An Open Hardware Printer You Can Understand, Repair, and Upgrade

Printers are notoriously hard...to the point that there is the moat that makes people hopeful this is the time Charlie Brown kicks the ball.

But the physical properties of paper and the physics of spraying liquids and the chemistry of inkjet inks hasn't changed...and hardware is still hard.

Inkjet printers are one of those "how hard could it be?" tarpits.

I have an inkjet (Cannon Pro100) where the original cartridges are resetable (refillable) and I use 3rd party inks. I've spent about $200 on ink over the past six years and another $200 on a replacement head assembly. I've printed color limited run photo-zines, B-size photo enlargements, and dummies/proofs/etc without thinking about cost.

Regular use is the key to avoiding problems with inkjets. And affordable ink is the key to regular use. Of course "affordable" is a function of time and money that varies from case to case. I mean I do spend time refilling cartridges in exchange for the cost of original Canon cartridges. And the ink in Canon cartridges is technically a better ink...but I print much much much more.