Fax/ink war

[desmond]

Thanks Flu, those are some good prices.

[Coronita]

[quote=joec]In a related question, anyone know good links to buy supplies to refill laser printer toner?[/quote]

If your printer cartridge includes the toner AND the photosensitive drum as one piece cartridge (which most consumer oriented laser printers are), don’t bother. The issue with toner cartridges isn’t that they run out of toner. The photo-sensitive drum (photoreceptor) goes bad after a long use. (The green/yellow color drum that is covered all the time)

Basic premise of how a laser printer works, is light is shined onto a light sensitive drum (usually with a laser) which temporarily causes toner powder to stick to it, and then it’s pressed onto paper. The photo-sensitive drum goes bad after awhile in that it no longer responds to a light source. In plain English, once the drum goes bad, it doesn’t matter how much toner you have, you get crappy print because what gets “pressed” onto paper is garbage since the drum is no longer working to capture all image to print, or it’s capturing too much “blotches” and you won’t be able to see anything. So it’s not the same as just refilling your cartridge with more toner as it is with ink cartridges. Also, handling toner powder is a major PITA

You can find companies that sell remanufactered cartridges, usually for a lot cheaper than from OEM. I don’t dick around with laser printers because I never print in high volume, color laser printers are still pretty expensive (especially supplies), and supplies in general are pretty pricey imho.

[Coronita]

[quote=joec]In a related question, anyone know good links to buy supplies to refill laser printer toner?[/quote]

If your printer cartridge includes the toner AND the photosensitive drum as one piece cartridge (which most consumer oriented laser printers are), don’t bother. The issue with toner cartridges isn’t that they run out of toner. The photo-sensitive drum (photoreceptor) goes bad after a long use. (The green/yellow color drum that is covered all the time)

Basic premise of how a laser printer works, is light is shined onto a light sensitive drum (usually with a laser) which temporarily causes toner powder to stick to it, and then it’s pressed onto paper. The photo-sensitive drum goes bad after awhile in that it no longer responds to a light source. In plain English, once the drum goes bad, it doesn’t matter how much toner you have, you get crappy print because what gets “pressed” onto paper is garbage since the drum is no longer working to capture all image to print, or it’s capturing too much “blotches” and you won’t be able to see anything. So it’s not the same as just refilling your cartridge with more toner as it is with ink cartridges. Also, handling toner powder is a major PITA

You can find companies that sell remanufactered cartridges, usually for a lot cheaper than from OEM. I don’t dick around with laser printers because I never print in high volume, color laser printers are still pretty expensive (especially supplies), and supplies in general are pretty pricey imho.

[Coronita]

[quote=joec]In a related question, anyone know good links to buy supplies to refill laser printer toner?[/quote]

If your printer cartridge includes the toner AND the photosensitive drum as one piece cartridge (which most consumer oriented laser printers are), don’t bother. The issue with toner cartridges isn’t that they run out of toner. The photo-sensitive drum (photoreceptor) goes bad after a long use. (The green/yellow color drum that is covered all the time)

Basic premise of how a laser printer works, is light is shined onto a light sensitive drum (usually with a laser) which temporarily causes toner powder to stick to it, and then it’s pressed onto paper. The photo-sensitive drum goes bad after awhile in that it no longer responds to a light source. In plain English, once the drum goes bad, it doesn’t matter how much toner you have, you get crappy print because what gets “pressed” onto paper is garbage since the drum is no longer working to capture all image to print, or it’s capturing too much “blotches” and you won’t be able to see anything. So it’s not the same as just refilling your cartridge with more toner as it is with ink cartridges. Also, handling toner powder is a major PITA

You can find companies that sell remanufactered cartridges, usually for a lot cheaper than from OEM. I don’t dick around with laser printers because I never print in high volume, color laser printers are still pretty expensive (especially supplies), and supplies in general are pretty pricey imho.

[Coronita]

[quote=joec]In a related question, anyone know good links to buy supplies to refill laser printer toner?[/quote]

If your printer cartridge includes the toner AND the photosensitive drum as one piece cartridge (which most consumer oriented laser printers are), don’t bother. The issue with toner cartridges isn’t that they run out of toner. The photo-sensitive drum (photoreceptor) goes bad after a long use. (The green/yellow color drum that is covered all the time)

Basic premise of how a laser printer works, is light is shined onto a light sensitive drum (usually with a laser) which temporarily causes toner powder to stick to it, and then it’s pressed onto paper. The photo-sensitive drum goes bad after awhile in that it no longer responds to a light source. In plain English, once the drum goes bad, it doesn’t matter how much toner you have, you get crappy print because what gets “pressed” onto paper is garbage since the drum is no longer working to capture all image to print, or it’s capturing too much “blotches” and you won’t be able to see anything. So it’s not the same as just refilling your cartridge with more toner as it is with ink cartridges. Also, handling toner powder is a major PITA

You can find companies that sell remanufactered cartridges, usually for a lot cheaper than from OEM. I don’t dick around with laser printers because I never print in high volume, color laser printers are still pretty expensive (especially supplies), and supplies in general are pretty pricey imho.

