A computer components & hardware forum. HardwareBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » HardwareBanter forum » General Hardware & Peripherals » General
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

My HP Deskjet 855C died tonight.



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old January 25th 20, 12:24 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
John C.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10
Default My HP Deskjet 855C died tonight.

Tonight I tried to print a grayscale portrait of my late uncle and aunt
on some nice, glossy photo paper. After waiting a long time for the job
to finish (the XP drivers for the HP 855C really suck badly), I was
astonished when the paper came out exactly as it went in... BLANK! This
was after I'd gone into the settings (with which I am intimately
familiar) and made sure the were all correct for the job.

I took out the black cartridge to clean it a little and when I tried to
put the thing back in the printer, the cartridge lock broke and threw
pieces in random directions. How DARE it! I mean, I only bought it back
in '96. The printer was so expensive that at the time, I made a promise
to myself to, no matter what it took, use the thing until it paid for
itself.

Instead of getting upset at it breaking, I only said the full version of
"WTF?" under my breath and felt a combination of ennui, sadness and
relief that the machine was finally gone. A long time ago, it lost the
ability to print in color because the cartridges (although still
available) are so expensive and dry up so fast. It's always required
periodic roller cleaning in order to get any paper to feed correctly too.

Now all that is at an end.

Over the years, I've been watching the dismal developments with
printers, watched how printer ink has become almost the most expensive
substance on earth per ounce. Watched how inkjets have become the
industry's "loss-leader" throw-aways in order to get you hemorrhaging
money for their ludicrously over-priced cartridges.

I've also watched carefully and taken note of the way that almost all
inkjet printer reviews carefully avoid discussing the capacities of the
cartridges and confuse printing cost issues.

I would not buy another inkjet printer if you held a loaded gun to my
head. However, I still want to be able to print in color ...and
reliably. Searching on the internet has resulted in my impression that
the best color laser printer available for home use is the Brother
HL-3270CDW, which is a single-function printer. That it's not a MFP
isn't important to me because I have a good flatbed scanner already.

Does anybody have any comments about this choice, pro or con?

TIA

--
John Corliss
  #2  
Old January 25th 20, 01:08 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
John McGaw
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 732
Default My HP Deskjet 855C died tonight.

On 1/25/2020 6:24 AM, John C. wrote:
Tonight I tried to print a grayscale portrait of my late uncle and aunt on
some nice, glossy photo paper. After waiting a long time for the job to
finish (the XP drivers for the HP 855C really suck badly), I was astonished
when the paper came out exactly as it went in... BLANK! This was after I'd
gone into the settings (with which I am intimately familiar) and made sure
the were all correct for the job.

I took out the black cartridge to clean it a little and when I tried to put
the thing back in the printer, the cartridge lock broke and threw pieces in
random directions. How DARE it! I mean, I only bought it back in '96. The
printer was so expensive that at the time, I made a promise to myself to,
no matter what it took, use the thing until it paid for itself.

Instead of getting upset at it breaking, I only said the full version of
"WTF?" under my breath and felt a combination of ennui, sadness and relief
that the machine was finally gone. A long time ago, it lost the ability to
print in color because the cartridges (although still available) are so
expensive and dry up so fast. It's always required periodic roller cleaning
in order to get any paper to feed correctly too.

Now all that is at an end.

Over the years, I've been watching the dismal developments with printers,
watched how printer ink has become almost the most expensive substance on
earth per ounce. Watched how inkjets have become the industry's
"loss-leader" throw-aways in order to get you hemorrhaging money for their
ludicrously over-priced cartridges.

I've also watched carefully and taken note of the way that almost all
inkjet printer reviews carefully avoid discussing the capacities of the
cartridges and confuse printing cost issues.

I would not buy another inkjet printer if you held a loaded gun to my head.
However, I still want to be able to print in color ...and reliably.
Searching on the internet has resulted in my impression that the best color
laser printer available for home use is the Brother HL-3270CDW, which is a
single-function printer. That it's not a MFP isn't important to me because
I have a good flatbed scanner already.

Does anybody have any comments about this choice, pro or con?

TIA


I have what must be the previous version of the Brother Printer, a
HL-3170CDW, and it has been flawless for the few years I've had it.
  #3  
Old January 25th 20, 01:17 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
John C.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10
Default My HP Deskjet 855C died tonight.

John McGaw wrote:
On 1/25/2020 6:24 AM, John C. wrote:
Tonight I tried to print a grayscale portrait of my late uncle and
aunt on some nice, glossy photo paper. After waiting a long time for
the job to finish (the XP drivers for the HP 855C really suck badly),
I was astonished when the paper came out exactly as it went in...
BLANK! This was after I'd gone into the settings (with which I am
intimately familiar) and made sure the were all correct for the job.

