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#1
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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My HP Deskjet 855C died tonight.
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#8
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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
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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
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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. |
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