printers?

[nickk]

we have a problem with our kodak printer,all in one 6150,the diagnosis says 'print head cartridge jam' we tried the suggested solution stating turn off,unplug,turn on,then when opening access door the carriage[ink] should move to the centre but it does not.
Can anyone suggest how we could solve this.

The printer was purchased in Feb 2012 and we have already had one printhead replaced.
PC world say it is cheaper to replace than to fix - do these really only last 2 years??

 

[ford34/2]

Probably fixable, try this link or google the fault.
Stan
http://kozosseg.szexyvagyak.hu/videoshare/index.php?page=yt&id=0fPTUcJq0pM

 

[CompoSimmonite]

The mistake I've made in the past is not using genuine ink. Every time the print head gets clogged and nothing cleared it so after 4 (Epson) printers simply got binned. About 18-24 months would be about the time they lasted.
Now I've got a Kodak ESP3.2 all in one and it's been fine & 100% reliable for around 3-4 years on genuine ink without a problem. Son and daughter being college & uni students means often a lot of black and white printing needs to be done so I've got a Brother HL 2135W mono laser as well. Now I've got, and use, a laser I wouldn't go back to inkjet for bulk printing. Something like a manual with 100 pages takes almost an hour on the Kodak or just a couple of minutes on the Brother !

Paul h

 

[octo0072000]

we have a problem with our kodak printer,all in one 6150,the diagnosis says 'print head cartridge jam' we tried the suggested solution stating turn off,unplug,turn on,then when opening access door the carriage[ink] should move to the centre but it does not.
Can anyone suggest how we could solve this.

The printer was purchased in Feb 2012 and we have already had one printhead replaced.
PC world say it is cheaper to replace than to fix - do these really only last 2 years??

mates did exactly the same same message ended up at the tip his was less than18 months old

 

[Wedg1e]

If it's anything like Epsons there'll be a carriage lock lever that engages with the print head carriage whilst it's parked. When it needs to move, the lever should release. If it's not then there's your fault. Could be the typical bit of white nylon that snaps off and renders the whole machine scrap as it can't be glued and they won't sell you spares.
I binned my lovely old Epson 3-in-1 a few months back after nothing I tried would fix it - including genuine Epson cartridges, reset the counters, ran the diagnostics, flushed the print heads with isopropyl, the lot. It would get to the point where it needed to start spraying ink and then flag up an unspecified glitch.
Luckily I had a spare 3-in-1 (another Epson of lower spec.), sadly (and typically) it takes completely different cartridges

 

[Wendelspanswick]

I have switched to a laser printer, only prints in monochrome (black) but no more swapping cartridges or trying to clear print heads etc.
I have been using it for over 5 years now and it cost £60, still on the original toner cartridge and it gets used daily.

 

[gerrymoore]

Laser is the only way to go. After three or four Epson inkjets I gave up and bought an OKI 3200 colour laser half price when I lived in Spain (200 euros instead of 400). This was around 7 years ago and I still love it! Only on second set of (non genuine) toners (about £100 for the four) and they are less than 25% used). It's a bit big but the newer ones are much smaller and neater and now even cheaper. Printing quality is superb and very quick.

Printer ink is reputed to be the most expensive liquid ever made at about £3000 a gallon!! Laser toner forever!!

 

[CRB]

Laser is the only way to go. After three or four Epson inkjets I gave up and bought an OKI 3200 colour laser half price when I lived in Spain (200 euros instead of 400). This was around 7 years ago and I still love it! Only on second set of (non genuine) toners (about £100 for the four) and they are less than 25% used). It's a bit big but the newer ones are much smaller and neater and now even cheaper. Printing quality is superb and very quick.

Printer ink is reputed to be the most expensive liquid ever made at about £3000 a gallon!! Laser toner forever!!

Ditto. I was sick of buying £30s worth of inkjet cartridges and plumped for a Xerox Colo(u)rQube 8750 duplex. The blocks of ink are not 'cheap' but it is brilliant.

I did not use it as much as I had expected and after 1600 pages it would not pickup the paper. After a few email to Xerox and the suppliers ruing the purchase of special offer inks for the future etc etc, I was sent a little roller which is in the 10K pages service pack. Back to brilliant.

 

[daleyd]

Another laser convert here. The frustrating thing is that inkjets are so versatile in being able to do photos quality printing etc, but for the amount we do of that nowadays I usually just get them done at Boots/Snapfish or wherever has a deal on.

