I bought a $49 printer

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck) 06/02/2018 at 20:07 • Filed to: Office!

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This after returning an HP OfficeJet whatever after two days, which was the biggest piece of shit and beyond frustrating. My last Canon lasted me 10 years, so I figure I’d return to them and hope this was less terrible.

So far, it prints, and it scans. I have it on USB only for now because my WiFi is hummmm spotty lately.

I also bought it because it has a physical disc for the software upload. Using whatever string of websites on HP was a joke. It would not recognize my IP or model number, even after accepting it and connecting several minutes ago. Manually inputting the codes also did not work on the HP. The troubleshooting on HP was worthless.

“Would you like us detect problems?”

“Yes.”

“Unable to detect problems”

“Umm...”

“Have you tried turning it on and off again?”

Literally their prompt for everything.

Okay back to this Canon:

- it’s made out of pre-bailout GM plastic

- it’s loud as fuck. REEEEEEEEEEEEEER

- it works

- it’s simple

TLDR, it’s the crappy used Corolla of printers. And that’s all I need.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/02/2018 at 20:10

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Canon’s “software” is stupid.

Canon’s web-management console is stupid.

But the print quality is pretty darn good.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > winterlegacy, here 'till the end 06/02/2018 at 20:13

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I should have never gotten rid of my last one. It was a gigantic clunky turd... But it was MY clunky turd :(

Nibby > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/02/2018 at 20:18

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you’ve already made another mistake.

don’t.

ever.

buy.

inkjet.

printers.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Nibby 06/02/2018 at 20:20

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I don’t even know or understand the difference.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/02/2018 at 20:25

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Here’s what I bought a few years ago. I just added a duplexer this week, a part that set me back $39.

That price tag is accurate. They let it go cheap since they didn’t have a power cord to test it, yet it still came with a 7-day return privilege. And the power cord was nothing fancy, just your bog-standard IEC cord. I think you can still buy one of these new for $550 or thereabouts. It’s a beast.

Multi-function color laser - the only way to fly...

AestheticsInMotion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/02/2018 at 20:26

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As someone who recently had to set up a home office, I feel your pain. It’s really frustrating setting up a printer after getting used to all of the modern electronic devices that are so intuitive and simple to use.

I don’t even have a computer, I just wanted to set up the printer to print from my phone. Took four hours to get that working. Why???? Should just be a ten second Bluetooth pairing, and boom. Done.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/02/2018 at 20:30

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I bought a brother monochrome laser. Already saved a ton in tossing out dry ink cartridges.

Boxer_4 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/02/2018 at 20:31

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I miss when HP inkjet printers were actually decent...

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/02/2018 at 20:34

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Oh my God, that’s creepy. We also had an OfficeJet something and got 2 of the exact same $49 Canon printer, I think it’s the MX495 or something. I’m not home right now but when I get home I’ll post a pic.

Nibby > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/02/2018 at 20:39

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inkjets are essentially a pyramid scheme

the printers themselves are cheap cause they’re mostly low end shit (excluding those design class ones)

then your ink runs out frequently and they charge almost as much as the printer itself for replacements.

a laser printer will be more reliable, last much longer, and toner lasts much longer than ink

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Nibby 06/02/2018 at 20:39

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I hate inkjets with a passion. A few years ago my office had some fancy OfficeJet with a duplexer, but the logic, if there was any, was incredibly stupid. If you attempted to print a full-color, two-sided document it would print, making the first page soaking wet with ink and then try to flip it and bring it back inside to do the back side, no waiting for the first side to dry. Needless to say, soggy paper and duplexers are a very bad combination, and this usually meant hours wasted pulling out inky spitballs out of every crack and crevice, then cleaning off all of the ink those spitballs left on every moving part inside the printer. What an absolute piece of shit.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Nibby 06/02/2018 at 20:41

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So when I run out of the ink it came with, I should just buy a new printer then

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 06/02/2018 at 20:42

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You’re a smart shopper. I’m a lazy one.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/02/2018 at 20:43

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We can help. Just buy the best laser printer you can afford, even if that means not having color. The quality of a laser printer, any laser printer, will be much more professional than an inkjet. And if you need something high-quality and in color, just take the file on a flash drive to FedEx office and let them print it.

In my warped mind, inkjet printers are the equivalent of still using an AOL email address - don’t do it!

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Nibby 06/02/2018 at 20:54

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Inkjet cartridges tend to dry out if not used frequently, so if the printer hasn’t been used recently you’ll have to run a cleaning process which wastes a good portion of the ink and several pieces of paper (and your time) getting it to do what it was supposed to do.

Inkjet manufacturers like to put little circuits in the cartridge so that they can’t be reused or refilled, and makes engineering a compatible cartridge almost impossible. They also frequently change the design of the cartridge so that you can’t use your existing stock of cartridges in a new printer. The cartridges dry out over time, so old ones may not actually work.

I had a friend that found that the replacement cartridges for his inkjet were more expensive that a new printer with new cartridges, so he would frequently throw away perfectly good printers to save money. Yes, they were probably starter cartridges with less ink than replacements (another scheme), but it was a simple way to get printing again, even if it did mean needlessly filling the landfill with cheap Chinesium plastic.

