Simplest and most reliable printer for an iMac?

In article ,
nospam wrote:

In article ,
Jolly Roger wrote:

Most cheap, low-quality printers require you to clean the heads
regularly just to keep them operating correctly.

nonsense. epsons do a clean cycle automatically, and the longer the
printer is off, the more thorough the cycle is. if you have a major
clog problem, it's not the printer's fault.

How's that? Please do explain how it's my fault!

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In article ,
nospam wrote:

In article ,
Jolly Roger wrote:

Nope. Wrong. It's happened to me personally, and I used the ****ing
printer correctly. You're just going to have to accept the fact that
various Epson printers have, can, and do clog up with _normal use_.
Otherwise, you're only going to make yourself look rather silly.

just because it happened to you doesn't mean it happens to everyone. if
so many people really did have clog problems, epson printers would not
sell very well, yet they do.

I never said anything close to "it happens to everyone". It was *you*
who said Epson printers never clog in normal use. That's simply not the
case.

They sell well because they are cheap. Quality has little to do with it.

Of course both your and my statements are subjective and meaningless
without real-life data.

you are going to have to accept the fact that your experience is not
universal, and that a *lot* of people have don't have any problems with
epson printers.

Tell you what: I'll agree that a lot of people may not have problems
with Epson inkjet printers if you agree that a lot of people *do* have
problems with Epson inkjet printers. Otherwise, we can just agree to
disagree. : )

--
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me.
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filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
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JR

In article ,
erilar wrote:

In article ,
Jolly Roger wrote:

In article ,
nospam wrote:

In article ,
Jolly Roger wrote:

Any of the HP or Canons in basic form should do the trick -
certainly
avoid Epson (even though they do print nicely) as she will be
forever
cleaning heads.

they don't clog in normal use.

Ahem. Excuse me, but bull****. I and my family have had several of them
clog up and die within one or two years, rendering them completely
useless.

most likely from improper use.

Nope. Wrong. It's happened to me personally, and I used the ****ing
printer correctly. You're just going to have to accept the fact that
various Epson printers have, can, and do clog up with _normal use_.
Otherwise, you're only going to make yourself look rather silly.

And you never used anything but Epson ink?

Correct.

--
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me.
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM
filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google
Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts.

JR

In article ET,
TaliesinSoft wrote:

On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 22:29:02 -0600, John Brock wrote (in article
):

My siblings and I bought our 80-some year old mother a new iMac for
Christmas, and her Epson Stylus Color 740 -- unsupported by Snow Leopard
-- is now junk. So we'd like to hear recommendations for a new printer.

We're not interested in speed or ultra-high quality photos or
multi-function; we're looking for robustness and simplicity above all.
We'd like our mother to be able to change the ink cartridges by herself!
Beyond that, we're looking for a major brand with good OS X support, and
not overly expensive (especially the ink). Under $200 certainly, and
under $100 would be nice. Given these criteria, what would be the best
choice?

If you should decide on a laser printer Newegg has recertified Brother
models HL-2140 (USB connection) & Hl-2170w (USB, wired ethernet &
wireless) for $89.99 and $99.99 respectively, both with $30 rebates if
purchased before 3/31/09.

In article ,
Ronnie Lee wrote:

In article ET,
TaliesinSoft wrote:

On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 22:29:02 -0600, John Brock wrote (in article
):

My siblings and I bought our 80-some year old mother a new iMac for
Christmas, and her Epson Stylus Color 740 -- unsupported by Snow Leopard
-- is now junk. So we'd like to hear recommendations for a new printer.

We're not interested in speed or ultra-high quality photos or
multi-function; we're looking for robustness and simplicity above all.
We'd like our mother to be able to change the ink cartridges by herself!
Beyond that, we're looking for a major brand with good OS X support, and
not overly expensive (especially the ink). Under $200 certainly, and
under $100 would be nice. Given these criteria, what would be the best
choice?

If you should decide on a laser printer Newegg has recertified Brother
models HL-2140 (USB connection) & Hl-2170w (USB, wired ethernet &
wireless) for $89.99 and $99.99 respectively, both with $30 rebates if
purchased before 3/31/09.

Should of course be 3/31/10

Ronnie Lee wrote:
In article ET,
TaliesinSoft wrote:

On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 22:29:02 -0600, John Brock wrote (in article
):

My siblings and I bought our 80-some year old mother a new iMac for
Christmas, and her Epson Stylus Color 740 -- unsupported by Snow Leopard
-- is now junk. So we'd like to hear recommendations for a new printer.

We're not interested in speed or ultra-high quality photos or
multi-function; we're looking for robustness and simplicity above all.
We'd like our mother to be able to change the ink cartridges by herself!
Beyond that, we're looking for a major brand with good OS X support, and
not overly expensive (especially the ink). Under $200 certainly, and
under $100 would be nice. Given these criteria, what would be the best
choice?

If you should decide on a laser printer Newegg has recertified Brother
models HL-2140 (USB connection) & Hl-2170w (USB, wired ethernet &
wireless) for $89.99 and $99.99 respectively, both with $30 rebates if
purchased before 3/31/09.

'10?

Do you have said machine? how many pages before you have to buy a new
toner cart.?

--
john mcwilliams

In article ,
John McWilliams wrote:

Ronnie Lee wrote:
In article ET,
TaliesinSoft wrote:

On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 22:29:02 -0600, John Brock wrote (in article
):

My siblings and I bought our 80-some year old mother a new iMac for
Christmas, and her Epson Stylus Color 740 -- unsupported by Snow Leopard
-- is now junk. So we'd like to hear recommendations for a new printer.

