Combined printer /scanner unit
Discussion
Hi Everyone
This is my first posting on this forum, I need some advice please.
I am looking to buy a printer/scanner unit as a present for someone and have set £100 budget limit. I have had a look around a couple of stores and I think the HP C4180 might be ok.
John Lewis had one, so I asked for a colour A4 print out on ordinary ink jet paper (the store used a sd card from a display camera)
The print quality was nothing special, but aceptable. The main concern however was the very feint horizontal lines that I could just make out for every pass of the inkjet heads accross the paper.
Another print was then done on best quality HP glossy paper, same result - horizontal lines showing. The salesperson could offer no explaination, (and it was getting near closing time) but pointed out none of the other makes had this problem.
On to a Comet store next and after showing the printouts to someone who seemed knowledgeble, said that the print head jets probably just needed cleaning.
Does this seem plauseable? I also learnt that HP ink cartridges have the nozzels built in, so always get renewed when the inks are changed.
(My own printer is an Epson Photo 1200 bought in 1999 - and never prints with lines showing!)
Anyone experienced this with HP printers?
and can you recommend any good review sites?
Try this link, for the C4180
Thanks
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/
This is my first posting on this forum, I need some advice please.
I am looking to buy a printer/scanner unit as a present for someone and have set £100 budget limit. I have had a look around a couple of stores and I think the HP C4180 might be ok.
John Lewis had one, so I asked for a colour A4 print out on ordinary ink jet paper (the store used a sd card from a display camera)
The print quality was nothing special, but aceptable. The main concern however was the very feint horizontal lines that I could just make out for every pass of the inkjet heads accross the paper.
Another print was then done on best quality HP glossy paper, same result - horizontal lines showing. The salesperson could offer no explaination, (and it was getting near closing time) but pointed out none of the other makes had this problem.
On to a Comet store next and after showing the printouts to someone who seemed knowledgeble, said that the print head jets probably just needed cleaning.
Does this seem plauseable? I also learnt that HP ink cartridges have the nozzels built in, so always get renewed when the inks are changed.
(My own printer is an Epson Photo 1200 bought in 1999 - and never prints with lines showing!)
Anyone experienced this with HP printers?
and can you recommend any good review sites?
Try this link, for the C4180
Thanks
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/
Hi,
There are a number of factors that can cause this problem but all of them temporary. It just goes to show that there is a rise of unknowlegable store people trying to sell us anything. I dont know this particular model printer but would say that it is most likely that the heads nead calibrating rather than cleaning. If a head is dirty then it usually produces unusual colours in the prints as one or more of the colour jets are blocked. Head allignment is where the printer over time has forgot exactly where the print head is. This has to be extremely precise otherwise you get something called horizontal banding. There is usually an alignment program on the software provided that will reset it and then all will be fine. This is most noticeable on photos as the image has to be spot on. I print out a huge amount of images and have to re-align my heads every session due to the high quality of them, just to make sure. It probably doesnt require this drastic action everytime but even a slight knock or getting some paper jammed can cause it to go out.
There are a number of factors that can cause this problem but all of them temporary. It just goes to show that there is a rise of unknowlegable store people trying to sell us anything. I dont know this particular model printer but would say that it is most likely that the heads nead calibrating rather than cleaning. If a head is dirty then it usually produces unusual colours in the prints as one or more of the colour jets are blocked. Head allignment is where the printer over time has forgot exactly where the print head is. This has to be extremely precise otherwise you get something called horizontal banding. There is usually an alignment program on the software provided that will reset it and then all will be fine. This is most noticeable on photos as the image has to be spot on. I print out a huge amount of images and have to re-align my heads every session due to the high quality of them, just to make sure. It probably doesnt require this drastic action everytime but even a slight knock or getting some paper jammed can cause it to go out.
Aggree, unlikley to be blocked heads on a newish demo unit. That normally occours when an inkjet has been stood out of use for a while.
One point re. HP having the heads built into the cartridge, first, not all of them do I can think of a couple off the top of my head that don't (allthough I don't know the exact one you're looking at). Second, this makes the cartridges very expensive compared to say an epson or one of the others that have separate heads and separate r/g/b/b cartridges. I'd allways price up a replacement set of cartridges before buying a printer.
One point re. HP having the heads built into the cartridge, first, not all of them do I can think of a couple off the top of my head that don't (allthough I don't know the exact one you're looking at). Second, this makes the cartridges very expensive compared to say an epson or one of the others that have separate heads and separate r/g/b/b cartridges. I'd allways price up a replacement set of cartridges before buying a printer.
Excellent point. Buying a £100 printer can be a false economy if the cartridges are £40.00 a throw. Do try and go for a printer with seperate ink tanks for the colours so you can replace one at a time as they run out and also try and get them re-filled instead of new ones much much cheaper and I have never had any problems.
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