New Printhead or New Printer?

[Tainamom]

I've been doing whatever I can to get my Canon Pixma IP3000 to stop printing in streaks. I did the computer clean, deep clean, washed the printhead w/ warm water, deep cleaning again, yet nothing works.

I don't think it's the cartridge, so now I'm looking into the printhead. The printhead costs more than the printer itself, but I just can't stand the thought of chucking this thing in the garbage.

I looked in Ebay for a replacement IP3000 printer, but that same printer is costing more than double my original cost to replace. I only paid about $60!

So my dilemna is, is it worthwhile to replace the printhead? I have tons of ink that I shelled out money for that I might not be able to use on the new printer because it uses a different ink - or does it matter?

thanks in advance. i'm off to do more price comparison.

ann

[Tainamom]

I've been trying to figure out WHY people are flocking to buy the older Canon's and now I know. The new printer cartridges have the printhead included on them, so it's harder to refill and needs replacing. The IP3000 has a separate printhead. I've refilled my cartridges so many times w/o any problems w/ performance. The inks were great, but now I'm having the streaking (woo! look at me) problems. LOL

I don't know whether to go laser yet as my daughter loves to print color pics. I read that the toner cartridges are really expensive, but I could always buy an inexpensive b&w laserjet, like the Samsung that they have on sale at Newegg. I'm going to just research more and check ebay or even craigslist (for used). There's an Ebay seller that has a better price for this printhead.

Any other suggestions, please pass them on.

Ann

[Tainamom]

OK, so I'm replying to myself, but maybe others might be curious.

I've been trying to figure out WHY people are flocking to buy the older Canon's and now I know. The new printer cartridges have the printhead included on them, so it's harder to refill and needs replacing. The IP3000 has a separate printhead. I've refilled my cartridges so many times w/o any problems w/ performance. The inks were great, but now I'm having the streaking (woo! look at me) problems. LOL

I don't know whether to go laser yet as my daughter loves to print color pics. I read that the toner cartridges are really expensive, but I could always buy an inexpensive b&w laserjet, like the Samsung that they have on sale at Newegg. I'm going to just research more and check ebay or even craigslist (for used). There's an Ebay seller that has a better price for this printhead.

Any other suggestions, please pass them on.

Ann

[ktkendall]

So you tried a new ink cartridge and it didn't help right?? I do believe an alcohol wipe is what I would use instead of warm water to clean that.. Also make sure you clean the rollers or whatever feeds the paper with alcohol wipe also cause it could be the paper is slipping and or not being fed properly.. If I had a ton of ink cartridges on hand I would also be trying to salvage that printer also because your new one will probably use different ones..

[Panama Red]

To each his own, but here's what we do. I have a Samsung laser and it is the default printer for all pc's in the house. Black and white is 99% of what we need to print. We also have a Canon i560 for color printing. I use it mostly for printing my business cards and docs needed colored headers. The pics from this printer are excellent but when we looked at the cost, it became obvious that it was cheaper to just burn a cd of the pics we wanted to print and take the cd to the nearby Sam's, Walmart or Walgreens. CD-R's are less that 20 cents each and they provide a backup of the pics.

[Tainamom]

Originally Posted by ktkendall So you tried a new ink cartridge and it didn't help right?? I do believe an alcohol wipe is what I would use instead of warm water to clean that.. Also make sure you clean the rollers or whatever feeds the paper with alcohol wipe also cause it could be the paper is slipping and or not being fed properly.. If I had a ton of ink cartridges on hand I would also be trying to salvage that printer also because your new one will probably use different ones..

No new ink cartridge. I did try alcohol at first, but it didn't work, so I used warm water.

[Tainamom]

Originally Posted by Panama Red To each his own, but here's what we do. I have a Samsung laser and it is the default printer for all pc's in the house. Black and white is 99% of what we need to print. We also have a Canon i560 for color printing. I use it mostly for printing my business cards and docs needed colored headers. The pics from this printer are excellent but when we looked at the cost, it became obvious that it was cheaper to just burn a cd of the pics we wanted to print and take the cd to the nearby Sam's, Walmart or Walgreens. CD-R's are less that 20 cents each and they provide a backup of the pics.

I'm seriously considering getting that inexpensive Samsung for b&w and the printhead, but maybe not. The toner costs more than the printer, but it'll probably cost me less than .02 pp.

I do understand about picture printing. I find it cheaper to get them developed elsewhere than to print my own. I only need color for my cards and ads and my daughter needs them because she loves to print cartoon stuff from the net. I must have recycled over 200 sheets of these cartoon prints to be used as draft paper a few days ago. Most of my color goes on her.

Ann

[clroberts]

I like sending stuff to Walmart for printing too; however, the only problem with printing the Pics at Walmart is that if it even looks professionally done, they won't print it until you sign a release form if you truly took the picture though.

[Panama Red]

Originally Posted by Tainamom The toner costs more than the printer, but it'll probably cost me less than .02 pp.

Not really. I don't buy the replacement cartridge. A toner refill is about $10 from these guys and it's a snap to refill.

www.tonerkits.com

(hmm, their site is down at the moment. Hopefully it's temporary.)

[newbuilder14]

I definately agree the laster printers using toner are the best way to go if you want speed and cost-per-page value. I have a Minolta MagiColor 2200 - very fast and toner last long - only downside is there is something you have to dump out once in a while - it is like a powder and it goes everywhere if your not careful - stains, too - I'm not sure what it's called - toner waste perhaps.

[ktkendall]

Since you have all those extra ink cartridges, shouldn't you at least try one out to see if thats the problem. Perhaps the one your using has just totaly worn out and is sending out too much ink.

[Tainamom]

I have bulk ink. I'm going to replace the cartridge 1st b4 getting a printhead or other printer.

[glc]

If you have been running a bunch of bulk ink through that thing, replace the printer. I have a customer that runs Canon inkjets 24/7 with bulk ink and when they mess up, he tosses the printer. Not cost effective to repair or replace the printhead. Get a cheap B/W laser and a cheap inkjet - or get a color laser.