[Coronita]

[quote=joec]In a related question, anyone know good links to buy supplies to refill laser printer toner?[/quote]

If your printer cartridge includes the toner AND the photosensitive drum as one piece cartridge (which most consumer oriented laser printers are), don’t bother. The issue with toner cartridges isn’t that they run out of toner. The photo-sensitive drum (photoreceptor) goes bad after a long use. (The green/yellow color drum that is covered all the time)

Basic premise of how a laser printer works, is light is shined onto a light sensitive drum (usually with a laser) which temporarily causes toner powder to stick to it, and then it’s pressed onto paper. The photo-sensitive drum goes bad after awhile in that it no longer responds to a light source. In plain English, once the drum goes bad, it doesn’t matter how much toner you have, you get crappy print because what gets “pressed” onto paper is garbage since the drum is no longer working to capture all image to print, or it’s capturing too much “blotches” and you won’t be able to see anything. So it’s not the same as just refilling your cartridge with more toner as it is with ink cartridges. Also, handling toner powder is a major PITA

You can find companies that sell remanufactered cartridges, usually for a lot cheaper than from OEM. I don’t dick around with laser printers because I never print in high volume, color laser printers are still pretty expensive (especially supplies), and supplies in general are pretty pricey imho.

[Coronita]

[quote=briansd1]For faxing you can use a fax to email service such as unityfax.
[/quote]

It costs money to use this service, and for folks that don’t receive a lot of fax, this is not cost effective

[quote]
How about using a laser printer for general printing in black and white?

My networked HP laser printer has been working perfectly for more than 10 years. And I only rarely change the cartridge.
[/quote]

Cartridges are pretty pricey

[quote]
Need to print photos? Just upload to Costco/Snapfish for printing.[/quote]

Costco quality stinks imho…For me, it’s fine for stuff I don’t care about like holiday cards, or for pictures I give away…But for slightly more important stuff, it’s hard to get consistency at Costco, mostly probably because they don’t keep those machines well calibrated all the time. Anything I did above 5×7 was just completely disappointing, in that the colors were well off (very orange or pale)…Snapfish isn’t that much better imho.

For much better results (printed on much better paper with much better machines), go to Nelson’s in downtown off of India Street or the one in La Jolla….They don’t use the crap paper/machines, and the results are very consistent. (4×6 is 30 cents versus 13 at costco, and worth every penny)

http://www.nelsonphotosupplies.com/

Alternatively, go to Chrome in Mira Mesa (more expensive, but also pretty consistent).

HOME

[Coronita]

[quote=briansd1]For faxing you can use a fax to email service such as unityfax.
[/quote]

It costs money to use this service, and for folks that don’t receive a lot of fax, this is not cost effective

[quote]
How about using a laser printer for general printing in black and white?

My networked HP laser printer has been working perfectly for more than 10 years. And I only rarely change the cartridge.
[/quote]

Cartridges are pretty pricey

[quote]
Need to print photos? Just upload to Costco/Snapfish for printing.[/quote]

Costco quality stinks imho…For me, it’s fine for stuff I don’t care about like holiday cards, or for pictures I give away…But for slightly more important stuff, it’s hard to get consistency at Costco, mostly probably because they don’t keep those machines well calibrated all the time. Anything I did above 5×7 was just completely disappointing, in that the colors were well off (very orange or pale)…Snapfish isn’t that much better imho.

For much better results (printed on much better paper with much better machines), go to Nelson’s in downtown off of India Street or the one in La Jolla….They don’t use the crap paper/machines, and the results are very consistent. (4×6 is 30 cents versus 13 at costco, and worth every penny)

http://www.nelsonphotosupplies.com/

Alternatively, go to Chrome in Mira Mesa (more expensive, but also pretty consistent).

HOME

[Coronita]

[quote=briansd1]For faxing you can use a fax to email service such as unityfax.
[/quote]

It costs money to use this service, and for folks that don’t receive a lot of fax, this is not cost effective

[quote]
How about using a laser printer for general printing in black and white?

