They don’t build them like they used to…
I’ve noticed this annoying trend where my inkjet printers seem to die just after a few years of use. Even though I take pretty good care of my stuff and don’t use 3rd party inks, I find that the printers just develop problems after a fair amount of time. Also, the inks seem to go faster and faster and the heads get dirty and clogged so fast now.
I’m currently using an Epson Stylus Photo 780 (6 color version) which has been wonderful when it’s working. I only use 6-color or higher printers because the end results always look better to me than your regular 4-color printer. The only problem with this printer is that it still uses a single cartridge for all of the colors meaning relatively expensive replacements even if 4 of the 5 colors are fine. Inks cartridges are the dirty secret of the printing industry. These companies make no money on the hardware and make a killing on the ink. We’re all crack addicts on the comeback for more INK.
I will not skimp on the next color printer I get. It will have 6-colors and all of them will be separate. It should be more economical in the long run and I should be able to get more prints out. I’m especially interested in larger format printing based on some work I’ve seen. I had a photoshop project printed out at a professional studio in large format on archival watercolor paper and the results were astounding. So, I’d like to be able to do miniature versions of that kind of stuff at home. I still need to shop around some more. I’m really partial to Epson even though I know HP stuff is now pretty good as well.
Oh, and profound advice for the night. Don’t ever buy more ink cartridges than you need unless you’re going to be printing a ton of stuff at the moment. These inks dry up after a while so you’re better off going to the store and buying the inks as you need them. It’s a hassle but saves you headaches in the long run.
