Having owned 3 Epson Photo Printers and currently owning a Epson 890, I feel EXACTLY like the writer of this article... :angry:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1297903,00.html
I reckon I waste 10x the amount of ink on head cleaning than actual printing, cussing out loud each time the darned printer clogs.
I'm on the cusp of buying a new printer and have sworn off ever buying another Epson even under duress of life and limb.
Can anyone advise on the track record of Canon printers with regards to how frequently the heads clog? In particular, I'm considering the Pixma IP5000.
Thanks!
Kuo Ann
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Who can afford the luxury of an ink-jet printer?
Michele Hanson
Monday September 6, 2004
The Guardian
How foolish Rosemary and I were to buy modestly priced Epson printers without checking the price of cartridges. A few measly droplets of ink will now cost us £21.99. Much more than blood. But who would think to carry out an in-depth investigation before purchasing a printer? Not us, because although we have endured scoundrelly car mechanics, gardeners, builders and plumbers, we always clung to the belief that not all tradespersons are robbers. Until now, so we have a little moan at the shopkeeper.
"Join the queue," says he, because half the world has already complained and he too is enraged by Epson. Although his little shop sells £10,000's worth of ink a month and is one of a chain of hundreds of shops selling squillions of cartridges between them, the very grand Epson persons cannot be bothered to deal with him directly. He must go grovelling to the wholesaler. Up goes the price another notch, and Rosemary and I must pay an arm and two legs for our tiny squirts of ink.
I run home and stick my platinum- and jewel-encrusted cartridge into my crap printer, but nothing happens. No printed words come out. While I was running around searching for bargain cartridges, the wretched thing dried up. Now the heads must be cleaned, by squirting ink through them at several pounds a droplet, and by the time printing resumes, three-quarters of my liquid gold has gone.
Daughter prints 30 pages of dissertation, first draft, and up pops a yellow warning. I must buy more ink. What? So soon? Back to the shop, quick, before the stinker dries up again. How trade must be booming for the greedy cartridge makers, now that dissertation time is here. I ring for an explanation. How many pages should my cartridge print?
"The industry standard," says the Epson Explainer, "assuming 5% print cover per sheet, is 400 pages, but only if it's one continuous print job." What does that mean to the average girlie scribe tapping out her little stories? "It means 5% cover." Clear as bilge water.
I hear that the European parliament voted 580 to 8 that people should not design products that cannot be re-used. Our leaders thought this an excellent idea, but not for ink-jet and laser cartridges. Do they consider money more important than our environment? Is something fishy going on? Surely not.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1297903,00.html
I reckon I waste 10x the amount of ink on head cleaning than actual printing, cussing out loud each time the darned printer clogs.
I'm on the cusp of buying a new printer and have sworn off ever buying another Epson even under duress of life and limb.
Can anyone advise on the track record of Canon printers with regards to how frequently the heads clog? In particular, I'm considering the Pixma IP5000.
Thanks!
Kuo Ann
---------------
Who can afford the luxury of an ink-jet printer?
Michele Hanson
Monday September 6, 2004
The Guardian
How foolish Rosemary and I were to buy modestly priced Epson printers without checking the price of cartridges. A few measly droplets of ink will now cost us £21.99. Much more than blood. But who would think to carry out an in-depth investigation before purchasing a printer? Not us, because although we have endured scoundrelly car mechanics, gardeners, builders and plumbers, we always clung to the belief that not all tradespersons are robbers. Until now, so we have a little moan at the shopkeeper.
"Join the queue," says he, because half the world has already complained and he too is enraged by Epson. Although his little shop sells £10,000's worth of ink a month and is one of a chain of hundreds of shops selling squillions of cartridges between them, the very grand Epson persons cannot be bothered to deal with him directly. He must go grovelling to the wholesaler. Up goes the price another notch, and Rosemary and I must pay an arm and two legs for our tiny squirts of ink.
I run home and stick my platinum- and jewel-encrusted cartridge into my crap printer, but nothing happens. No printed words come out. While I was running around searching for bargain cartridges, the wretched thing dried up. Now the heads must be cleaned, by squirting ink through them at several pounds a droplet, and by the time printing resumes, three-quarters of my liquid gold has gone.
Daughter prints 30 pages of dissertation, first draft, and up pops a yellow warning. I must buy more ink. What? So soon? Back to the shop, quick, before the stinker dries up again. How trade must be booming for the greedy cartridge makers, now that dissertation time is here. I ring for an explanation. How many pages should my cartridge print?
"The industry standard," says the Epson Explainer, "assuming 5% print cover per sheet, is 400 pages, but only if it's one continuous print job." What does that mean to the average girlie scribe tapping out her little stories? "It means 5% cover." Clear as bilge water.
I hear that the European parliament voted 580 to 8 that people should not design products that cannot be re-used. Our leaders thought this an excellent idea, but not for ink-jet and laser cartridges. Do they consider money more important than our environment? Is something fishy going on? Surely not.
