Printer Repair vs Replace

[Rathji]

We have a HP color inkjet printer at work that won't feed properly, it won't grab anything unless you nudge the paper further into the tray and then it will grab a huge stack of paper and pull i through all at once.

I am pretty much the furthest thing from a printer guy that there is, so I thought I would pop onto CP and see if we happened to have a printer guru. Anyone know what it might be and if it is something that could be fixed economically vs just buying a new one?

Also, does anyone know of a place around downtown that wouldn't gouge to fix it?

[zamler]

The price of a repair will very likely exceed the value of the printer, especially used. Unless you are patient and decide to do it yourself, just scrap it.

And do yourself a huge favour and get a laser printer, preferably one that prints both sides. The cost per page will be vastly lower and will print much faster. If you still need colour, get a colour photo printer and only use that when you must have a colour output. Inkjet printers are a huge money waster.

[Hack&Lube]

Unless it's a more expensive business model there is no point to replacing it as a new one costs less than repairs and often even less than new ink.

[photon]

Most printers have a combination of a pickup roller and a separation pad to pick the paper up one by one.

http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/408b.html

I used to use this on pickup rollers, cleans them and renews them a bit so they work well again for a while.

You can try using isopropyl alcohol on the roller to clean it as well.

The separation pad usually wears out and needs to be replaced, and it can be pretty easy to replace, just search your printer model and separation pad on eBay or around the web to see if you can find a replacement. Or sometimes cleaning it well to get rid of the smooth sheen will get it back in action for a while.

Otherwise yeah, considering brand new multifunction printers are $50 or less getting someone to fix it probably isn't worth it (unless it's an expensive printer to start with).

[Rathji]

Thanks for the input, everyone.

It is a pretty high end inkjet, which is why I am even taking any time at all to consider fixing it.

[photon]

Yeah if it's a high end one, then search for the pickup roller and separation pads and see if you can find a guide to replacing them, some printers they are pretty easy to replace.