Grandma, I have a Canon i550....it's an inkjet.... it has a black tank, and magenta (red) tank, a cyan (blue) tank and a yellow tank.....I can replace any one of these 4 when they run out (the printer tells me...on screen...when it is low and out on ink...) and not have to replace the other 3, which may be fine, yet... It will go quite a ways on Low, and even on "out".... it stops printing when out...When it reaches "out", it's best you have another tank in readiness....... I try to keep extra tanks on hand anyway... if you run out of ink..it seems it's **always** in the middle of a huge print project, and, on a Sunday afternoon, yet!! I think the separate tanks give a sharper color... and the black just seems to be a "blacker" black.... I know for a fact, that the 4-tank ink supply is gonna be a Major consideration when this one hits replacement time! My 2-cents worth! PAX NancyT ----- Original Message ----- From: "Grandma Fern" <fern@lucasco.net> To: <SENIOR-NEWBIE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, May 02, 2005 9:00 PM Subject: Re: [SR-NEWBIE] Printer Problems Boy did you ever give me a bucketful of information concerning my defunct printer and I thank you very much for it. I did take it to a repair man who fiddled with it a bit and announced that he didn't think "owed me anything" and that rather than try to repair it since it was well past retirement age, I probably would be better off to purchase a new printer. I think I have to agree with him as I have been having quite a bit of trouble with it lately. It is now my decision as to which printer to pick as a replacement (but not until I have attempted to try to fix it myself with your suggestions). I have heard pros and cons from so many makes and models that I am almost down to drawing a name out of a hat. If you have information about a one that you feel is worth the money, I surely would appreciate a "run down" - Thanks again. - Grandma Fern ==== SENIOR-NEWBIE Mailing List ==== To find and join surname and location genealogy lists at RootsWeb go here: http://lists.rootsweb.com ============================== Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx

Hello Nancy, Tuesday, May 3, 2005, 7:43:11 PM, you wrote: NT> I think the separate tanks give a sharper color... and the black NT> just seems to be a "blacker" black.... I know for a fact, that the NT> 4-tank ink supply is gonna be a Major consideration when this one NT> hits replacement time! Yep - separate ink tanks for the colours is definitely a plus point no matter what make of printer you go for. There is of course a minor downside to this ( as ever ) - if you have a 6 tank printer it won't work at all if one of them is out ... so if you've run out of yellow you still can't print a page of black text. Having said that, I think the plus side of knowing you aren't going to be forced to throw away some of that colour ink just because one of them runs low outweighs the need to have a full set of inks to hand :-) BTW - did anyone realize that ink tanks have a 'Use by' date too ? So it's no use stocking up on loads of them cheaply if you don't plan on using them quickly. After a while being stored too long in the drawer the chances are they won't work when you fit them !! -- Best regards, Barry mailto:barry@yobunny.co.uk MicroSoft Free Zone running Xandros 2.0 Deluxe

I do know....by woeful experience.... that ink does dry up....and it dries up in the printer if you don't use it regularly.... Thanks, NancyT ----- Original Message ----- From: "Barry" <barry@yobunny.co.uk> To: <SENIOR-NEWBIE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2005 5:27 PM Subject: Re[2]: [SR-NEWBIE] Printer Problems Hello Nancy, Tuesday, May 3, 2005, 7:43:11 PM, you wrote: NT> I think the separate tanks give a sharper color... and the black NT> just seems to be a "blacker" black.... I know for a fact, that the NT> 4-tank ink supply is gonna be a Major consideration when this one NT> hits replacement time! Yep - separate ink tanks for the colours is definitely a plus point no matter what make of printer you go for. There is of course a minor downside to this ( as ever ) - if you have a 6 tank printer it won't work at all if one of them is out ... so if you've run out of yellow you still can't print a page of black text. Having said that, I think the plus side of knowing you aren't going to be forced to throw away some of that colour ink just because one of them runs low outweighs the need to have a full set of inks to hand :-) BTW - did anyone realize that ink tanks have a 'Use by' date too ? So it's no use stocking up on loads of them cheaply if you don't plan on using them quickly. After a while being stored too long in the drawer the chances are they won't work when you fit them !! -- Best regards, Barry mailto:barry@yobunny.co.uk MicroSoft Free Zone running Xandros 2.0 Deluxe ==== SENIOR-NEWBIE Mailing List ==== The focus of this list is on helping Seniors to learn to use computers and the Internet. Tolerance and patience are the watchwords. For help with genealogical research methods and procedures, join ROCKINGCHAIR-ROOTS. Click and send: mailto:ROCKINGCHAIR-ROOTS-L-request@rootsweb.com?subject=subscribe ============================== Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx