[nosliwmit]

I have a 12 year old Canon ink-jet printer (MX426) that I bought while living in Korea. I didn't know when I bought it that ink-jet cartridges are regionalized, so when we moved to Panama we could no longer buy cartridges that worked with the printer (so Canon forced me to start re-filling cartridges with third-party ink, whereas I would have been happy to keep buying OEM cartridges). At the moment the printer won't recognize any of my cartridges and the printer won't scan without cartridges installed (which is a nice "design feature" if you hate your customers). None of the work-arounds that I found on-line work (methods to bypass the error code or change the region code for the printer). I could buy cartridges from Asia and have them shipped to me in Ireland (it would take about a month to get them, they might not work and of course cost is a factor). I'm thinking it's time to bin this particular printer and buy another one (which will not be a Canon device; I hold a grudge for a long time).

I'm not looking for a high-quality photo printer, just an everyday sort of printer/scanner combo. I'm wondering of any of the "tank" style ink-jet printers would work for me or if the tanks are also regionalized (I'll be moving to the U.S. this summer and don't want to buy anything that will only work in Europe). Does anyone have any insight into this or recommendations for mid-range devices that will work in multiple regions?

[pvanni]

May I suggest something like the Epson Ecotank serie, so you have only to put ink in the printer and not change cartridges

[UncleVanya]

Wow… I’ve never heard of this issue I wish I had insight into the prevalence of it. I have looked at tank printers but haven’t switched as of now.

[35mmfilmfan]

Wisdom (of a sort) after the event, I'm afraid, but I'm always wary of items which perform multiple functions - you never find out their limits until it's too late (same with 'superzoom' lenses). A friend bought a television with a built-in DVD drive 'to save all the cabling'. DVD drive packed up, excessive quote to repair it, and no way to attach a separate DVD player. At least the TV still works . . .



T

[OrchidJulie]

I, too, am wary (to be polite) of multi-function "hydra" machines... printer/scanner/fax for example. Used to be that if one component malfunctions, the entire machine is inoperable. I don't think that's quite as common as it once was but I'm still not crazy about multifunction machines. Which doesn't mean we don't have one -- printer/scanner/copier -- but I'm leery of it. Recently there's been an issue with cartridges -- the specific printer is no longer sold, so the OEM cartridges are scarce. The local office supply store has their own brand, alleged to be equivalent to the no-longer-available OEM ones. Well, maybe. Sometimes.

Frankly I don't understand why a printer manufacturer (HP, I'm talking about you) designs a machine that uses cartridges that no other machine in their line-up uses, why there are dozens and dozens and dozens of different, mutally-incompatible ink cartridges. I am no fan of Epson but the tank concept is beginning to sound more sensible to me.

[AfterPentax Mark II]

that ink-jet cartridges are regionalized

It is not the cartridge that is regionalized, but the printer. It was an Asia specific model.

[Not a Number]

I should think a tank printer would not be regionalized for ink. How would the printer test where the ink was from unless there are chips or RFID on the ink bottle or some sort of marker in the ink itself that gets checked when you refill the tank.

[nosliwmit]

It is not the cartridge that is regionalized, but the printer. It was an Asia specific model.

I suppose that's true. The printer only takes 810 and 811 cartridges, which are identical to 210 and 211 (and undoubtedly others) except the embedded chip in the cartridges prevent cross-use with otherwise identical printers (e.g. MX420).

---------- Post added 02-27-23 at 01:55 PM ----------

I should think a tank printer would not be regionalized for ink. How would the printer test where the ink was from unless there are chips or RFID on the ink bottle or some sort of marker in the ink itself that gets checked when you refill the tank.

Evidently some ink bottles have a keyed mechanism for connecting them to the recipient tanks for filling. Not sure if that's to prevent cross-usage of pigment vs. dye inks or if it's about regionalization. But for a clue I looked at ink specified for HP Smart Tank 7301 and 7305 printers, which appear to be identical except for different markets (7301 is available in the U.S., 7305 is available in Europe) and the ink bottles specified for the two printers is different. So I'm suspicious...