Laser printers use a dry toner that is fused to the paper with a heated roller, just like a photocopier. It won’t fade or wear out, and isn’t affected by water unlike the output from most inkjet printers. The process takes a bit more energy than inkjets (the lights in my home office dim momentarily when the beast fires up), but it is worth it for high-quality, durable printing.

benjrblant > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/02/2018 at 20:55

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So you bought a $49 machine that eats $60 ink cartridges

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > benjrblant 06/02/2018 at 20:58

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39 dollars for a set on eBay

[Ponders]

Hmmm....

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/02/2018 at 21:02

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Well, I tend to buy things when I find a good deal on them, not necessarily when I need them. If you need a printer right away you don’t have the luxury of looking for killer deals like I get.

But seriously, take it back and get a laser, even if you have to spend twice as much. You’ll thank me.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/02/2018 at 21:02

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HPs used to be top of the line but now they’re all creaky pieces of junk saddled with half a gig of non-optional bloatware.

We have all Lexmarks here at work and they’re pretty much trouble free.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/02/2018 at 21:04

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Laser printers are more reliable but they’re only economical for bulk printing jobs.

Nibby > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 06/02/2018 at 21:06

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Right on, you explained it better than i could

that being said

let’s get one of these

404 - User No Longer Available > benjrblant 06/02/2018 at 21:06

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I’ve had my Canon for almost 10 years now, and midway I switched to compatible cartridges. Costs like $12 a set, and it still runs like a champ, minus this weird issue with the scanner where it sometimes jams on power up, but a power cycle would fix it.

atfsgeoff > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/02/2018 at 21:09

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All inkjet printers are disposable. they don’t last very long particularly if you don’t print regularly, because the print heads get clogged up with dried up ink, and the “clean print head” function only works about 10% of the time.

I always recommend laser printers to people who need a printer. Sure you pay a little more up front (maybe a few hundred for a color multifunction unit), but they last so much longer, and you never have to deal with dried up ink or its consequences.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Boxer_4 06/02/2018 at 21:09

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I once owned the same printer.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 06/02/2018 at 21:12

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But third-party ink sellers have found ways around the circuits. It’s possible to buy cheap ink for just about any printer. The trick is always having ink on-hand so you don’t run out right when you need to print something.

That being said, laser printers will always be better and faster for large print jobs. As long as you don’t need color, it’s the way to go.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Nibby 06/02/2018 at 21:20

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Oops - I meant that as a reply to Zoid, but I’m sure he’ll see it.

That’s the perfect printer to go along with your collection of vintage computers. I had a few oldies like that, usually gotten for free because they needed some repairs. I used my dad’s old LaserJet 2 for years until I was given this monster - the classic LaserJet 4si:

I did get a few used Oki color lasers for free. The first one was because all four image drums timed out and the owner found it cheaper to buy a new printer than to replace the four drums. In talking to him I found out that he only used a tiny bit of color on his printouts, so the drums were essentially unused. I went into a maintenance menu and reset the counter and the printer has been working fine for over a decade. I gave it to my parents and they couldn’t be happier.

I got another free one and kept that for myself, but it hasn’t been used in ages since I got the Xerox. There’s also an HP color LaserJet sitting in my living room that I picked up at the Goodwill Outlet when they were having a $0.59 sale on all electronic devices. I didn’t need it, obviously, but c’mon - how could I pass up a 59 cent color laser printer? (I should have, but that’s the downside of being a packrat) There were some streaks on the black output, but I grabbed another drum at the outlet for a buck or two. I’ll probably sell it for $25 or so and make someone happy.

Boxer_4 > TheRealBicycleBuck 06/02/2018 at 21:22

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I still have mine, somewhere... I think it’s in storage... along with a DeskJet 720C...

Boxer_4 > Nibby 06/02/2018 at 21:25

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Um, actually...

Nibby > Boxer_4 06/02/2018 at 21:26

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Boxer_4 > Nibby 06/02/2018 at 21:27

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Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > TheRealBicycleBuck 06/02/2018 at 21:31

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I figured that they would have gotten around those restrictions by now, but I don’t bother to follow the printer industry like I did when I actually administered several hundred printers of every conceivable type, from tiny desktop printers to huge plotters, for a major defense contractor. 

Even if you need color, laser is still the way to go. The price of color lasers has come down so much over the last decade or two that they are quite reasonably priced. The output from most inkjets is so cheesy in comparison and lacking in durability that I cannot recommend that anyone buy one. They’ve gotten better over the years, but consumer grade units are still second-tier, at best, in my jaded eyes.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/03/2018 at 00:48

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I might see about getting a used Brother printer. Print quality’s OK but you might as well be flying business class with how easy it is to configure and tweak.

Dusty Ventures > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/03/2018 at 00:51

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The Canon I got for college in 2004 just crapped out a few months ago

Roundbadge > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 06/04/2018 at 20:40

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I found this while trying to understand the root of the color printer comments...I guess because this is the first evening I’ve Oppo’d in ages.

I hate printers, but I have a weird understanding with HPs. Officejet drivers don’t get along with Windows 1o. What does seem to work is their HP Universal PCL6 driver. At work, I’ve fixed a ton of “No thank you, I don’t think I’ll print” OfficeJets with the Universal PCL6 driver...which, weirdly, is intended for laser printers.

I understand that all this is moot...and multiple days late...but just thought I’d throw that non-helpful nugget out there.