Chico Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 We spend half the year in France, migrating every two months. I don’t use my printers much and so the cartridges dry up or otherwise malfunction and this can get expensive. Has anybody managed to overcome this problem?I have an HP deskjet 960c in the UK and an Epson C42 plus in France. The Epson is cheap and cheerful and has been quite good in spite of the hot climate where we are. I have got into the habit of topping up the inks once a year using first a chip resetter then the Russian freebie program to overcome the infamous Epson scam. The quality of printing is pretty low though.The HP gives a good enough print when it’s working, but does’nt like being left idle for two months at a time. It does’nt like having it’s cartridges refilled or topped up either.I wonder whether the answer would be to buy two identical modestly priced printers and carry the cartridges backwards and forwards so they don’t dry out, but printer makers don’t like you switching half-used cartridges and some, maybe not all, put blocks on this.Any thoughts would be appreciated.Chico Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Hi,Don't know about Epson but you can remove the HP Ink cartridges and reinstall them, no problems. I suggest (with the HP) when leaving the cartridges for an indeterminate period, remove them, put a piece of cellotape over the print heads, seal them in a plastic (food or freezer) bag and store in a cool place till you need them.good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyn_Paul Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 [quote user="tel"]Hi,Don't know about Epson but you can remove the HP Ink cartridges and reinstall them, no problems. I suggest (with the HP) when leaving the cartridges for an indeterminate period, remove them, put a piece of cellotape over the print heads, seal them in a plastic (food or freezer) bag and store in a cool place till you need them.good luck[/quote]I tried putting cellotape over the print heads and found that in the months that followed, the glue migrated into the mechanism. now I wrap them in clingfilm and then put them in a ziploc bag. it's not perfect but it's better than having to replace a cartridge you know only printed a dozen pages last visit!It's also an idea to store them the right way up, too.p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Why not buy compatible cartridges from www.7dayshop.com? Those for your Epson are 99p each so you can afford to throw them away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Janet Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Will,Just had a look at their website, and they say they only deliver to the 3 places on their drop-down list i.e. UK, Eire and Channel Isles.Have you had delivery to France? How did you get round their 'create an account' restrictions?David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 You are quite right, 7day Shop does not deliver to France, unfortunately. As the original questioner spends time, like me, in both Britain and France, I thought it may be of interest to them. I personaly use laser printing rather than ink-jet (infinitely more cost effective) but do have an Epson inkjet for colour work, and get the cartridges delivered to our house in England.Incidentally, others in that position might like to consider lasers as an alternative to inkjets, as lasers do not dry out if not used for some time. It is possible to find small Samsung mono lasers for under £50, which is less than the cost of a replacement cartridge. The great thing about these - apart from their much faster printing speed than inkjets - is that Samsung cartridges are easily refillable, virtually for pence rather than the £60-£80 a new toner cartridge for the likes of HP etc would cost. The only disadvantage of course, apart from a slightly higher capital cost, is that these small lasers print only in black and white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jools Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 I believe that if you have a look at your instructions for the Epson, they recommend that you don't take the cartridges out after installation as it can cause air bubbles and therefore the cartridges don't work properly. Maybe you could store your printer in the cave if you have one, put it in a plastic box or something?A tip that I find normally works for HP cartridges is to clean the jets at the bottom with a baby bud and something alcohol based (not wine!!), this will normally unclog any dried ink and cartridges should work ok. You can also buy an inkjet cleaning kit (for about £5 last time I looked). When taking out the cartridge be careful not to touch any of the gold at the front of the cartridge as this can damage it.Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Di Rolph Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 I had exactly the same problem with one printer in France and the other in the UK. We have a local branch of Cartridge World near us (in UK) and I explained the problem to them. They gave me some wonderful little plastic clips (free of chage) for my Lexmark , you just take out the cartridges and click the clips on. I also put them into a plastic bag. Cartridge World said they had different ones for most cartridges types.After six months the cartridges worked absolutely fine!Diane Rolph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 Only other thought would be to consider buying a black and white laser printer. We got tired of constantly buying ink cartridges for a rather crummy Cannon ink jet printer. When the printer finally stopped working (after two years), we bought a Brother Black and White laser printer at Darty for 100 euros. The laser cartridge that came with the machine is good for 3000 pages at full print (not economy print). The replacement cartridges are around 40 to 60 euros depending upon where you buy them, but for us, it works out better.Just another idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 Lori - look three replies up from yours. At least we agree. But if you can find a Samsung you can buy bottles of toner powder and refill the cartridges yourself very easily (10,000 pages worth for about 20€). You just remove a plastic plug or unscrew the top cover of the cartridge, depending on model, and pour in the powder. Apparently it is the same for some Brother models too - you may be lucky. You can refill most other makes, but the procedure is rather more difficult, involving either a rather hit-and-miss and potentially messy dismantling of the cartridge to find the refill plug under a cover, or melting a hole in the plastic cartridge through which you can pour the powder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 Sorry Will, I missed your earlier post. And thanks for the info about refilling the laser cartridge. Our is a Brother HL-2030 model. I will try to find out if some of the online French suppliers offer the powder for my model. Hopefully, if they do, it will be the easy one to refill as I can't see myself going the second route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 I have exactly the same problem on a cheapo Epson C40, but I can't get new cartridges (at least not in Leclerc in Vire where I bought it). Seems like they aren't made any more...Anyone know where I can get a cheap USB printer near to Mortain? Expert in St Hilaire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony F Dordogne Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Pub through the door last evening - look at Leclerc, they have their back to school offers on atm and are doing printers at 89E. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Dick - certainly worth trying Expert and looking in Leclerc. I got a printer in France from Conforama (no Darty or But nearby, though you can buy online from Darty etc). There are a couple of fairly new 'informatique' places in St Hilaire - one next to Credit Agricole and another opposite Lidl.Lori - I get my Samsung toner refill from www.topinks.co.uk - no problem with delivery to France.I see that http://www.refilltoner.com has Brother refills and will deliver to France. There seem to be several supppliers too on e-bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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