My networked HP laser printer has been working perfectly for more than 10 years. And I only rarely change the cartridge.
[/quote]

Cartridges are pretty pricey

[quote]
Need to print photos? Just upload to Costco/Snapfish for printing.[/quote]

Costco quality stinks imho…For me, it’s fine for stuff I don’t care about like holiday cards, or for pictures I give away…But for slightly more important stuff, it’s hard to get consistency at Costco, mostly probably because they don’t keep those machines well calibrated all the time. Anything I did above 5×7 was just completely disappointing, in that the colors were well off (very orange or pale)…Snapfish isn’t that much better imho.

For much better results (printed on much better paper with much better machines), go to Nelson’s in downtown off of India Street or the one in La Jolla….They don’t use the crap paper/machines, and the results are very consistent. (4×6 is 30 cents versus 13 at costco, and worth every penny)

http://www.nelsonphotosupplies.com/

Alternatively, go to Chrome in Mira Mesa (more expensive, but also pretty consistent).

HOME

[Coronita]

[quote=briansd1]For faxing you can use a fax to email service such as unityfax.
[/quote]

It costs money to use this service, and for folks that don’t receive a lot of fax, this is not cost effective

[quote]
How about using a laser printer for general printing in black and white?

My networked HP laser printer has been working perfectly for more than 10 years. And I only rarely change the cartridge.
[/quote]

Cartridges are pretty pricey

[quote]
Need to print photos? Just upload to Costco/Snapfish for printing.[/quote]

Costco quality stinks imho…For me, it’s fine for stuff I don’t care about like holiday cards, or for pictures I give away…But for slightly more important stuff, it’s hard to get consistency at Costco, mostly probably because they don’t keep those machines well calibrated all the time. Anything I did above 5×7 was just completely disappointing, in that the colors were well off (very orange or pale)…Snapfish isn’t that much better imho.

For much better results (printed on much better paper with much better machines), go to Nelson’s in downtown off of India Street or the one in La Jolla….They don’t use the crap paper/machines, and the results are very consistent. (4×6 is 30 cents versus 13 at costco, and worth every penny)

http://www.nelsonphotosupplies.com/

Alternatively, go to Chrome in Mira Mesa (more expensive, but also pretty consistent).

HOME

[Coronita]

[quote=briansd1]For faxing you can use a fax to email service such as unityfax.
[/quote]

It costs money to use this service, and for folks that don’t receive a lot of fax, this is not cost effective

[quote]
How about using a laser printer for general printing in black and white?

My networked HP laser printer has been working perfectly for more than 10 years. And I only rarely change the cartridge.
[/quote]

Cartridges are pretty pricey

[quote]
Need to print photos? Just upload to Costco/Snapfish for printing.[/quote]

Costco quality stinks imho…For me, it’s fine for stuff I don’t care about like holiday cards, or for pictures I give away…But for slightly more important stuff, it’s hard to get consistency at Costco, mostly probably because they don’t keep those machines well calibrated all the time. Anything I did above 5×7 was just completely disappointing, in that the colors were well off (very orange or pale)…Snapfish isn’t that much better imho.

For much better results (printed on much better paper with much better machines), go to Nelson’s in downtown off of India Street or the one in La Jolla….They don’t use the crap paper/machines, and the results are very consistent. (4×6 is 30 cents versus 13 at costco, and worth every penny)

http://www.nelsonphotosupplies.com/

Alternatively, go to Chrome in Mira Mesa (more expensive, but also pretty consistent).

HOME

[ucodegen]

Costco quality stinks imho…For me, it’s fine for stuff I don’t care about like holiday cards, or for pictures I give away…But for slightly more important stuff, it’s hard to get consistency at Costco, mostly probably because they don’t keep those machines well calibrated all the time.

I have had good luck with the Target near Balboa & Genesse. I am not certain of the Target in Mira Mesa. The Target near Balboa & Genesse has new machines, so they still work correctly. Their printing is oriented towards digital. I don’t know if they can even do film. The 8×10 is on to paper, the smaller sizes are thermal dye transfer. Another place for large prints would be Calumet in North County. One part that worries me about places like ‘Nelson’s is their ‘retouching’ of the image to ‘make it better’.

On top of this, our technicians will make sure that every photo print turns out just the way you want it by adjusting the color, the brightness and even cropping them if necessary.

I have had problems with some photoshops not leaving the image alone when I tell them to. Much of the retouching is geared to pocket cameras with poor contrast and cheap DSLRs with the plastic ‘kit lenses’. Putting a good quality image through those ‘auto retouch’ algorithms blows out the contrast.

Alternatively, go to Chrome in Mira Mesa (more expensive, but also pretty consistent).

Didn’t know of them.. though looking at their ‘scanning’ costs, I should go into business. My Nikon film scanner can do 35 negative film and slides as well as 120 base film slides, negatives and medical negatives(4×4 to 4×6). They are doing it at 300dpi and I scan at 4000dpi(optical). Their flatbed is a higher resolution, but I get nervous using a flatbed on film..

