I had to take two “traditional” inkjets to the dump yesterday. I use a printer so infrequently that the head basically clogged up and no amount of cleaning could get it working again (I tried for weeks.) The other was a total hardware failure, likely caused by an “accident” in my daughter’s room so I don’t blame the manufacturer. They were 6 and 8 years old respectively so no concerns.
Anyhoo, Costco has a nice Epson (both of the above were) for $100 less than the best online price, the ET-2760. I have several hundreds of $$ in rewards certificates that I can’t envision using for anything else, so I figured I’d pick one up.
My biggest concern is the fact that I use a printer so infrequently, will the Ecotank give me a more reliable printer when needed?
Laser is not an option. I need color and don’t have the budget for a color laser.
Given that any inkjet is going to die on you from lack of consistent use I’d say that you don’t really have the budget for an inkjet. I don’t use my laser printer for months at a time and when I do it’s always perfect.
Atlanta Craigslist has a bunch of used color lasers for 100-200 bucks. Maybe worth looking at?
No, ecotanks like to be used regularly- more so than cartridge ink printers. You’re best best is to spend your Costco certs on some Kobe beef and go to Kinkos for your occasional printing.
A fair point. Printers are the worst. For a while the wire cutters recommendation for a printer was “don’t get one, but if you really really think you need one here’s what you might want…”
EDIT: lol, the review is still kind of like that:
“Printers are annoying. All of them. But if you want to keep your annoyance to a minimum, we recommend a laser printer […]”
I had HP printers for years and they were so unreliable. I bought my first Epson and it was great, so much better. As time went by, my need to use them dwindled down and that’s when the problems started. The main thing about the Epson was it handled envelopes without issue, none of the HP’s ever did as well. I can’t depend on FedEx/Kinkos because when I need to print something, I need it right-now. Plus they can’t print envelopes for me.
Just echoing what others have said… still prone to drying out.
I’d also highly recommend a color laser if you can find one in your budget. I’ve got a super cheap Canon that is the most annoyingly quirky printer I’ve ever owned and I still go to it over my ink jet. Unless you need the properties of the ink for crafting/making, the laser is just so much faster and easier.
I do like having an ink jet printer for certain crafty needs, but I buy the cheapest one I can now. (I will say that my “cheapest” ink jet at home has lasted years with minimal printing on it. I’m kind of shocked.)
My last comment is that I’d consider something other than Epson. This is largely anecdotal (and I have not even taken the time to Google it), but the Epson printers seem to clog more than other brands. I’m in a number of groups where people have heavy printer use (dye sublimation, stickers, etc.) and the Epsons are always clogging. I have one that I’m pretty sure I’ll need to throw out because I couldn’t get to my studio for a couple of months mid-Covid. Nothing is working to unclog it.
Yeah I can’t vouch for canon color lasers (like the one at walmart I linked above) – mine is a Dell, and they don’t even make laser printers anymore afaik.
If you have several hundred dollars in rewards certificates, you should be able to get a color laserjet. It’s true that the cartridges are kinda pricey, but they last a long time and you never have to worry about them drying up. I’ve had my HP Color LaserJet Pro for over two years and just replaced the cartridges a couple months ago. It gets a lot of use, but there are times I’ll go for a couple months and not use it at all. And when it told me I was low on ink, I just took the cartridge out, rocked it back and forth a few times, put it back in, and got another two months out of it. When I had my inkjet, I was going through cartridges like crazy, especially if I didn’t use it for more than a couple weeks. To me the laser is well worth the cost. Now, if I wanted to sublimate something, then no, laser won’t work for that at all.
My Canon printer recently died. I thought i was going to go get an ecotank, but when I got to the store, I changed my mind. I’m a frequent scanner. I don’t print frequently, but Wynn I do it’s high volume and front and back. The ecotank, the cheaper one at Costco, did not have double-sided printing or an auto document feeder. Both are a necessity for me, and the one ecotank that had both was waaaayyy out of my price range.
I ended up going to microcenter and buying an epson workforce pro 4820 for almost 100 cheaper than the cheap ecotank at Costco. Its my second workforce, to join my infrequently used wf-7720 (I use mostly for scanning and infrequent sublimation work). So far I haven’t had ink drying up or clogging heads too badly. I did have to run the cleaner after letting it sit for 6 months, but after the maintenance programs, it cleared itself up.
I’m still trying to figure out what I want to use the Costco certificate for…it comes next month. I was thinking an exercise bike…my husband wants a roomba. But then I’m thinking I could really use one if those foodsaver machines, or this basket-style air fryer with a rotisserie… so many choices.
I use an Epson 4700 ecotank that has only ever had Sublimation Ink in it. I don’t know if it is the ink, or the printer, but I don’t use it that often. After even a week of non use, I have to run a cleaning on it or I get lines or patterns where it is clogged. If it has been a month, I have to do the deep clean function which wastes about 1/3 of a tank of EACH color as it power cleans the jets. All in all, if you have the money to spare and don’t mind cleaning it every single time you use it, (unless you use it daily), then it’s great. If you are doing any sublimation work, it is necessary, but still a pain.
Not sure what. your needs are, but i use HP. They have a ink replacement subscription for $2.99/month for 50 pages (you can pay for more if needed or up the subscription price). They monitor the ink levels online and send a replacement whenever you need it. Mine would dry out too but this has been a great option, i love it!
I’ve got an ET-3760. My past three inkjet printers were all also Epson printers, and I would install aftermarket continuous ink systems - despite printing only once in a while.
Now that I have preschoolers, I find that I’m printing far more often (though not even every week) to print out forms or craft projects and the like.
My only regret, really, is not getting a printer that can handle 11" x 17" paper. I usually impose PDFs as quarto signatures to save paper (eight logical pages per sheet) and with the larger size I would be able to print octavo without much loss of size, and that size of paper is well-suited to the Glowforge.