When we bought our present computer several years ago it had a new-fangled printer with it that had bells & whistles that our old one didn't have--namely a copier and a scanner. My first reaction was that this was a bit over the top, but since then I've come to appreciate the convenience of having these things in my home. The new printer also introduced me to something else our old printer didn't have--permanent ink. We could accidentally set a printed page down in an escaped puddle and not have the ink suddenly expand into its own creative style of splooshes and splotches. I was in printer heaven.
Sigh. All that has changed--hopefully temporarily. Our beloved printer served us well, but several weeks ago the magenta ink became plugged. We cleaned and cleaned the printer heads. We shook the ink cartridge. We put in a NEW cartridge. I even tried EFT on it! No matter what we did, it refused to budge. The ink stayed happily snuggled in its own little cartridge and probably smirked at our efforts. Peter recommended that we call our family computer expert, Karen, who gently broke the news to us that we most likely needed a new printer. In reality, it would probably cost more to fix it than it would to buy a new one. Sadness! Grief! Misery! Woe! (That's got to be a quote from something because I've heard my kids say that more than once.)
My Dear Hubby, after much deliberation and comparison, came home with a new HP Photosmart C6280 All-in-One Printer•Scanner•Copier (The resemblance between it and a one-eyed, wide-mouth frog is quite amazing and actually rather startling, but perhaps that's only if you have an imagination for that sort of thing, and also enjoy the occasional run-on sentence, which I do.) This thing has so many bells & whistles that it even turns the paper over and prints on the other side if you ask it to. Ohmigosh! I told Jim that this thing is smarter than I am.
SO, last night I printed off an EFT article that I wanted to use and also add to my files. I set down my lovely, newly printed copy, and OH NO! Splooshes and Splotches! I didn't realize there were some random water spots lurking in that exact same spot on the table. Why would anyone invent a super-duper Photosmart C6280 All-in-One Printer•Scanner•Copier with water-soluble ink?
It makes no sense. Jim said that perhaps permanent ink clogs easier, but that's the only drawback I can see. We can make a good case for permanent ink. For instance we have a permanent shopping list on our computer. We have several copies on a clipboard hanging by the kitchen sink and from week to week we just check off those things we need to get and take the list along. Now with all the stores spraying their produce with gentle rain every few minutes, hands get wet when picking up produce. Wet hands on the printed page would yield ink on the hands as well as splooches and splotches on the paper. Yuck! Don’t like it. Don’t want it!
Jim said that none of the printers he looked at said anything about whether or not the ink was permanent. He’s going to do some investigating to see if there is permanent ink available for this printer, and if not he will see if Epson currently has a new one that does have permanent ink. Any suggestions?
Sigh. All that has changed--hopefully temporarily. Our beloved printer served us well, but several weeks ago the magenta ink became plugged. We cleaned and cleaned the printer heads. We shook the ink cartridge. We put in a NEW cartridge. I even tried EFT on it! No matter what we did, it refused to budge. The ink stayed happily snuggled in its own little cartridge and probably smirked at our efforts. Peter recommended that we call our family computer expert, Karen, who gently broke the news to us that we most likely needed a new printer. In reality, it would probably cost more to fix it than it would to buy a new one. Sadness! Grief! Misery! Woe! (That's got to be a quote from something because I've heard my kids say that more than once.)
My Dear Hubby, after much deliberation and comparison, came home with a new HP Photosmart C6280 All-in-One Printer•Scanner•Copier (The resemblance between it and a one-eyed, wide-mouth frog is quite amazing and actually rather startling, but perhaps that's only if you have an imagination for that sort of thing, and also enjoy the occasional run-on sentence, which I do.) This thing has so many bells & whistles that it even turns the paper over and prints on the other side if you ask it to. Ohmigosh! I told Jim that this thing is smarter than I am.
SO, last night I printed off an EFT article that I wanted to use and also add to my files. I set down my lovely, newly printed copy, and OH NO! Splooshes and Splotches! I didn't realize there were some random water spots lurking in that exact same spot on the table. Why would anyone invent a super-duper Photosmart C6280 All-in-One Printer•Scanner•Copier with water-soluble ink?
It makes no sense. Jim said that perhaps permanent ink clogs easier, but that's the only drawback I can see. We can make a good case for permanent ink. For instance we have a permanent shopping list on our computer. We have several copies on a clipboard hanging by the kitchen sink and from week to week we just check off those things we need to get and take the list along. Now with all the stores spraying their produce with gentle rain every few minutes, hands get wet when picking up produce. Wet hands on the printed page would yield ink on the hands as well as splooches and splotches on the paper. Yuck! Don’t like it. Don’t want it!
Jim said that none of the printers he looked at said anything about whether or not the ink was permanent. He’s going to do some investigating to see if there is permanent ink available for this printer, and if not he will see if Epson currently has a new one that does have permanent ink. Any suggestions?
9 comments:
That's odd...we have an hp all-in-one as well and we've never had any ink problems...where's Magnum PI when we need him??
Alas, I don't know much about color printers.
"Sadness! Grief! Misery! Woe!" is from the story of Mike the Fish.
I have never heard of water-proof ink in home or light office type ink-jet printers, except photo printers, or high end art printers.
What brand and model was the old, deceased printer?
The deceased printer was an Epson 5400, and it definitely was water-proof ink.
Take a look at this web forum, called "Fix your own Printer," where the exact same problem you describe is mentioned, along with a possible solution.
Epson Stylus CX5400 printing problem: magenta stops printing
To summarize briefly, an ink tube may have become dislodged or clogged, in which case the printer is still fine, and you can get it up and running again!
Of course, this might not be the problem, too.
Have your handy Engineer husband read the article listed and see if he can troubleshoot it.
Oh, and according to the forum I just mentioned, it is apparent that the waterproof ink you liked is a particular kind, called DuraBrite.
Here's what Epson says about Dura Brite:
Dura Brite Ink
Oops...It won't let me create that as a link, so here is the URL:
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/Landing/DuraBrite.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes#overview
Just copy and paste that into your web browser to go straight to the page.
I can't tell if Epson still sells that ink in cartridges for your printer or not. I would email Epson and ask them.
If that ink is no longer produced for you printer, then you may be out of luck.
I thought that "Sadness! Grief! Misery! Woe! I am morose." was from Vince in junior high before it was put into Mike the Fish. When did that book get made? 8th grade would have been '88-'89.
Hi Peter,
I suspect you're right. That sounds familiar. The book was for our 25th anniversary, which was in 1991. I really didn't think it originated with Mike the Fish. Also, the story does say "Sadness! Grief! Misery! Woe! I am morose!"
Good memory.
Love, Mom
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