The R series of printers seem to have pretty much eliminated that problem. The carts are expensive but they seem to do 30-40 8x10's which is a lot more than the 820 carts did. R220 is, I think, the current model.
Head design: Epson, separate non-removable head. Canon, separate removable head HP, new head with each cart. Now heads for the Epson, or Canon cost more than the cheaper printers are worth. However with the Canons you can remove it and soak it in alcohol which I have done in the the past to clear serious clogs. Note: unlike many here I have had too many problems with various Epsons. The current R200 seems to be great, but I would not have bought it if it hadn't been only $49. I have also had several Canons which were more reliable than the Epsons, other than first (MX-80) and last (the R200). The Canon LBP-420 I have has been working fine for 12 years. Except for a used HP Thinkjet, one of their early inkjet printers, I have never owned an HP. If I had the money I would still like to have an HP DesignJet 130, or whatever the current version is, though. As far as I know it is the cheapest 24 inch 6 ink printer with reasonably priced, individually replacable, heads out there. -- graywolf http://www.graywolfphoto.com http://webpages.charter.net/graywolf "Idiot Proof" <==> "Expert Proof" ----------------------------------- Doug Franklin wrote: > William Robb wrote: > > I wish my experiences with the Epson 820 were as smooth as the ones > being reported here. I've had it for four or five years. I always turn > it off at its power switch so it can clear and cap the heads and park > them and all that stuff. I only print a couple of dozen photos on it a > year and nothing else. It was fine for about the first year, but since > then has had serious clogging issues. Sometimes it takes ten or fifteen > cleaning cycles to get enough clogs out to get decent prints. I've been > seriously considering replacing it with a printer that has the heads in > the cartridges so that's less of an issue. > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net