Live data from Hacker News

CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

lumafield.com

81–90 of 276 posts

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#81

Somewhat related, I recently bought a Brita water filter jug which has a little led on the lid which glows red when the disposable filter cartridge has “expired” and needs replacing. Before I even started to use the thing I knew what to expect. Sure enough it starts to glow red after a ridiculously short period of time of using a brand new filter cartridge. I’ve been ignoring it for a few weeks now and checking for a…

My fridge has something similar but at least it tells you what it does - it simply counts down 3 months.

So I just reset it and tell it there is a new one and it stops beeping at me.

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#82
I'll always remember when our fairly expensive prosumer all-in-one-printer suddenly wouldn't let me scan pages because there was "no more ink" in the printer right before an important task. A straight up scam.

I'm surprised no one has disrupted the sad state of affairs in the printer industry yet even though it's slowly dying.

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember when I was at school about 15 years ago there were printers that used wax(?) blocks, that were just put into it, not sure how it worked exactly.

Xerox Phaser printers ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Phaser ) used wax „solid ink“ blocks ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_ink ) Advantages: waterproof print; very clean; easy to change ink blocks; maintenance was mainly just emptying a tray containing small amounts of waste wax (biodegradable) Disadvantages: when offline, the printer still used power to keep the wax in a liquid state, otherwise a cold st…

We had a tektronix with blocks - and that one had to be kept off except for very specific times, because if left on it would stay warm and over a week or two drain all the wax out of it into the waste tank.

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#84
Are we at all surprised when the incentive is for them to make you buy ink as frequently as possible? There are even subscription services now for ink - all for that sweet Recurring Revenue investors love. They've made their systems hard to service yourself or use third-party components/cartridges so no player is going to make a "value" option anytime soon.

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#85

Somewhat related, I recently bought a Brita water filter jug which has a little led on the lid which glows red when the disposable filter cartridge has “expired” and needs replacing. Before I even started to use the thing I knew what to expect. Sure enough it starts to glow red after a ridiculously short period of time of using a brand new filter cartridge. I’ve been ignoring it for a few weeks now and checking for a…

No post body was provided.

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#86

Somewhat related, I recently bought a Brita water filter jug which has a little led on the lid which glows red when the disposable filter cartridge has “expired” and needs replacing. Before I even started to use the thing I knew what to expect. Sure enough it starts to glow red after a ridiculously short period of time of using a brand new filter cartridge. I’ve been ignoring it for a few weeks now and checking for a…

I'm fairly certain its disclosed somewhere that light is just on a timer, there is no realistic way to monitor something like that otherwise.

Depends on your tank, see "how do I read and reset" https://www.brita.com/support/faqs/replacement-filters/

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#87
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Identical story here. The toner the printer came with lasted a few months. I refilled it in a local shop (the guy explained me that they had to replace the chip that counts the pages so refilling was expensive, but in fact it was a fraction of a new one). Still printing with that same toner after (I think) 6 years.

Most printers now explicitly call out that they come with a "starter toner" - which has many fewer pages than a normal one.

No post body was provided.

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#88

Looks like they market CT scanners. Otherwise I'd ask - why not cut it open instead?

Adam Savage just put out a neat video that featured this company’s CT scanners and software. They scanned two vacuum tube-esque components. https://youtu.be/iTJvb-qibKQ

TIL what is a hydrogen thyratron

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#89

Somewhat related, I recently bought a Brita water filter jug which has a little led on the lid which glows red when the disposable filter cartridge has “expired” and needs replacing. Before I even started to use the thing I knew what to expect. Sure enough it starts to glow red after a ridiculously short period of time of using a brand new filter cartridge. I’ve been ignoring it for a few weeks now and checking for a…

get a cheap TDS meter.

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#90

Somewhat related, I recently bought a Brita water filter jug which has a little led on the lid which glows red when the disposable filter cartridge has “expired” and needs replacing. Before I even started to use the thing I knew what to expect. Sure enough it starts to glow red after a ridiculously short period of time of using a brand new filter cartridge. I’ve been ignoring it for a few weeks now and checking for a…

Those filters (usually coconut shell carbon) can start having bacterial biofilm grow on them over time, and generally get saturated with gunk, that’s why you’re meant to change them frequently. I guess when they do depends on a lot of factors and the recommendation is an average length - ideally would have some better sensors on when to change them but gets more costly
Post reply on HN