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… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

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Tick tock motherfuckers!

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

T R E 4 5 O N

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

If West Virginia and San Francisco had a love child.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

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It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Complications, Complications

Complications, Complications

by $8 blue check mistermix|  December 29, 20133:31 pm| 103 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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I decided to convene a death panel of one and pull the plug on my ancient LaserJet printer this morning. It had been printing in funny colors for a long time, and today it started leaving poop marks on the page. I’ve cleaned it out and changed cartridges and it’s still doing it, so euthanasia was the answer.

The new HP Color LaserJet I purchased was cheap (since it’s just a ploy to get you to buy cartridges — a full cartridge load costs more than the printer) and full of features. You can print from a smartphone, from anywhere on earth, using Google Cloud Print or HP’s ePrint.  You can print over a wired or wireless network, or directly connected to your computer.

It’s a great device, but I have no idea how regular folks configure the damn thing. This is the second HP networked color printer I’ve set up this year (the other was for my brother) and both of them have required a little bit of troubleshooting and basic network configuration. Two different networks, two different PCs (a Mac and a Windows 7 machine) and two problems. The fix involved stuff I’ve done for 20+ years so it wasn’t a big deal, but I know that Joe Average Computer User would have been stuck.

These are the bog-standard, entry-level HP devices. Millions are sold every year. I either hit the jackpot twice, or people are spending many hours on the phone talking to HP support to get these printers working. I wonder how many other devices are like this.

Here’s another open thread to discuss your computer woes, or anything else.

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Reader Interactions

103Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    December 29, 2013 at 3:33 pm

    It had been printing in funny colors for a long time, and today it started leaving poop marks on the page

    NSA finally got tired of your shit. #inbeforeCassidy

  2. 2.

    bewleys

    December 29, 2013 at 3:34 pm

    Go BRONCO’S!!

  3. 3.

    MomSense

    December 29, 2013 at 3:38 pm

    I keep having to reconfigure my hp after it freaks out and stops working so I get to keep experiencing the joy of setting it up over and over and over. It is ridiculous how many times it is actually faster and easier for me to go to the library to print something.

  4. 4.

    MattF

    December 29, 2013 at 3:39 pm

    FWIW, I have an HP Officejet, and I’ve never been able to configure the network stuff. It’s been plugged directly into my iMac for several years, and I expect that it will stay that way. A friend of mine at work (who is an electrical engineer) has the same setup, same iMac, same printer– and from his description, got the printer networking to function several years ago more or less by accident.

    So, IMO, I’d say HP is to blame here.

  5. 5.

    Schlemizel

    December 29, 2013 at 3:39 pm

    We broke down & got rid of our old printer. Its not that it was not still working well but nobody carries the color cartridges for it any more & online they cost more than a new printer. Thats just evil that I have to stop using perfectly good tool becue Its more ecpensive to get ink that to buy a new printer

  6. 6.

    Baud

    December 29, 2013 at 3:41 pm

    The printer market sucks. I would support socialized printing.

  7. 7.

    ? Martin

    December 29, 2013 at 3:43 pm

    @MattF:

    So, IMO, I’d say HP is to blame here.

    Yeah. There’s no reason why printers don’t just provide CUPS drivers and leave it at that.

  8. 8.

    cckids

    December 29, 2013 at 3:45 pm

    @MomSense:

    I keep having to reconfigure my hp after it freaks out and stops working so I get to keep experiencing the joy of setting it up over and over and over.

    THIS. Our HP is the glitchiest POS I’ve ever owned. It is being replaced in January, and I cannot wait. I really want an appointment with the old one & a sledgehammer.

  9. 9.

    taylormattd

    December 29, 2013 at 3:45 pm

    I have never once been able to get my HP “wireless” printer to print a single fucking thing wirelessly. Ever. This is the third one. It’s connected wirelessly. Can you print to it? Of course not.

  10. 10.

    JordanRules

    December 29, 2013 at 3:46 pm

    I blame Meg. HP’s partner portal and new pricing model for resellers has gotten stupid when the idea was to simpify. Instead, we get 5 pages to click thru to get to a page where we can finally see the end-users bid letter. Its pathetic.

    Atlanta gets the ball back. Oh boy.

  11. 11.

    raven

    December 29, 2013 at 3:50 pm

    @JordanRules: And gets the shit sacked out of Ryan.

  12. 12.

    ruemara

    December 29, 2013 at 3:51 pm

    I have a wireless HP Photosmart configured to print over the network from my Mac & my Dell. Then I upgraded routers and it failed to be found by either at random times. I had to hard connect to print. Now, I’ve resolved some of my issues (network, mentally I’m still borked) and it’s fine. Check you ip settings through your router. I didn’t do static, it’s still a dynamic ip setting, but I had to make sure it stopped trying to impress the printer and the NAS with the prior IPs from the old router. Good luck, but when it works, it’s mighty convenient. I must say, I still can’t get it to work over wan.

