dan-hankins@cup.portal.com (Daniel B Hankins) (08/28/90)
I just purchased secondhand a Xerox Diablo C150 color inkjet printer.
Though I got a pretty good price for it, I discovered that it needs a fair
amount of upkeep, and that ink for it is -very- expensive.
The previous owner told me that a 17cc bottle of ink for it costs about
$17 US. Since all four jets must have ink in them for the printer to operate,
this means I must spend around $70 US just to get started (and 17cc is not
very much). I was also not given warm fuzzies about how long this amount of
ink would last, or how many refills I could go before the ink cartridges jam.
So, I have two questions:
1. Can anyone recommend a -CHEAP- source of ink for ink jet printers? I'll
mix the damn stuff myself if that'll keep the costs down.
2. Is there a cleaning procedure that I can apply regularly (say just before I
squirt in new ink) that will keep the cartridges from getting clogged?
Any help on this will be greatly appreciated.
Dan Hankins
dan-hankins@cup.portal.com
dan-hankins@pro-realm.cts.com
My dogma's been run over by my karma! - stolen from someone's sig
phoenix@ms.uky.edu (R'ykandar Korra'ti) (08/28/90)
In article <33316@cup.portal.com> dan-hankins@cup.portal.com (Daniel B Hankins) writes: > The previous owner told me that a 17cc bottle of ink for it costs about >$17 US. Since all four jets must have ink in them for the printer to operate, >this means I must spend around $70 US just to get started (and 17cc is not >very much). Ah, well, yes and no. The printer won't hold 2cc of each colour, so that $70 will pay for a large number of refills and printings. If you want, you can order an ink four-pack from Xerox directly; it'll cost you about $14, and will give you a small amount of ink (one "standard refill") for each jet. That order number is 800/822-2200. (You'll need to get a customer number first, though. They'll ship then bill later.) Still, that's the expensive way to go in the long run. >I was also not given warm fuzzies about how long this amount of >ink would last A goodly amount of time, actually. 17cc is actually a _lot_ of ink, in ink-jet terms. > So, I have two questions: >1. Can anyone recommend a -CHEAP- source of ink for ink jet printers? I'll > mix the damn stuff myself if that'll keep the costs down. I don't recommend mixing it yourself, unless you want to do a _very_ good job. However, it's not necessary; call Salis International, Inc (Pun, I hope, unintended). As for Dr. P. H. Martin's Transparent Watercolours in colours of black, cadmium yellow, magenta, and turquoise. Their inks are actually better in a C150 than Xerox's. (I've had to clean much less often using theirs than using "real C150 ink" from Xerox.) >2. Is there a cleaning procedure that I can apply regularly (say just before I > squirt in new ink) that will keep the cartridges from getting clogged? You can clean the jets on a regular basis using techneiques described in the manual. Do so; it does help. Question: did you get the printhead cleaning kit with the printer? If you didn't, and you can't get it from the seller, you'll have to order a new one from Xerox. Same commentary with the manual - you _will_ need it. Netmail me for details if you need them. - R'ykandar. Disclaimer: I have no relationship with Salis International except that I've purchased their inks. -- | R'ykandar Korra'ti | Editor: LOW ORBIT Science and Fiction | PLink: Skywise | | Elfinkind, Unite! | phoenix@ms.uky.edu | phoenix%ms.uky.edu@ukcc.bitnet | | "Hi! We're evangelical Hari-Krishna pedophiles for LaRouche! Would you like | | to see some of our fine Amway products?" - TRHMS | CIS 72406,370/LOW ORBIT |
hgm@ccvr1.ncsu.edu (Hal G. Meeks) (08/28/90)