I took out the black cartridge to clean it a little and when I tried
to put the thing back in the printer, the cartridge lock broke and
threw pieces in random directions. How DARE it! I mean, I only bought
it back in '96. The printer was so expensive that at the time, I made
a promise to myself to, no matter what it took, use the thing until it
paid for itself.

Instead of getting upset at it breaking, I only said the full version
of "WTF?" under my breath and felt a combination of ennui, sadness and
relief that the machine was finally gone. A long time ago, it lost the
ability to print in color because the cartridges (although still
available) are so expensive and dry up so fast. It's always required
periodic roller cleaning in order to get any paper to feed correctly too.

Now all that is at an end.

Over the years, I've been watching the dismal developments with
printers, watched how printer ink has become almost the most expensive
substance on earth per ounce. Watched how inkjets have become the
industry's "loss-leader" throw-aways in order to get you hemorrhaging
money for their ludicrously over-priced cartridges.

I've also watched carefully and taken note of the way that almost all
inkjet printer reviews carefully avoid discussing the capacities of
the cartridges and confuse printing cost issues.

I would not buy another inkjet printer if you held a loaded gun to my
head. However, I still want to be able to print in color ...and
reliably. Searching on the internet has resulted in my impression that
the best color laser printer available for home use is the Brother
HL-3270CDW, which is a single-function printer. That it's not a MFP
isn't important to me because I have a good flatbed scanner already.

Does anybody have any comments about this choice, pro or con?

TIA


I have what must be the previous version of the Brother Printer, a
HL-3170CDW, and it has been flawless for the few years I've had it.


Thanks! One of my concerns about the model I'm looking at is that one of
the reviews said it didn't have a manual feed slot. Yet, when I
downloaded and read the manual, it clearly described how to use the
manual feed slot on page 13.

--
John Corliss BS206. No ad, CD, commercial, cripple, demo, nag, pirated,
share, spy, time-limited, trial or web wares for me please. I filter out
posts made from Google Groups and recommend you do likewise. I also
filter out all posts from the troll »Q« and Kasey, another troll doesn't
believe in two-way firewalls.
  #4  
Old January 25th 20, 03:51 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
John McGaw
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 732
Default My HP Deskjet 855C died tonight.

On 1/25/2020 7:17 AM, John C. wrote:
John McGaw wrote:
On 1/25/2020 6:24 AM, John C. wrote:
Tonight I tried to print a grayscale portrait of my late uncle and aunt
on some nice, glossy photo paper. After waiting a long time for the job
to finish (the XP drivers for the HP 855C really suck badly), I was
astonished when the paper came out exactly as it went in... BLANK! This
was after I'd gone into the settings (with which I am intimately
familiar) and made sure the were all correct for the job.

I took out the black cartridge to clean it a little and when I tried to
put the thing back in the printer, the cartridge lock broke and threw
pieces in random directions. How DARE it! I mean, I only bought it back
in '96. The printer was so expensive that at the time, I made a promise
to myself to, no matter what it took, use the thing until it paid for
itself.

Instead of getting upset at it breaking, I only said the full version of
"WTF?" under my breath and felt a combination of ennui, sadness and
relief that the machine was finally gone. A long time ago, it lost the
ability to print in color because the cartridges (although still
available) are so expensive and dry up so fast. It's always required
periodic roller cleaning in order to get any paper to feed correctly too.

Now all that is at an end.

Over the years, I've been watching the dismal developments with
printers, watched how printer ink has become almost the most expensive
substance on earth per ounce. Watched how inkjets have become the
industry's "loss-leader" throw-aways in order to get you hemorrhaging
money for their ludicrously over-priced cartridges.

I've also watched carefully and taken note of the way that almost all
inkjet printer reviews carefully avoid discussing the capacities of the
cartridges and confuse printing cost issues.

I would not buy another inkjet printer if you held a loaded gun to my
head. However, I still want to be able to print in color ...and
reliably. Searching on the internet has resulted in my impression that
the best color laser printer available for home use is the Brother
HL-3270CDW, which is a single-function printer. That it's not a MFP
isn't important to me because I have a good flatbed scanner already.

Does anybody have any comments about this choice, pro or con?

TIA


I have what must be the previous version of the Brother Printer, a
HL-3170CDW, and it has been flawless for the few years I've had it.