[ucodegen]

Costco quality stinks imho…For me, it’s fine for stuff I don’t care about like holiday cards, or for pictures I give away…But for slightly more important stuff, it’s hard to get consistency at Costco, mostly probably because they don’t keep those machines well calibrated all the time.

I have had good luck with the Target near Balboa & Genesse. I am not certain of the Target in Mira Mesa. The Target near Balboa & Genesse has new machines, so they still work correctly. Their printing is oriented towards digital. I don’t know if they can even do film. The 8×10 is on to paper, the smaller sizes are thermal dye transfer. Another place for large prints would be Calumet in North County. One part that worries me about places like ‘Nelson’s is their ‘retouching’ of the image to ‘make it better’.

On top of this, our technicians will make sure that every photo print turns out just the way you want it by adjusting the color, the brightness and even cropping them if necessary.

I have had problems with some photoshops not leaving the image alone when I tell them to. Much of the retouching is geared to pocket cameras with poor contrast and cheap DSLRs with the plastic ‘kit lenses’. Putting a good quality image through those ‘auto retouch’ algorithms blows out the contrast.

Alternatively, go to Chrome in Mira Mesa (more expensive, but also pretty consistent).

Didn’t know of them.. though looking at their ‘scanning’ costs, I should go into business. My Nikon film scanner can do 35 negative film and slides as well as 120 base film slides, negatives and medical negatives(4×4 to 4×6). They are doing it at 300dpi and I scan at 4000dpi(optical). Their flatbed is a higher resolution, but I get nervous using a flatbed on film..

[ucodegen]

Costco quality stinks imho…For me, it’s fine for stuff I don’t care about like holiday cards, or for pictures I give away…But for slightly more important stuff, it’s hard to get consistency at Costco, mostly probably because they don’t keep those machines well calibrated all the time.

I have had good luck with the Target near Balboa & Genesse. I am not certain of the Target in Mira Mesa. The Target near Balboa & Genesse has new machines, so they still work correctly. Their printing is oriented towards digital. I don’t know if they can even do film. The 8×10 is on to paper, the smaller sizes are thermal dye transfer. Another place for large prints would be Calumet in North County. One part that worries me about places like ‘Nelson’s is their ‘retouching’ of the image to ‘make it better’.

On top of this, our technicians will make sure that every photo print turns out just the way you want it by adjusting the color, the brightness and even cropping them if necessary.

I have had problems with some photoshops not leaving the image alone when I tell them to. Much of the retouching is geared to pocket cameras with poor contrast and cheap DSLRs with the plastic ‘kit lenses’. Putting a good quality image through those ‘auto retouch’ algorithms blows out the contrast.

Alternatively, go to Chrome in Mira Mesa (more expensive, but also pretty consistent).

Didn’t know of them.. though looking at their ‘scanning’ costs, I should go into business. My Nikon film scanner can do 35 negative film and slides as well as 120 base film slides, negatives and medical negatives(4×4 to 4×6). They are doing it at 300dpi and I scan at 4000dpi(optical). Their flatbed is a higher resolution, but I get nervous using a flatbed on film..

[ucodegen]

Costco quality stinks imho…For me, it’s fine for stuff I don’t care about like holiday cards, or for pictures I give away…But for slightly more important stuff, it’s hard to get consistency at Costco, mostly probably because they don’t keep those machines well calibrated all the time.

I have had good luck with the Target near Balboa & Genesse. I am not certain of the Target in Mira Mesa. The Target near Balboa & Genesse has new machines, so they still work correctly. Their printing is oriented towards digital. I don’t know if they can even do film. The 8×10 is on to paper, the smaller sizes are thermal dye transfer. Another place for large prints would be Calumet in North County. One part that worries me about places like ‘Nelson’s is their ‘retouching’ of the image to ‘make it better’.

On top of this, our technicians will make sure that every photo print turns out just the way you want it by adjusting the color, the brightness and even cropping them if necessary.

I have had problems with some photoshops not leaving the image alone when I tell them to. Much of the retouching is geared to pocket cameras with poor contrast and cheap DSLRs with the plastic ‘kit lenses’. Putting a good quality image through those ‘auto retouch’ algorithms blows out the contrast.

Alternatively, go to Chrome in Mira Mesa (more expensive, but also pretty consistent).

Didn’t know of them.. though looking at their ‘scanning’ costs, I should go into business. My Nikon film scanner can do 35 negative film and slides as well as 120 base film slides, negatives and medical negatives(4×4 to 4×6). They are doing it at 300dpi and I scan at 4000dpi(optical). Their flatbed is a higher resolution, but I get nervous using a flatbed on film..

[Author]

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