Swapping printer ink cartridges - any problems?

[p.j.]

Folks,<p>I am a council memeber of the <a

href="www.dublincameraclub.ie">Dublin Camera Club</a> and we are

exploring the possibility of buying a printer for our digital

darkroom. The idea is that the users use their own paper and ink

cartridges in the printer.<p>Is this a practical proposition? What happens if one user installs a set of black and white inks after another user has used colour inks, for example? Can a non-high-volume printer cope with this? Will it destroy the poor thing, especially if some enthusiast uses non-OEM inks?

[jon_austin]

Not practical, in my opinion:

 

If the shared printer is an HP (or similar) model in which the printheads are built into the ink cartridges, it might reduce potential problems. However, one big gotcha is that when any user removes his ink cartridges, it's difficult/impossible to keep those cartridges from drying out (and clogging their built-in printheads), unless someone has identified some kind of tape to apply across the printhead to seal it without leaving residue (or pulling off part of the printhead!) when peeled off.

 

If the printer has a printhead separate from the ink cartridges:

 

- Non-OEM inks may ruin the printhead.

 

- After changing out ink cartridges, particularly when switching between color and B&W (or vice versa), a few prints might have to be run to flush the old ink out of the printhead.

 

- The issue of each user being able to seal his partially-used ink cartridges still applies, as above.

[jack paradise]

I do not think that's it's a practical idea. Once you have replaced the ink cartridges you still need to flush the printer head to get rid of the leftover ink. Printing a flushing image will be required: ie one with 6 or 7 rectangles each containing a different color.

 

And I'm not talking about problems associated with just about everyone removing and replacing ink cartridged, especially when there's a rush on to print. Oh the ink mess and the clogs from members dried cartridges.

 

Different paper means different paper weight meaning printer head height adjustement. Another problem I foresee is paper coming from different sources and exposing the printer head to dust particles. A draftman's brush is ideal to get rid of the smallest particle laying of the surface of the paper and eventually clogging the printer's head.

 

It would be a lot easier and safer to have two dedicated printers, one for color and another one for b&w and one person in charge for the care and maintenant of the printers.

[jack paradise]

Jon,

 

What proof have you of this ?

 

I've been using non-OEM inks since the summer of 2000, from two different suppliers and three different inksets. They do not ruin printer heads!

[p._neil_ralley]

FWIW I agree 100% with Jon. Printer inking systems are designed to be closed-loop and constantly inserting and removing part-used cartridges cannot be a good thing. However, the idea of a shared printer resource is a good one and if club members are reasonably trustworthy then I would suggest that you calculate a ballpark ink-cost for different sizes of paper and people simply contribute to the cost according to how many prints they have made.

[jon_austin]

Jack: What proof have I of what?

 

All I said was "Non-OEM inks MAY ruin the printhead." (I capitalized "may" this time, for emphasis.)

 

"I've been using non-OEM inks since the summer of 2000, from two different suppliers and three different inksets. They do not ruin printer heads!"

 

With all due respect, so what? Have you used every available inkset from every available supplier? Do you have the same brand and model printer at the Dublin Camera Club? Have you used non-OEM inks on every type of printhead on the market? Have you run exhaustive cartridge changeout tests using a large sample of combinations between OEM and non-OEM inks?

 

All I was trying to do was offer a cautionary warning. I don't think I oversold it.

[p.j.]

Folks,<br>

  Thanks. The idea looks like a non-starter.<br>

-P.J.