It did still work as scanner, but refused to print. I double-checked the error code online, and it does seem to be something one cannot fix from home. Of course, if Epson had happened to live next door, I could have contacted him... ;) However, I quickly realized that In Real Life, even if should manage to find a repair place, it would be not only simpler but also cheaper to just buy a new machine. (From environmental point of view, that's crazy - but it's how it is.)
But... How and where to buy a new printer just now, in corona times?? (Living alone, no car, and at the moment practicing self-isolation as far as possible...)
While ordering groceries with home delivery from my usual supermarket, it struck me that they do also have some technical stuff there, even if not very much to choose from. I checked, and found that they did have one kind of printer/scanner - which also happened to be on sale just now. I took a chance and added one to my order, hoping for the best (mentally prepared that with the sale, there might not be any left). But: I was lucky, and the printer was delivered problem-free with my groceries yesterday (at bargain price and no extra delivery fee).
It's a HP DeskJet 2630. Including setup ink cartridges it was less than half the price of a normal set of ink for my old Epson...
Today, I spent like half the day getting it installed. As so often, the instructions were not quite as easy peasy as promised... But, with a bit of trial and error, I seem to have it working with the laptop by cable now. (It's supposed to also work wireless but I've not tried that yet. Not sure I need that anyway.)
6 comments:
It is wild that you bought this with your groceries! I trust Amazon, and they have good reviews and ratings. I order a lot from them. I remember a time when things were made well, and could be repaired. Not any more! Things are made cheaply, and buying new things are a lot cheaper then paying for repairs.
Congrats on your new printer! When I still used to work in the business of selling point of sale hardware, including printers (for receipts etc.), HP printers were considered 'difficult', as they often tended to be overly sensitive to things such as having toomuch or not enough paper in them, and so on. But that was decades ago, and I am sure your new one will work just fine!
I'm glad you are up and running again.
If you want a smile at my 'incompetence' I have HP printers using Instant Ink. They are fantastically cheap to run. I have two because when one fairly new one packed in and I needed to do some 'urgent' photos for my cards it was cheaper just to buy a newer model from Argos in town (a year or more ago now) than to faff around with warranties etc. However when I got my new one home and had started using it I discovered that my 'old' one was actually still working. I can't remember the details but the problem was obscure. It's very handy because when one is throwing a wobbly the other is working. Printers are very temperamental in my experience.
Ginny, back in the 1970s I rented a flat in a house owned by a man who repaired TVs for a living. He had his workshop in the basement, which was usually full of old heavy TVs. And back then, we only had two TV channels. Hard to imagine back then the digital future in which we now live!
Meike, I think I may have had a HP printer once before, but it may have been as long ago as back in the days when a printer was just a printer (and not also a scanner/copier). The quality of this one still remains to be tried and tested - but at least it was a both cheap and convenient alternative just now.
Graham, I'm not sure whether to feel reassured or not by that story! ;) (As much as I like the "cheap" aspect, I'd also prefer not having to buy a whole new machine too often...)
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