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drissa · Jun 9, 2003, 01:53 PM

I really though I was buying a quality printer. I'm baffled at how quickly it guzzles ink, although this is something to be accepted. The blurry text is also inevitable.

However, my printer leaves smeared ink at the edge of paper, text often comes out misaligned and the printer frequently pulls the whole pile of paper through. I get stripes across the page too.

I know there are print utilities to clean the heads, realign them etc. However, these problems appeared almost immediately and one of the tests is completely baffling - it's badly explained and I've no idea what I'm supposed to be looking for in the print out.

Any other owners having problems? Any advice?

I can edit video, record professional standard audio, merge images seamlessly and communicate with my aunt 3,000 miles away, but I guess we're still some way from a reliable 'desktop print studio'...?

Mastrap · Jun 10, 2003, 01:10 AM

Give it back and insist on a replacement. That is the reason we've got warranties. If the replacement is still not living up to your expectations then it might be a crap product which is always disappointing when it happens.

FWIW I've just bought a Canon i850 to replace my aging Epson 750 and I am blown away. Text is almost laser quality, printing is so fast I thought I had made a mistake with the settings and image printing is of excellent quality. But the best thing is that Canon throws in their superb OS X software suite for free. I was amazed finding a CD containing PhotoStitch and ImageBrowser. Beats iPhoto any day of the week.

icruise · Jun 10, 2003, 05:27 AM

How is image browser better than iPhoto (aside from the possible area of speed)? They both seem pretty basic to me.

Footy · Jun 22, 2003, 10:25 PM

Have this problem with my Epson Photo 820 as well. I hate it. It prints great with the ink carts are new but once they have set for a while this problem returns. You can clean the rollers an insides a bit but it returns shortly after.

I'm guessing this will be my last Epson.

-Footy

?However, my printer leaves smeared ink at the edge of paper
?I get stripes across the page too.
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Sosa · Jun 22, 2003, 10:46 PM

I have an Epson 820 myself, got it only because it was free after a rebate. I cannot complain about the quality of the prints. I printed 4 photos on one sheet of their sample photo paper and they came out excellent. My untrained eye could not tell the difference between the print outs and regular photos.

However I do share your complaint on how quickly ink runs out! My color cartridge was rarely used except for those 4 pics in one page and poof, empty reading. And most annoying is Epson not allowing you to print with an empty cartridge! I was unable to print my resume until I bought color ink replacements from 123inkjets.com (which, BTW, certanly beats buying Epson replacements).

So is there a more ink economical printer out there we should consider?

I did notice after my black ink ran out that Appleworks by default prints in high quality, so that may have affected durability.

MaxPower2k3 · Jun 22, 2003, 11:08 PM

i have an HP DeskJet 5550 that i've been completely satisfied with, but that's somewhat of a sidenote.

My parents have an Epson printer (for get which one) downstaris and they complain to that the color cartridge seems to steadily run out of ink even when they only print text, and once it 'runs out' it won't let them print even black and white without first replacing the color cartridge. we found out, though, that this seems to be some kind of timer, as pulling out the 'empty' color cartridge and reseating it results in a full ink guage in the settings, and printing (even in color) works fine again. they seem to just want to screw you out of your money by forcing you to buy ink regularly, even when you rarely use it.

Socially Awkward Solo · Jun 22, 2003, 11:29 PM

I had an Epson 700 years ago and it had nothing but probems, I swore I would never get another. Stupid me got a Epson c80 and it has all the problems you mentioned with yours.

Epsons print very nice pictures when it works but 2 out of 10 pictures will mess up one way or another.

bbales · Jun 24, 2003, 09:55 AM

I've always had Epson printers. Bought a C80, like the most recent poster, before switching to X in Jan/Feb 2002. The thing sucked up black ink like nobody's business.

Discovered about six weeks after the warranty ran out that is also LEAKED black ink like nobody's business. A repair person told me it was a known flaw; I got Epson to send me a refurbished C82 for free. (They even overnighted it.) So far, it doesn't seem to flow ink nearly as much as the C80. I probably would look at a canon for my next printer, though.

For the person who talked about using up color ink even when mostly printing in B&W -- make sure they have the settings set for B&W. The default (or standard) is usually color and you have to make your own default to force it into B&W for text. I learned this about 10 years ago...

Sosa · Jul 3, 2003, 09:14 PM

My misgivings about Epson have been confirmed! They are screwing people with their ink replacements and usage, more than most other printer manufacturers!

Check out this article.

