is a good Australian made brand, so not some obscure no name import.

[kevinlms]

3 hours ago, Classsix T said:

Hmm, dunno about a coating Kev, but when made, paper comes off the mill onto reels before being cut to size. The finished piece of paper has an inherent curl to it, the direction and severity of which can depend on its position on the reel. 

In litho printing moisture is added back to the sheet as well as physically curling it around the cylinders. On digital presses, photocopiers, desktop printers and the like you will add heat to (typically, one side of) the paper. Both of these print processes can "reinvigorate" this tendency of the paper to curl and in the worst cases make it virtually impossible to perfect (back-up/double side) an already printed sheet.

The recommendation on the packet is there to basically tell you which way the inherent curl in the paper is and printing that side first will go against that curl rather than amplify it.

 

C6T. 

Thanks for clarifying and also that I wasn't making it up!

[Classsix T]

15 minutes ago, kevinlms said:

Thanks for clarifying and also that I wasn't making it up!

Not at all Kev, I rarely get to impart any actual knowledge on RMweb. I don't know Jack about v-hangers and such but I've picked up a few things in 20 years in print.

Btw, I believe that the Aussie copier paper is made using Eucalyptus pulp as opposed to European paper that favours fast growing evergreen tree species. 

 

I did however forlornly hope that "Printer Woes" might be a handy misery depository for ink monkeys like myself to moan about "them upstairs" that plainly haven't got a clue how to put an image on paper. Nothing pleases a printshop grafter more than bitching about saving a job from other's incompetence!

 

C6T. 

[The Stationmaster]

Are you using it with a PC or a Mac?  And what (file type) are the documents saved as?