Top 10 Printers (review)

I am often asked by clients for my shopping recommendations. In the last couple of months, both for personal reasons, as well as professional, printers have been a subject of these requests. (For one thing, color lasers have come down enough in price to be a reasonable option for us consumers.) As I have mentioned here before, I start my research by looking to the lab results of product testing done at PC World magazine.

Latest PC World magazine reviews:

* Top 10 Inkjet Multifunction Printers

We test and review the latest multifunction inkjets. Models start at around $100 and combine a printer, scanner, copier and (sometimes) a fax machine.

(My current pick, the Canon MX870, ranks number 5 here.. To me, it’s the best ‘bang for my buck’. And it has fax and auto-duplexing.)

* Top 10 Color Laser Multifunction Printers

These efficient workhorses combine color laser printing, scanning, copying, and, frequently, faxing. Ratings and rankings can change due to pricing and technology changes, so check back frequently for the latest info.

Brands Technicians Love & Hate: Folks, Bryce over at Technibble conducted an informal survey of repair technicians of which brand names they prefer (and which they shun) – broken down by category. I was not terribly surprised to see the results turn out to be nearly identical with my own ‘drothers’. To see the winners and losers, click here. (Printers are down the page a bit.)

Related (sorta): Highlights of upcoming 2011 tablets (photos).

Unrelated: For those of you who would like help with relief efforts after the earthquake and waves in Japan, and want to donate to either the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army (which are two of the larger BBB accredited charities assisting in the relief efforts):

You can text “Japan” to 80888 from your cell phone to donate $10 to Salvation Army efforts.  (Visit mobilecause.com for terms and conditions) Respond “Yes” to a “Thank you” message you receive.

And/or you can text “Redcross” from your cell phones to 90999 to donate the same amount to that organization.

Larger donations can always be made online via the Red Cross website or Salvation Army website. (Source: Japan quake and tsunami puts Apple iPad in perspective.)

Attention: I need to ask my readers a favor.. I seem to have misplaced an hour. Does any one know where it went? I would like to get it back, please.

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Ink. Nozzles. Cartridges.

“Razors and razor blades..“

Today I want to talk about printers. I have some recent experiences to share, and.. a question to ask.

I have said for a long time the tech industry’s business model for printers is the old “razors and razor blades” game. They practically give away the printer, and make their money selling ink (cartridges) refills.

Because ink refills are um.. well, not cheap, a whole industry has developed, and workaround techniques used, to try to undercut the manufacturer’s ink price, and earn your business.

There are ‘kits’ you can buy which contain a syringe and a bottle of ink. There are “generic” cartridges. There are “ink recycling/refill” services offered by retail Doodad & Gizmo stores. There are online “discount ink” websites and “wholesalers”. Etc., etc. (Enter “ink refills” into your favorite search engine, and take a quick look at the millions of results.) I think you know what I am talking about.

My reco for ink refill: (Mind you, I am not talking about laser printers here.)
Unless your printer is old, basic, and you are thinking about replacing it anyway, buy the manufacturer’s recommended replacement cartridge. If money is a real factor, keep an eye out for sales and specials (the manufacturer’s themselves often offer sale prices for online orders) and stock up when you find them. I further suggest, that if your printer accepts both normal and “extended” (larger) cartridges, and you print pretty much everyday, get the larger. If you print only occasionally, don’t. Ink can dry up.

Pretty simple, right? And, also, probably not what you wanted to hear.

But the truth is – and have have witnessed scores of examples of this (3 already this January) – sooner or later, a syringed/generic/recycled ink cartridge will either:
* not print worth a *darn*
* clog your “print head” ‘nozzles’ (aka “jets”)

When it’s the latter, you can try to clean the ‘nozzles’/print head. Which sometimes works (let the print head soak overnight in a bowl of Windex, rinse and let dry thoroughly (overnight is good), and then run the printer’s “deep clean” utility a few times). But more often then not, in my experience, a clog means a new printer.
(Or a new print head.. which often costs as much as a new printer.)

If you spent good money to get a good printer, and you like it and want to keep it around for a while, play it safe — don’t gum it up by trying to save $10 — buy a manufacturer’s replacement cartridge. There are solid, sound, technical [physical] reasons for this, which I won’t bother you with. But think about it.. don’t you think using exactly what the printer’s designer designed it to use would produce the best results?

There is my 2¢.

My question for you, Dear Reader, is: have you ever had to replace a printer because you used cheap ink?

Copyright 2007-2010 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Help for Updates, “Stuck” Printer Jobs

This week included the second Tuesday of the month; or, as we here at T4E Headquarters call it, “Patch Tuesday” – the day Microsoft releases the majority of its new Updates and “hotfixes”. This time around there were “critical” patches released, and a known attack was “plugged” (“patched”.. “fixed”). Folks, I repeat: you want updates, and having to reboot to apply them really is a trivial inconvenience. Please read, What’s With All These Updates?!

If you experienced trouble (or, ever do) after installing an Update, click the link below and scroll down to the bottom answer. See IE’s Menu bar, Taskbar icons, and bad Updates*

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I came across a small, free utility which can help clear ‘stuck’ print jobs from your printer que. This tool is for when you have tried the proper method (see, The print job won’t stop printing) and you still cannot “delete” the file from the list. (Or, cannot “Cancel all documents”.)

The tool is called Stalled Printer Repair. It is “portable”, meaning it does not need to be installed, only “run”. You can get it here.

[note: If you should for some reason prefer (or need) the “manual method”, see How To Deal With Stuck Print Jobs]

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Copyright 2007-2010 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Printer maintenance–how to avoid printer problems

Tip of the day: Just as any relationship needs a little attention and nourishment if it is to grow and prosper, and not slowly sink into stagnant routine, (such as flowers for no occasion, taking dance lessons, etc.) your printer will benefit from some occasional special attention too.

I don’t know if it’s the alignment of the stars, or what, but I’ve been hearing people talk bad about their printers quite a bit lately. Yes.. ink cartridges can be expensive, and they don’t last as long as we’d like (I vote for forever). Yes.. printers seem to have personalities, and they can get temperamental. And yes.. they’re fickle and inconsistent– one day you might get a white line running down a print (which magically goes away the next print.. or.. not) and then a month later, one line of text will streTCH, or.. they’ll only “play nice” with a certain brand of photo paper. Yes.. I understand.

But let me make this point; printers are complex machines.. like your car is a complex machine. And complex machines require regular maintenance– an occasional “Tune up”, if you will. The following tips will keep your printer in tippy-top notch working order.

1: Clean house. Lint and dust, if allowed to accumulate inside the printer’s body, can (and will, eventually) “gum up the works”. There are several motors and gears and moving parts inside your printer, and a “head” that needs to smoothly move back and forth. Often there’s a grease, or lubricant, on some of theses parts, and it will collect paper lint like there’s no tomorrow– this can sometimes lead to gears ‘skipping’, or ‘jamming’.
You can avoid this by not letting too much dust and lint build up. Unplug your printer’s power cord and open up your printer’s access panels (and remove any trays). Then use the brush attachment on your vacuum to carefully and gently remove as much dust as you can. Use a can of compressed air to blow out the hard to reach corners.. or use an artist’s brush (or baster’s brush). Use your brush to knock any gunk balls off of gear sets.
You shouldn’t ever add lubricants to your printer. If you think you have broken gear teeth, or your head simply will not slide, it’s time for the repairman, parts replacements, or a new printer.

2: Get the most from your ink. Printers are designed to be used frequently, but in our homes we can go long periods between printing jobs– this can lead to “clogged nozzles”, or “dried out” cartridges. If it has been days or weeks since the last time you’ve printed, or your colors seem faded, you should run your printer’s cleaning utility (sometimes called “maintenance”). Go to your Start button >Control Panel >Printers (in Vista, it’s under “Hardware and Sound”). Then right-click on your printer’s icon and select “Properties” from the context menu.
On the Printer Properties window, click on the “Services” tab.

Your actual options here may look slightly different (depending on your printer’s make), but you are looking for the “clean” option.. in my case, it’s the only choice. Select it, and click “OK”.
Running this tool will clear up a surprising number of printer.. misprinting, and, perhaps counter-intuitively, get more mileage out of your ink cartridges.
[note: some printer manufacturers recommend running the cleaning tool if has been two days between print jobs. This sounds a little.. excessive to me; but, considering how small and delicate the nozzles can be… maybe they’re onto something.]

*If you know your ink is on its last legs and its as good as gone, but you simply must get one last document printed, you can remove your ink cartridges and give them a good shake (and then replace them in the printer). This old trick may get your several more sheets before dead is truly dead.