We're not interested in speed or ultra-high quality photos or
multi-function; we're looking for robustness and simplicity above all.
We'd like our mother to be able to change the ink cartridges by herself!
Beyond that, we're looking for a major brand with good OS X support, and
not overly expensive (especially the ink). Under $200 certainly, and
under $100 would be nice. Given these criteria, what would be the best
choice?

If you should decide on a laser printer Newegg has recertified Brother
models HL-2140 (USB connection) & Hl-2170w (USB, wired ethernet &
wireless) for $89.99 and $99.99 respectively, both with $30 rebates if
purchased before 3/31/09.

'10?

Do you have said machine? how many pages before you have to buy a new
toner cart.?

I just received the HL-2170W on 12/29/09. Time from out of box to
working on a wired ethernet network was about 20 minutes for two
computers. The manual says the starter toner cart prints 1000 pages. New
carts are 1500 page standard or 2600 page high yield.

From what I have seen they are not overly expensive. So far I am happy
with my choice.

In article ,
Jolly Roger wrote:

I never said anything close to "it happens to everyone". It was *you*
who said Epson printers never clog in normal use. That's simply not the
case.

it is the case.

They sell well because they are cheap. Quality has little to do with it.

quality has everything to do with it. epson printers produce
outstanding photo quality and are typically the preferred printer for
photographers. their pigment inks last much longer than dye based inks.


and as for cheap, here's one for $2000-$2500, depending on
configuration:

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/j...o4880/Overview.
do

or get one for $8-10k, depending on paper width:
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/j...o79009900efi/O
verview.do

there's a lot more to epson than the dinky $49 model that's on sale.

Of course both your and my statements are subjective and meaningless
without real-life data.

there's plenty of real life data. go attend a photo trade show and see
which printers are being used. talk to people who actually use the
printers daily, not soccer moms who prints a letter once a month,
forgets to turn off the printer and wonders why it's clogged.

you are going to have to accept the fact that your experience is not
universal, and that a *lot* of people have don't have any problems with
epson printers.

Tell you what: I'll agree that a lot of people may not have problems
with Epson inkjet printers if you agree that a lot of people *do* have
problems with Epson inkjet printers. Otherwise, we can just agree to
disagree. : )

some might have problems, but where we disagree is the cause.

In article ,
Jolly Roger wrote:

I got great photographic quality from my Epson Stylus 740 for over a
decade and very seldom had occasion to clean the heads. It printed as
well 10 years after I purchased it as the day I bought it. I hope the
new one lasts as well. It prints even better.

Your is certainly not the experience of most people I know who had the
misfortune of buying Epson printers. I've seen several end up in the
junk pile from malfunctioning print heads.

straw man. nobody said epson printers are perfect and never fail.

did you inquire *why* the print heads malfunctioned? maybe the user did
something stupid, like run the ink cartridge dry, which *will* damage
the heads.

epson is the preferred printer for most photographers, with canon a
close second. there is a *tremendous* amount of aftermarket support for
epson, including continuous ink systems.

and the 740 did produce decent photos, although it was not actually a
photo printer.

In contrast, I have a five-year-old Canon PIXMA printer on which I have
*never* had to clean the heads; it prints just as good today as the day
I purchased it!

Wow! Half as old as my old Epson! Somehow I'm not terribly impressed.

I'm quite sure it will outlast your cheap-o Epson. ; )

who cares. new printers often cost less than buying ink for an older
printer. technology changes too. today's printers are much better than
ones even a couple of years ago. and if you have to resort to comments
such as 'cheap-o' your argument holds little water (or is it ink?).

How expensive is ITS ink?

Comparing the cost of an ink cartridge isn't going to tell you much,
because it doesn't factor in how much ink is contained in the cartridge
or how fast the ink is consumed by the printer.

so add in the pages per cartridge. the calculation is still simple.

How's ITS print quality?

Far, far better than your Epson Stylus 740, buddy. And much faster as
well. Also it prints 13" x 19" borderless photos. : )

evidence? let's see some colour gamut graphs or other tests. or is it
better because you say so? and epson has supported borderless for a
very, very long time.

In article ,
nospam wrote:

In article , David
wrote:

Any of the HP or Canons in basic form should do the trick - certainly
avoid Epson (even though they do print nicely) as she will be forever
cleaning heads.

they don't clog in normal use

True, while they are in use - but leave them sitting for a week and you
have to clean the heads. I have only ever bought one Epson, and it
drove me mad as I only printed once a week or so. But every time I
wanted to print had to go through the whole cleaning the heads routine.
And that was after I had had it in for service as at that time I didn't
relaise it was an inherent fault

I put up with for a month then gave it away - couldn't in all decency
sell it to some poor bugger.

But it did print beautifully when it worked

With HP (I have had 4 of them over the past 15 years) they just sit
there until you want to print, then they print. No trouble no fuss.

i know someone with an hp printer that is bit of fuss, especially the
curved paper path which doesn't work so well with thicker stock.

Oh, that is not good. Guess I must have been lucky with the 4 I have
owned as none of them ever gave me trouble

One big advantage of the HP and Canon is that cartridges are available
at most department stores and at post offices.

same for epson and even lexmark. what kind of post office sells printer
ink??

Well every post office I have been in - dont you look at what they have
for sale when you go to the PO?

David