Computer Ink BULLSHIT!!!!

[stinkynuts]

My Brother MFC 240C computer "ran out" of all colours of ink. I bought a black cartridge, since I never print in colour. I couldn't get the printer to work. There was nothing in the manual, so I had to use Google to find out that you need to replace ALL four cartridges in order for the printer to work. Brother says that every two days some ink is drained from the cartridges, regardless of whether you use the ink or not, for some BS reason.

When I looked at the black ink cartridge that was supposed to be empty, I saw that there was still liquid on the bottom.

Brother also says that I should not use generic cartridges, as they might ruin the printer.

This is obviously a scam for the company to make money from cartridges.

 

[stinkynuts]

Is there any way to:

1)Not have to insert the colour cartridges

OR

2)Fool the printer into thinking the cartridges are full

OR

2)Prevent the computer from automatically draining the ink every two days?

 

[Mack Bolan]

BUY A LASER PRINTER! They are cheap and only print in Black.
They last for month, years depending on the amout of print.
I have a network version, so every computer in my home.

Regards

Mack

 

[Sammy the Bull]

Dude, check Ebay or Craigslist for cartridges, they usually sell them for 1/3 the price (sometimes even less).

I bought 2 cartridges for 10 bucks that would cost $50 in stores

 

[dCaveman]

I'm with Mack, buy a laser printer that prints only black. If you really need color, think about buying a Canon inkjet. Color laser printing is the new cash cow for printer companies. Pretty soon they will be giving the color lasers away since they are making so much on the ink....

 

[Sammy the Bull]

I own an HP Officejet and there's 422 hits on Ebay for ink cartridges.
Some as low as 10 bucks: http://shop.ebay.ca/i.html?_nkw=hp+...3&_dmpt=BI_Toner&_odkw=hp+officejet&_osacat=0

 

[Questor]

Laser all the way baby. I used to be like stinky, fretting about those costly colour cartridges running out, buying the cheaper refills and getting ink all over the place. I bought a laser printer over a year ago. No muss, no fuss. If you only print b&w, you are crazy to be using an ink jet.

 

[nlt76]

i'm not sure if i have a laser or not, but, my printer is a hp.. got it at the source on sale for 30 bucks.. bought a refill in black and i'm sure it was no more than 20.

if you buy another printer, just check out the price of black refills first.

go cheap.

 

[tboy]

Yup, SN fell for the old printer BS. The FIRST thing you do before buying ANY printer is see a) will it run ONLY with black installed and b) find out how much the ink/toner is.

Lexmark is famous (infamous?) for selling a printer for $40.00 and it comes with a "lite" version of a cartridge and then a replacement black alone is $50.00.

I was stripping a house for a customer and I found an older all in one laser in a closet. I called him up and asked about it he said "take it if you want it, the toner is done". So I took it home and plugged it in. I've been printing for 2 yrs on it now and it is STILL going strong. Only thing is the scanner doesn't work and the fax doesn't work with VOIP. Still, it's a great printer for nothing!

(seriously, I have printed more than a few 80 page documents, quotes, invoices etc and have yet to run out....)

 

[ontheroadagain11]

I use to pull out the "empty" cartridge, wait a couple second's and then put it back in.

Worked every time!

 

[Ironhead]

My Lexmark still prints in b/w even when the colour runs out.

 

[tboy]

OH just one more thing: even if the OEMs say don't use aftermarket cartridges, I used some from

http://www.metawatch.ca/c169182.2.html and never had a problem.

About 1/20th the price of epson, delivered in 24hrs and worked great......

 

[mediaguy]

I hate the Brother printer for the very same reason!!
Found this on-line store, have ordered generic cartridges from them and so far no problems. Reasonable shipping charge too.
http://www.inkjetsuperstore.ca

 

[Keebler Elf]

You've gotta know what it is you're really wanting to use a printer for before you buy it.

I bought a Brother laser printer because I know 95% of my printing is B&W with high volumes. My original cartridge still hasn't run out 3-5 years later (knock on wood).

