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Printers with ink tanks instead of cartridges.
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Mar 20, 2021 18:43:58   #
Kespina
 
I bought the Canon Pixma G6020 in Jan. 2021. Used mostly for office documents. So far it has been fine. Can print 2 sided documents, ink is cheaper than other competitors, have not had any issues with clogged heads. Works well enough for 4x6 photos. Wouldn't use for photos to hang on the wall. Like that I can see the ink levels, which I must say haven't gone down much despite lots of printing. Overall I am happy with it. I do miss my Epson Stylus Photo 2200 for photos. I have 2 of them & they both worked until I ran out of ink. Epson has placed it on RIP status & no longer makes the ink.

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Mar 20, 2021 19:38:24   #
wrangler5 Loc: Missouri
 
GrandmaG wrote:
< snip > It would be nice to save money on ink as refills for the Pro 10 are quite expensive.


You can refill Pro 10 carts for about 1/9 the cost of OEM carts. Been doing it for years. The printers only work in November and December and get NO pages put through them the rest of the year, and have never had a clog with the refill inks. They're lousy document printers, though - way too slow compared to lots of other options.

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Mar 20, 2021 19:40:15   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
How does the cost of ink correlate with the archival quality of the print?

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Mar 20, 2021 19:53:47   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
xtoothdr wrote:
Have been using the Epson et4750 for about 4yrs and have yet to purchase new ink. It did come with extra set of ink bottles (unbelievable) and I do a ton of printing. Has worked flawlessly. Ink tanks, it's the future, a no brainer.


That's impressive. I've read that when the ink pad fills up, the printer shuts down. Have you needed to or already changed it?

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Mar 20, 2021 19:57:19   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
rcarol wrote:
I have the Canon 6020 and like it very much. It is quiet, reliable and easy to set up. It does a really good job printing photos considering it used three colors plus black. Ink is very inexpensive.


Good to know. That is the one I was considering...right price. I feel that if I spent $500 plus on a printer, that I may be better off with a laser printer (B&W plus color).

Thanks for your input!

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Mar 20, 2021 20:03:31   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
rcarol wrote:
That's interesting because I have an Epson printer that has locked up because the waste tank is full and can't be replaced because the carriage that holds the ink cartridges can't be moved to gain access to the waste tank.


I just watched a youTube video for a 3-year-old Epson that would no longer print because the waste sponge was full. Epson wanted him to ship the entire printer to them to change the ink pad (at his expense!). He went on to show how the ink pad could be cleaned and put back, BUT he had to download software to reset the code to tell the printer that the ink pad was no longer full!!! I wonder how much longer the printer lasted after that messy job?

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Mar 20, 2021 20:09:36   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
Bubba211 wrote:
I believe that is because canon uses dye inks which don’t last long and Epson uses pigment which can last along time, past 100yrs


My research indicated that Epson uses all dye-based inks and Canon uses pigment black and dye colors. This is for the refillable tank printers. My Canon Pro-10 uses pigment inks and it is used strictly for pictures. I will be needing to replace my all-in-one office printer soon (Brother). It is fairly economical on ink (cartridges) but the printer was close to $500. It makes lousy photos and cannot scan to a MAC. It also won't print on vellum. I have work-arounds for these issues. I guess none of the printers are perfect.

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Mar 20, 2021 20:14:26   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
Yo Schneeman wrote:
Make sure the Canon you seek prints both sides! I bought Canon 4210 and it does not print both sides.


Yes, I must have a printer that automatically prints double-sided. I marked that down so I don't buy a 4210! Thank you!

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Mar 20, 2021 20:29:58   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
kenabr wrote:
when I replaced my Epson that clogged up when I used third party ink I went with the Canon Pro 100 unfortunately very few printers came with tanks at that time. Seemed like only all in ones did. The only complaint I have with the Canons is that pano's are limited to 26" wide while my Epson would do at least 38".


Yes, I ruined the print head by using off-brand ink on my very nice Canon AIO many years ago and learned my lesson. I watched all kinds of youTube videos to fix it, but nothing would save it. I don't do panos, so that is not a concern for me.

Thanks for that info.

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Mar 20, 2021 20:43:56   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
Larian Johnson wrote:
I and many of my neighbors have purchased Epson Eco-tank printers, most in the $250-$350 range that have provided excellent service. When the Epson models in that price range became hard to find, some bought the Brother version which was also very good.
Several of us got the Epson ET-3750 which has a doc feeder, a very good scanner with great software, two-sided printing and phenomenal ink usage. A friend just printed FIVE loose-leaf binders full of color quilt patterns, both sides of all sheets, and reports that the ink containers are still "full". I have used mine since June and have the same results after LOTS of printing. I have recommended the Epson (or Brother) to many of my neighbors and every one has been happy with their choice. Watch for sales at Sam's, Costco and Staples.
Enough said!!
I and many of my neighbors have purchased Epson Ec... (show quote)

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Mar 20, 2021 20:48:34   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
Larian Johnson wrote:
I and many of my neighbors have purchased Epson Eco-tank printers, most in the $250-$350 range that have provided excellent service. When the Epson models in that price range became hard to find, some bought the Brother version which was also very good.
Several of us got the Epson ET-3750 which has a doc feeder, a very good scanner with great software, two-sided printing and phenomenal ink usage. A friend just printed FIVE loose-leaf binders full of color quilt patterns, both sides of all sheets, and reports that the ink containers are still "full". I have used mine since June and have the same results after LOTS of printing. I have recommended the Epson (or Brother) to many of my neighbors and every one has been happy with their choice. Watch for sales at Sam's, Costco and Staples.
Enough said!!
I and many of my neighbors have purchased Epson Ec... (show quote)


I will definitely watch for sales. This one is $100 more than the one I was considering. Before I buy, I will talk to Epson to be sure the printer I get has the features that I want. For instance, the specs for this say duplex copying; they do not say duplex printing. From what you wrote, it sounds like it does indeed print 2-sided pages. I have had printers where this was done manually. Is 2-sided printing automatic?

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Mar 20, 2021 20:56:56   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
DirtFarmer wrote:
I don't do a lot of printing so I'm not a good source of advice, but from comments on forums the main problems with ink jet printers are (1) the cost of ink and (2) clogging of the heads.

The color printer I have (Xerox ColorQube) uses colored wax instead of liquid ink. It's easy to handle and when you don't use it the ink doesn't dry out. There is a warmup period if you go to print something in order to liquefy the ink. I wouldn't call it a photo printer but it does well enough for my purposes and I consider that it runs cheaper than ink jets (but I do not have an ink jet for comparison).

But since drying ink is probably the main cause of print clogging, I would think that in order to keep your printer running well you have to print regularly. Probably at least several times per week. That will reduce the time between uses which I would think is one of the main causes of clogging.

This is probably true whether you use cartridges or tanks.

But as I said, I don't use an ink jet printer so what do I know? Just putting in my 0.02 cents.

Since I don't print regularly, I find it easier to send out important images for printing than trying to do it myself.
I don't do a lot of printing so I'm not a good sou... (show quote)


Thanks for this information. I never heard of this type of printer. They seem to be more expensive and the ink is not cheap either. I would have to do more research on this one!!

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Mar 20, 2021 21:06:16   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
nervous2 wrote:
For once timing is great. After considerable research and temptation to throw a rock at my Xerox WorkCentre 6027 printer, I am about to pull the trigger on an Epson WorkForce ST-4000 general purpose all-in-one printer--most likely on Monday. I considered specifically the Epson 2760 but the WorkForce ST-4000 is, I am told, a much more robust machine. The ST-4000 carries a list price of $499 but I believe B&H has it for $399 AND when I call on Monday I will ask about them paying Utah sales tax if I use my PayBoo card. In addition to the frustrations of using the Xerox (it took two new ones and finally a refurbished one to get a printer that worked) I got tired of paying for cartridges. Let us know what you finally decide and later, how it works out for you. If you need further info from my research, please do not hesitate to PM me. Best of luck for you. I am hoping for the same kind of good luck with my purchase on Monday.
For once timing is great. After considerable rese... (show quote)


I have looked at the WorkForce printers as well. I'm not willing to pay more than $500 for an office printer. B&H sells it for $400. I would definitely use my PayBoo card. I love not paying the tax. That's an automatic 6% savings for us Michiganders! Good luck with this purchase and let us know how it works out for you!!

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Mar 20, 2021 21:14:31   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
amfoto1 wrote:
I looked up both those printers online...

Sorry, but I wouldn't use either of them for photos.

I'm sure they're fine for documents and even multi-colored graphics.

