[geeks] Freakin' Inkjet printers...

[Dave McGuire]

On Thursday, January 2, 2003, at 03:53 AM, Michael Schiller wrote:
> How long does it take for the 550 to warm up?

   It takes maybe 3-4 minutes from standby, and maybe 6 from being 
powered off (these are guesses, not timings).  I just leave it powered 
up all the time, as I usually print stuff several times a day, and it 
goes into standby automatically when it's been idle for a while.  MacOS 
X likes it, as does IRIX.

>  I have a Phaser IIIpxi and it takes like 20 minutes for the printer 
> to warm up, so I rarely use it.

   The III is a very, very different device...was phase transition vs. 
laser & toner.  Also very old.  Sweet output though, especially on 
transparency.  We got one of those when I worked at TRW Space & Defense 
back in 1991 or so...the III had just come out, and it blew us all 
away...we were very heavy users of their 4693DX (a wax belt transfer 
device) which we liked, but the output suffered badly if the printer's 
innards got too dusty.

>  I have an HP Deskjet 1200C/PS that I use much more as there's very 
> little warm up time. Unfortunately at the moment it needs to be 
> cleaned and/or repaired as it's not feeding the paper properly. It 
> picks up the paper, it goes like halfway in, then the feed jam light 
> comes on. I have to manually push the paper about an inch or so 
> forward, then put the printer back online then it will print the page. 
> Also the ink cartridges seem to dry at the nozzles really quickly, so 
> I have to run them under hot water to get them to work again, another 
> pita.

   Yeah those 1200s can be a pain, especially if they sit for a long 
time.  They're worth maintaining though, in my opinion, 'cause they do 
postscript, they're networkable (if memory serves), and they're 
reasonably well built.

          -Dave

--
Dave McGuire           "She's a cheek pincher.  I have scars."
St. Petersburg, FL                          -Gary Nichols