I bought a Samsung mono laser for my wifes uni work for about £40 and its been a godsend, cheap and quick (Printer, not the wife). I'm using up the last of my inkjet cartridges on my Epson printer/scanner and am then probably going to get hold of a multifunction colour laser to replace it.

On the original post, they should last more than 2 years - it sounds like something is stuck. Do the printheads move at all? Im not familiar with Kodak ones but make sure all the clips are down that hold the cartridges in place and nothing is obviously jamming it.

Have you removed all the printheads and replaced them ensuring they are seated correctly?

 

[Shox Dr]

Printer ink is reputed to be the most expensive liquid ever made at about £3000 a gallon!! Laser toner forever!!

Just like Vacuums manufacturers they are in the business of selling the consumables. DELL moved into the printer market some 10yrs just because of the vast profits to be made.

I've a network Kyocera Laser so we can print from anywhere, the colour printer hardly ever gets used as it takes longer to get it to work than print the page.

Far easier [and cheaper in the long run] to take your pictures to a local printers and let them do them, or on line printers

 

[stucktoweld]

I have a strong suspicion the newer inkjet with chipped cartridges are programmed to fail a random date after the 12 months!
Just bought a business type HP multifunction colour laser a warehouse deal £100 plus the complete set of toner cartridges as compatibles are only £30 ( yes black and 3 colour)
After using a Canon inkjet for many years and much printing gone through an epson an HP inkjet just a years a piece and much wasted ink
So far the result with the laser are good and looking forward to the toners fitted, lasting a year or more!
I so hate the inkjets when you need to print something important the dreaded ------ inkjet clean and watch 30% of the ink go down the drainplug

 

[lazybones51]

Had the same thing with our 1 year old Kodak, tried repairing it but it ended up in the bin.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Bit OT.
I need a new toner for my Brother laser. Looking on eBay there is a massive difference between remanufactured and genuine cartridges (£8 v £35). As I've previously said I now refused to use non genuine ink jet cartridges but wonder on the other hand if remanufactured laser toner is safe or should I again stick with genuine ?

Thanks.

Paul h

 

[ukracer]

Bit OT.
I need a new toner for my Brother laser. Looking on eBay there is a massive difference between remanufactured and genuine cartridges (£8 v £35). As I've previously said I now refused to use non genuine ink jet cartridges but wonder on the other hand if remanufactured laser toner is safe or should I again stick with genuine ?

Thanks.

Paul h

Seems less of an issue from what I can make out.

 

[the snooper]

I have switched to a laser printer, only prints in monochrome (black) but no more swapping cartridges or trying to clear print heads etc.
I have been using it for over 5 years now and it cost £60, still on the original toner cartridge and it gets used daily.

ive got mono laser aswell you just cant beat them

 

[nickk]

so it seems a laser is advisable,we've tried to pull the print head along helped with tapping it but no movement,which laser is advisable & snooper-is a mono one on its own or does it come with a printers mate?lol.

 

[the snooper]

all on its lonesome, I cant give you any advice on new printers out there ive had the same one for ages it a brother also get a brother at work never had any problems with it at all

 

[Jan]

The early Kodak printers were just rebadged Lexmarks. For business use they have distinct advantages over most other makes in that the ink cartridges include the print heads, so that means you're renewing the heads every time you put in a new cartridge. However the cost is enormous for the home printer who can't 'write it off' as a business expense. For more years than I care to mention I've stuck with Epson as remote bulk ink tanks are available for many models which brings ink costs down to around £3 for the equivalent for a set of 6 colours. As some of my printing is for dye sublimation printing on special paper with special ink and then transferring to special prepared surfaces (mugs, T-shirts, plate materials, etc) I have second Epson printer just for that purpose. Through a bit of luck I've got the 'ink' cost down from £70 per cartridge to under £5.

On the time front: Some cartridges (and more every year) have an inbuilt 'use by' date which is passed on to the drive software which will refuse to print if it's passed. Similarly the printer will perform a minimal head clean after so many print passes. Eventually this will overload the foam wiper pad so the printer keeps a track of the number of head cleans and will refuse to work until it's been changed and the counter reset. If you use an Epson printer there is a little utility called "SSC Service Utility" which can reset not only this counter, but all other printer counters. Also there's a little mod you can do to the printer so that all the excess ink is routed to an external tank which means that the wiper pad is never completely full.