Recently PC World looked over their ratings and came out with an updated list of what they considered to be the best inkjets on the market. Here they are:

1. HP Deskjet 5940
2. HP Deskjet 5440
3. Canon PIXMA iP4200
4. Epson Stylus C88
5. HP Deskjet 5740
6. Canon PIXMA iP1600
7. HP Deskjet 6840
8. HP Business Inkjet 1200d
9. Lexmark Z735
10. HP Business Inkjet 2300

Before you wonder why this list looks a little strange, we will point out that these are strictly inkjet printers; there are no photo printers or multifunctions machines on this list. Therefore, you get strange models like the HP Business Inkjet 1200d, which probably makes up about 1% of all printers sold. These days, very few models are officially only inkjets. Almost every inkjet model, no matter how crappy, is marketed as a photo printer. Add to that the amount of multifunction printers that manufacturers are making these days and you are left with a small percentage of standard inkjets.

They rate the number one printer, the Deskjet 5940, as “very good”, even though we have heard some feedback that says otherwise. The 5940 and the Deskjet 5440 are definitely popular models, but the 5440 seems to get more positive feedback. Having the PIXMA iP4200 on there makes sense, because that is a very popular and very well-reviewed printer. Other than that, the whole bottom half of the list is pretty suspect.

One of the rare complaints that users have with Canon printers has to do with the waste tank in the printer. When you run the cleaning utilities, the printer uses ink to clean out the nozzles. The printer then dumps the excess ink from cleaning onto an absorbing pad. