neilslade.com
PART THREE:
KEEP YOUR HEAD CLEAN
INKJET PHOTO PRINTERS,
INK, PAPER, and TONER Reviewand CANON (and other) Printer Info
and INKJET PRINTER MAINTENANCE
by Neil Slade
Sponsored by The AMAZING BRAIN ADVENTURE
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First: My un-biased tested and compared recommendation to most people for most applications for any brand printer, with a free shipping coupon code shown here:
This is the ink I USE, and that I've tested to be superior to any of the dozens of available second and third party alternative inks. All inexpensive inks ARE NOT ALIKE- most others give inferior color. This includes off the shelf retail alternative cheap ink sold in places like Office Depot, Staples, etc- which is not good at all. It is generally 50% less expensive than the cost of regular ink refills, with as good or better color than OEM. It is even less expensive when you but more than one cart at a time, and this is how I purchase ink. There are cheaper inks than this-- but I don't use them... Read HERE to find out why, the alternatives, and the difference between inks including image comparisons.
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KEEP YOUR PRINT HEADS CLEAN!
What am I talking about? Every inkjet printer uses these microscopic ink jet openings to lay ink down on the paper. The same ink that dries nicely on your paper will also dry nicely in the orifice that the ink flows through to get the paper. When this happens, it's like a clogged toilet. Sometimes you can "clean" the print heads with some printer maintenance program-- but OFTEN it is next to impossible. Many many times I had this problem with my otherwise excellent Canon printer. I had plenty of ink in the cartridges, but it would not flow through the print head completely. The problem happens most often because you JUST DON'T USE YOUR PRINTER EVERYDAY. PRINT AT LEAST ONE BIG COLOR PRINT A DAY TO KEEP THE HEAD CLEAN. If you can't do that, simply run a cleaning cycle or two (or worst cast scenario three) when you get back from vacation. Save the "Heavy Duty" cleaning cycles for real problems as this uses a ton of ink. You can also run a test "purge" print that prints simply a big block of each color. [The one advantage (and that's about it) of HP printers is that their ink cartridges contain a brand new head and nozzles every time you replace the cartridge. However, I don't think this justifies buying an HP printer. Just less chance of a clogged head in the long run of you use an HP.] Trust me, prevention is worth a TON of cure when it comes to ink jet printers. Not only will "cleaning" or "heavy cleaning" take time, but it is expensive, because cleaning generally uses a LOT of ink in printers. Canon will clean the head with air in the regular cleaning setting, but often this does not work and you have to resort to heavy cleaning-- and ZIP!!! half the ink in your cartridge has been used up to get your printer to work right. $36 worth of ink down the drain, literally. The cure is simple--- print one full color print every single day, whether you need it or not. This will keep your print heads flowing and clean. You can download and use either of the following JPG files to do your "cleaning" or "test" print. Printing these images, especially the Standard Blocks should get the ink flowing. Set your printer to fill the image to page size of Neil's Test Print , or print at half a page size of the Standard Test Block. Please note: even standard cleaning or heavy cleaning may not keep your printer working the best it can. If you own a Canon printer, please read all of the Canon maintenance information below. Note, you can also check your printer accuracy by comparing the look of Neil's Test Print on your monitor, and comparing with the actual print out of your printer. Please note, although the text on the print is very sharp, the photo itself is not REALLY sharp although it has excellent color value representation- note the croquet balls in front. the Standard Blocks give you INK color, and should not be used to judge primary color representation, unlike the Neil's Print, and are simply used to make ink flow through your printers ink jet head. Neil's
Test Print Standard
Test Block for FOUR COLOR Printers Standard
Test Block for SIX COLOR printer
MAKE SURE AND CHECK OUT OUR AIR-CLEANING PROGRAM BELOW on this page WITH COMPRESSED AIR FOR CLEANING CLOGGED PRINT HEADS-- air is almost free, and is a sure fire cure for clogged nozzles. The MIRACLE AIR CLEANING CURE for CLOGGED PRINT HEADS. This
is how I do it on my Canon. You might be able to pull this off on an Epson. You
can't on an HP.
If
you've put in a new cartridge and cleaned the nozzles several times, and the
nozzle check STILL shows a clogged nozzle-
You'll see 6 1/4" holes into which the ink is delivered from the cartridge. Get a can of compressed air and spray from the cartridge side a few short bursts. HOLD A KLEENEX or toilet paper on the outside of the print head where the copper nozzles are- otherwise, you will get ink all over everything as the air cleans out the sponge inlets. Wipe off the outside copper nozzles, because ink will have poured out. No need to use any solvent, just a dry lint free paper. I've used 100% denatured alcohol at times- I don't suggest any other solvent for printer cleaning. Clorox, however, is the only thing that will remove totally inkjet ink stains from plastic housing, counter tops, your fingers- but don't use on important printer parts. Put your cartridges back in, run a clean cycle to get the ink running again, realign the nozzles, and VOILA- your printer will magically work again. If you have a big AC powered air compressor- (like for working power tools) this works even better- just CONTROL THE AMOUNT OF AIR- don't get crazy or you'll destroy the sponge inlets. But I pass on the info below just as a matter of options.... Unclog
your Brain and your printer head will flow too
Click link to FLOW the printer part of your brain
NEXT
SECTION "How Many Colors Do You Need?" CLICK THIS
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The AMAZING BRAIN ADVENTURE's MOST POPULAR PAGES:
Your Amazing Brain Adventure is a web site all about Tickling Your Amygdala- i.e. turning on the best part of your brain as easy as clicking on a light switch. This is done as easily as imagining a feather inside of your head stimulating a compass, the amygdala. The amygdala is a set of twin organs, a part of your brain that sits right in between the most advance part of your brain- the frontal lobes and pre-frontal cortex- and the most primitive part of your brain- your "reptile brain" and brain stem. By tickling your amygdala you instantly and directly increase creativity, intelligence, pleasure, and also make possible a spontaneous natural processes known as "paranormal abilities", although such things as telepathy and ESP are really as natural as breathing, or as easy doing simple math in your head. The ability to self stimulate the amygdala by something as simple as thought has been proven in laboratory experiments, such as those conducted at Harvard University research labs, 1999-2009, and can be tracked with modern brain scanning machines such as fMRI and PET... Indeed, thought is faster than light.
Other sites of interest: EasyPaintYourCar.com is a painting site dedicated to learning how to paint a car yourself, even if you've never painted a car before. You can refinish your car to professional standards at home, better than if you take it to someone else, and enjoy doing it at a fraction of the cost of having it done in an expensive shop. You can repair dents, rust, and use the most durable real automotive paint, and even learn to apply it without any special or expensive gear, in a safe and enjoyable manner. Paint your car in your garage, car port, or even driveway. You can spray, use an HVLP gun, or even use a roller.
Easy Make A Kindle and Your Own Publishing are sites about self-publishing and writing, and how any person can publish materials, print, online, and electronic books. You can drop out of the corporate slave labor rat race and own your own life by writing and distributing your own books on the subject that you know best.
neilslade.com is a web site about escaping from the ridiculous cost of ink jet printer ink refilling- and refilling your printer for pennies instead of $70 a shot. It also has useful tips about maintaining ink jet printers, especially Canon brand printers.
Julia Lu Painting is all about the creative works of Chinese painter Julia Lu, a modern master of oil and water color painting. Julia shares her creative secrets, ideas, as well as her art work.
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