The Secret of Ink Jet Printers.

So I came across this video called "The Dirty Little Secret of Ink Jet Printers" apparently, that expensive ink we have been buying at the equivalent of $600 a barrel, has been wasted by design in modern ink jet printers.

Video featuring gratuitous amounts of wasted ink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycD4XkUtbIw


I mean, what do you guys make of this? Are typical ink jet printers worth it given that they blast through tons of ink that cost $40 bucks a quart? I know there are other types of printers, but is it worth it to switch? I know that laser printers are another option, but from what I gather, they have their own set of problems, including:

High purchase price.
Ink fading over time.
Complex maintenance required when if it breaks down.
Possible creation of ozone by product from printing process.

What do you guys think? Is it better in the long run to switch from ink jet? How many of you have switched from ink jet to something else?

oh :daisy:

thank you ACIN, this video is very useful, now, I know why Epson sucks

EDIT:
opening my own printer as you post this and OMG, that's really true.... :wall: all the expensive inks...
now, I should said screw you epson, and I'm gonna buy infuse inks from now...

Err, I'm not a big fan of my own ink jet either, it once wasted about half of all the ink just adjusting and cleaning itself, I usually get my ink relatively cheap through my dad who has the same model but it's still expensive, doesn't last long and has all kinds of problems all the time that I'm honestly often too lazy to deal with.

I think my next printer should be a laser. Inkjet is better to print out photographs but 99.99% of my printing is for the uni anyway.

Not sure what other options there are, the old needle printers I wouldn't get anymore.

I never knew about the ink waste reservoir. However, you know that when you can get an inkjet printer for about the price of an ink cartridge or two, you know where the manufacturers are making their money.

Husar, thanks for the reminder about the old dot-matrix printers. It is probably nostalgia at work, but I miss the "screech" of them printing.

I did not know this! I'm going to open up my own printer and see what's in there, and if it's anything like this then I most certainly will dust the old DMP.

get a typewriter. u lazy dudes.

Yeah this became really apparent when I was supporting a lot of PCs and printers professionally. I was inundated with offers from various toner and ink providers, and after much haggling, managed to cut our recurring bill in half using third-party suppliers. Even got them to keep throwing in two large bags of M&Ms with each order, which they did on the first (and intended it to be only on the first) order, just to keep our business. The admin office was all smiles when cartridge orders came in.

If I were to buy a a personal printer, it'd be a laser. Toner cartridges still need replacement from time to time but far less frequently than ink cartridges, particularly for home use. I see too many of my friends wasting a LOT of money on ink cartridges. That being said, I don't do a lot of printing, so I don't need a printer at this time.

screw the legal system, i felt really betrayed by those :daisy: heads company named epson, :daisy: ! Im gonna modify my printer and start to use non original, cheaper inks from now on.

love how new media opens the peoples eyes to the betrayal and scams of companies and politicians. its the dawn of a new age, the age of true civil enlightenment, its the Western Winter!
(cuz snow reflects extra light back into the sky and makes the earth look like a lightbulb from outerspace)

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Originally Posted by Cute Wolf

screw the legal system, i felt really betrayed by those :daisy: heads company named epson, :daisy: ! Im gonna modify my printer and start to use non original, cheaper inks from now on.

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CW, when I searched the web earlier today to see if I could find out more information about this, my search results were totallly dominated by Canon inkjets, while Epson printers showed up here and there. I didn't see anything from HP, Kodak, Lexmark (used to be King of Wasted Ink - don't know if that is still true today) or any other brand of printers.

I remember my Canon inkjet printer that I got as a graduation gift, the ink ran out really fast and I didn't even print that much, just my English assignments. The printer lasted me about a year, year and a half or so when for some reason the paper wouldn't go in straight anymore so it kept jamming; I freaked out and took it outside and threw it against a wall until it was smashed to bits.