I say we boycot Epson products! I have a Canon camera that works great, perhaps I'll try their printers next time. Meanwhile I'm going to write Epson a nasty letter! Oh yeah, buy generic replacements cartridges from 123inkjets.com.

tooki · Jul 4, 2003, 02:20 PM

Originally posted by Sosa:
So is there a more ink economical printer out there we should consider?

Canon i850. It uses cheap, huge ink tanks. Black ink for it is $14, for a tank that's larger than Epson's $30 tank. Color tanks (it uses one per color) are $12 each, so $36 for all 3 colors, but you can sometimes find a set of all 4 tanks for that price. The 3 color tanks together are nearly twice as big as Epson's color tank. On the i850, the black tank is twice the size of a color tank.

And those prices are for Canon ink. No-name ink is about $3 per cartridge! (And it doesn't use those damned microchips Epson and Lexmark put in their cartridges.)

But on top of the cheapness of the ink, the i850 doesn't use as much ink to print, so the tanks last a long time.

The i950 is a six-color printer, and is similar to the i850, except that the black tank is the same size as the color ones -- no jumbo black tank. But that's to be expected from a photo printer. The i850 is a general-purpose printer that prints fantastic photos. The i950 is really a dedicated photo printer, since it doesn't print text very fast.

Do searches of this forum for the i850 and the i950, people are raving about them!

tooki

sideus · Jul 4, 2003, 03:17 PM

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=166550

Back up 15 and punt · Jul 4, 2003, 05:50 PM

There are three main problems with Epson printers. One, they build their print heads into their printers and two, they use ink to clear those heads everytime you start your printing. It is the second issue which is causing you to run out of ink even though you don't necessarily use those colors. The third issue is the fact the Epson uses a top feed system. In reality this is both a negative and plus. The plus side is that you run heavier paper through the printer because of the feed path. The negative side of this is that the feed mechanism will go south sooner than a bottom feed.

Tarcat · Jul 7, 2003, 10:08 PM

I have had two Epsons (Stylus 740, C60) and both have been nothing but trouble. Great output, great speed, great prices but neither of them have been reliable and both have used lots of ink and ended up with broken printheads. My mother and brother have had similar problems with Epson brand printers. My next printer will be an HP.

tooki · Jul 8, 2003, 03:53 PM

Originally posted by Back up 15 and punt:
There are three main problems with Epson printers. One, they build their print heads into their printers and two, they use ink to clear those heads everytime you start your printing. It is the second issue which is causing you to run out of ink even though you don't necessarily use those colors. The third issue is the fact the Epson uses a top feed system. In reality this is both a negative and plus. The plus side is that you run heavier paper through the printer because of the feed path. The negative side of this is that the feed mechanism will go south sooner than a bottom feed.

Baloney on points 2 and 3.

EVERY inkjet printer uses ink to clean the heads, and they all clean all the heads when you turn them on. That is really unlikely to change. (I do agree that Epson is dumb for forcing you to have color ink even to print in pure B&W.)

L-shape, "straight" and true straight paper feeds are LESS likely to break than U-shaped paper paths, as they are simpler. There is no evidence at all to indicate that straight paper paths are less reliable, and in fact my experience has been that U-shaped paper paths are the finickey ones.

tooki

rezzi · Jul 8, 2003, 08:27 PM

Epson print heads could be changed. It's just that most of their printers are consumer throw-aways & the heads are the most expensive piece of the pie. Rather than get you a new head, they'd rather you get a new printer. Most people are'nt gonna go for that. Also the chips in the ink cartridges let the printer know when you are low or out. My sister managed to refill her black cartridge & effectively fooled the printer. That's not supposed to happen. A last note; I noticed when printing from the web, the print is often banded or striped. A resolve is to save the image to desktop then print from Picture Viewer or whichever. Good print every time.

DeathToWindows · Jul 9, 2003, 08:17 AM

Epson are great IF:

1. You can pay for a great deal of ink
2. You don't mind REALLY finiky paper feeds
3. You hae the time & patience to deal with them

...

Personally, I've got an HP cp1700 (REALLY huge HP inkjet w/ gigantic cartridges and separate, replaceable heads) and its fast, economical, color-accurate and does B&W photo work w/o using color cartridges or color casting the print.

IMHO: unless you need certain aspects of the epsons (borderless printing from a roll)... buy a MIDRANGE hp

...

oh yeah - NEVER buy a printer that costs less than 100/150 because you will simply get a large paperweight with TINY cartridges...

...

My advice w/ printers:

Epson: only if you are a pure photo person with deep pockets
HP: text & photo... just not quite as good as the epson for really vivid color prints... but a damn close match