3: give your printer the latest software. Your printer is a “device”, and so to function smoothly with your PC, it needs software to communicate. This software is call “device drivers”. Every so often, your printer’s manufacturer will make improvements to this program and release it as an ‘update’. This update may simply fix bugz not discovered in the original release, or make minor improvements, or it may add features to your printer’s capabilities (or, all three). Installing the latest driver will keep your printer up to date and working its best with your operating system… keep in mind your operating system is changing (being updated) over time, and your device drivers need to keep up.
My two-part article on How To update your drivers is here, https://techpaul.wordpress.com/2007/08/22/if-it-aint-broke-dont-fix-it-part-1/, and as you can see from the title, I understand the idea that if it is working, why go get new software? Well, in computers, that idea doesn’t exactly stand up.

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved.

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Printers need loving too

Tip of the day: Just as any relationship needs a little attention and nourishment if it is to grow and prosper, and not slowly sink into stagnant routine, (such as flowers for no occasion, taking dance lessons, etc.) your printer will benefit from some occasional special attention too.

I don’t know if it’s the alignment of the stars, or what, but I’ve been hearing people talk bad about their printers quite a bit lately. Yes.. ink cartridges can be expensive, and they don’t last as long as we’d like (how about.. forever?). Yes.. printers seem to have personalities, and they can get temperamental. And yes.. they’re fickle and inconsistent– one day you might get a white line running down a print (which magically goes away the next print.. or.. not) and then a month later, one line of text will streTCH, or.. they’ll only “play nice” with a certain brand of photopaper. Yes.. I understand.

But let me make this point; printers are complex machines.. like your car is a complex machine. And complex machines require regular maintenance– an occasional “Tune up”, if you will. The following tips will keep your printer in tippy-top notch working order.

1: Clean house. Lint and dust, if allowed to accumulate inside the printer’s body, can (and will, eventually) “gum up the works”. There are several motors and gears and moving parts inside your printer, and a “head” that needs to smoothly move back and forth. Often there’s a grease, or lubricant, on some of theses parts, and it will collect paper lint like there’s no tomorrow– this can sometimes lead to gears ‘skipping’, or ‘jamming’.
You can avoid this by not letting too much dust and lint build up. Unplug your printer’s powercord and open up your printer’s access panels (and remove any trays). Then use the brush attachment on your vacuum to carefully and gently remove as much dust as you can. Use a can of compressed air to blow out the hard to reach corners.. or use an artist’s brush (or baster’s brush). Use your brush to knock any gunk balls off of gear sets.
You shouldn’t ever add lubricants to your printer. If you think you have broken gear teeth, or your head simply will not slide, it’s time for the repairman, parts replacements, or a new printer.

2: Get the most from your ink. Printers are designed to be used frequently, but in our homes we can go long periods between printing jobs– this can lead to “clogged nozzles”, or “dried out” cartridges. If it has been days or weeks since the last time you’ve printed, or your colors seem faded, you should run your printer’s cleaning utility (sometimes called “maintenance”). Go to your Start button >Control Panel >Printers (in Vista, it’s under “Hardware and Sound”). Then right-click on your printer’s icon and select “Properties” from the context menu.
On the Printer Properties window, click on the “Services” tab.

Your actual options here may look slightly different (depending on your printer’s make), but you are looking for the “clean” option.. in my case, it’s the only choice. Select it, and click “OK”.
Running this tool will clear up a surprising number of printer.. misprinting, and, perhaps counter-intuitively, get more mileage out of your ink cartridges.

*If you know your ink is on its last legs and its as good as gone, but you simply must get one last document printed, you can remove your ink cartridges and give them a good shake (and then replace them in the printer). This old trick may get your several more sheets before dead is truly dead.

3: give your printer the latest software. Your printer is a “device”, and so to function smoothly with your PC, it needs software to communicate. This software is call “device drivers”. Every so often, your printer’s manufacturer will make improvements to this program and release it as an ‘update’. This update may simply fix bugz not discovered in the original release, or make minor improvements, or it may add features to your printer’s capabilities (or, all three). Installing the latest driver will keep your printer up to date and working its best with your operating system… keep in mind your operating system is changing (being updated) over time, and your device drivers need to keep up.
My two-part article on How To update your drivers is here, https://techpaul.wordpress.com/2007/08/22/if-it-aint-broke-dont-fix-it-part-1/, and as you can see from the title, I understand the idea that if it is working, why go get new software? Well, in computers, that idea doesn’t exactly stand up.

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved.

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