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Originally Posted by Chuchip

I remember my Canon inkjet printer that I got as a graduation gift, the ink ran out really fast and I didn't even print that much, just my English assignments. The printer lasted me about a year, year and a half or so when for some reason the paper wouldn't go in straight anymore so it kept jamming; I freaked out and took it outside and threw it against a wall until it was smashed to bits.

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I did that to my toaster one hot summer afternoon when I was really hungry and the toast got stuck in the bloody thing. It was kind of counter productive though since I couldn't eat that toast after that anyway.

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Originally Posted by Gregoshi

CW, when I searched the web earlier today to see if I could find out more information about this, my search results were totallly dominated by Canon inkjets, while Epson printers showed up here and there. I didn't see anything from HP, Kodak, Lexmark (used to be King of Wasted Ink - don't know if that is still true today) or any other brand of printers.

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well, tried opening some of the other ink-jet printers (in the laboratory office I was worked on, by curiousity - and working night shift help), and found this:
1) cannon printer had the similar things under their cover, but the ink wasn't that much wasted, but still much
2) HP printer is, put aside some understandable ink spots, relatively clean and there wasn't any ink wasted in noticeable ammount rather than few, dried spots
3) epson printers had the worst problem, that much ink wasted

there's no others in the office, but I came into conclusion that next time I have the money to buy quality printer, I'll bought HP

We used to get cheaper ink cartridges from 1ink.com. The pics that were printed with the cheap stuff faded/washed out/turned funny colors after a few months time. I just replaced our old HP Officejet 4100 because it stopped working. We bought an Epson WorkForce 840.

Guess we should invest in a scribe instead. :laugh4:

Think I posted this before but it's relevant to the thread, it's all about planned obsolescence

http://dotsub.com/view/aed3b8b2-1889...3-ad85f5572f27

Basically it's a docu on printers and lightbulbs and why they purposely fail etc.

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Originally Posted by gaelic cowboy

Think I posted this before but it's relevant to the thread, it's all about planned obsolescence

http://dotsub.com/view/aed3b8b2-1889...3-ad85f5572f27

Basically it's a docu on printers and lightbulbs and why they purposely fail etc.

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Haven't watched the documentary yet, but I am skeptical about "crappy" products being a planned obsolescence. When you try to compete in a global market with countries like China, US companies have to resort to the same kind of cheap labor. In the process of pushing their products cost down, quality must be sacrificed. No one wants to limit themselves into the "high end" market, they want as many potential customers they can get. In order to do that nowadays, you gotta get the costs down.

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Originally Posted by a completely inoffensive name

Haven't watched the documentary yet, but I am skeptical about "crappy" products being a planned obsolescence. When you try to compete in a global market with countries like China, US companies have to resort to the same kind of cheap labor. In the process of pushing their products cost down, quality must be sacrificed. No one wants to limit themselves into the "high end" market, they want as many potential customers they can get. In order to do that nowadays, you gotta get the costs down.

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Then I suggest you watch the documentary then and see.

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Originally Posted by gaelic cowboy

Then I suggest you watch the documentary then and see.

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I watched the documentary. And I think they got their facts right, for light bulbs and printers. I still don't think that my theory and the planned obsolescence are mutually exclusive. Planned obsolescence is a good way to stay competitive against cheap chinese manufacturing. The end of documentary has the guy saying he wants us to go back to the 1960s. Planned obsolescence it said earlier has been touted and introduced since the beginning of the 20th century. I don't think that companies wanted to go down that route until the world stage got more competitive.

They also make the ink out of the blood of African children

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Originally Posted by Major Robert Dump

They also make the ink out of the blood of African children

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Tis all part of the plan

Brought to you by HP? how much they pay CW and ACIN?

Obviously this is all just a corporate conspiracy to destroy the Amazon! :wiseguy:

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Originally Posted by GamezRule

Obviously this is all just a corporate conspiracy to destroy the Amazon! :wiseguy:

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That won't work because Amazon sells ink too. :yes: