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OT: printer cartridge replacement reality

M

mc

Jan 1, 1970
0
That's why I continue to point out that we have no confirmation of any
It was made perfectly clear that the printer inquestion had *years* of
life left in it.
Would you be happy to have your printer cease to function after a
month's worth of use - only because of a *counter* inside needed resetting
at $70 a pop?

Of course not. That's why I am trying to determine whether any such thing
is TRUE.

A lot of people here are in "believe rumor first, whine, never ask
questions" mode.
 
J

Joel Kolstad

Jan 1, 1970
0
I think the engineering/customer friendly response would be, "OK, so we'll put
a big, flashing red light on the thing that says "Consumables past expected
life -- Print quality may suffer!" Unless it's a question of safety, a
well-designed device should always make a best effort to keep on functioning,
even if it knows the results won't be within the usual specs.

The 'scope manufacturers have started talking about doing things like having
an "enhanced accuracy" light or display that appears when all self-tests have
passed, "certified" accessories are used (i.e., those made by the scope
manufacturer, so they really do know their characteristics), etc. If
everything isn't just right, the idea is that, while the 'scope still works,
you can't complain back to the manufacturer that you used some no-name 1GHz
probe and the fact that you're seeing, say, 1ns rise times must imply that the
'scope is broken.

---Joel
 
T

The Phantom

Jan 1, 1970
0
How about using short 4-40 or 6-32 Allen set screws to plug the
holes? As long as its a tight fit it should work, and I have a few
hundred 4-40 x 3/16" screws on hand. I am going to try it on some of
the donated cartridges.

The seal has to be essentially perfect or the ink will leak down into the printer (I had
that happen and it's a mess). The first time you use a screw you MAY get a good enough
seal, but when you remove it for the next refill and put it back, you probably won't. And
you almost certainly won't the 4th, 5th, etc., time you remove it and put it back. Also,
the hole you have to make is considerably larger than just the size of a hypodermic
needle.

Glue is the way to go, and in particular silicone RTV. If you use a solvent based glue,
it may actually bond to the cartridge plastic well enough that you can't get it off. The
RTV doesn't stick very well, but well enough; sort of like Othello didn't. It gives a
perfect seal regardless of imperfections in the drilled hole (which can be very small),
and doesn't apply mechanical force to the hole which might crack the plastic after
repeated insertions of a plug or screw.
 
B

Ben Bradley

Jan 1, 1970
0
Background:
There was a good NG article recently about Epson printers.
Basically, their cartridges now "lock out" refilling and generic
replacement.
Worse, if one uses the printer a lot, the printer itself ceases to
function: only so many cartridges and it is useless (unless one is
willing to spend a lot of money to "fix" what is not broken - just reset
a counter).
And there is *nothing* by Epson anywhere to let un-suspecting buyers
get even a hint of this crap.
Questions:
What is the story concerning HP printers in general?
Can one re-fill as one sees fit?
Can one use generics as one sees fit?
Can one use hundreds of cartridges until the printer *really* wears out?
Finally, what about cartridges for the HP PSC 1400 (HP 21 and HP 22)?

I've got a super-cheap ($89 at Sam's Club) HP PSC 1200, and there
are two files in c:\ that apparently get updated at every print. One
is hpfr3425.log, 251k, that gets added to with each print - has
filename and some binary data. The other is hpfr3420.xml and currently
has this content:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<Usage_Data_Summary>
<Product_Family>hp psc 1200 series</Product_Family>
<Printer>
<Serial_Number>MY32GB60MQ5H</Serial_Number>
<Total_Page_Count>1180</Total_Page_Count>
<K_Dot_Count>9389578</K_Dot_Count>
<C_Dot_Count>2825426</C_Dot_Count>
<M_Dot_Count>2324699</M_Dot_Count>
<Y_Dot_Count>2869679</Y_Dot_Count>
<K2_Dot_Count>0</K2_Dot_Count>
<C2_Dot_Count>0</C2_Dot_Count>
<M2_Dot_Count>0</M2_Dot_Count>
<Total_Drop_Volumn>743485</Total_Drop_Volumn>
</Printer>
</Usage_Data_Summary>

For all I know, the software could easily send this data to HP
and/or use it to eventually say "Sorry, your printer[/scanner/copier]
has reached the end of its design lifetime. Please toss it and go buy
a new HP printer." But I really don't know what, if anything, is done
with this data, and I'm loathe to edit up the numbers to find out.
 
M

Michael A. Terrell

Jan 1, 1970
0
Ben said:
Background:
There was a good NG article recently about Epson printers.
Basically, their cartridges now "lock out" refilling and generic
replacement.
Worse, if one uses the printer a lot, the printer itself ceases to
function: only so many cartridges and it is useless (unless one is
willing to spend a lot of money to "fix" what is not broken - just reset
a counter).
And there is *nothing* by Epson anywhere to let un-suspecting buyers
get even a hint of this crap.
Questions:
What is the story concerning HP printers in general?
Can one re-fill as one sees fit?
Can one use generics as one sees fit?
Can one use hundreds of cartridges until the printer *really* wears out?
Finally, what about cartridges for the HP PSC 1400 (HP 21 and HP 22)?

I've got a super-cheap ($89 at Sam's Club) HP PSC 1200, and there
are two files in c:\ that apparently get updated at every print. One
is hpfr3425.log, 251k, that gets added to with each print - has
filename and some binary data. The other is hpfr3420.xml and currently
has this content:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<Usage_Data_Summary>
<Product_Family>hp psc 1200 series</Product_Family>
<Printer>
<Serial_Number>MY32GB60MQ5H</Serial_Number>
<Total_Page_Count>1180</Total_Page_Count>
<K_Dot_Count>9389578</K_Dot_Count>
<C_Dot_Count>2825426</C_Dot_Count>
<M_Dot_Count>2324699</M_Dot_Count>
<Y_Dot_Count>2869679</Y_Dot_Count>
<K2_Dot_Count>0</K2_Dot_Count>
<C2_Dot_Count>0</C2_Dot_Count>
<M2_Dot_Count>0</M2_Dot_Count>
<Total_Drop_Volumn>743485</Total_Drop_Volumn>
</Printer>
</Usage_Data_Summary>

For all I know, the software could easily send this data to HP
and/or use it to eventually say "Sorry, your printer[/scanner/copier]
has reached the end of its design lifetime. Please toss it and go buy
a new HP printer." But I really don't know what, if anything, is done
with this data, and I'm loathe to edit up the numbers to find out.

What happens if someone uses the same printer on several computers?
That could really screw things up.
--
Link to my "Computers for disabled Veterans" project website deleted
after threats were telephoned to my church.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
 
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