When my wife was alive, we had her computer connected to an HP Officejet Pro 8500 multi-function printer. That machine also served as our fax machine and scanner, but those functions were rarely used. She liked printing stuff in color, so that's why she had that one. My computer, on the other side of the home "office" room, was (and is) connected to an HP Laserjet 1536dnf multi-function printer, which is B&W.
Since my wife's death three years ago I mostly keep the Officejet turned off, because that's my only protection from junk faxes. I don't remember when I last used it, but I turned it on today and it won't print at all. It runs and goes through the motions, but no ink comes out. I have read that the life of the print heads in that model is short, and I remember getting some alert messages awhile ago that the printheads were mostly expired. New ink cartridges didn't fix it, so I guess it needs print heads.
Print heads are available from Staples, but they cost $70 ... each, and two are required.
My dilemma is whether or not to drop $140 on new print heads. I have another printer waiting in the wings, an Epson wide carriage inkjet that will handle up to 11x17 and the slightly larger "Super-C" size paper. So I don't *NEED* the Officejet -- but it's a good machine (when it works), and it bugs me to just dump it in a landfill.
Fix ... or dump?
Amazon has a set of refurbished print heads for the Officejet Pro 8500 for $41. That's tempting, but reviews are VERY mixed. For some people it seems they worked great, and for others they didn't work at all, or died at 31 days (with a 30-day warranty period). Worth a try?
