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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Printers
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palcal Guru  Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1798 |
I recently bought a HP Deskjet 4100 and I'm sick of it. I can't use it without their HP Smart app. Everytime I print the app. opens and half the time it won't print. I uninstalled the app. and added the printer in control panel/printers. The printer works but I can't scan because there is no driver. I also cannot use generic ink and the HP cartridges are expensive. Apparently a lot of new printers require you to download their app. Does anyone know of a printer that I can install and just print/scan with a click of the mouse. Nothing too expensive it's just for home use. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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phil99 Guru Joined: 11/02/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1781 |
All the name brands appear to be playing the same game. With a shed full of printers that either have an unrepairable fault (no service information and/or no parts) or are just too expensive to run have conceded defeat. Now have just an old flatbed scanner and get essential printing done at the local library for 50c / page. All else is saved as PDF, RTF, TXT or PNG. |
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Plasmamac Guru Joined: 31/01/2019 Location: GermanyPosts: 501 |
Ive got a hp deskjet 5p . A new toner includes a new light drum roll costs 30 Euro and will print 4000 pages. I captured a canon lide 20 from ebay for 1 Euro but no drivers for win 10. So i build a „ new Pc“ with win Xp next weekend and hope it works fine. Plasma |
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TassyJim Guru Joined: 07/08/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5900 |
Check out 'Vuescan'. It has drivers for many old scanners. Not sure about the new HP though. Jim VK7JH MMedit MMBasic Help |
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| Plasmamac Guru Joined: 31/01/2019 Location: GermanyPosts: 501 |
Thx for the tip ! Ive testet it yesterday and it works fine 😀 Plasma |
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| robert.rozee Guru Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 2286 |
a network printer may be an option, something that you can just talk to using PCL5 or PostScript. my main printer is a Brother HL-5380DN (B&W, wired), with a Brother HL-3150CDN (wired) for colour printing. for scanning i have a Brother MFC-L2700DW (B&W, wireless) that has a scanner on top. they are all laser printers, and all have print servers built-in which opens up the options of how you talk to them. 3rd party consumables for the Brothers are dirt cheap - around nz$20 for a new toner that does NOT include the drum. 3rd party drum kits are generally good for 10's of thousands of pages, and also cheap. now, i am only using Linux on all computers, so you may not be completely out of the woods. however, a Raspberry Pi can be set up to completely hide the real printer from Windows. for a friend, i set up a MFC-L2720DW so that scans were converted within the printer to PDF files and then emailed to her email account. only certain models of printer support this feature, but it completely removes any software requirement for scanning. cheers, rob :-) |
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| pd-- Senior Member  Joined: 11/12/2020 Location: AustraliaPosts: 122 |
I have an old " about 12 years " Canon pixma mg8150 printer/scanner that i run under linux while researching a possible replacement i came across a canon pixma tr8660a printer / scanner https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/canon-pixma-home-office-tr8660a-bundle-all-in-one-printer-catr8660an#specifications flebay lists compatible ink cartridges and it talks postscript so you should be able to get it to work with windows without loading all the crap I gave up on HP stuff , they make nice hardware but the software is atrociace. I fixed the feed roller on the old girl with a warm soldering iron so the old beast lives on |
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| zeitfest Guru Joined: 31/07/2019 Location: AustraliaPosts: 378 |
HP is certainly not what it used to be. I too have a HP printer which was just too exasperating under Windows. A Brother printer has been excellent. |
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| al18 Senior Member Joined: 06/07/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 174 |
The HP smart app shouldn’t be needed to print or scan - that’s what I’ve found with my HP AIO. Scanning can be done directly to my email - no drivers are needed for scanning. Ink is low cost because I signed up for HP Instant Ink when the printer was new. $3.99 per month for 50 pages or pictures per month. HP sends you new ink carts before the old runs out. I’ve had excellent results with my HP thru the years. |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1798 |
How long do they send the cheap ink for, I thought it was only the first 6 months. I've tried to scan and no go, still looking into it and have contacted HP support. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| al18 Senior Member Joined: 06/07/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 174 |
You supply a credit card when you sign-up for HP Instant Ink. The first few months are free per the offer limits. You sign-up for the # of pages you want to print per month. 50 pages per month is $3.99 or 100 pages per month is $5.99. There are other plans - it’s all shown on the Instant Ink website. If you don’t use all your plan pages in a month, up to 3 months roll over. Leave you printer connected to the internet and leave it on all the time (it will go to sleep automatically). Lastly, you must use the supplied HP ink at all times - generic ink is not allowed. It’s all pretty simple and automatic. |
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| MikeO Senior Member Joined: 11/09/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 275 |
Regards the ink, I have used this company for many years now over many different printers and they have all worked ok, Epson used to complain sometime but was still ok, your printer is listed, may be worth a try? https://www.inkstation.com.au/hp-deskjet-plus-4100-ink-cartridges-prn-9166.html Mike Codenquilts |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1798 |
So I threw the new HP printer in the rubbish as soon as it ran out of ink and bought A Brother DCP-J1200W and it is brilliant. Problem is I uninstalled HP-Smart app. deleted the printer from the list of printers and made my new printer the default. Problem is everytime I reboot the computer the HP printer is back in the list as Default Printer. So when I print I'm told I need the HP-Smart app. that I uninstalled, I go to printers in 'Devices and Printers' and have to delete the HP printer again and make the Brother printer my default. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| phil99 Guru Joined: 11/02/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1781 |
It would seem the 'uninstall' ha left stuff in the registry. Make a backup of the registry (create a Restore Point) then run REGEDIT to search and delete references to the old printer. It can be a slow and tedious process as they may be numerous and scattered throughout it and it is Big. If the process goes pear-shaped restore the backup |
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Turbo46 Guru Joined: 24/12/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1593 |
There may be some entries in the startup file too. You can check it with Task Manager. I use the free version of CCleaner now and then to check on things. It can check the registry for unused references, back up the registry and fix any errors that it finds. I have always let it fix all errors and it has always done a good job. You can also use it to edit the startup file and delete unwanted files and cookies etc. Dr. Google can help if you are unsure what entries to disable. Bill Keep safe. Live long and prosper. |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1798 |
Nothing related to it in 'Task Manager' but I have found 2 files in Documents in a folder titled 'HP Reg Backup', the files are 'hta' and 'htafile', the hta file tells me that they have been added to the registry. Do you know where in the registry to start looking. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1798 |
Did a search of the Registry found the file and deleted it, rebooted and it seems OK THANKS. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| Turbo46 Guru Joined: 24/12/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1593 |
I don't. I don't mess with the registry unless I have specific instructions on what to do. I trust CCleaner to check for errors. I think there are other programs that can do similar things but I can't recall their names. Bill Keep safe. Live long and prosper. |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1798 |
I must install CCleaner and give it a run. Edit.... Do you use the Free version or the Paid version. A$65 a bit much. Edited 2023-03-10 11:02 by palcal "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| Turbo46 Guru Joined: 24/12/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1593 |
I use the free version. It does 'encourage' you to upgrade but the free one does all I need. You may be surprised at the amount of redundant stuff it finds in the registry. Glad you got it sorted anyway Windows can be frustrating and the registry can be a minefield. Bill Keep safe. Live long and prosper. |
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