Snow Leopard & Me (veers off main topic)

[John McGhie]

I have to get a new printer and soon... I'm zeroing in on an Epson
Stylus Photo 1400.

Will the SL drivers work with it? Apparently it ships with a CD-ROM with
Mac and Windows drivers. Will they work under SL?

Hi Matt:

The Epson Stylus is a very good range.

However: If it does not SAY "Snow Leopard" on the Epson website, then the
answer is "No!"

(Yes, I know, you can get almost anything to work using CUPS, but you need
to be relatively technically expert to do so: my suggestion would be 'Don't
buy anything the manufacturer does not promise to support in Snow
Leopard'.")

Cheers
This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[MC]

Hi Matt:

The Epson Stylus is a very good range.

However: If it does not SAY "Snow Leopard" on the Epson website, then the
answer is "No!"

The other issue is, can I get third-party inks for it? Epsons are great
for photos (and I do a lot of photography) but they're ink hogs. My
source of inks has brands you've never heard of for about 25% of the
cost of Epson inks- and I get great results. But the printer I'm
interested in uses some fancy-schmancy new ink that my supplier doesn't
seem to have an alternative for.

I'm going to noodle on the Epson site for sure, but I'm also going to
talk to the knowledgeable folks at the photo store.

 

[MC]

Mac OS X v10.6: Printer and scanner software
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3669>

FWIW, I had to reinstall my Epson scanner and printer software and then they
worked. Stylus Photo R200 and Expressions 3200 Photo. Both older than 5
years.

I know this is all off topic - but I'm guessing we do all use printers
with Word and many of us are going to Snow Leopard - so thank you all
again for the breadth of your knowledge - I'm far better informed than I
could have been without you.

 

[Diane Ross]

The other issue is, can I get third-party inks for it?

I use third party inks with my Epson.

 

[John McGhie]

The other issue is, can I get third-party inks for it? Epsons are great
for photos (and I do a lot of photography) but they're ink hogs. My
source of inks has brands you've never heard of for about 25% of the
cost of Epson inks- and I get great results. But the printer I'm
interested in uses some fancy-schmancy new ink that my supplier doesn't
seem to have an alternative for.

I'm going to noodle on the Epson site for sure, but I'm also going to
talk to the knowledgeable folks at the photo store.

Hi Matt:

The printer manufacturers employ a variety of devious means to prevent you
using anyone else's ink with their printers.

Remember Henry Ford, who said "I would give them the automobile for free, if
I could guarantee they would always buy their parts from me." When the
dealer changed the oil in my Ford last month, it cost me $156.00 for 20
bucks worth of oil, so they obviously haven't forgotten...

The printer manufacturers tend to sell the printer at cost or sometimes at a
loss. Because they know they can gouge you for the ink.

In my printer, I use yum-cha no-name brand inks which are about one tenth
the price (and would be even cheaper if they weren't delivered express
mail...)

But I have to insert the ink in the cartridge using an hypodermic. Easy,
once you get the hang of it.

You do have to be careful of the cartridges that contain a "fuel gauge" chip
in them. Unless you can find a way to reset the chip, the printer continues
to think the cartridge is empty and refuses to use it.

To have those cartridges filled, you have to send the whole unit back to the
refiller so they can reset the chip. It would be worth ringing your
favourite cartridge refiller to enquire: if they haven't found a way to
reset the fuel gauge on those cartridges, they won't be able to refill them.

And yes, ALL "photo" printers consume ink like I get through beer...

Hope this helps

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[MC]

I used 3rd party inks on my previous Epson with no problems. They
defeated the chipset somehow.

My new printer is a recent addition to the product line so there isn't
much out there yet, but I found one source on eBay that will send OEM
inks at a saving of about 50%, and another that has refillable
cartridges that somehow fool the printer into thinking they're OEM, and
come with bottles of refill ink - and you don't need a syringe to refill
the cartridges - looks like you just pour the ink in...

 

[MC]

The other issue is, can I get third-party inks for it?

I use third party inks with my Epson.[/QUOTE]

Yes but the issue is whether they are available for this model, which is
new on the market -and so far my regular supplier doesn't have any.