  13. 13.

    ? Martin

    December 29, 2013 at 3:55 pm

    @JordanRules:

    I blame Meg.

    HP was fucking up their printer business way before Meg.

  14. 14.

    Corner Stone

    December 29, 2013 at 4:03 pm

    ATL doing their best Texans impersonation.

  15. 15.

    raven

    December 29, 2013 at 4:03 pm

    @Corner Stone: Jesus that was ugly. GO BEARS!

  16. 16.

    Mark S.

    December 29, 2013 at 4:03 pm

    I can’t believe the Steelers still have a shot at the playoffs. Has Cole even watched them in the past two months?

  17. 17.

    srv

    December 29, 2013 at 4:04 pm

    Well, serves you right, you tree murderers. You’re worse than the NSA.

    You know the printers leave color tags on the paper that allow the gov’t to figure out you printed it?

    I just don’t understand how people buy the things. There has never been any piece of tech that has been more mass-produced to look like a shitty piece of crap.

    Obligatory Office Space:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLk-3HPS12Q

    Apparently, a NSFW version of this doesn’t exist anymore.

  18. 18.

    jayboat

    December 29, 2013 at 4:04 pm

    @Schlemizel:

    Thats just evil that I have to stop using perfectly good tool becue Its more ecpensive to get ink that to buy a new printer

    This. A thousand freaking times this.

    I had an epson 2400 for years. Great printer, great design. 8 small cartridges- plug right into the back of the print head- never had a clog – not made for years but available on ebay for first born and mortgage. I finally had to throw it out because I was only using it for boarding passes and postage labels after I bought a large format monster*. Such a waste- really beginning to feel like we live in a disposable society.

    * No sympathy fer yer ink sob stories — 12 inks @ $75 ea.

  19. 19.

    Mark S.

    December 29, 2013 at 4:04 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    Yeah, that sure didn’t look like Peyton Manning running the two minute offense.

  20. 20.

    SectionH

    December 29, 2013 at 4:05 pm

    I hate hate hate, loathe, and despise HP. It’s too bad, because once upon a time they made good products. When I finally fled from them to Epson, the relief was tremendous.

    Epson ain’t perfect and the durability of the last R2000 I bought is in question, but setting one up is so incredibly easy. How easy? Well, for the Worldcon in Yokohama, I bought an Epson printer sold only in Japan (still the wide carriage, photo quality kind with ultra chrome ink) and installed it and ran it even though all the documentation was entirely in Japanese. And I don’t know any Japanese. It worked perfectly.

  21. 21.

    sb

    December 29, 2013 at 4:07 pm

    Monks reference in the title?

  22. 22.

    Lizzy L

    December 29, 2013 at 4:09 pm

    I’ve used HP printers for 30 years, but when my last B & W Laserjet finally bit the dust, about a month ago, I got a Brother. So many people have reported problems with HP, I didn’t want to risk having the workhorse printer flake on me in the middle of my heaviest work season. I have a cheap printer/fax/copier which I use a lot less, and that one is a two year old HP. Both are wireless, but I have never used the wireless feature: too damn much trouble.

  23. 23.

    raven

    December 29, 2013 at 4:09 pm

    @Mark S.: Well the center snapped the goddamn ball when Ryan had his hear turned, what’s that got to do with Manning?

  24. 24.

    The Other Bob

    December 29, 2013 at 4:11 pm

    I just got a Mac and need a new printer. Was going to just buy an HP…just because. I am not a computer nerd any longer, so simplicity would be preferred.

    If anyone has a better suggestion, I am all ears. I’d like to print wirelessly.

  25. 25.

    Mark S.

    December 29, 2013 at 4:12 pm

    @raven:

    Just that Manning usually has a little more success in a two minute offense.

  26. 26.

    Baud

    December 29, 2013 at 4:13 pm

    Congrats to Panther fans on winning the South. Hopefully, the Saints will be returning to Bank of America stadium in the playoffs.

  27. 27.

    burnspbesq

    December 29, 2013 at 4:13 pm

    Never, ever had any problems getting either of my HP OfficeJet Pro 8500s (one at home, one at the office) to print or scan wirelessly.

    Don’t know what to tell you.

  28. 28.

    dp

    December 29, 2013 at 4:15 pm

    I hope you gave it the full “Office Space” treatment!

  29. 29.

    Baud

    December 29, 2013 at 4:16 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    Witch!

  30. 30.

    burnspbesq

    December 29, 2013 at 4:17 pm

    @Baud:

    Witch!

    Warlock, actually.

  31. 31.