In article <33316@cup.portal.com> dan-hankins@cup.portal.com (Daniel B Hankins) writes: > > I just purchased secondhand a Xerox Diablo C150 color inkjet printer. >Though I got a pretty good price for it, I discovered that it needs a fair >amount of upkeep, and that ink for it is -very- expensive. I have owned a Xerox 4020 for about 2 years now. It's a re-engineered C150 (has a autoflush mechanism to keep nozzles unclogged). A really nice piece of work. > >1. Can anyone recommend a -CHEAP- source of ink for ink jet printers? I'll > mix the damn stuff myself if that'll keep the costs down. I have been using the Windsor-Newton line of "Brillant Watercolours" for over a year now. It's a premixed watercolor that comes in glass bottles with an eyedropper. I was using Dr. P.H. Martin's line of "Transparent" watercolors (not the concentrated variety that comes in a similar bottle). The Windsor-Newton colors more closely match the original Xerox inks, and are very inexpensive. You will want to get the 4 "process" colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). I have recently been using their "Marigold" as a substitute for the yellow. It's a slightly deeper yellow, that makes for more vivid reds. Incidentally, I'm using the Glass Canvas 4020 driver. I don't believe they have one for the C150, unfortunately. Can the C150 use the 4020's driver? If so, it would be worth checking out. Nice improvement in color fidelity, especially on HAM printouts. Makes the HP Paintjet look sort of washed out. They are available at many Art Supply houses. While there, pick up a can of Artist's Fixative (Krylon is the brand I use). It will help make your printouts a little more fade and moisture resistant (I've actually made a 6foot outdoor sign that held up in a light drizzle). > Any help on this will be greatly appreciated. > > >Dan Hankins > >dan-hankins@cup.portal.com >dan-hankins@pro-realm.cts.com --hal -- hgm@ccvr1.cc.ncsu.edu "He was a legendary hero, netoprhm@ncsuvm.bitnet his IQ was zero." Zoogz Rift
phoenix@ms.uky.edu (R'ykandar Korra'ti) (08/29/90)
In article <1990Aug28.163034.1428@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> hgm@ccvr1.ncsu.edu (Hal G. Meeks) writes: >I have owned a Xerox 4020 for about 2 years now. It's a re-engineered C150 >(has a autoflush mechanism to keep nozzles unclogged). It's also much faster than the C150, can address 240 dots per inch (even if the dot size is too big for it to be of any use :-) ) and I think has downloadable fonts - none of which the C150 has, unfortunately. Still, for the price I paid, I'm very very happy with my C150. >I have been using the Windsor-Newton line of "Brillant Watercolours" for >over a year now. Have you got a place I can mailorder these from? I'm using P. H. Martin's, and while I'm happy with them (I mainly use black, and that one is just fine colour-wise - it's a pretty easy one to get) cheaper and more accurate is always better. >Incidentally, I'm using the Glass Canvas 4020 driver. I >don't believe they have one for the C150, unfortunately. C150 is one of the standard CBM printer drivers. Has been for just about forever. In fact, the 1.3 enhancer manual suggests using the C150 driver for the 4020, if I recall correctly. >Can the C150 use >the 4020's driver? Yes and no. The command languages are mostly the same, but there are a couple of important differences; the C150 doesn't have the "double-blacking" capability of the 4020 (this is used to make the blacks blacker, as should be reasonably obvious :-) ) and also doesn't have the 240 DPI addressing mode. The latter shouldn't be a problem, but the former would cerainly cause trouble. You can get the effect of double-blacking on the C150 by changing the "black" in your printout from R=0, G=0, B=0 to R=0, G=0, B=4. That way, the printer will print both black and blue on each dot. It's not quite the same, but it looks very good. >Makes the HP Paintjet look sort of washed out. I've always been impressed by the colour quality on my C150. Particularly the blue tones. >They are available at many Art Supply houses. While there, pick up a can of >Artist's Fixative (Krylon is the brand I use). Krylon is good, but make bloody well sure you clean the nozzle on the spray can like they suggest. I nearly had a pencil illustration (that was going to the printers _that_ _day_) ruined by a bottle of Krylon flat