Thanks! One of my concerns about the model I'm looking at is that one of
the reviews said it didn't have a manual feed slot. Yet, when I downloaded
and read the manual, it clearly described how to use the manual feed slot
on page 13.

There is definitely a manual feed slot on mine. There is some limitation on
the thickness of stock that can be fed either from the tray or the manual
feed since the paper makes a bend at the rear of the machine before it is
ejected but that is probably true for most any printer that tries to
minimize volume -- folding the paper path is the only way.

Oh, and I can say that mine is not picky about "foreign" toner. I've had to
change the black toner out once and used a decent but non-OEM unit for half
the price from Amazon and it worked perfectly.
  #5  
Old January 25th 20, 04:37 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 33
Default My HP Deskjet 855C died tonight.



Searching on the internet has resulted in my impression that the best color
laser printer available for home use is the Brother HL-3270CDW, which is a
single-function printer. That it's not a MFP isn't important to me because
I have a good flatbed scanner already.
Does anybody have any comments about this choice, pro or con?
TIA


I have what must be the previous version of the Brother Printer, a
HL-3170CDW, and it has been flawless for the few years I've had it.



I've owned a HL-3140 CW for a few years.
it looks just like the 3170
I do not print any photos at all - I go to Costco.
I do minimal colour printing - but have no complaints about the
print quality when I need colour.
I have replaced the black toner with after-market - at less than
half the cost of Brother brand - it's working fine . Still using the
original colour toners.
The only minor "thing" that I learned - when feeding the paper
into the manual feed slot - make sure that you feel the roller
" tug " the paper - if you don't feel the tug - try again -
or else you get a paper jam. The only other paper feed problem was
once or twice I was at the final 2 sheets in the tray..
When I bought it - an important consideration was toner cartridge
availability and cost - so far so good. My other requirement was
wireless connectivity - it works fine there also.
Anyone needing home-office or photo ? printing would certainly
be looking at a better model anyway eg for 2-sided printing
but this has been perfect for my home use.
John T.

  #6  
Old January 25th 20, 06:29 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
John C.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10
Default My HP Deskjet 855C died tonight.

John McGaw wrote:
On 1/25/2020 7:17 AM, John C. wrote:
John McGaw wrote:
On 1/25/2020 6:24 AM, John C. wrote:
Tonight I tried to print a grayscale portrait of my late uncle and
aunt on some nice, glossy photo paper. After waiting a long time for
the job to finish (the XP drivers for the HP 855C really suck
badly), I was astonished when the paper came out exactly as it went
in... BLANK! This was after I'd gone into the settings (with which I
am intimately familiar) and made sure the were all correct for the job.

I took out the black cartridge to clean it a little and when I tried
to put the thing back in the printer, the cartridge lock broke and
threw pieces in random directions. How DARE it! I mean, I only
bought it back in '96. The printer was so expensive that at the
time, I made a promise to myself to, no matter what it took, use the
thing until it paid for itself.

Instead of getting upset at it breaking, I only said the full
version of "WTF?" under my breath and felt a combination of ennui,
sadness and relief that the machine was finally gone. A long time
ago, it lost the ability to print in color because the cartridges
(although still available) are so expensive and dry up so fast. It's
always required periodic roller cleaning in order to get any paper
to feed correctly too.

Now all that is at an end.

Over the years, I've been watching the dismal developments with
printers, watched how printer ink has become almost the most
expensive substance on earth per ounce. Watched how inkjets have
become the industry's "loss-leader" throw-aways in order to get you
hemorrhaging money for their ludicrously over-priced cartridges.

I've also watched carefully and taken note of the way that almost
all inkjet printer reviews carefully avoid discussing the capacities
of the cartridges and confuse printing cost issues.

I would not buy another inkjet printer if you held a loaded gun to
my head. However, I still want to be able to print in color ...and
reliably. Searching on the internet has resulted in my impression
that the best color laser printer available for home use is the
Brother HL-3270CDW, which is a single-function printer. That it's
not a MFP isn't important to me because I have a good flatbed
scanner already.

Does anybody have any comments about this choice, pro or con?

TIA


I have what must be the previous version of the Brother Printer, a
HL-3170CDW, and it has been flawless for the few years I've had it.


Thanks! One of my concerns about the model I'm looking at is that one
of the reviews said it didn't have a manual feed slot. Yet, when I
downloaded and read the manual, it clearly described how to use the
manual feed slot on page 13.

There is definitely a manual feed slot on mine. There is some limitation
on the thickness of stock that can be fed either from the tray or the
manual feed since the paper makes a bend at the rear of the machine
before it is ejected but that is probably true for most any printer that
tries to minimize volume -- folding the paper path is the only way.