    Baud

    December 29, 2013 at 4:19 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    Doesn’t have the same ring to it. Maybe . . . Sorcerer!?

  32. 32.

    burnspbesq

    December 29, 2013 at 4:19 pm

    I have a feeling I may have been one of the last people on earth to see this, but it cracked me up when I saw it yesterday.

    http://imgur.com/XISUGWl

  33. 33.

    cmorenc

    December 29, 2013 at 4:19 pm

    My Cannon MP640R was extremely easy to set up and configure, other than the clumsy dial-a-character system you have to use to input the password for the wireless network you plan to use for it. Beautiful, crisp print, both B&W and color.

    The only downside is that it requires five color cartridges (one large black, one each of cyan, magenta, and yellow, and for some inscrutible reason, a smaller black cartridge as well) – and it DRINKS ink. It’s never very long before one or the other of the cartridges starts producing “low ink warnings”, although I’ve found it’s substantially longer before the cartridge in question truly runs empty. But when that happens, it can be a bit of a PITA sometimes to cajole the printer into letting you print something with just the remaining cartridges for prints where color fidelity isn’t really important.

  34. 34.

    pete

    December 29, 2013 at 4:20 pm

    Oh dear. I have a fine old HP Laserjet 1200 (approx 12 y/o) — b/w only but decent resolution — that is getting kind of cranky, especially with reused paper. It tells me it has printed 93432 pages, of which 84 were jammed (almost always my fault, hand-feeding too fast). It will soon be time to replace the old dear. Color would be nice, occasionally, but not needed for 99% of what I do. Wireless would make life easier (occasionally) for my partner & for her daughters when they visit.
    Any recommendations?

  35. 35.

    SectionH

    December 29, 2013 at 4:20 pm

    @jayboat: I have an Epson R1900 stranded in Australia since 2010. I likethat printer, better than the 2000, but no one there seemed to want it, and no one here wants the cartridges for it. UPS wanted more for shipping than the printer and ink together cost.

    The ink for the 2000 is pushing $50/ a cartridge, but the cartridges seem to hold more ink than the older ones did. I’m glad I only need the cheapest (ahhem) version of the ultra chrome printers.

  36. 36.

    raven

    December 29, 2013 at 4:21 pm

    @Mark S.: Got ya. Ryan had a great deal of success until this year, not on the level of one of the greatest QB’s ever but still. . .

  37. 37.

    dmsilev

    December 29, 2013 at 4:22 pm

    @Lizzy L: Second the recommendation for Brother laser printers. I’ve had my little one for several years now, it was a breeze to set up (hardwired Ethernet rather than WiFi) and haven’t had any problems with it.

  38. 38.

    raven

    December 29, 2013 at 4:23 pm

    Bear down, Chicago Bears,
    Make every play clear the way to victory.
    Bear down, Chicago Bears,
    Put up a fight with a might so fearlessly.
    We’ll never forget the way you thrilled the nation,
    With your T-formation.
    Bear down, Chicago Bears,
    And let them know why you’re wearing the crown.
    You’re the pride and joy of Illinois,
    Chicago Bears, bear down.

  39. 39.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    December 29, 2013 at 4:24 pm

    Computer woes: Mr. Q got me a new Lenovo, which declined to start. Why, you may wonder. Well, because Lenovo neglected to install the operating system which was purchased with the machine. A month and a half later, a new one is getting shipped. After many back and fourths, including a recovery disk without a valid registry key.

  40. 40.

    JordanRules

    December 29, 2013 at 4:26 pm

    @? Martin: True indeed. I’m not a fan of hers and the other stuff I mentioned are surely on her watch. Our Partner Business Manager starts telling us about changes by saying “As you know, Meg really wants to simplify things for the partners…” That is not what they did.

  41. 41.

    WereBear

    December 29, 2013 at 4:27 pm

    Brother is a good company to go with for laser: durable, hooks right up, works with Macs (a sore point from the past.)

    I’ve never had a good experience with inkjets. Great idea, but you pay for everyone of those color copies; and you wildly overpay for your B&W ones.

  42. 42.

    MattF

    December 29, 2013 at 4:29 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Um, wow. So, ‘final checkout’ consists of someone checking off a box with the caption ‘Appears to be a computer.’

  43. 43.

    raven

    December 29, 2013 at 4:29 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Where ya bean frijole?

  44. 44.

    gogol's wife

    December 29, 2013 at 4:30 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    Funny. But Taylor needs a little less makeup to make it really convincing.

  45. 45.

    pete

    December 29, 2013 at 4:32 pm

    If Cole ever reads this blog, he might find this, um, interesting:

    Sometimes footballers are unfairly criticised for apparent stupidity and reckless abandon, while on other occasions it appears to be more justified. ED will leave you to make up your own minds after reading this blog, but Liverpool’s Andre Wisdom may have not quite lived up to his name in this situation. The Premier League defender was forced to leave his £100,000 Porsche abandoned in a muddy trough after his satellite navigation system led him through the country roads.