that suddenly decided to spurt big globs of fixitive. Taught me to clean nozzles. (This can be fixed by essentially drowning the entire illustration in yet more fixitive, by the way - but do it right off. It won't fix everything, but it'll help a lot - and will be good enough to print.) >It will help make your >printouts a little more fade and moisture resistant (I've actually made a >6foot outdoor sign that held up in a light drizzle). If you want (and are in a pinch, and are cheap - like me - and the object in question isn't expected to last forever), you can use hair spray. Really. Aquanet does a great job, and it's 99 cents per BIG bottle. (Fair warning: I haven't tried Aquanet on printouts, but it works so well on pencil and charcoal that I don't see why it wouldn't work.) - R'ykandar. -- | R'ykandar Korra'ti | Editor: LOW ORBIT Science and Fiction | PLink: Skywise | | Elfinkind, Unite! | phoenix@ms.uky.edu | phoenix%ms.uky.edu@ukcc.bitnet | | "Hi! We're evangelical Hari-Krishna pedophiles for LaRouche! Would you like | | to see some of our fine Amway products?" - TRHMS | CIS 72406,370/LOW ORBIT |
usenet@agate.berkeley.edu (USENET Administrator) (09/05/90)
>I hope, unintended). As for Dr. P. H. Martin's Transparent Watercolours >in colours of black, cadmium yellow, magenta, and turquoise. Their inks >are actually better in a C150 than Xerox's. (I've had to clean much less >often using theirs than using "real C150 ink" from Xerox.) >>2. Is there a cleaning procedure that I can apply regularly (say just before I >> squirt in new ink) that will keep the cartridges from getting clogged? > You can clean the jets on a regular basis using techneiques described >in the manual. Do so; it does help. Question: did you get the printhead >cleaning kit with the printer? If you didn't, and you can't get it from >the seller, you'll have to order a new one from Xerox. Same commentary with >the manual - you _will_ need it. Netmail me for details if you need them. From: vincelee@tornado.Berkeley.EDU (Vincent H. Lee) Path: tornado.Berkeley.EDU!vincelee Be CAUTIOUS HERE!!!! PH martins watercolors are not printing inks but watercolor paint particles suspended in water. Thus, they WILL CLOG up your printer if you are not very careful to clean out all the ink from your printer every time you use it. The Xerox 4020 has an automatic cleaning cycle, but I don't think the Diablo C150 did--one reason the model is discontinued. By the way, I got my PH Martins watercolors from a local art supply store (you should find them in any ones) for about 3 bucks a bottle. I used Lemon Yellow, Wild Rose, Turquoise blue, and black, which matches the HP paintjet colors and gives truer blues at the expense of green when compared to xerox colors, which gives better greens but purplish blues. -Vince
phoenix@ms.uky.edu (R'ykandar Korra'ti) (09/06/90)
In article <1990Sep5.080242.21793@agate.berkeley.edu> vincelee@tornado.Berkeley.EDU (Vincent H. Lee) writes: >PH martins watercolors are not printing inks but watercolor paint particles >suspended in water. Thus, they WILL CLOG up your printer if you are not >very careful to clean out all the ink from your printer every time you >use it. The Xerox 4020 has an automatic cleaning cycle, but I don't think >the Diablo C150 did--one reason the model is discontinued. The C150 does have an ink-purge cycle which executes every time you shut the printer down. Runs for a couple of seconds, tops, but does clear the ink jets. I've been using Martin's for a few months and have actually had to do significantly _less_ cleaning when them than with the original Xerox inks. (For example, I printed a particular set of graphics I generate every so often all the way through with Martin's, without needing to stop and reclean once. I've _never_ been able to do that using Xerox's inks.) - R'ykandar. -- R'ykandar Korra'ti | Editor, LOW ORBIT Science and Fiction "They've got to sing 'The Time Warp' to WHAT?!?!" - Kermit, in TRHMS. phoenix@ms.uky.edu | editor@lorbit.UUCP | ukma!lorbit!editor | PLink: Skywise