3DPrinting

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3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.

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What 2D printers do 3D printer people prefer? (self.3dprinting)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by vic_rattlehead to c/3dprinting

56 comments fedilink hide all child comments

My resin printer was powered off with resin in the vat for about 7 months. Last night I turned it on, gave it a job, and I woke up to a successful print.

My inkjet printer was powered off for 2 weeks. Last night I turned it on, gave it a job, and was instantly disappointed with a streaky, blotchy output. Running a clean cycle just made the output worse.

Why are 2D printers so terrible despite decades of development? What are some 2D printers this community has had good interactions with/would recommend?

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[–] idunnololz 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I have a tank printer which I got like 5 years ago? It still works and the ink is pretty cheap even if you buy first party. We are still using the ink the printer came with 5 years after. The print quality can suffer if I don't use it for over a month but the maintenance job has always fixed the issue so far.

I don't doubt laser printers are great. I'm just offering a potential 2ndary option.

[–] dual_sport_dork 3 points 7 months ago (2 children)

The Epson EcoTank. Yeah, I went through three of those under warranty before I gave up. I bought my color laser immediately thereafter.

Epson's design decisions with those, at least of the generation I had, were worse than questionable. The ink tanks are not sealed, so your ink slowly dries out and thickens. Then the print head clogs. Dust can also work its way in under the caps. There is no way to drain the tanks for transport, cleaning, or removing expired ink (except to use a long syringe) and there is no consumer accessible way to purge or clean the lines inside, either. The print head is also not removable for cleaning or replacement. If it gets gummed up and the printer's inbuilt cleaning song-and-dance with the wipe pad can't fix it, you are capital F fucked.

Epson then instructs you to drain the ink tanks before sending your unit in for warranty work, knowing full well that they did not include any provision whatsoever to allow you to do so. Genius! After the warranty expires, the machine is landfill. It is not feasibly serviceable by the average end user.

Needless to say, I do not recommend the Epson EcoTank line. It's great that you're having good results with yours, though. I certainly didn't with any of the three I had.

[–] ASeriesOfPoorChoices 1 points 7 months ago

There's more than just Epson. There are Canon ink tanks too, and probably Brother.

All are super easy to dismantle and clean if need be.

[–] idunnololz 1 points 7 months ago

Three?! Wow that's insane. The QA on these must be terrible. I guess if you luck out it's great lmao.