    There are photos.

  46. 46.

    JordanRules

    December 29, 2013 at 4:33 pm

    @raven: Twice even! Yeeesh! Panther D looks mean and ready.

  47. 47.

    Yatsuno

    December 29, 2013 at 4:34 pm

    Opie is here! Haven’t broken into the food yet but it’s coming…

    Oh and TOUCHDOWN SEAHAWKS!!!

  48. 48.

    Viva BrisVegas

    December 29, 2013 at 4:37 pm

    @dmsilev: Third the recommendation for Brother laser printers. B&W only of course.

    The only reason to buy an inkjet printer is for colour. Nobody really needs colour, except maybe for the kid’s homework. Even then I say that if the teacher wants it it colour, give him/her a box of crayons to finish it off themselves.

    HP printers have been piles of junk for years now.

  49. 49.

    raven

    December 29, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    The Bears and Packers in a death match and ya’ll saps are talking about fucking printers.

  50. 50.

    MBL

    December 29, 2013 at 4:41 pm

    My last three printers have all been lasers precisely because I refuse to deal with the expense and aggravation involved with color ink. I think I’ve needed color prints maybe three or four times in the last eight or nine years and I’ve just taken them to Kinko’s or Meijer to print from there for a few cents a page. It’s just not worth it to me to deal with the nonsense of inkjets.

  51. 51.

    raven

    December 29, 2013 at 4:42 pm

    NOW IT’S BENGHAZI!!!!! Snowden next.

  52. 52.

    burnspbesq

    December 29, 2013 at 4:43 pm

    @raven:

    The Bears and Packers in a death match and ya’ll saps are talking about fucking printers.

    Is our indifference interfering with your enjoyment of the game? That’s … interesting.

  53. 53.

    raven

    December 29, 2013 at 4:43 pm

    “Gee grandpa, you had a Harley. No, we bought aluminum siding (and a printer).

  54. 54.

    raven

    December 29, 2013 at 4:44 pm

    @burnspbesq: Nah, I’m having fun.

  55. 55.

    raven

    December 29, 2013 at 4:45 pm

    PICK BEARS!!!!!

  56. 56.

    bewleys

    December 29, 2013 at 4:47 pm

    Bronco’s win Superbowl.

  57. 57.

    Baud

    December 29, 2013 at 4:48 pm

    @Yatsuno:

    I have to root for SF as insurance. Sorry.

  58. 58.

    raven

    December 29, 2013 at 4:53 pm

    TOUCHDOWN CHICAGO BEARS!!!!!

  59. 59.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    December 29, 2013 at 4:53 pm

    @raven: Hiya! Wiid ballgame! I was envious to read the menu for your stopover on the way home. I hope the Princess didn’t get too worn out by the driving.

    The last week here was a whirlwind after I got an email from my ex’s best bud in Cleveland that ex (in this town) was not well and 911 responders had cleared him as fine, but landlord reported to sister that he wasn’t fine. Sister calls other sister who calls drummer in Cleveland who emails me.

    After much back and forth, we drive down and call from the sidewalk. Clearly ex is not well – nearly not lucid. so I’m back to 911 to get fokls there. The Sgt I’d spoken with to get details of original saw the address and responded along with a beat officer. Then two others arrived and the landlord let them in as well. 45 minutes later they have persuaded ex to accept a ride to the psych ER (separate here from general one), and off the took him.

    That required another round of calls to get the update chain started. It was 3Am when we got home. Then Monday was consumed with more update reporting and included a call from an examining psychiatrist. She let me have a vote and they kept him for observation.

    He got sprung yesterday and I sent an email, to which he’s responded with 2 voicemails. Did I mention that I’m tired?

    Happy New Year everyone. I have to tear down my work office tomorrow as our lease is up at the end of the month, so I’m likely to be scarce in comments. (Which I’ve clearly made up for in advance with this comment).

  60. 60.

    raven

    December 29, 2013 at 4:58 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Holy smokes! He’s lucky you hung with him.

  61. 61.

    rikyrah

    December 29, 2013 at 5:08 pm

    Saturday, December 28, 2013

    The ACA is killing off a college plague: junk student insurance

    One type of junk health insurance that the ACA is doing away with is the
    kind of crappy policy that many colleges used to push on their
    students. (There is one loophole extended to Jan. 1, 2015, explained below.) BusinessWeek exposed this scam in 2008:

    More than half of the insurance plans recommended by colleges offer
    benefits of $30,000 or less, according to a survey published in March by
    the General Accounting Office, an arm of Congress. Many plans have
    further limits that prevent payout of even modest maximums. While
    two-thirds of the country’s more than 17 million college students have
    coverage from a parent’s employer or their own job, many of the rest may
    be vulnerable if they suffer a serious illness or accident. With
    premiums and restrictions increasing under employer-provided plans, a
    growing number of parents are shifting children to college-sponsored
    coverage. But “when a student gets gravely sick, $30,000 in benefits is
    unrealistically low,” says Alan Sager, a professor at Boston
    University’s School of Public Health.

