Have Printer makers finally, learned? or was this a fluke...

Mr.Guvernment · Jan 10, 2009

we all know the fun on buying a printer.. you research, find one you want, find a place to buy it, then buy it, maybe get some extra cartridges for, get home, open the box, start getting it all ready, go to hook it up and

AHHHH! crap! no USB WTF!!! "begin rant about how cheap printer makers are for not including one"

Well, today i had to replace my Epson r270 photo cause it was crapping out (when my house was robbed last years the theifs didnt take it they just dropped it on the floor)

So i picked up the Epson Stylus r290 and lo-and be hold!!!

IT COME WITH A USB CABLE!!!

it even says on the box it has a USB cable!!

Have printer companies finally clued in?

Has anyone else got a new printer lately with a USB cable in it?

LilBuddy · Jan 10, 2009

Nope. I remember 5 years ago when I worked at Circuit City we sold $50 printers with $30 USB cables.

4GHZ_or_bust · Jan 10, 2009

Chances are that USB cable will crap out after you plugged and unplugged a few times. Generally anything that are included are of cheap quality (half empty ink cart labeled as "starter" set, cheap cable, etc)

Mr.Guvernment · Jan 10, 2009

ya i used one i already had, but it was nice to see them finally include a USB cable!

sandyduff · Jan 11, 2009

Iv been using one for years which has a USB cable... maybe you were just reeeeeally unlucky in picking out printers...

Mr.Guvernment · Jan 11, 2009

lol, any epson i have ever bought, or my uncle and printers for work, never came with USB cables, i recall a huge thread, not sure if it was on OCF or [H] about this very subject.

Old Thrashbarg · Jan 11, 2009

I dunno, I personally find it hard to get excited over a $1 USB cable when Epson is one of the worst offenders with overpriced, chip-crippled ink cartridges and is also responsible for the lack of choice in CD printing due to their patents in the US. Pick your battles, and all that.

I will say, though, the last inkjet I bought was in '98/'99, an HP Deskjet when USB was first becoming popular, and it included a USB cable in the box. (It didn't have a parallel cable, though.)

Mr.Guvernment · Jan 12, 2009

i didnt know epson had a cd printer thing going on, no wonder i couldnt find any other printers that print directly on cd!!

i like epson printers, always have, for photo printing i always found them far better then HP's, Canon i havent tried yet, but should, but i do need cd printing, so kind of stuck with them.

Also epson was busted for the chip fixing issue i recall as well, disabling cartridges before they were actually empty, some *cough* searches *cough* on the right sites got me a tool to... well. get better usage out of my cartridges

madhatter256 · Jan 12, 2009

LilBuddy said:
Nope. I remember 5 years ago when I worked at Circuit City we sold $50 printers with $30 USB cables.

And they still charge $30 for such cables where you can get no-name brand for $3 and meet all the proper shielding requirements, etc.

Old Thrashbarg · Jan 12, 2009

i didnt know epson had a cd printer thing going on, no wonder i couldnt find any other printers that print directly on cd!!

Just putting it out there for the sake of general information, but there are some models of Canon Pixma printers that can be modified to do it, as they simply disabled the capability on the US versions. It's just a matter of removing a cover plate, changing the firmware region to Japan or something, and buying/making a cd tray. I've been considering doing just that, if I find a good deal on the appropriate model of printer.

Mr.Guvernment · Jan 12, 2009

sucks they did that, since i am in costa rica... the epson r270 is latin american printer and i think the r290 is as well, i guess canon doesnt have latin america counter parts...

terran2k · Jan 12, 2009

my dad's printer came with a usb cable

don256us · Jan 12, 2009

About 10 years ago, I bought an Epson at a computer show. For the same model, some were listed with a USB cable and others didn't say if they did or not. I bought one clearly marked with the cable. I have not seen a printer come with one since.

These days I buy the cheapy HP all-in-ones and they do NOT have a USB cable.

I dunno, I personally find it hard to get excited over a $1 USB cable

For you and I the cable is $1 plus shipping. But for many folks, places that offer the best buy on electronics sell them for $35 +.

hi-yield · Jan 12, 2009

I just bought an Epson CX9400Fax all-in-one.
No USB cable and the starter inks were half full.....no surprise though. :beer:

petteyg359 · Jan 12, 2009

Have never had a printer that included a USB cable. However, I am unlikely to purchase a printer in the future that requires a USB or parallel cable. Network-ready lasers with RJ45 FTW!

Mr.Guvernment · Jan 12, 2009

yup, in the past any printer i bought never had one, even if it is cheap i am sure it works, just nice to see they are maybe starting to include them... maybe....

the half full ink has always been going on, is like a tease for most people, i mena i am buying a decent printer, almost $170 here in CR (cheaper on the site of course, dam CR prices) but come on... include decent ink, like a full ones..... you already over charge me at almost $15 per cartridge and i need 6 for this printer...

Old Thrashbarg · Jan 13, 2009

Network-ready lasers with RJ45 FTW!

Oh yeah, that totally pwns any USB printer. The Laserjet we've had here for years is networked, makes things so much easier when you have multiple computers hooked up. I also just picked up a Brother multifunction laser/fax/scanner/copier ($5 at a thrift store, woohoo!) and have it set up with an old parallel-port printserver I dug out of storage.

It's just too bad most consumer-level printers don't have the capability built-in... usually it's the expensive upper-tier business models that have it.

Have Printer makers finally, learned? or was this a fluke...

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