I also bought an all-in-one scanner/printer/fax machine that does B&W and colour. I printed a few colour pages but when the coloured ink ran out I never bothered to replace them. I don't print at all on it but just use it for scanning. I don't have a need for a fax machine.

I would never recommend an all-in-one unless you don't do much printing. You'll pay a heck of a lot more for ink than you need to.

 

[tboy]

The thing about all in ones is that if you shop around, you can get them for the same price as a fax machine.

In another thread I commented on the $40.00 or so that staples wanted to charge me for sending a large fax. I did this twice so I went out and bought an epson all in one for $49.99 (was on sale). It scans prints faxes and DOES work with VOIP. Send 1 large fax and it has paid for itself.

I know laser toner cartridges are pricey but on a cost per print basis they are almost zero. Like Keeb, I've been running for years on one that was supposedly dead......

 

[Cassini]

Don't use an ink-jet for black only printing. If you use the printer often, the economies of scale will result in a laser crushing the ink-jet in terms of cost.

Ink-Jets vs. Lasers:
- Ink-Jet paper costs more than Laser Paper. The 24 lb ultrabright heavyweight paper works much better in ink-jets, but is more expensive than the high-end high-quality 20 lb laser paper.
- A Laser Toner will often do multiple big boxes (5000 to 10000 sheet boxes) of paper. An ink-jet cartridge gets through a few 500 sheet reams, if you have the high-capacity cartridges. Depending on the printers, the ink-jet cartridges cost 1/2 to twice as much to replace as black colour cartridges. The cost for consumables in an ink-jet is much higher than a laser.
- A Laser printer can sit for many months (years) and still work. The ink-jet must be used to keep working.
- There is no significant difference between laser printer and ink-jet costs. My colour ink-jet costs more than some colour lasers.

Theoretically, the cost of ownership on an ink-jet for black only printing could be less than a black and white laser. In practice, I have never seen a happy user with an ink-jet for black and white printing.

If you are looking at new printers, also check the paper feed mechanisms. Purchase a printer that holds the paper flat (regardless of usage). At high-volumes, the non-flat feeds jam. At low-volumes, the paper bends with humidity, and the non-flat feeds jam. Unless your usage is so low that you are willing to feed one page at a time, get a paper feed mechanism that holds the paper flat.

Volume users will want a paper feed mechanism that can hold at least 500 sheets of paper (ideally in one tray). This will take you to a certain cost level of printer, just for the paper feed mechanisms. I've seen inexpensive paper feed mechanisms jam on 100-page documents in brand new printers. If you are going to go through 500 sheet reams of paper with any frequency, or just printing large documents, you really want to pay the extra money for a good paper feed mechanism.

 

[Nickelodeon]

Stinkynuts,

I have the same machine with the same issues. The machine is actually pretty good, but I hate Brother for they way the force you to buy all four cartridges.

Fortunately for us they do not control the ink market. I bought a 4 pack from 123 cartridges for under $15 and they work perfectly. See attached link:

http://www.123inkcartridges.ca/brother-ink-cartridge/LC51_Value_Pack.html

 

[spankingman]

I read a story about printer ink If sold by the gallon it is the most EXPENSIVE
liquid in the world almost $5,000,00 per gallon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[stinkynuts]

Thanks! That is super cheap: 4 colour cartridges for only 12 bucks! I bought two.

Stinkynuts,

I have the same machine with the same issues. The machine is actually pretty good, but I hate Brother for they way the force you to buy all four cartridges.

Fortunately for us they do not control the ink market. I bought a 4 pack from 123 cartridges for under $15 and they work perfectly. See attached link:

http://www.123inkcartridges.ca/brother-ink-cartridge/LC51_Value_Pack.html

 

[spankingman]

My PC.Printer is a DELL.You are SUPPOSED to use only use DELL ink carts in it or so I thought until I found a guy in Hamilton who re fills Dell carts 19.95 in half an hour.
Sure beats 39.99 or 49.99