    Indeed. BusinessWeek reporters Ben Elgin and Jessica
    Silver-Greenberg spotlighted a 19 year-old college kid who came down
    with a rare nervous system disease, for which the college plan, offered
    by UnitedHealthcare, reimbursed just $22,800 of the $206,325 bill for 19
    days of intensive care (ultimately leaving the family on the hook for
    $265,000 in hospital and doctor bills).

    The ACA banned lifetime coverage caps upon passage and phased out annual caps. This year, colleges were allowed to cap coverage at $500,000 for a year; as of January 1, annual caps are illegal.

    College health insurance plans are exempt from certain ACA requirements — for example, they don’t have to guarantee coverage to plan members who lose their student status, and insurers are allowed to maintain a separate risk pool for college plan members, rather than including them in the general individual market risk pool. But as of January 1, 2014, student health insurance plans must cover all essential health benefits mandated by the ACA, including free preventive (e.g., contraceptive) services.

    http://xpostfactoid.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-aca-is-killing-off-college-plague.html

  62. 62.

    RAM

    December 29, 2013 at 5:09 pm

    My wife’s little cheap Epson inkjet died so we bought a cheap HP 3000 wireless injket to replace it–it was on sale at Office Max. The first time I tried setting it up I couldn’t get the wireless to work so we USBed it for a couple years. But then my wife wanted to print emails from her iPhone so I reinstalled the driver and paid extremely careful attention and, by golly, got it to work with our home WiFi system and both our MacBooks. We also downloaded the app that allows us to print from our iPhones, which is cool but, for us at least, not particularly useful.

    Me, I’ve got a Brother DCP-8085 AIO for serious laser printing and an Epson Stylus Photo R300 for printing photos and CDs and DVDs. Both have been very dependable and for my home printing, those Brother laser cartridges last a LONG time.

  63. 63.

    lurker dean

    December 29, 2013 at 5:20 pm

    totally agree with you mistermix, it’s absurd how much networking expertise you need to use so many of today’s wireless devices. i have 2 newish laptops that i run with usb wireless nubs because i cant be bothered to figure out why their internal wireless stopped working when windows 8 upgraded. i have an engineering background and i dont want to slog through this crap, i can only imagine what the average user feels when this stuff inevitably pops up.

  64. 64.

    jayboat

    December 29, 2013 at 5:24 pm

    @SectionH:
    I tried a used large format epson at first, thinking I could make it work. haha

    Have been quite happy with the Canon IPF Prograf. Unlike most here, I actually make a little $$$ with my printer and needed something that could deliver (unlike Romo). Very complex machine- incredible software- will re-program nozzles on the fly if a clog occurs. The printheads, which are user-changeable, use heat to keep the flow going.

    I love technology, embrace it… but damn, we leave a lot of waste along the roadside.

  65. 65.

    Corner Stone

    December 29, 2013 at 5:28 pm

    @lurker dean:

    i have 2 newish laptops

    I first read that as “2 jewish laptops”.
    I’m…not really sure where to go from there…

  66. 66.

    pete

    December 29, 2013 at 5:29 pm

    @Corner Stone: They’re real smart and complain a lot? [I kid, I kid]

  67. 67.

    Schlemizel

    December 29, 2013 at 5:31 pm

    @jayboat: YIKES! The Cannon we had(well have, I can’t bring myself to actually send it to a land fill in China yet) takes 9 cartridges at $26 each. Its just ridiculous

  68. 68.

    Corner Stone

    December 29, 2013 at 5:31 pm

    One of my suburban neighbors has decided to burn wet wood in some kind of outdoor fire pit. Basically any time the weather is 70 degrees F or less.
    It’s like breathing fucking tar. I can’t open any windows or doors to get fresh air in because the whole place becomes coated like I live in a BBQ joint.
    I’m thinking evil thoughts, at this point.

  69. 69.

    skwerlhugger

    December 29, 2013 at 5:49 pm

    @? Martin: Carly!

    I’ve got an HP Photosmart 6520 that works great, although I had to buy a weird refill kit that forces ink back into the cartridge from the bottom. It works great too, so far, just odd. And 1/10 the price of new cartridges.

  70. 70.

