[sf-lug] (forw) Re: new Epson printer. whee.

[Bobbie Sellers]

Akkana Peck wrote:
> Rick Moen writes:
>   
>> but what if I want to scan in a bunch of old photos and print them in
>> colour?" I said "When and if you do, then you can go shop for a suitable
>> colour printer as a secondary device that you carefully do _not_ use
>> everyday."
>>     
>
> The only problem with that is that if you let an inkjet sit around
> unused for longer than a couple of weeks, the print heads dry up and
> clog, and with many printers (*cough* Epson *cough) there's no cheap
> way to replace or clean the head, so the printer's useless.
>
>   
>> [ ... ] avoiding using colour printing except when she really
>> needed it.  Except, oops, you can't:  If you're printing out a Web page,
>> for example, there's no way to say "I don't care about the colours;
>> print this in greyscale."  So, you chew through ink from the colour
>> cartridge even when you don't want to print in colour at all.
>>     
>
> In Firefox, my Print dialog has an Advanced tab that offers several
> black-only options. I believe that tab is displaying options it gets
> from the CUPS driver (I'm currently using an HP F4280, but my Epson
> C88 had black-only options too).  It might be worth checking whether
> there's a different driver for her printer with more options -- CUPS
> had about 7 different confusing combinations of C88 drivers.
>
> But again, with an inkjet she should try to print in color at least
> once every couple of weeks, so the nozzles don't dry up. A web page
> with a color banner or a few blue and purple links doesn't use much
> colored ink (vs. a photograph).
>
>   
>> So, now, my mother complains frequently about the cost of inkjet
>> cartridges, and the fact that they don't last very long (especially the
>> colour ones).  I always reply "Get a cheap laser or LED printer for
>> everyday."
>>     
>
> I had the same conversation with my mom, and the lure color was
> too seductive -- she got another inkjet even though she very seldom
> prints in color.
>
> I like inkjets, because I like being able to print photos or
> business cards when I get the urge. And I don't print reams of
> documents, so the ink cost isn't really that big a deal.  But they're
> unquestionably more hassle and more expensive to run.  All you can
> do is make sure people know the trade-offs, and let them make their
> own decision. (And then they'll go buy an inkjet anyway. :-)
>
> 	...Akkana
>   
        There are nozzle cleaning cycles as well to help keep it spitting.
    Maybe I can make a enough $ doing pictures for my techno-phobic
pals to keep me in supplies.    

    Will try to bring samples to the next SF-LUG meeting to show how
nice the color comes out.  Bringing the machine home and setting it
up left me severely exhausted yesterday but I have a simple little
project or two or three...

    Heh, heh, heh...
   
    later
    Bobbie