Alastair Scott wrote: > That said, with the Lexmark ink cartridges almost �40 a pair I'll > replace the whole thing with something Linux-friendlier next time they > run out. (Probably a HP).
I recommend you consider Canon. The big selling point for me is that the cartridges are usually easy to refill, much easier than HP. I finally got my Canon BJC 3000 to print under Linux (with the installation of Mandrake 8.2), but haven't tested it for very long, but (with the foomatic bjc-600 driver) it looks equivalent to what I see when printing under Windows. The cartridges it uses are easy to refill, you just pust a BB out of the way to create a hole into the ink reservoir, add ink (holding it so the ink doesn't leak out through the sponge and drip somewhere), then reseal the hole by some means. (Like a replacement BB, a small rubber BB, or package sealing tape -- you do have to seal the hole to be airtight -- I've seen another approach with a set screw and package sealing tape.) Some Canons (like the portable I used for a number of years, can't remember the number) can be refilled just by pulling out the ink cartridge turning it upside down, and dripping ink onto the exposed sponge, slow enough so that it is absorbed. That might even work with the cartridges for my BJC-3000, although it might be a much slower method. As always, buyer beware -- look at the cartridges in any printer you consider buying -- Canon probably makes some cartridges that are not nearly that easy to refill. I never had much success with HP cartridges (for example, the HP 51629A and the color partner to that cartridge) -- the instructions call for you to get a slight negative air pressure in the cartridge. Whether because I wasn't getting the right negative pressure, or the nozzles were plugging up, or whatever, only about half the cartridges I refilled worked properly afterwards. Beware also of Xerox. My uncle bought a Xerox partly on my "semi-recommendation" that the cartridges appeared to be as easy to refill as the Canon. They are not. I don't know if they incorporate some electronic gizmo to prevent them from being refilled or not, or what, but I had no luck at all. Half the time after reinstalling the cartridge, the printer did not recognize / accept the refilled cartridge. In addition, this cartridge looks like it might hold a fair amount of ink, but when you peel the paper cover off, you see that only about 1/8 of the possible storage volume is used to contain ink. I'm going to cut and paste this on to a WikiLearn page: see http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Wikilearn/RefillingInkJetCartridges. Feel free to add your own comments and experiences about refilling ink jet cartridges (or your recommendations on buying ink jet printers, on http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Wikilearn/BuyingInkJetPrinters.
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