Epson Stylus Photo 820

[Jack W]

I know this has been covered here some time back.

I have had an Epson Stylus Photo 820 printer for several years now.

I have had problems with it many times.

Now it is really BAD. I keep getting lines when using the black cartridge.
Repeated cleanings do no good. — Still LINES.
And all that does is use up ink in the color cartridge.

It's heading for the trash if nobody comes up with a solution to cure the problem.

It's a piece of S--T !!!!!!!!  I've had it with Epson!!!!!!!!!

What's a good replacement inkjet printer brand? Model?

That doesn't give fits.
And you can select a single color cart to clean?

Sorry for the rant, but I'm FED UP!!!!!

  , Jack

[Mayo]

I bought the original Epson Stylus Photo in 1997 for $550; it made nice prints and rarely clogged if I didn't use it for weeks. An Epson 785EX I purchased was clogged right from the beginning; I used more ink cleaning it than I ever used for prints. Fortunately Costco took it back after 7 frustrating months...

A couple of years ago I switched to an HP 8450. Great prints with minimal fiddling and the print heads are replaced every time new ink carts are installed. I can go for months without printing and be clog-free. It's virtually idiot-proof when used with HP papers. I got the $300+ printer for $125 by waiting until it had been available for some time so it was heavily discounted. If you don't need to print larger than 8.5 x 11 good printers can be had for less than $300. I think that the sturdier, better-built printers are worth the extra cost compared to the really cheap inkjets.

My impression is that if you want to use myriad exotic papers and you print often then Epson printers are O.K.; more casual users like myself benefit from the HP printers because they are not as likely to clog if used periodically. If you tend to print mainly text a laser printer is cheaper to use over time and usually develops fewer hardware problems.  My Apple LaserWriter 360 that I purchased new in 1995 is still going strong.

[Paddy]

I gave up on Epson a LOOONG time ago, Jack. Same reasons, more or less, though if I was going to get a very high end photo printer, I might consider them, though Canon makes a very good competitor at the high end. But that's a really expensive enterprise.

My last two (and both still functioning just fine, BTW) color inkjets have been Canons. I like the single ink tank per color that the models I bought offer - because you almost never run out of all colors at once. I have an MP600 (very good scanner, copier and printer) and an i860. I got the i860 to replace an HP which I gave my in-laws and the MP600 I got with my MacBook Pro on one of those get-the-printer-for-almost-nothing-with-a-new-Mac deals. It actually also replaced an Epson scanner, which was a good enough scanner with HORRID software (used VueScan instead, since I already owned a license for that from a previous SCSI Microtek)

You seem to have a fair bit of pissed off company here:

http://www.photographyreview.com/cat/print...22_1688crx.aspx

BTW - does it produce the lines even when you pick the highest print quality on correspondingly high quality paper? Of course, if it doesn't print properly for non-photo projects, then it isn't a whole lot of use.

What do you typically print the most of? Text? Photos? Recommendations will depend on what you use the printer for the most, although the Canon Pixma iP4500 reviews are

This Canon printer gets stellar reviews from 91 purchasers at Amazon. (I've rarely seen this many 4 and 5 star reviews for a printer!) Just don't buy it there - $30 more than Apple or Newegg.

Reviews at NewEgg are even better: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16828102259 - read the first one as it's quite helpful. Both text and photos print very well.

Dell has the best price on it - $89 after a $30 rebate. http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/product...px?sku=A1265446 except they're out of stock...and the rebate only runs until the end of June.

Both NewEgg and Apple have it for $99.95 with free shipping. (Not sure about shipping with Dell)

[Jack W]

QUOTE(Paddy @ Jun 23 2008, 06:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

BTW - does it produce the lines even when you pick the highest print quality on correspondingly high quality paper? Of course, if it doesn't print properly for non-photo projects, then it isn't a whole lot of use.

What do you typically print the most of? Text? Photos? Recommendations will depend on what you use the printer for the most, although the Canon Pixma iP4500 reviews are

Hi Paddy,

The lines are there no matter what.

