Talk > Rants, Raves, and Praise > [Rant] HP Photosmart Premium eAll-in_one C310a

[Rant] HP Photosmart Premium eAll-in_one C310a

good luck finding an ink-jet printer that doesn't eat through ink..

are you using the XL cartridges? I have a 209 which uses the same cart as yours and if using the regular cartridges you will blow through them very fast.. the XL holds I think twice as much ink and generally cost only $5 or $6 more.

something else you can do is set a default printer profile that will print b&w or greyscale only.. I think for me using the XL carts, the color lasts me more than 6 months and about 3 months for the black cart.. and yes I do quite a bit of printing..

lastly, doesn't your college give you an allotment of pages you can print? mine does.. I think it's 500 pages per semester..

as I said, try the larger cartridge and set the default print profile to b&w only..

Yep, using XL carts and only print in fast/draft economical, greyscale.

I print at home as my classes are online this semester .. I can print as many pages of my homework as I want

reply to ebgbjo
I've had pretty good luck with HP DeskJet 3050 printers and the high-yield cartridges. You can find the printers new sometimes for $45 or so. The cartridges last fairly long (for inkjet cartridges), print quality is good for regular prints and photos (and it'll print at the quality you choose). Staples also has a deal where you can turn in the empty cartridges and get $2 back, which they sometimes double to $4 back.
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reply to ebgbjo
My HP Officejet 8600 Plus lasts about 3-6 months between cartridge changes, and I print a lot for school. It takes 4 different cartridges and I use the XL versions.

reply to ebgbjo
Get a small laser printer for your everyday printing and save the color one for when you need color. A much cheaper alternative. You aren't going to find an inkjet that doesn't eat ink.

reply to ebgbjo
HP DeskJet 3050 printers are really awesome. You can try it.

reply to Msradell
I don't use color..at all, which is why I can't even figure out how they get empty, or why I need filled ones to print black ink- also annoying that I need the black photo ink filled and in place to print word documents even if not printing photos

We are going to look for another printer later in the week. This one takes too much money in ink every 25 days or so

reply to ebgbjo
i have the C310 and love it to pieces. I do *alot* of photo printing (using XL carts) and I get more mileage. HP printers are the only ones I trust, every other printer I've always had issues with.

NEVER EVER EVER EVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER GET A BROTHER PRINTER
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reply to ebgbjo
All I can say is that I have a HP Laserjet 1600 color printer that makes a good job. It is an older model that is probably not available anymore.

One of the firmware update added a really nice feature : override mode. Basicly, it let you print even when the printer say the cartridges are empty, so I can change them when they are really empty. ( I think I can usually print about 1000 more pages that way)

The original HP cartridge are really expensive so I'm buying rebuilt cartridges that work as well. ( sold by Monoprice and the internal parts are replaced by new ones ).

The good thing with laser is that the ink doesn't dry and it doesn't seem to cost more to me to print in colors. The bad thing is that photos are ugly.

reply to ebgbjo
I got sick of inkjet printers and their unquenchable thirst for ink. Even if you don't use it often it still goes through ink because it must run through a periodic cleaning cycle to keep the supply of ink to the print head fresh to avoid clogging (which often happens anyways).

So I picked up a Brother HL-1230 laser printer for free that someone was going to toss. Popped in a $30 toner cartridge from eBay. That's what I've been using for the last 4 years and I still haven't had to fill the toner. Works great.

Monochrome laser is the way to go if you're only printing documents and don't need color. Try to get something that doesn't have chips on the toner cartridges. Chips are a pain in the butt.

reply to ebgbjo
Look into a Samsung CLP-325W Color laser printer. They print excellent text and good color prints. I buy a full set of toner for about $50 online for aftermarket and it last for well over a year with a ton of printing.

reply to ebgbjo
I would recommend getting a laser printer as well. You mentioned that you don't print in color very often so a b/w laser could be very good for you. Just switch to your color printer when you need color and use the laser for everything else.

I have an HP laser printer and I print quite a bit out of it. A cartridge will last 5-6 reams which is almost a year. Cartridge is about $90 for authentic HP, but considerably less than what I would have to pay for new ink for the same amount of printing. Plus the laser will print faster and you won't need to worry about any ink smear.

lol it's pathetic that you guys have to print in black/greyscale because it's not affordable, this is 2012 not 1985, some mafia must be keeping prices artifically high, where's "made in China" to save the day?

reply to ebgbjo
Ink is where the companies are making their money. Printers are cheap, ink expensive, and certain makers are chipping carts so you have to buy new ones.

So far, my Canon i6000 Pixma will use anything. I have 2 older HPs
one is a 610 used for junk printing, and the other one new enough to complain about a generic cart, but to run anyway.

I tried a Photosmart printer only - I don't need an all in one as I have a far better scanner. That thing fought with Photoshop, another printing program, you name it. Plus it used ink faster than the 6000. Got a new printhead for the 6000, and the HP is going in the trash.

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