    Ruckus

    December 29, 2013 at 5:50 pm

    The last 3 printers before the current one were HP. But they all died about the same kind of death as yours and I had problems getting each one to work. Decided to go with Cannon and boom it worked right off the bat. Plug in, download the driver and done. I’ve since replaced the first computer and with the Mac it was even easier. The Cannon cartridges cost about the same as the HP but I found aftermarket online, $9 for an entire set. They work fine, the printer is better than the HP, blah, blah, blah. I’ve owned HP calculators, computers, plotters, printers, but their total lack of quality lost them a very long time customer. We are talking over 20 yrs worth of long time.

  71. 71.

    Ruckus

    December 29, 2013 at 5:51 pm

    @Corner Stone:
    Does your neighbor comment here?

  72. 72.

    Corner Stone

    December 29, 2013 at 5:58 pm

    @Ruckus: I’ve already asked them to use dry wood. And so have half a dozen other people. Not much you can do besides that.
    WHITE PEOPLE’S PROBLEMS, AMIRITE!?

  73. 73.

    Poopyman

    December 29, 2013 at 5:58 pm

    Just as a data point, I simply punted and print over the USB connection from a single desktop.

  74. 74.

    pat

    December 29, 2013 at 6:03 pm

    I ruined a HP Photosmart by buying refilled cartridges. It will only print in black now, and for some reason I couldnt’ get it to go wireless after the last trip of the laptop to the computer repair guys.

    My hp psc 750/720 still works great, connected to a desktop.

  75. 75.

    cwolf

    December 29, 2013 at 6:12 pm

    The HP Universal Print Driver is the single driver that gives users instant access to a range of HP print devices–in the office or on the road–without downloading separate drivers.
    In other words the HP Universal driver probably will work with your stuff.
    http://h20331.www2.hp.com/hpsub/cache/343033-0-0-225-121.html
    Just click on ‘Download Software’ then follow the breadcrumbs.
    If you can’t install the above HP printer software then___
    Put your PCs, printers, etc., back in their boxes & take them back to where you acquired them.
    Get a refund if you can.
    You are too stupid to own a computer.

  76. 76.

    Comrade Mary

    December 29, 2013 at 6:18 pm

    One word for toner: eBay. My Laserjet 1012 (which has to be at least 8 years old and has been in heavy use as my business printer) has taken very nicely to the cartridges I get through a friendly seller on eBay for $20, free shipping. There is no need to pay $75 or more for toner EVER.

  77. 77.

    Comrade Mary

    December 29, 2013 at 6:20 pm

    @Lizzy L: … but yes, when this printer finally bites the dust, I’ll probably get a Brother.

  78. 78.

    Steve S

    December 29, 2013 at 6:29 pm

    w/r/t the cartridges, an engineering prof at my alma mater bought inkjets, and when the ink ran out, would throw them away and buy a new one, saying it was much cheaper. I never verified the story, but maybe he was right.

  79. 79.

    baxie

    December 29, 2013 at 6:36 pm

    I have a couple year old HP Pixima that I recently activated the wireless on- it found the network and everything is peachy (using a couple year old Netgear router).

    as for ink, order ‘reconditioned’ cartridges from Amazon. I’ve been doing this for years and have only had one ‘bum’ cartridge that the printer didn’t recognize as “Official HP” or whatever- it still worked, but the printer would squack at me whenever I turned it off and back on.

    here’s the one I’ve been using for the past few months- 13 cartridges, nine bucks, free shipping with Prime:
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030U9OTK/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

  80. 80.

    baxie

    December 29, 2013 at 6:36 pm

    I have a couple year old HP Pixima that I recently activated the wireless on- it found the network and everything is peachy (using a couple year old Netgear router).

    as for ink, order ‘reconditioned’ cartridges from Amazon. I’ve been doing this for years and have only had one ‘bum’ cartridge that the printer didn’t recognize as “Official HP” or whatever- it still worked, but the printer would squack at me whenever I turned it off and back on.

    here’s the one I’ve been using for the past few months- 13 cartridges, nine bucks, free shipping with Prime:
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030U9OTK/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

  81. 81.

    Wayne

    December 29, 2013 at 6:48 pm

    I put a pick ax through my HP a few years back and swore them off forever.

    If Black and white only, another vote for Brother.
    I bought (2) HL-2170W, refurbished and use generic cartridges.
    Cheap to use but great quality print.

  82. 82.

    Glocksman

    December 29, 2013 at 6:58 pm

    @dmsilev:

    I retired my LJ1200 when Windows 7 came out and bought a wireless Brother with auto duplexing (neat!) for $178, which was a hell of a bargain at the time.

    To make the bargain even sweeter, I was able to max out the installed memory with an old laptop DIMM from my parts drawer.
    The only issue I’ve had with it was that every once in a while the printer and the wifi network’s DHCP would conflict.

    Setting the printer to a static IP fixed that little problem.

