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Inkjet printers can do a fantastic job of printing photos and color documents, and maybe four times a year I would really like to do that at home. Unfortunately

Inkjet printers can do a fantastic job of printing photos and color documents, and maybe four times a year I would really like to do that at home. Unfortunately nobody seems to have built an inkjet printer with nozzles that don't gunk up, and cleaning the nozzles doesn't work very well and uses more ink and time than the document you wanted to print in the first place. It's probably possible to design an inkjet printer that actually works as well in the real world as a laser printer, but it would threaten the business model of all the printer manufacturers so I'm not holding my breath.

dylan604 5y ago
If your only color print needs are for photos, look into dye sub printers. You can go years in between printing, and use the same roll with no issues. These are pretty much what you get when you order from any brick&mortar store printing from digital files or any modern photobooth kiosk
- dreamcompiler 5y ago
  Yes dye subs do a great job and they don't gunk up. But unfortunately as you said they are only for photos, they require special paper, and they only print in smaller sizes (i.e. you cannot use one to print a color page of a business report). Their supply costs are high too but that's not a big deal if you use them rarely.
  - dylan604 5y ago
    Why did you feel the need to explain this when as you've said I've already stated for photos? Nobody made a reco to use for doing a report. Not sure if you are aware, but you can get 8x10 prints from a dye sub. For the dye sub market, their prices have definitely gotten much cheaper relative to themselves. They are more expensive that shitting $99 ink jet, but that's the point of this thread.
toast0 5y ago
Inkjets work ok and get a lot less gunky if you use them frequently. The problem that I have (and I assume you do too), is if I'm printing a couple of times a year, it's hard to spend two or three times the amount on a laser printer than a cheak inkjet. Even though the laser printer is the right answer. I did end up getting a laser printer last year when my child was printing a lot from chromebooks and Chrome OS stopped supporting cloud print, but also didn't support my inkjet (via network or usb). Shopping at CDW Outlet helped a bunch with pricing, but you have to be in the shopping phase when the right inventory is there.
skjoldr 5y ago
It is rather easy to keep an inkjet printer from gunking up if you buy a set of refillable cartridges, fill them with a 50/50 mix of demineralized water and inkjet cleaning fluid, install them and run a cleaning cycle after you finished a printing session. No ink in the nozzle means no gunk. This trick also works well for cleaning nozzles, since the cleaning fluid is a surfactant and it breaks up clumps of dried pigment better than just a stream of ink.
FireBeyond 5y ago
Canon's imagePrograf series don't gunk up, but they will use a lot of ink cleaning. It's also their most expensive model of inkjet (my Pro 1000 will print 17" wide, but is $1,300).

dylan604 5y ago

If your only color print needs are for photos, look into dye sub printers. You can go years in between printing, and use the same roll with no issues. These are pretty much what you get when you order from any brick&mortar store printing from digital files or any modern photobooth kiosk

dreamcompiler 5y ago
Yes dye subs do a great job and they don't gunk up. But unfortunately as you said they are only for photos, they require special paper, and they only print in smaller sizes (i.e. you cannot use one to print a color page of a business report). Their supply costs are high too but that's not a big deal if you use them rarely.
- dylan604 5y ago
  Why did you feel the need to explain this when as you've said I've already stated for photos? Nobody made a reco to use for doing a report. Not sure if you are aware, but you can get 8x10 prints from a dye sub. For the dye sub market, their prices have definitely gotten much cheaper relative to themselves. They are more expensive that shitting $99 ink jet, but that's the point of this thread.

toast0 5y ago

Inkjets work ok and get a lot less gunky if you use them frequently. The problem that I have (and I assume you do too), is if I'm printing a couple of times a year, it's hard to spend two or three times the amount on a laser printer than a cheak inkjet. Even though the laser printer is the right answer. I did end up getting a laser printer last year when my child was printing a lot from chromebooks and Chrome OS stopped supporting cloud print, but also didn't support my inkjet (via network or usb). Shopping at CDW Outlet helped a bunch with pricing, but you have to be in the shopping phase when the right inventory is there.

skjoldr 5y ago

It is rather easy to keep an inkjet printer from gunking up if you buy a set of refillable cartridges, fill them with a 50/50 mix of demineralized water and inkjet cleaning fluid, install them and run a cleaning cycle after you finished a printing session. No ink in the nozzle means no gunk. This trick also works well for cleaning nozzles, since the cleaning fluid is a surfactant and it breaks up clumps of dried pigment better than just a stream of ink.

FireBeyond 5y ago

Canon's imagePrograf series don't gunk up, but they will use a lot of ink cleaning. It's also their most expensive model of inkjet (my Pro 1000 will print 17" wide, but is $1,300).