MT Shooter Loc: Montana

If and when Epson comes out with a "PRO" series Eco-Tank printer with 6tanks (3 black/grey) and 13x19 capability, I will buy at least two of them. I have already told them that, today actually. For now I have just bought an Epson XP630 to dedicate just for my 4x6 and 5x7 print sizes.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

The Epson PRO 9600 and the HP Z5400PS are the two that do the majority of my printing in the store.

Elliott Design Loc: West Tennessee

I learned this trick from a printer repairman. To unclog difficult printer nozzles use a Clorox bathroom wipe that contains ammonia. Fold a strip that will fit under the print head carriage and let it sit for a few minutes, remove it and run a head cleaning routine.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Thanks. Both are a lot bigger than I'll ever be able to use! Someday I'll get our RV through Billings again and I'll see your shop. Back when I worked, I used to get there frequently to work with Lynch Flying Service before it became Edwards Jet Center.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

OK, agreed, good observations. Why don't we challenge Nikonian72 to put some substance behind his printer section?

You have experience, knowledge and skin in this game. Why not have a forum do something useful for once instead of being either a therapy vehicle or self-help group?

N4646W

One thing I found with third party ink is that it will often times break up the settlement in the lines, ports and dampeners, causing the print head to clog. If they are not too badly clogged, you can get away with a print head cleaning, but, if it continues, your better off pulling the head and soaking it in a head cleaning solution to break up the clog. If you don't, you end up heating the particles so they will not pass through, burning up the heating element and it is time for a new head. There are some good cleaning solutions available, and some that will wreck the head. I prefer to use warm distilled water to flush the system. Print heads are fragile and they do go south even with factory ink.
Ron

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

:thumbup:

warrior Loc: Paso Robles CA

Yes I also get my canon inks from Ink Farm.

johnst1001a Loc: West Chester, Ohio

Likewise, I have used my CanonMX922 with ink cartridges from Amazon, the vendor is Ink4works.com. The cartridges work out to be just under $1 apiece when you order 36. Sometimes they go on sale for $29.99 for the 36. I have used these for over 2 years now, only had an issue with one cartridge out of probably 75 used so far. The one cartridge just plain didn't work, so I threw it out. The prints are great, particularly since I calibrated my Imac and printer. There is some banding, but it mostly disappears as the ink dries. It is most visible on glossy paper, not matte. As for the colors, just fine, at least for my needs. It is also a scanner. The printer cost $93. Oh, and the print cartridges have lights on them which blink when the ink is about to run out, and the cartridges are see through so you can see the ink level. They last just like the OEM one.

ncshutterbug

MT, have you officially tossed out all those printers? I had this problem a couple of years back and found a solution that worked for me. I haven't had a problem since. Can't remember where I got it(possibly here), but it occurred on my Epson printer.

Marilyng Loc: Lorain,Oh.

Yes,I agree I always send mine out to.I really am pleased with Mpix,they do a much better job than I can do.

Jim Bob

Shooter, I have said over and over again ad nauseum not to use third party inks despite many posts in this forum touting their virtues. No one listens. I am sorry you had to learn the hard way. I learned several years ago when I destroyed a perfectly fine Canon multi function printer by using the cheaper inks. Spend a little more money, save a lot of aggravation.

Spiney Loc: Reading, PA

I'm curious, are the Canon Pro-100's problem prone? I wanted to pick one up off of Craigslist. They are usually about $150.00 new.

Also are the Mark 9000 and 9000ii any good. I've seen them offered for about $75-100. Finally what about the Pro-10? They seem to go for $250

I need to replace an HP that made wonderful archival prints but were full of issues and abandoned by HP. Many owners went through 2-4 replacements.

I know the Epsons are THE photo printer. But I've read on the net that unless you print everyday they are the most prone to clogs.

Looking forward to your feedback.

BTW: our workhorse for non photo printing is a Kodak AIO printer. Been pushing papers for about 5 years. Just replaced the heads bought them on Amazon for $14. Kodak ink is about the cheapest. But I just broke down and bought 3rd party that were highly rated. I got 5 XL black & 5 XL color for the cost of 1 Kodak XL color. So far so good.

When we had our studio. For invoicing and making price lists etc the workhorse was a Canon Laser printer. We used refilled toner cartridges and got over 3500 pages.

Last thing: The real workhorse for our studio was a Xerox Phaser printer we got through a program with Xerox. As long as you bought all of your ink carts from Xerox the maintenance was covered for 3 years. After that the printer was yours to keep. It was a huge beast with 2 trays, automatic double side and photo quality but not archival. We used it to print proof books for our seniors. We also printed all of our promo pieces and mailers. We used it hard. It arrived on 2 pallets and a friend and I just about killed ourselves bringing it in the studio. At the time Xerox claimed it was worth $3500. You can buy one now for about $350.

That's the request & report from here in Reading PA.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

1) No it is not problem prone. Unless you buy it used from Craigslist where someone broke it.

The current "effective" price at B&H is FREE. You do pay $150 (after rebate) but it includes 50 sheets of big and free paper worth about $40. It also comes with ink. Unlike an Epson I bought, the Pro-100 appears to come with "real" full sized ink cartridges and not a startup/trial size. A set of real ink is about $100 so the net price of the printer itself is free. B&H does not charge shipping or sales tax either.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=canon+pixma+pro-100&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ps

2) The Mark 9000 and 9000ii have been out of production for awhile. They would indeed be used. People that have them have said they like them.

The Pro-10 is a very different printer than the Pro-100. It uses pigment inks, has more cartridges, is believed to maybe make longer lasting prints, is believed to maybe be better for B&W. A friend has one and loves it.

3) There are a lot of things on the net. Happy users of anything rarely post they are having a good time. What rises to the top on the net is the disgruntled user group. My sense is that older printers of any brand may have clogged more often. One theory is that dye inks clog less than pigment inks. Since the Pro-100 uses dye inks, it may have that benefit.

Al Beatty Loc: Boise, Idaho

I'm interested to hear what MT's workhorse printer is. Take care & ...