Epson 2200: Help w/ purchasing used

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

In article <vNjJd.3492$m31.49883@typhoon.sonic.net>, Jerry
<jerrym@sonic.net> wrote:

> Will I have a problem with the ink nozzles being clogged?

Most likely. My experience has been that the Epson photo printers clog
very readily when unused, in as little as a few weeks. One of my
customers left a large number of them unused for the summer (albeit in
an un-airconditioned school) and nearly all were clogged.

> Does the ink last for over one year in the printer or will I need to
> replace all the cartridges at this point?

A year in the printer is a long time for these cartridges; but there's
a pretty good chance they'll be OK. Try it and find out!

> How often should the printer be run to keep the inks and nozzles working
> properly?

I've found if I do at least one print a week it <usually> keeps me out
of trouble.

> Any suggestions on a fair price?

Best suggestion is to log onto eBay nad search for closed auctions on
this printer. That'll give you a pretty good national average for a
fair price. Note that if the heads HAVE clogged the price should be
vastly lower - they're a bear to unclog, and if you can't, the repair
cost goes into "throw away the printer" territory.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

"Jerry" <jerrym@sonic.net> wrote in message
news:vNjJd.3492$m31.49883@typhoon.sonic.net...
> I have the option of buying a lightly used Epson 2200 that has sat
> unused for the last year.
>
> Will I have a problem with the ink nozzles being clogged?
>
> Does the ink last for over one year in the printer or will I need to
> replace all the cartridges at this point?
>
> How often should the printer be run to keep the inks and nozzles working
> properly?
>
> Any suggestions on a fair price?
>
> Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
> Jerry

For many years I stuck to Epson printers and spent lots and lots of time
unclogging the things, usually when I needed a print very quickly, sods law.
My last one finally gave up about a month ago. I bought a Canon PIXMA
ip4000, the print head comes separately and can be replaced, the cartridges
contain more ink and are cheaper, the prints are better quality, the print
manager is easier to use and the build quality is superior, it even prints
double sided text, and lastly it didn't cost very much.

It is my opinion that Epson's reputation is somewhat undeserved.

Jem

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

I own and use the 1280, 2200, and 4000 and have never encountered the
problems you mention with any of these printers. Re, third party
inks....why would you use them in the printer to begin with? How can anyone
expect all to be well when they use stuff in their printers that the
manufacturer itself states could cause problems/clogs?

If the heads get clogged, you run the clean app, just like the you do with
Canon, HP, or any other printer.



On 1/26/05 1:36 AM, in article
mcmurtri-17A883.22362125012005@corp-radius.supernews.com, "Kevin McMurtrie"
<mcmurtri@dslextreme.com> wrote:

> In article <vNjJd.3492$m31.49883@typhoon.sonic.net>,
> Jerry <jerrym@sonic.net> wrote:
>
>> I have the option of buying a lightly used Epson 2200 that has sat
>> unused for the last year.
>>
>> Will I have a problem with the ink nozzles being clogged?
>>
>> Does the ink last for over one year in the printer or will I need to
>> replace all the cartridges at this point?
>>
>> How often should the printer be run to keep the inks and nozzles working
>> properly?
>>
>> Any suggestions on a fair price?
>>
>> Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
>> Jerry
>
> I have an Epson 2200 and it's mostly unusable. It has roll-paper
> destroying firmware bugs, paper wasting driver bugs, numerous paper
> incompatibilities, frequent head clogging, and several ink wasting
> designs to ensure a steady cash flow to Epson. The number of ways that
> Epson artificially raises the ownership cost is offensive. My Epson
> Photo and Stylus Photo 1270 were a little fussy and a little pricey
> sometimes but nothing like the 2200. (*)
>
> I agree with the other poster about Canon's PIXMA lineup. I bought one
> as a gift and had some time to use it. They're high quality, very
> functional printers that don't assault you with cost of ownership
> gimmicks.
>
>
>
> (*)
> The printer randomly considers roll paper to be a paper jam. It feeds
> out several feet then shuts down. This can destroy paper if the front
> is not clear during the malfunction. The paper must be rolled back,
> removed, and reloaded to clear the malfunction.
>
> The printer sometimes adds several inches of blank roll paper, in
> addition to normal cutting margins, to the start and/or and of a print.
>
> Several printing options in the driver are non-functional or print
> incorrectly. Banner mode, for example, might eject 13x36 inches of
> paper but shrink the image to 4x6 or 8.5x11.
>
> High quality printing is only available on Epson's most expensive paper.
> Unlike previous printers, high resolution is disabled on other papers.
>
> The print head spends a lot of time at the edges of the paper shooting
> ink into gutters. You can hear a faint high pitched whine and there's a
> puddle in the gutter's absorbent pad after the head moves again.
>
> The printer says it's completely out of ink when cartridges are
> physically about half full. Crack one open and see.
>
> A chip on each ink cartridge prevents refilling and replacement with 3rd
> party inks.
>
> Severe ink clogs are common at any time, even during prints. It takes
> anywhere from 1 to 5 cleanings to fix them
>
> Ink costs $11 per cartridge and there are 7 cartridges (which can only
> be half used).
>
> High quality roll paper costs $1 per foot and the curl never goes away.
> Prints 1 year old still curl with enough force that the edges need to be
> secured every few inches. Reverse curling the paper, as Epson suggests,
> cracks the coating and the curl still comes back.
>
> Depending on the number of head clogs, failed prints, and wasted paper,
> the cost per large print is $2 to $10.