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Printers Anonymous
ITT we discuss printers. I have a HP 932C which worked fine for a while. I refilled the original cartridges 5 times before print quality started to suffer. I finally bought new ones, and it printed slightly worse with the new one, and then after a week, only red and yellow would print. Then only yellow. HP has gone to hell, they're no better than the no-name made in china companies anymore. Maybe cause they use no-name china contract manufactures now. I bought a samsung laser now, which prints great black and white, but can't print color papercraft now :( Ah well... Maybe i'll do that greyscale deathstar.
>> Anonymous
Overall, I'd say this is a thread for /g/ -- nobody I know is having trouble with their papercraft printouts. I use a cheapo HP printer, and other than changing a cartridge now and then, everything prints properly.
>> Anonymous
Did you email the company's tech support before you went out and shelled the cash for a new printer? Also, lazer printers don't work well for papercraft, because they use toner. Toner doesn't absorb into the paper, so if you're not careful, the ink will crack on the paper.

I've got a lexmark all-in-one, and the only time I had a problem with it was when a pen got stuck around the rollers and I didn't see it there until I used a flashlight because it blended in so well. Tech support was really helpful though when I gave them detailed information about the problem.

There have been a few threads about papercraft that work well with certain printers, inks etc., so it's not the first time a thread like this has been around. Give more information about how the printer's quality looked when it was getting worse, and maybe someone can help.
>> Anonymous
>>30015
Trying to print Link from http://members.home.nl/saarloos/zeldamodels.htm ? ;)
>> okirst
>>30015

your keyboard is so dirty
>> Anonymous
>>30065
He should use the alchohol to clean it.
>> Anonymous
OP: So I had some refill ink left, and thought I'd try filling it up. It worked, after sitting overnight. The thing was bone dry, and soaked up a full refill. So I guess I paid $37 bucks for an empty cartridge. I sent an email to HP, maybe they'll give me a coupon for my next one. I suppose maybe someone scammed best-buy and exchanged an empty somehow, but the box looked factory sealed, as did the strip on the cartridge. By the way, I've been using the Inktec refill kits from Inksell.com. Quality kits and quality ink, I'd recommend them. You get like 6 refills for cheaper than a new cartridge.

So I thought a laser would be great for papercraft, since they don't smear when handled like inkjets can. Anyone else have an opinion on this? I made a black and white "boo" from my laser, no cracking, no smearing. My cow from my inkjet didn't seem to smear since I kept my fingers clean and dry, but the glue (elmers) made the ink bleed a little. I let the pages sit for about a week after printing them before handling.
>> Anonymous
>>30079
I used a re-filled cartridge just once. I didn't re-fill it myself, but bought it from a shop that takes in empty cartridges, re-fills them, seals them and sells them again. So nothing like sticking a needle in your ink cartridge (or maybe it is, I didn't get to watch how they did it ;o).
Anyhow, So I bought a re-filled and sealed cartridge from them, but after a while, when I wanted to print something, my printer didn't respond. The cartridge had in fact leaked, messing everything up, and cleaning the mess didn't make my printer work again; byebye printer... The printer was still under warranty, but if you use re-filled cartridges instead of official, brand cartridges you basically forfeit your warranty... Luckily for me, the repair guy was a great guy and didn't mention the fact I had used a re-filled cartridge on the form, so I got a new printer for free. But I never did use any re-filled cartridges ever again...
And I know you're all gonna be like: "that cartridge probably wasn't sealed properly" and "it's okay if you re-fill it properly". Well dûh... ;o)
Me, I just don't wanna take the risk. I just hand in my old cartridge when I buy a new, brand one and take the 30% discount for it. It's still more expensive than those re-fill sets, but cheaper than a new printer. ;o)
>> Anonymous
Refilled cartridges always print dreadfully. ALways use brand new original ones.
>> Anonymous
A note of caution about about papercraft and laser printers, based on my own experience:

Laser printers make an image on paper by melting a layer of tiny plastic particles onto the top of the paper. When folded, the plastic layer can crack, and the white paper will show through on the fold, which might make your model look not-so-great.

Inkjet printers deposit liquid ink on paper, which soaks into the paper itself, so you don't have this problem with models printed on inkjet printers.