dead printer - fix, or replace?

[SHOZ]

Originally Posted By: larryinnewyork
Some what off topic, but:

Originally I bought a "Ink Jet" Printer.
Very expensive to own.
I was spending $60.00 per year on ink.
I hated it.
1) Ink was expensive.
2) When the nozzel dried up, the 'clean function' cleared it out by flushing more ink thru it.
3) If the Black ink ran low, it would ask me if I wanted to mix the 3 colors to make Black
4) If the 3 colors were low, it would stop printing till they were replaced.


I then went and bought a Laser Printer.
Ink Jet Printers are for chumps.

Brother Model: HL-2140
Ordered Online for $50.00 / Free Shipping / No Sales Tax
Only prints in Black, for me now, that's OK.

For colored photos, I go to Wal-Greens.


Where did you get that deal?

 

[Papa Bear]

Don't order this one !!

 

[SHOZ]

Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
Don't order this one !!


I saw that and then others that list the same one for under $70. Some don't have the toner cartridge. That is also an obsolete model.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

If I could diagnose/fix the power supply without wasting any money, that's what I would do.

Whoever made the comment about cheap printers getting you into expensive ink was right. Also, there seems to be a kind of inflation going on where the newer cartridges print less than the old ones. In 2009 or 10, I had to replace a $50 printer that used HP56 cartridges. The new printer is an $80 all-in-one that uses HP60 cartriges, which seem to print a lot fewer pages for more money.

 

[SHOZ]

When I get ink for my Epson there is the option for smaller capacity carriages. The Epson is good because it uses individual color carriages. Bust still I spend $200-300 a year on ink. I do a lot of printing.

I would like to get the laser just for the black and white printing.

 

[SHOZ]

To trouble shoot the power supply first determine the output voltage. Is it AC or DC, should say right on the transformer. Three conductors on the output would suggest AC as one would be ground, one neutral and one the voltage.

DC usually is a barrel type with the hot on the onside and ground on the outside, but not always.

But then again my Epson is 120V AC and is only a two wire cord.

 

[barlowc]

Looking closely at the label on the "brick", it's AC. One of the leads is 16V, another 32V, and one Ground. Using my multi-meter, with the black probe stuck in Ground, touching the red probe to either of the other two resulted in nothing. I may buy a replacement adapter on eBay. I can get a Genuine OEM HP one (used) for $10 shipped. If it works, great; I alter my setup. If it does't, lesson learned and I'll get a new one.

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[SHOZ]

Originally Posted By: barlowc
Looking closely at the label on the "brick", it's AC. One of the leads is 16V, another 32V, and one Ground. Using my multi-meter, with the black probe stuck in Ground, touching the red probe to either of the other two resulted in nothing. I may buy a replacement adapter on eBay. I can get a Genuine OEM HP one (used) for $10 shipped. If it works, great; I alter my setup. If it does't, lesson learned and I'll get a new one.

Thanks for the input everyone!


Use your voltmeter set on ohms to probe the AC plugin spades to see what kind of resistance reading you get from the primary coil. It probably is open. Lightning is the usual suspect. You can also use the voltmeter set on ohms to read the other two outputs to the ground too to see if the secondary coils are open or not.

 

[Subdued]

After buying a laser printer a few years ago and spending $25 on replacement toner in that time span, I will never own an inkjet printer again.

 

[PandaBear]

I would not crack open an ink jet printer's power supply to check the cap. Use a volt meter to check for it and if the voltage is good to spec, then open up the printer to see if there's blown fuse.

If I were you I'd buy another unit, if you really like that unit (because of cheap refillable ink, for example) buy it again used, so you don't have to deal with new printer's small ink cartridge.

 

[spackard]

I'll let you in on a gem of a BW laser printer.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004H602TM/ref=...=I11NU74WLVT8Q3

I keep this on my wish list, looking for used or refurbished units to show up, and 1 or 2 show up every year. Currently, there's a used for $79.49+$17.99 shipping.

6 seconds from power on to first page print.
37 pages per minute print speed.
Toner cartridges in 3 different capacities (2000, 5000, 10000 pages). Aftermarket toner cartridges about 1/2 the price of genuine. I know no residential use needs 37PPM, but you are getting into a cost per page of $0.008 for consumables with a aftermarket 5000 page cartridge.

I bought one to replace an old HP LJ4 for my wife's office, and she was at first really reluctant to part with the HP; all she used it for was printing mailing labels, but now loves the Samsung.

I took the HP LJ4 home and found why it broke: a big staple lodged deep in the paper path would jam any attempt to print. I took the staple out; now I have it sitting in my garage.

 

[berniedd]

It sure looks like a bad power supply. That's what happened to my HP multifunction. It's a good gamble to get a cheap replacement and try that first.

I've gotten around the high cost of ink by refilling my own cartridges with third party kits. My cartridges have sponge in them and I just inject 2 cc of the correct ink when they run low. The print quality is good enough for me and it's been over a year now since I bought new cartridges.

 

[barlowc]

OP Update: I was able to get a used genuine HP power supply on eBay for $10 and that fixed the problem. I appreciate everyone's input along the way.