    I highly recommend Brother lasers to anyone looking for a decent printer.
    10 years ago, that would have been HP, but not any more.

  83. 83.

    Glocksman

    December 29, 2013 at 7:00 pm

    @Steve S:

    He was, until the printer makers stopped including full carts with the printers and started shipping them with ‘starter’ cartridges that print about a quarter of what a full cart does.

  84. 84.

    dww44

    December 29, 2013 at 7:07 pm

    @Viva BrisVegas: How many years, do you know? As I’ve a working HP officejet v40 that works mostly perfectly. It’s about 12 or so years old. Ink cartridges are way too expensive and getting very difficult to find. Anyone have a source?

  85. 85.

    mainmata

    December 29, 2013 at 7:13 pm

    By coincidence, our HP printer/scanner/copier also died after 6 years of good service. It simply stopped printing no matter what we did. So we bought an Epson XP-810. Also one of those you can print from anywhere. Pretty easy setup however compared to your HP, evidently.

  86. 86.

    Central Planning

    December 29, 2013 at 7:15 pm

    @Lizzy L:

    I got a Brother.

    +1

    I replaced an aging Xerox Phaser (2003 vintage) with the color Brother Laserjet about a month ago. It’s been great – easy to setup, the driver download is a little clunky, and it prints from every device we have (iDevices) and mac/windows/linux laptops. It’s connected to my wireless network.

    it was cheap (~$200) with great reviews. Got it at officemax.

  87. 87.

    Ruckus

    December 29, 2013 at 7:25 pm

    @Wayne:
    I find that a multi story building works just as good. Has to be a least 3 stories with roof access for the best effect though.

    Makes a nice noise when they stop gaining speed.

  88. 88.

    Ruckus

    December 29, 2013 at 7:27 pm

    @Ruckus:

    Sometimes I just aim too high.

    Sigh.

  89. 89.

    Cervantes

    December 29, 2013 at 7:54 pm

    Here is why your printers are not working properly.

  90. 90.

    seaboogie

    December 29, 2013 at 8:21 pm

    @Cervantes: Nuh Uh….this is why: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/printers

    Appreciate all the printer feedback as I am needing to purchase one. Will not be an HP. Not just because of the feedback here, but I’ve had 2 HP PC’s go “plink!”- and gone – like a blind date out the restaurant’s bathroom window.

  91. 91.

    Roxy

    December 29, 2013 at 8:34 pm

    Another vote for the Brother wireless printer. Got one a couple of years ago. Plugged it in, set up was easy, and we can print wirelessly from the desktop, pc laptops, and I-pads. Love the single color cartridges. Let’s you know when one color is getting low.

  92. 92.

    Wayne

    December 29, 2013 at 8:35 pm

    @Ruckus: Should have sent it to David Letterman, he used to have a routine of throwing stuff off a roof.

  93. 93.

    SectionH

    December 29, 2013 at 9:11 pm

    @jayboat:

    (Late back to the thread; we’ve been riding the Coaster and San Diego trolleys this afternoon.)

    We have wide carriage printers because we use them for our business. We used to have HPs, and aside from the having to reboot the system when there was a printer error, which happened several times a day and nearly drove me around the twist, the ink quality issues we ran into nearly ruined our business.

    With that in mind, I’d pay $100/cartridge for Epson’s ultra chrome ink.

    I’m with you on the waste, though. It’s frustrating that every single printer failure, HP or Epson, has been with the paper feed. Nothing else. I am still using an HP laser jet 4L which shows no signs of quitting. I did inherit that one from my aunt, though. I say it was owned by a little old lady who only printed on Sundays.

  94. 94.

    Jasmine Bleach

    December 29, 2013 at 9:20 pm

    @The Other Bob:

    I just got a Mac and need a new printer. Was going to just buy an HP…just because. I am not a computer nerd any longer, so simplicity would be preferred.

    If anyone has a better suggestion, I am all ears. I’d like to print wirelessly.

    We just got a Brother multifunction printer (an MFC-J870DW model if you’re interested). Setting it up and initial use has been fantastic so far, and the reviews are pretty good for Brother models. Comes with built-in WiFi and is AirPrint (AirPlay?) compatible with Macs and iPads/iPhones as well as with wireless technologies from Microsoft and Google. About $130 at Newegg.

    Only downside so far is we discovered it doesn’t have an alternate paper source feed–sometimes we want to put in a single sheet of special paper to print a fancy letter or something, and the old Cannon we’re replacing had an alternate paper feed in the back of it. However, this downside has been offset by the positives of an actual document feeder in the Brother, wireless printing from anywhere, a much clearer and easy to use interface, and a very straightforward toner installation setup. Also, there is very little noise when it prints, which surprised us (our older printers whined and cranked like the cheap pieces they are).

