Five Things To Consider!

I receive so many bad printers coming into the shop that it would be a sin not to show off the worst, of the worst! In the video below I try to quickly explain what you should look for in a printer.

1. Connection Type- Look for USB2 connections, or fire wire. Parallel is out dated, and just tends to be slower then USB, not to mention a pain to connect and disconnect, it also does not respond as a PnP device very well.
2. Ease Of Use- It should have a very simple, straight to the point interface that makes it easy to get what you want done, and have a good menu system that says in plain english what option, does what. It should have some smart functions IE: Self test on connect, self fax line test upon ending of a fax session, self ink level test before and after printing, good spooling support that does not eat up to much of the Windows process. There is a NOTED issue with Windows XP involving spooling data, and I have seen it MANY times still in my shop where some one complains about a slow computer and it turns out to be a spool.sv error in the resource list. Spool.sv is the resource that denotes the spooling of data for printing. If it reaches 99.9, then that indicates your suffering from the spool.sv bug. I will explain how to fix this later.
3. Easy Ink Cartridge Replacement- You should be able to easily lift up a cover to reach the ink cartridges, they should slide to the center position, and have a latch on the top that when lifted automatically raises the cartridge for easy non damaging extraction. Those that require you to pull out the cartridge can damage the ink cartridge head.
4. Ease of clearing Paper Jams- It should again have a cover that makes it easy to clear the jams, the rollers should have a “Paper Jam Mode” So when a jam is indicated, the rollers go into a free spin mode that allows the paper to be easily slid out to avoid damaging the rollers, and feeding rollers.
5. Printer rate- It should print fast, but I recommend sacrificing speed for better quality IE: If your printer has a “Fast speed, low quality” This setting is recommended for the printing of text document’s only, if your picture’s are printed with lines,and or print out fuzzy, please select a lower speed setting” Then I recommend that setting it just mentioned, might be lil slower but you dont have to worry about adjusting the setting. Most modern printers have smart technology that will allow them to recognize the type of job to be done, and auto adjust it’s speed, and color automatically. Most also now will note the dimensions by themselves and switch between “portrait“, and “Landscape” for you.

Let’s talk about the spool.sv error, and how to repair it.

In this situation there are two plausible causes, so lets start by disconnecting the printer from your computer. Now with the printer disconnected uninstall the drivers, and then finally go to Printers, and remove the printer if it wasn’t removed already. With the printer still disconnected, reboot your computer into safe mode by taping the F8 key during boot. Select reboot this computer in safe mode. Now that you’re in safe mode, press control alt delete, check spools.sv If its already starting to hog up your CPU, CONGRATS! Its a virus, allot easier to fix then the next plausible cause.

With the printer uninstalled, and not connected spools.sv does nothing, then this indicates your network settings, and perhaps a few other files are corrupted. You need your Windows disk and must reinstall those files to your computer. For specific instructions regarding your case, please search Google. This varies from user to user.

With the files now repaired, and or reinstalled you can proceed to start installing your pinter… HOLD ON BUDDY!

No do not use your printer’s driver disk, chances are you used it the first time and it’s ONLY going to give you more problems. I want you to instead connect the printer to your computer, if PnP does not detect it, then get the model of your printer and go to the manufacturer’s website to download the most updated driver there is for your computer. With this now installed, it should automatically detect your printer, if it does not you will have to go to printers, add a printer, and select it from the list. If it still does not show up you will have to put in the driver disk, do not install the driver, simply use it for selecting the correct printer. After the printer has been added, Windows should notify you with a dialog box saying “Do you want to install the driver for this device?” Say no. Right click on the added printer, go to property’s, driver tab. “Update Driver“, then click “Choose location from a list.” Then indicate your driver thats on your computer.

I hope that solves your spool.sv problem if you have one.

Why Lexmark, why Brother? Yes brother still makes printers! Whoohooo!

Well every Lexmark printer has worked wonder’s for me, only getting a glitch once in awhile about not being connected, normally due to connecting another USB device on the same IRQ channel. But normally they work great.

Brother, I have used there fax’s, and there smart type writers with no problems, and a older printer as well with no issues. I highly recommend them to this day.

Anything else to consider? Yes! The type of ink cartridge your printer uses, and what type of printing you will be mainly using it for. Not all cartridge’s are created equal, and some forms of print cartridges IE: Roller’s, can hit the hundred dollar mark! So bare that in mind as well. If your doing high res photo printing, then yes a high end lazer printer that uses those expensive rollers will suit you fine, but if your a home user, stick to desk jets. There quality is still really good, and there cartridges are cheap.

Lastly, NEVER, ever, EVER, try to refill your ink cartridges! Stop being cheap, and stop ruining your PRINTERS! I see ten a day come in with ink all over inside from some one who tried to refill a ink cartridge! Stop it already, your ruining a perfectly good printer and blaming it on the manufacturer when its your own stupidity to blame. I’m tired of it!!

I hope this has proved informative for you.

[tags]theboredtech, thegnomelocker, printers, drivers, fax, typewriter, Brother, Lexmark, Compaq[/tags]