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Printers, but also cameras and other devices, are programmed to fail after X copies. It is possible to re-initialize the printer by entering a code. But where to find out the codes? Who can help? And how to change the ink pads ?
Is this a good question?
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I don't know of any printer or digital camera that have a counter bomb as you describe.
True may have counters to help you in some manor:
In the case of digital cameras it's no different than a films exposure counter so you know how many pics you've taken and to ID each photo by. It's possible your cameras counter may have a limit (9999 or something) but every camera I've used or seen can be reset or restarts back at one once it hits it's count limit.
As far as printers this is to tell you the milage you have as you may need to replace things as they do wear out or runout. The toner or ink often linked to the counter and the photo drum in others. It's possible once the counter has hit a point the device will stop functioning until you replace or restock something like Ink or toner. But once done the system will reset and continue to run.
Forcing the device to override its programing is not wise. I would recommend you check out the devices manual on what sundries you need to replace on your printer.
Heres the Epson ink supply web page: Epson Stylus PX710W
Heres the Canon ink & supply web page: Canon IP4500
Marc, iFixIt can't be everything ;-}
You really need to look at the product vendors pages first and don't be so paranoid (thinking Apple or others are Big Brother). I'm not saying they don't have their moments in watching us a little to much, but, their reasons are not at the level of George Orwells' book 1984.
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Hello Dan, thanks for yr message. I love your bluesky vision of our world. Apple created a wonderful prison called iTune… Apple just modified the Hard Disk connectivity in the latest iMac, so we are forced to buy a Hitachi disk from Apple only at a higher price…, Apple resists and does not want us to replace our iPhone battery… Well, I don't think I become a paranoid. This week, there was a TV program on one of the major european channels talking for about 45 minutes about Apple's resistances to give access to customers to their own machines… That's where I found the Fixit address! A few month ago there was another TV program about all the devices that are prepared to fail by counter! Printers were largely involved! But also the cameras that fail after 40.000 pictures (Canon EOS Rebel. But they are honest because they mention it in there catalog! Nobody reads it but it is in there… ). … see contd here below…
second part of my comment. Cartridges counters are not accurate. They stop the cartridge far before it is empty in many cases. Cartridges are only half filled in the pack when you buy a new machine. Price of the liter of ink is by far, very far more expensive than… Caviar and even Gold and even Platinum! What about that?
Last year I watched a TV program showing a LA's Firemen building lamp. The lamp was 100 years old! Working! However, lamps today last only a few thousands hours and … stop working. manufacturers don't even have to talk to each other. They know that they have to limit the lifetime for their business.
Etc. Etc. Etc. I am not paranoid, Dan. Just trying to avoid being a milk cow for large companies that want to make more money than reasonable.
The addresses you mention in yr mail don't help. We have to go to russian sites. See my answer to Oldturkey here above.
Regards
Marc
Talking about Big Brother - Why can't you access these sites? That maybe why you have such a tinted view of the world. Sorry ;-{
What your talking about is Planned Obsolescence Not Big Brother! The two are not the same.
Where to start ...
First it's not Apple that makes things popular its Us so we are the ones that are guilty in making iTunes a success no one is forcing you to buy music or other content through it. So you have to ask your self why everyone finds it the best way to get or play music and other content?
iMac HD mess in newer systems: not so fast here, while I too don't like the fact its a proprietary solution. You can't blame Apple here as the standards group left a gaping hole in not defining device temperature interfacing in the SMART standard or the SATA I/O standard. So Apple with their purchasing power made the call on how it wanted its HDs to be designed. They made a presentation to the ISO standards group to try to get the HD standard locked in. So far none of the HD vendors have agreed to the Apples idea on how to change the standard Apple was proposing. So for now we are stuck with a different HD which I agree sucks! Some times standards just don't keep up with what is needed by manufactures.
iPhone or iPod or iPad batteries:
Do you read the newspapers over the years? Motorola had a rash of cheap battery knock offs burning up their phones and hurting quite a few people. Even Apple had a rash of people replacing the batteries with what they thought would be workable batts only to burn up the device and the people who had them. Did you see the outcome in the McDonalds coffee lawsuit?
Just look at the mess Apple got into with their hardware partner on the working conditions and the damage to their corporate reputation if it was as bad as it was painted to be (as it turns out it was not bad at all) So you can see how Apple's (or any manufacture) view is tainted and why they go to great lengths to protect their products. Again, we have to look at our selves here as the few bad apples created a legal mess for Apple and made it harder for honest repair people into repairing Apple devices.
The other factor here is the limits of packaging. Which is why many people love Apple products the sleek design and the handling of the product it's almost like a race car. Look at a Bugatti or Ferrari race car very little is off the shelf or follows rigid design. Apple is very similar which does make it hard to find off the shelf parts or find opening them harder repairing them in general (just like the Bugatti).
OK, back to your printer issues. You do have a point, counters can leave ink or toner still present in the cartridge. But, not really... Let me explain.
Lets say you do a lot of prints which have lots of black you will find the reverse holds true the printer thinks it still has toner so the last prints are grey or streaky (just not workable) now you'll be yelling how cheap the printer was and the crappy prints it does. So manufactures load more ink or toner into their cartridges to combat this and now you yell such a waste!! They just can't win with you can they ;-}
I'm a miser at heart so I don't like waste either but there are just limits on what one can do here. In some ways the market has forced a change as an example HP sells discreet color cartridges now and many photostatic printers now have split the toner from the drum assembly design. But it's your buying power that sets the direction so you need to vote by making a good choice collectively.
Boy you are really reaching here with the Canon Rebel camera! The issue is not the camera it's the built in memory card re-write limits. You can get the memory card replaced and take many more pictures without any problems! Thats the limits of the memory technology used.
I'm not that blue sky kind of guy as you think. I've just been involved in some of the design issues manufactures face so I feel for them. Sure you can find nut jobs that claim they have a car that can run longer on a gal of fuel or have a light bulb that burns for ever. Technology has made great strides we do have lighting systems that last longer now than what Edison introduced and an electric car never needs to be filled with fuel. So things are getting better!
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5 Comments
I would help to know exactly which printer you have.
by mayer
thanks for your answer.
My printers are:
EPSON Stylus Photo PX710W
and
CANON IP4500
I know that some lists exist. Some websites do exist in Russia… etc. But I think that Fix it should provide such information for all brands.
Thanks again for your help and congratulations for your involvement in the Apple community (even if I consider more and more that Apple is becoming another Big Brother… ;-)
MN, Brussels
by Marc
Marc, have you tied the Canon Resetter program yet. It is available on here I believe that some of the information that you are referring to, is in the EEPROM
by oldturkey03
Yes, this is precisely what I am talking about: counter in the EPROM. Thank you for the list. However, my model is not included. It seems that only the Russians communicate about the subject ! It might be that KGB retirees develop a new expertise to help poor western techno-victims like us ! ;-)
I found a russian site a few weeks ago. It speaks… guess what. Russian, right. However, with Google we can get translation and surf into the information. But my model was not in the list… To me, this is exactly the kind of things that should be provided by Fixit people and or aficionados. Next part of my message as an answer to Dan here below…
by Marc
Marc, take a look at this part of an EEPROM information. It may give a bit more of the information that is stored...on here
by oldturkey03