But photos require a minimum of six colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, light magenta and black... I used a printer with that setup for "proofs" and thumbnail catalogs for quite while. It was up to making prints with enough quality to frame and hang, but could handle the less demanding work. On some papers the inks it used were very prone to fading, too, I eventually discovered.

Actually, most of the better photo quality printers now use eight to ten colors (some of which might be grays to make improved B&W prints and/or a clear "gloss optimizer" to even out the finish on images, not actual colors).

If you read the one, two and three star reviews of these 4-color, large tank "eco" printers on B&H, Adorama, Amazon etc. you will see some buyers complain about poor photo quality. So don't expect very much.

The Canon gets panned for not having a backlit display and appears to have a lot fewer but overall better reviews on B&H than the Epson. It's interesting that they use a pigment based black ink... I presume that's so important documents won't fade too quickly. I wonder how the colors hold up. There also were some complaints about difficulty setting up the printer and, surprisingly, poor customer support. Canon usually gets high marks for their customer support with cameras and such... maybe it's different with their printers. One review made is sound as if they might have out-sourced customer support (because the person kept trying to sell them non-Canon products).

The Epson appears to have trouble connecting wirelessly... a lot of complaints about that. I also saw some mention of Epson's "limiter" and don't know if that pertains to this printer or not. It was the case with one I had in the past, though. This is a page counter that Epson has pre-programmed so that after a certain number of pages the printer shuts down and you get a message "printer worn out, replace printer". With my printer, turned out someone online had hacked Epson's code and was providing an app that reset the printer and allowed it to work again. I did that successfully three times with my Epson printer. In other words, it lived almost four times as long as Epson had decided it should. It started having paper feed problems, so I finally replaced it... but it was my decision to do so. Not Epson's "limiter" telling me when the printer needs replacement. This scheme of Epson's is taking planned obsolescence to the nth degree and why I am less a fan of Epson printers than I was in the past! I hadn't heard if they were still doing it or not, but some of the feedback about that I saw reminded me why I don't have an Epson any longer.

"All-in-one" printers like these are both a positive and a negative. On the one hand, they pack multiple functions into one device, taking up a lot less desk space than separate ones would. It also makes some sense to combine these particular functions. On the other hand, if you have no use for some of the functions it may be a waste. And, there are more functions to potentially fail, forcing you to replace the whole rig if one function quits and it's something you use a lot.

I'm sure both would be fine "hard wired" to a computer via USB. And they are probably fine for documents and graphics.... not to mention a lot more cost effective than most inkjets. But I would never use one for photos.

When I was printing a lot of business documents I had a laser printer for that purpose (black only... color ones were too expensive back then). I used that for many years, printed thousands of pages with it and only had to replace the toner cartridge a few times. It was pricey to buy, but worked out a lot cheaper and more efficient than any inkjet.

I used that alongside the 8.5" 6-color Epson inkjet mentioned above, for proofs and thumbnails. For finished photos worth framing I used a 13" 6-color Epson, then replaced it with an HP with 8-color pigment inks. I still use the HP, but it's an older model and getting tough to find inks (I may try refilling). I still prefer those pigment inks on matte papers, which are what I frame under glass. I now also use a 13" Canon 8-color, dye-based printer for photos on gloss and semi-gloss papers, occasionally frame B&W prints on semi-gloss or luster paper, but mostly for stuff that won't be framed (proofs, catalogs, marketing materials, etc.)
I looked up both those printers online... br br S... (show quote)


I read all the same complaints that you stated in your post. That's why I turned to this forum for some hands on comments. EVERY SINGLE printer reviewed had awful things said about them. I do not plan to use either of these printers for photos because I already own a Canon Pro-10. I may print the occasional 4x6 on the AIO. My current Brother office printer cannot print a picture at all. I have considered a Laser printer as well. Monochrome would be less expensive than these refillable tank models; but I think I would miss printing some office documents in color.

Your post has been helpful. Thank you.

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Mar 20, 2021 21:18:20   #
GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI
 
kotography4u wrote:
I find all-in-one printers are kind of like dinner theaters - mediocre dinner, rolled in with mediocre theater? If you're serious about scanning resolution, or color "trueness" in printing, you're better off getting a separate one of each. - k


I would dearly love a dedicated scanner; but I would want one that could scan 12 x 12 pages. That is a little out of my price range at the moment, plus I would need a large space to keep it. So, for now, a good AIO will do for now.

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