Endless ink and perplexing printers
April 17, 2018
(Credit: Pickr)
An article on Pickr explores the benefits of long-lasting ink, but reveals how even this innovation will not keep consumers free of printing woes such as paper jams and hardware failure.
Penned by Leigh Stark, the article explains that long-lasting ink is a notion “we’ve seen from a few manufacturers”, and is one which offers plenty of value for anyone with a printer, as “spending a smaller amount of money on consumables makes more long-term sense than anything else.”
This was the underlying concept behind Epson’s EcoTank printers, “an ink load and delivery system capable of lasting up to two years” and which “relied on pools of ink that you could top up, meaning you always had a pool of ink to work from, and if you didn’t, you just refilled it using the ink.”
Printer measurements revealed that, using this system, “thousands upon thousands of pages” could be printed before a refill was required.
However, Epson is not the only OEM offering such a service, with Canon and HP also dipping their fingers into the endless ink pie.
Stark explained that, during the time he had been in possession of his Epson WT-4550 printer, it had never needed an ink top-up, describing this achievement as “the exact opposite” of previous printers he had owned, which had “garnered cost very quickly.”
Citing these high costs and other printer-related issues experienced by consumers, such as “paper jams, driver issues, head misalignments” and more, Stark says “it’s a wonder why anyone prints at all.”
Paper is touted as being a primary cause behind printer malfunctions, as “not all paper is created equal” and some devices cannot handle particular types of paper, because “the rollers struggle”.
Concluding the article, Stark explains that the lesson consumers should take away is that “devices are generally made for the purpose they were intended, but not everything necessarily fits that purpose.”
As a result, while your printer ink may be everlasting, “the printer’s mechanical bits have a different type of wear and tear, and it’s best to be aware of that when buying the right type of printer for your needs.”
Categories : Around the Industry
