Printer Makers are Fuckheads.

[MKSheppard]

Why is it whenever you need to print something, the colors always come out wrong, or there are horizontal streaks unless you print something EVERYDAY?

[Namarie]

What are you printing? If you're running out of ink you get those lines sometimes, or if you're priting on the wrong setting (like printing a picture on a text setting) you get lines sometimes, or if your printer heads have clogged you get lines sometimes (which can usually be fixed with a cleaning feature that should be on your printer)

And actually, most of that stuff can cause funny colors as well.

[Chris OFarrell]

Why is it whenever you need to print something, the colors always come out wrong, or there are horizontal streaks unless you print something EVERYDAY?

They don't on 99% of printers when people configure them and use them correctly.

[Deathstalker]

I worked tech support for Canon printers Shep and have heard all the complaints. Color issues usually arise between what the computer shows and the printer interprets. Streaks can be paper issue, or need to run cleaning cycle a few times.

[salm]

Just get a Laser Printer.

[GuppyShark]

To counter the laser printer suggestion - given Shep doesn't use his printer very often that would be a real waste of money.

I used to do printer support too, and it used to boil down to:

Inkjet - Cheap as hell. Not very good quality. Usually clogged often.
Hot wax - a great middle ground. A bit more expensive than an inkjet but way more reliable and much better image quality since you don't get soggy paper.
Laser - Perfect for high volume printing but expensive.

[phongn]

Laser isn't that expensive these day (as long as you're printing B&W, anyways)

[Lisa]

I bought a colour laser precisely for the reason I don't print that much. With inkjets prior to this year you saw alot of issues with the ink drying out from lack of use. 5 of hp's all in ones combat this issue by periodicly doing self maintenance.

as for which is better... printing photos? go photo inkjet. printing everything else? laser.

[Uraniun235]

If you print color infrequently, I suggest a cheap used monochrome laser printer (the old Laserjets are tanks) and the occasional trip to Kinko's or something. With inkjets, you're mostly just getting scammed out of a bunch of money in ink cartridges.

Laser - Perfect for high volume printing but expensive.

It's expensive up front (and new), but on a per-page cost the laser absolutely murders inkjet; plus, the toner doesn't dry up if you don't use it for a month, and the printers themselves also tend to be sturdier.

Plus, if you get an old Laserjet 5 or something like that, it's not even that expensive up front.

[Edi]

Inkjets are the spawn of Satan and if used frequently, cost an arm, a leg and a kidney at a minimum due to the ink coming in tiny doses and being expensive as all fuck.

Laser FTW.

Edi

[RThurmont]

Why is it whenever you need to print something, the colors always come out wrong, or there are horizontal streaks unless you print something EVERYDAY?

Welcome to the wonderful world of color management. Seriously, there is an entire industry of professionals whose job it is to calibrate the monitors and printers used by graphic designers and printers so as to display color consistently. From a print design perspective, an easier alternative is to use Pantone color references, but if you actually need to -print- something, you still have the print management headache. If you live in LA and have $$$ to spend, there are a large number of color management consultants who can be found at any AIGA function.

[salm]

Why is it whenever you need to print something, the colors always come out wrong, or there are horizontal streaks unless you print something EVERYDAY?

Welcome to the wonderful world of color management. Seriously, there is an entire industry of professionals whose job it is to calibrate the monitors and printers used by graphic designers and printers so as to display color consistently. From a print design perspective, an easier alternative is to use Pantone color references, but if you actually need to -print- something, you still have the print management headache. If you live in LA and have $$$ to spend, there are a large number of color management consultants who can be found at any AIGA function.

I highly doubt this is what he meant. The average layman won´t even notice a difference between a calibrated monitor and a non calibrated one.

[phongn]

I highly doubt this is what he meant. The average layman won´t even notice a difference between a calibrated monitor and a non calibrated one.

But even the average layman can tell the difference between what his monitor and his printer are showing.

[RThurmont]

My Apple-connected IBM ThinkVision monitor and my IBM ThinkPad laptop are so out of sync on color that when you use them next to each other (which I often do, since they normally reside on the same worktable), it's downright funny. All my other monitors are somewhere in between, and some of them are better calibrated than others.

[phongn]

My Apple-connected IBM ThinkVision monitor and my IBM ThinkPad laptop are so out of sync on color that when you use them next to each other (which I often do, since they normally reside on the same worktable), it's downright funny. All my other monitors are somewhere in between, and some of them are better calibrated than others.

It could be worse. I have two CRTs of identical make and model and no matter what I do I can't seem to get the two to cooperate on color.