Is It Cost Effective To Buy Printheads?

[grahamb]

Does anyone know if it is cost effective to buy printheads for printers here in Thailand? We've got a Canon i850 which has given good service until now but recently stopped printing all the colours (black is OK)... From research on the net, it's probably a printhead problem but of course the printer is out of warranty (and no doubt they'd blame it on non-official ink which, yes, I did use...)

Back in Europe, it was cheaper to buy a new printer than to get a new printhead but is it the same here? I've been happy with the performance and quality so I would prefer to just get a printhead if I could.

If that's not possible/cost effective, does anyone have recommendations of a good photo printer?! Also, does anyone need almost-full cartridges for a Canon printer? (of course, these are the legit Canon ones and the colours stopped printing just after buying them...)

p.s. yes, I've tried refitting the cartridges, cleaning the print head, etc. but any other suggestions are welcome!

[lopburi3]

The Canon Pixma series is rated very highly for photo use with the IP4000 model probably the best cost/performance model. I am waiting anxiously for my Epson to die so I can buy one. That model is about 7-8,000 baht here but the quality over the lower priced models seems to indicate it is worth it from my reading.

[waldwolf]

grahamb - As a general rule, it is not cost effective to replace print heads. If one looks at the cost of new printers today, it becomes clear many are sold at a loss, just to get future ink cartridge sales, which carry a 1,000%+ profit margin.

As an example, I recently purchesed a new HP PSC-1209 All-In-One for $39.00 (US). The retail price is $99.00 (US). Replacement cartridges (1-black, 1-color) which came with the printer cost $59.00 (US) to replace. In another example, both Samsung and Lexmark have small laser printers which normally sell at $99.00 (US). The replacement toner cartridges for these printers are $89.00 and $129.00 (US), respectively.

As newer models appear, print qualty and speed seem to improve. So, if I were you, I would first get an estimate (in writing) on what it would cost to repair your current printer, then weigh that against the cost and features of of new one. The Canon's have an excellent reputation for color print quality at slightly lower cost than other makes such as HP, Epson and especially Lexmark.

If you have not already tried this, put a few drops of Isopropyl Alcohol (70%) in the head-holes where the color cartridge fits. Let it sit over night. Then reinsert cartridge and do a few software "head" cleanings.

good luck

(lopburi3 - I've been waiting 5 years for my old Epson 440 to die, but it still keeps going and going. Even my 25 year old MX80 dot matrex still runs like new.)

[Phil Conners]

My Epson CX3100 all-in-one died after 6 month, supposedly of old printhead. The ink shop told me they always have problems with Epson and recommended Canon as the printer with least problems.

As I had nothing but problems with the Epson, and a new printhead would cost 2,000 (new printer 5,000) I decided to throw it away and get a Canon all-in-one which as worked fine so far.

Edited February 14, 2005 by madsere

[Abandon]

I had an Epson mx80 too - used it with my BBC ( - father still used it until last year when he retired.

[Firefoxx]

Although waldwolf's arguments are valid (sell printers at a loss to profit in ink sales... similar to selling consoles to get game sales), there is something about the packaged ink. For most lasers and some inkjets, the included ink/toner will not be of the full capacity type that you will usually buy. Usually, it's only half the capacity. Couple this with the fact that the printer's initialization will use up a lot of ink/toner and you won't have much of that included ink left for actual use, compared to a new, full replacement.

So don't go run out and buy a new printer every time your ink runs out. It's not that econoomical.

My printer, the 905i (replaced by the pixma's), uses 6 tanks, at 300 baht each. It's price (here) was about 10k baht, since it's one of the higher end models.

[astral]

This is something to watch when buying a new printer.

I had an Epson, and when the ink ran out all I had to buy was a new ink tank.

It sounded like a great idea. The sting in the tail was that after 2-3 ink tanks I was told I needed new print heads. The cost was outrageous, 5000 baht, almost the cost of a new good quality printer.

When I did upgrade I made sure that I bought a machine where the print head comes

as part of the ink tank. A new colour ink cartridge has just cost me 1200 baht, but I do

have the reassurance that I also got a new print head in that cost.

For the record my latest printer is an HP.

[Abandon]

has anyone had any other experience with these epsons with the customised ink bottles at the side? I was thinking of getting one, as my Lexmark does not seem to accept ink refils as it used to - have to buy a new cartridge always.

[buadhai]

If you print regularly, the Epsons are OK. But, if you print only sporadically, then the Epson printheads are bound to get clogged. They can be cleaned with great effort and the right fluid. But, as Astral points out, replacing them is cost-prohibitive.

IMHO Canon and HP are better choices if you only print now and then.

YMMV

[lopburi3]

If you print regularly, the Epsons are OK. But, if you print only sporadically, then the Epson printheads are bound to get clogged. They can be cleaned with great effort and the right fluid. But, as Astral points out, replacing them is cost-prohibitive.

IMHO Canon and HP are better choices if you only print now and then.

YMMV

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very true but who can afford to print every day.

There was also a problem with the early design of the ink tanks for the Stylus Photo series - they would clog if you didn't use almost every day. The newer tanks seem to take a week of so to get bad (when your luck holds). But it is a real turn off to buying another Epson for home use.

Maybe run some fish sauce through them?

[Firefoxx]

What I found with the Epsons (I had a 750 photo) is that you don't need to print every day. What you do need to do is turn the printer on every few days in order for the ink to flow a bit. Doing that, I was able to keep my printheads unclogged for more than 5 years (at which point I bought a new printer).

The thing about printers that have ink tanks with print heads (HP being the biggest example) is that they are not very cost effective. Of course they have to figure in the cost of the included print head, but also they tend to bunch up separate colors into one tank, which makes it necessary to change the whole tank (three colors) when only one ink is depleted. This is what makes TCO (total cost of ownership) of HP inkjets the highest of the big three brands.

[astral]

Computer centres like Pantip Plaza and TukCom usually have people who will

refill ink tanks for you, or you can buy the kit to do it yourself.

Make sure you get the right ink.

Here again Espson has a bad reputation for clogging with non-Epson ink.