[dsmithhfx]

Not had good luck with 3d-party ink and (laser) toner refills, in the short run they seemed to work 'well enough', medium-long run they ruined respective print heads (clogged) and drums (terrible print quality), ultimately costing more than going with the OEM cartridges.

[AggieDad]

Any printer these days works on the "razor and blades" model, with printers being "dirt" cheap and the money made on the consumable — the ink. A quick peak at Amazon shows multi-function printers selling for prices ranging from $70 to $250.

At these prices for a printer, why hesitate? And why be afraid of a multi-function model? Today's printers are almost disposable.

Even though they are relatively low in price, they can be reliable. I have an Epson WorkForce 645 of some years — I am not sure of its age, but the manual is copyrighted 2011. This is a multi-function printer that prints, scans, and faxes (remember faxing?). It also has multiple sheet input feed and will print two-sided. By the way, it's wireless.

While I print my 8" x 10" and larger images on an Epson P800, this 10+ year old multi-tasker does a very nice job on the 5" x 7" prints my wife likes.

[UncleVanya]

On a related note about obsolescence: my brother mfd has a full ink absorber. I’ve found info on a diy fix but in normal practice this isn’t intended to be user repaired! I have to dismantle the printer just to determine what the part looks like since multiple versions exist in the same model family!?!? One diy fix just reuses the existing parts. You rinse and clean and dry it over days. Insane.

[35mmfilmfan]

Disposable - maybe. Re-cyclable ? Highly unlikely.




T

[jbinpg]

We have a Canon G3000 tank printer/scanner. I would only buy a tank printer if you print every day. The nozzles clog after a few days of sitting around and can only be unclogged by performing a deep clean which uses a lot of ink. If you are good with printing a test page every day then a tank printer may work for you.

[MarkJerling]

I have a 12 year old Canon ink-jet printer (MX426) that I bought while living in Korea. I didn't know when I bought it that ink-jet cartridges are regionalized, so when we moved to Panama we could no longer buy cartridges that worked with the printer (so Canon forced me to start re-filling cartridges with third-party ink, whereas I would have been happy to keep buying OEM cartridges). At the moment the printer won't recognize any of my cartridges and the printer won't scan without cartridges installed (which is a nice "design feature" if you hate your customers). None of the work-arounds that I found on-line work (methods to bypass the error code or change the region code for the printer). I could buy cartridges from Asia and have them shipped to me in Ireland (it would take about a month to get them, they might not work and of course cost is a factor). I'm thinking it's time to bin this particular printer and buy another one (which will not be a Canon device; I hold a grudge for a long time).

I'm not looking for a high-quality photo printer, just an everyday sort of printer/scanner combo. I'm wondering of any of the "tank" style ink-jet printers would work for me or if the tanks are also regionalized (I'll be moving to the U.S. this summer and don't want to buy anything that will only work in Europe). Does anyone have any insight into this or recommendations for mid-range devices that will work in multiple regions?

You should (read may) be able to change the region somewhere in the setup menu for the printer. You'll have to find out how to do a complete reset.

[ramseybuckeye]

Frankly I don't understand why a printer manufacturer (HP, I'm talking about you) designs a machine that uses cartridges that no other machine in their line-up uses, why there are dozens and dozens and dozens of different, mutally-incompatible ink cartridges. I am no fan of Epson but the tank concept is beginning to sound more sensible to me.

Because their profit comes from the cartridges, and HP is probably the worst for non universal cartridges. I got tired of the ink jets and now have a Brother laser printer (I don't print photos). The toner doesn't go bad from sitting like an inkjet can. I bought it four and as half years ago and just replaced my second toner cartridge (says they are good for 2300 pages) Third party toner cartridges aren't iffy like third party inkjet cartridges, at least I've never seen it. And the price of the Brother laser cartridge is no more than buying the inkjet carts, third party way cheaper.