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

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

#101

Post by johannbok »

kossTKR wrote: post #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.

At the lower end of the market the printers are sold below-cost and the profit is in the ink. Above that, there's laser printers, which are far less prone to this.

Are we looking for someone to sell an ink-based printer that will cost more up front than its competitors, and then willingly forego the revenue that comes from market ink prices?

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

#102

Post by ghaff »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #18
nerpderp82 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never used one, but I think it is interesting that Epson does sell a line of printers that have easily refillable ink reservoirs. https://epson.com/ecotank-ink-tank-printers

Inkjets have to be used regularly or they will suffer from clogs and in the case of Epson you're SOL if a head clean doesn't work. You can leave a laser idle for years and it will print fine.

For a lot of people a laserprinter is probably better than an inkjet, especially given that a lot of people don't print much these days. And you can get even color lasers for a pretty good price these days. I've had a B&W laser at home forever. About a year ago, I just got rid of my inkjet rather than spending a bunch of money to get new ink. It was a large format photo printer and was sometimes nice to have but not worth it.

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

#103

Post by novaRom »

daneel_w wrote: post #12

Same with ink cartridges from all inkjet manufacturers. It's a massive case of fraud and environmental crime in one.

It's not different from what a well-known company does with their devices by installing low-grade batteries with leaking capacity. Intentionally, planned obsolescence.

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

#104

Post by lazide »

dharma1 wrote: post #90
tailspin2019 wrote: post #75

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

And (defensibly, somewhat) they’ll of course set the indicator to be for the worst case possible, even if not probable, so they 1) get more money, and 2) won’t lose money in lawsuits from someone saying ‘It still said it was fine!’ who gets sick, even if there were other really obvious signs something was wrong.

So for a filter, either 24/7 use or one time use then letting it sit (whichever is worse).

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

#105

Post by lazide »

shuntress wrote: post #94
tailspin2019 wrote: post #75

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…

Regulation regarding the truthfulness/accuracy of indicators probably wouldn't hurt. But, the better solution is effective Right To Repair laws that coerce a minimum level of standards and open design. For example, if Brita were required to publish the parameters of that part, you would be able to more easily make an informed decision regarding replacing that part (either by repairing it, cleaning it, refurbishing it…

Good luck with that! Even the EU hasn’t broached that subject.

Most of those folks make their money on consumables anyway, so then the manufacturers would Jack up the price on the main product and blame the legislators.

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

#106

Post by mirekrusin »

yamtaddle wrote: post #35
rohan_ wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it? It’s a dying industry. When was the last time you printed anything?

Got kids? All the damn time. Have craft-related hobbies? All the damn time. Patterns, instructions, et c. Despite having a shitload of iPads and extra laptops and such around. Paper's far nicer in many cases, and sometimes cannot be replaced by a screen of any kind.

"Daddy, can you print me something" daily here as well, most time wasted on finding the bloody print-and-cut cartoon best in the world character of the week.

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

#107

Post by hathawsh »

bityard wrote: post #67
jmyeet wrote: post #19

Never, ever, ever buy a printer that takes cartridges. They’re discounted to at or below cost where they make the money back on cartridges. They use ink to clean the heads. They say empty when they’re not. The cartridges that come with the printer aren’t full. There is a constant firmware update war to defeat third party cartridges for obvious reasons. Buy a tank printer that you fill with ink bottles.

Sounds like you're talking about ink printers, TFA is about laser printers. Laser printers are far more cost-effective than ink printers, and there are even color laser printers with very decent color quality for everything except photos. (Ink printers are better for photos but even I think those look terrible compared to professionally-developed photos.)

Agreed. I've had the same HP color laser printer for over a decade and it's still working well. I've only had to replace the toner cartridges once or twice. Before that, I went through at least 3 inkjet printers that all failed because the ink dried out.

BTW, a cool modern hack is converting a document to high-res image files and then submitting the images to the Walmart photo printing service or similar. The document will look incredible.

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

#108

Post by ocean2 »

ska wrote: post #91
tailspin2019 wrote: post #75

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…

> Any indicator that tells you when a consumable needs I'm not a fan of the blinking reminders either, but it's not a monitor it's just a flashing version of the "remind me in the months" wheel or whatever. The problem they face is a hard one. There are really two timelines you care about, one is how long it stays effective, the second is how long it is safe. The first one especially is highly affected by both usage…

One may attempt to sterilize the used filter. For example by using a microwave. This could prolong the lifetime of the filter cartridge.

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

#110

Post by ComodoHacker »

tailspin2019 wrote: post #96
ska wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Any indicator that tells you when a consumable needs I'm not a fan of the blinking reminders either, but it's not a monitor it's just a flashing version of the "remind me in the months" wheel or whatever. The problem they face is a hard one. There are really two timelines you care about, one is how long it stays effective, the second is how long it is safe. The first one especially is highly affected by both usage…

Yes in fairness you make some good points. But given what we see the printer industry blatantly doing - I’m still cynical!

Ironically, the printer industry is getting off with less scrutiny from regulators because safety isn't involved.
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