I have an HP LaserJet 1320 laser printer for my text printing. — Excellent printer that also does duplex, which I use a lot.

I neet a photo quality inkjet for those color pictures/drawings that I sometimes intersperse with the text, or print as individuals.

Most of my photo printing is done thru the Web and picked up at my local Walgreens. The quality is excellent and the price very reasonable.

I'll look into the Canon iP4500. It sounds intriguing!

I also hope to hear from other TeeEssers with their experiences.

Thanks, Jack

[Gregg]

Well Jack, sorry your printer is giving you so much grief. I've had an Epson Stylus Color 740 since about 1999 (I think) and it still works fine. At one point it was giving me some bad prints, but a good cleaning with some cotton swabs and an alcohol solution did the trick. I don't print much in color, so if I have to print a web page, I let it print in color just to keep that ink flowing. My black and white prints are not perfect, but are certainly sharp enough for what I need. Hope you get it to work, or find something better.

[krissel]

Those Epson 740's were a mistake on Epson's part. They still work tirelessly, take third party ink well and seem to last forever. Now people can't get anything from them that is as good. Big mistake, don't have a product so good that it eclipses  everything you make thereafter.


Hope Apple doesn't ever do that.  

[pendragon]

Like Kris said, I had an Epson 740 for years. No problems, rock solid, but slow and noisy.

Eventually it was replaced by a C60 (or C80?) and that was a piece of junk (IMNHO). Epson replaced it, but it never it never was a "quality" product.

When the Epson R340 was released, I got that (about 2 years ago) and it is just wonderful. I couldn't be happier.

Still, a few caveats:
1. I have not (yet) tried third party ink.
2. I have not used all the features, such as printing directly from a cameras memory card and printing those press on CD/DVD labels.

But as far as every day printing goes, well, I find it first-rate in all regards.

[Jack W]

Well, I resurrected my wife's SP 820 from the depths of the basement.
Took the carts out of my 820 and put them in it.
Hooked it up. Had to run the clean function in the Epson Printer Utility a couple of times.
Then I had to replace the color cartridge because of all the cleanings I had tried to get the black cart to work.
Almost a third of a cart down the drain doing that.

Anyway, that printer is working satisfactorily.
And I have those two color carts I got from Epson from the Settlement to use up.
I just need to exercise it every few days.

In the meantime I will start a search for a non-Epson printer.

Thanks, Jack

[Xairbusdriver]

Maybe Epson is the only company to make some bad printers, but I doubt it. And it does seem that they make new varieties more often. Maybe that's why they have more bad press. Plus the fact that they sell more than any other ink jet maker (I think).

I started with a SP900 and had great results with it until I needed to print wider paper. Got a 1280 which handled that with aplomb. Now also have a R220 so I can print on CDs. I seldom use the 1280 any more and I think that's why the heads get clogged, when I used it daily I seldom had problems with that. Both have refillable carts (pull out the plug, insert the ink, replace the plug, clear the 'counter chip', return to printer. Quick, easy, clean, no wasted gas, no ridiculously expensive Epson carts.

No matter what make of ink jet printer you get, the more carts/colors the better. Also make sure you can use standard, non-company papers (bring a few papers of your own and print something to each). I've had excellent results with Kodak and Galleria (which did not work well with the 900s ink!).

Just check the comments around the net. It seems that printers are the one thing about which people will make positive comments! Then, find one you can test locally! Good luck!

[Gregg]

Jack, did you try a little Epson salt?

[Texas Mac Man]

I had two Epson printers; the last being a 740. Both had to be trashed due to clogged print heads. I now have a Canon i960 & it's been flawless for several years. I have printed thousands of 4"x6" color prints and many 5"x7" & 8"x10"s.

[sluggo]

Have had a couple of Epsons over the years and wound up ditching them. Currently have an HP C6280. Ethernet enabled so it's plugged into a wireless router and I can print from wherever the laptop is in the house as well as from my iMac.
One nice feature is that is has a separate cartidge for each color instead of one cart for all colors. Smaller carts that should theoretically save money, but I have yet to change one.