Oh, and I can say that mine is not picky about "foreign" toner. I've had
to change the black toner out once and used a decent but non-OEM unit
for half the price from Amazon and it worked perfectly.


Funny you should mention that. I was just looking at what you're
describing an hour or so ago and wondering if it might be a good idea to
order a set with the printer. Guess I will now.
--
John Corliss
  #7  
Old January 25th 20, 06:32 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
John C.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10
Default My HP Deskjet 855C died tonight.

wrote:


Searching on the internet has resulted in my impression that the best color
laser printer available for home use is the Brother HL-3270CDW, which is a
single-function printer. That it's not a MFP isn't important to me because
I have a good flatbed scanner already.
Does anybody have any comments about this choice, pro or con?
TIA


I have what must be the previous version of the Brother Printer, a
HL-3170CDW, and it has been flawless for the few years I've had it.



I've owned a HL-3140 CW for a few years.
it looks just like the 3170
I do not print any photos at all - I go to Costco.
I do minimal colour printing - but have no complaints about the
print quality when I need colour.
I have replaced the black toner with after-market - at less than
half the cost of Brother brand - it's working fine . Still using the
original colour toners.
The only minor "thing" that I learned - when feeding the paper
into the manual feed slot - make sure that you feel the roller
" tug " the paper - if you don't feel the tug - try again -
or else you get a paper jam.


Interesting. I downloaded the manual for the model I'm looking at that
in the description of how to use the manual feed slot, the instructions
were to do exactly as you describe!

The only other paper feed problem was
once or twice I was at the final 2 sheets in the tray..
When I bought it - an important consideration was toner cartridge
availability and cost - so far so good. My other requirement was
wireless connectivity - it works fine there also.
Anyone needing home-office or photo ? printing would certainly
be looking at a better model anyway eg for 2-sided printing
but this has been perfect for my home use.


The model I'm looking at (HL-3270CDW) has 2-sided printing. There is a
cheaper model which I'm sure is a nice printer too, but I want the
HL-3270CDW.

--
John Corliss
  #8  
Old January 25th 20, 07:08 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
John McGaw
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 732
Default My HP Deskjet 855C died tonight.

On 1/25/2020 12:29 PM, John C. wrote:
John McGaw wrote:
On 1/25/2020 7:17 AM, John C. wrote:
John McGaw wrote:
On 1/25/2020 6:24 AM, John C. wrote:
Tonight I tried to print a grayscale portrait of my late uncle and
aunt on some nice, glossy photo paper. After waiting a long time for
the job to finish (the XP drivers for the HP 855C really suck badly),
I was astonished when the paper came out exactly as it went in...
BLANK! This was after I'd gone into the settings (with which I am
intimately familiar) and made sure the were all correct for the job.

I took out the black cartridge to clean it a little and when I tried
to put the thing back in the printer, the cartridge lock broke and
threw pieces in random directions. How DARE it! I mean, I only bought
it back in '96. The printer was so expensive that at the time, I made
a promise to myself to, no matter what it took, use the thing until it
paid for itself.

Instead of getting upset at it breaking, I only said the full version
of "WTF?" under my breath and felt a combination of ennui, sadness and
relief that the machine was finally gone. A long time ago, it lost the
ability to print in color because the cartridges (although still
available) are so expensive and dry up so fast. It's always required
periodic roller cleaning in order to get any paper to feed correctly too.

Now all that is at an end.

Over the years, I've been watching the dismal developments with
printers, watched how printer ink has become almost the most expensive
substance on earth per ounce. Watched how inkjets have become the
industry's "loss-leader" throw-aways in order to get you hemorrhaging
money for their ludicrously over-priced cartridges.

I've also watched carefully and taken note of the way that almost all
inkjet printer reviews carefully avoid discussing the capacities of
the cartridges and confuse printing cost issues.

I would not buy another inkjet printer if you held a loaded gun to my
head. However, I still want to be able to print in color ...and
reliably. Searching on the internet has resulted in my impression that
the best color laser printer available for home use is the Brother
HL-3270CDW, which is a single-function printer. That it's not a MFP
isn't important to me because I have a good flatbed scanner already.

Does anybody have any comments about this choice, pro or con?

TIA


I have what must be the previous version of the Brother Printer, a
HL-3170CDW, and it has been flawless for the few years I've had it.

Thanks! One of my concerns about the model I'm looking at is that one of
the reviews said it didn't have a manual feed slot. Yet, when I
downloaded and read the manual, it clearly described how to use the
manual feed slot on page 13.

There is definitely a manual feed slot on mine. There is some limitation
on the thickness of stock that can be fed either from the tray or the
manual feed since the paper makes a bend at the rear of the machine
before it is ejected but that is probably true for most any printer that
tries to minimize volume -- folding the paper path is the only way.

Oh, and I can say that mine is not picky about "foreign" toner. I've had
to change the black toner out once and used a decent but non-OEM unit for
half the price from Amazon and it worked perfectly.


Funny you should mention that. I was just looking at what you're describing
an hour or so ago and wondering if it might be a good idea to order a set
with the printer. Guess I will now.


Honestly, I'd hold off on that until you see what your consumption is.
Black toner is the fastest to go and my OEM stuff lasted for at least two
years. The after-market toner cartridges are cheaper than OEM but they are
still not free and just take up space (and I don't know what the shelf life
might be).
  #9  
Old January 25th 20, 07:15 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 33
Default My HP Deskjet 855C died tonight.


Searching on the internet has resulted in my impression that the best color
laser printer available for home use is the Brother HL-3270CDW, which is a
single-function printer. That it's not a MFP isn't important to me because
I have a good flatbed scanner already.
Does anybody have any comments about this choice, pro or con?
TIA


I have what must be the previous version of the Brother Printer, a
HL-3170CDW, and it has been flawless for the few years I've had it.


I've owned a HL-3140 CW for a few years.
it looks just like the 3170
I do not print any photos at all - I go to Costco.
I do minimal colour printing - but have no complaints about the
print quality when I need colour.
I have replaced the black toner with after-market - at less than
half the cost of Brother brand - it's working fine . Still using the
original colour toners.
The only minor "thing" that I learned - when feeding the paper
into the manual feed slot - make sure that you feel the roller
" tug " the paper - if you don't feel the tug - try again -
or else you get a paper jam.


Interesting. I downloaded the manual for the model I'm looking at that
in the description of how to use the manual feed slot, the instructions
were to do exactly as you describe!

The only other paper feed problem was
once or twice I was at the final 2 sheets in the tray..
When I bought it - an important consideration was toner cartridge
availability and cost - so far so good. My other requirement was
wireless connectivity - it works fine there also.
Anyone needing home-office or photo ? printing would certainly
be looking at a better model anyway eg for 2-sided printing
but this has been perfect for my home use.


The model I'm looking at (HL-3270CDW) has 2-sided printing. There is a
cheaper model which I'm sure is a nice printer too, but I want the
HL-3270CDW.


$ 250. Canadian Go for it !
If I remember - that's ~ what I paid for mine.

https://www.staples.ca/products/2434...-laser-printer

One of the customer reviews mentions re-installing drivers
regularly - due to multiple users - I forgot to mention that -
I have had to un-install and re-install the device several times
- not sure why but it seems to happen after my wife has done some
printing .. it's a bit of a pain but after a few times it's
become quite routine & quicker ..
Win 8 might be the problem ?
John T.

  #10  
Old January 25th 20, 07:31 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 33
Default My HP Deskjet 855C died tonight.


Oh, and I can say that mine is not picky about "foreign" toner. I've had
to change the black toner out once and used a decent but non-OEM unit for
half the price from Amazon and it worked perfectly.


Funny you should mention that. I was just looking at what you're describing
an hour or so ago and wondering if it might be a good idea to order a set
with the printer. Guess I will now.


Honestly, I'd hold off on that until you see what your consumption is.
Black toner is the fastest to go and my OEM stuff lasted for at least two
years. The after-market toner cartridges are cheaper than OEM but they are
still not free and just take up space (and I don't know what the shelf life
might be).



+ 1
My starter black lasted about 18 months .
Present toner levels :
black 60 % aftermarket replaced June 2017
C/M/Y 40 % original from ~ Feb. 2016

document count 1885
drum life 88 %

John T.

 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Using HP 855C with Vista 64 Alan Wolfson Printers 12 January 6th 09 12:18 AM
Vista launch! Tonight! 10pm, at your local CompUSA! Be there! Ben Myers Dell Computers 44 February 2nd 07 05:37 PM
Building Opteron system tonight Black Barton Overclocking AMD Processors 2 January 6th 06 03:18 AM
Tonight's homework... Linker3000 UK Computer Vendors 1 September 16th 05 09:43 AM
Destructive Impulses...Flinging $1500 against the wall tonight. chris Nvidia Videocards 3 August 5th 03 03:23 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 05:38 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 HardwareBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.