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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

#111
post #10

Yeah. My HP toner cartridge has been "empty" for about a year and is still printing fine! It has done more pages since it was empty than before it was empty.

Same here, I'll only change it once I start seeing streaks, it must be a scam it has been like this for years.

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

#112

I don't own a printer for this very reason. As of late though I've had to question if this is viable anymore - UPS price gouged me for 2 A4 sheets of black/white paper prints for $6.40.

I got few prints from UPS, black & white long ago. Now I use staples, color one side letter prints are 70 cents or something, black white around 14 cents. Assuming your files are as pdf, on a fat32 usb.

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

#114

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'd say the unfiltered water quality still might matter in your case. I had to swap to the "stronger" orange marked Maxtra cartridges for harder water because the standard ones weren't actually helping. And I can tell the difference because our kettle gets less limescale now - that's also still the marker for me when filter is about to wear off. For our family one cartridge lasts for about a month now.

I'm using these jugs for 10 years already and the quality of these dropped significantly. The older Elemaris line (with "probes") had more durable plastic while the newer Style (with silicone lid handle) already broke twice during washing. At leas the rounded sensor is more waterproof than the "probe" - that one I had to replace twice and luckily the local distributor send these for free.

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

#115
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.

Long time ago, in around 2006, a computer shop guy wanted to charge me 3 times more for color scans jpegs than black & white scans, because "color ink" is expensive!! I was like, its a paper to pdf, you are not using any ink at all, but he was like no, how will your pdf get colors from?

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

#116
post #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

And yet water filters for use when camping last WAY longer and don't cost that much more. A simple Katydid BeFree lasts 1000L. I'm betting the Brita indicator came on WAY before that.

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

#117
post #108
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…

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

That could help on the biofilm/mold front, but won't do anything about particulates in the filter.

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

#118

I don't own a printer for this very reason. As of late though I've had to question if this is viable anymore - UPS price gouged me for 2 A4 sheets of black/white paper prints for $6.40.

Check if your library let's you print. Mine let's me print something like 50 pages a month for free then you pay for any additional pages.

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

#119
post #41

If you have a Samsung laserprinter with number pad and empty toner / imaging unit try menu # 1904 menu and reset the counter, then happily print thousands of pages more

This is outrageous. Only a small percentage of owners know this kind of tricks. Imagine the environmental damage created by thousands of users throwing away perfectly usable cartridges. I always feel bad about throwing away laser printer cartridges, they have so many components that are working just fine, there should be a way to just refill the toner and reuse it.

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

#120

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…

Just FYI, those brita jug indicators are based on a counter that increments every time the lid pops open from a pour, after a certain threshold the light changes color.
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