    This Brother replaced a Cannon inkjet that was absolute crap (and broke recently), which replaced an HP inkjet that was absolute crap. HP printers stink nowadays and have for quite a while. Lest anyone think I have something against HP, we used to have an HP LaserWriter that we got back in the 90s that was the best printer we ever had and just decommissioned it about a year ago–it could only print in black and white, but the print quality was superb, the toner would last for years without change, and it was fast (and the unit itself lasted forever).

    Can you tell we just got a new printer?!?

  95. 95.

    Jasmine Bleach

    December 29, 2013 at 9:27 pm

    Just looked at Newegg and it seems the cost went up to $149. We must have gotten in on a holiday deal of some sort.

    Just FYI.

  96. 96.

    Origuy

    December 29, 2013 at 9:28 pm

    I work at HP, though not in the printer or PC divisions. The driver software has given me a lot of problems,too. I buy a lot of HP stuff since I get employee discount. Check the support page on the website for driver updates. It took ages before I was able to scan wirelessly with my 6580.
    As for the cartridges that come with the printer, the docs say that these have a primer that has to go through the printer the first time it’s used. The printer won’t let you use a regular cartridge.

    IMO, Carly broke HP; Meg is fixing it. It’s taking a while though.

  97. 97.

    jayboat

    December 29, 2013 at 9:30 pm

    Ditto on ebay for consumables and avoiding HP at all cost.

    I acquired my first Prograf about 5 years ago and there was very little ink in the ebay pipeline. Now is a different story and I keep a close watch for deals on ink and paper. Lately have been a bit amazed at what I’ve found. These printers are very thrifty on ink usage- I’ve never considered using aftermarket but I see the attraction for general office use.

    Canon spent a billion dollars developing the Prograf printheads – recently they released an EX line to their Lucia inks with a fadeproof rating of 250 years. I lurve me some tecknologee.

  98. 98.

    Eric U.

    December 29, 2013 at 9:37 pm

    my wife/daughter teamed up to buy a cannon wireless printer which just works. It even works on linux.

    HP put me through hell a couple of years ago since their driver had a bug in it that would just run the computer full tilt trying to break through the windows firewall, which simply wasn’t going to happen. It would continue to do that for as long as you let it.

    HP knew of the problem, they just didn’t do anything about it.

    I still buy hp printers at work. The networked duplex printers work great. The drivers are a little clunky, but they work. Only problem is I can’t figure out who is printing to my printer

  99. 99.

    Ruckus

    December 29, 2013 at 11:08 pm

    @Wayne:
    Where do you think he got it?

  100. 100.

    Dude in Jersey

    December 29, 2013 at 11:09 pm

    @bewleys: Who’s “Bronco”? And what belonging to him or her should go?

  101. 101.

    Ivan X

    December 29, 2013 at 11:28 pm

    Like any good doctor, I wish that the damn things would be designed better so people could have happier lives, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t have a business if it all Just Worked.

  102. 102.

    HeartlandLiberal

    December 30, 2013 at 9:01 am

    If you are just putting the HP printer on your network, with its own IP number, I recommend then going to the HP support site, locating, and then downloading the x32 and / or x64 latest versions of the installable printer drivers. Then install the correct version for whatever your OS and version are on your computers, locally on each machine. I have two new Windows 8.1 machines up and running, and they would see and automatically install the printer, but obviously based on minimal drivers delivered with Windows. Remove the printer from devices and printers, then run the install, I use the universal PCL 6 versions. I select the traditional fixed single printer setup, which is OK is you don’t need to rotate among multiple printers. After the install, you will have the full options for creating different setups for printing, and you can set which one you want as your default configuration for a print job, or select as needed from a menu, black and white, color, single side, duplex, etc.

  103. 103.

    Jay C

    December 30, 2013 at 12:35 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    I first read that as “2 jewish laptops”.
    I’m…not really sure where to go from there…

    They’re just like regular laptops: the just read from right to left…..

    Anyway, count me in as a definite non-fan of Hellish Products: I just recently went through a round of juggling one new and two older all-in-ones between City, country and work: we got a new Epson for home, moved an older Brother to the country, and I took the HP to my office, due to its sole virtue of having an easier envelope feed. Otherwise, it’s a piece of junk: hard to network, prone to ink problems (like alerts for “used or counterfeit cartridges” – which I bought new at Staples), cluttering Windows with adware, and with a tech-support network that’s like a bad parody of Third-World outsourcing: and who rarely, if ever, could solve my problems. Too bad, because HP used to be a good brand: I’ve noticed their product quality declining steadily over the last decade: the 6500 I have now will probably be may last.

    The Epson and Brother machines are, by comparison, easy-peasy to set up and use. And without all the annoying adware. Printing envelopes is a major PITA, though, but nobody’s perfect…..

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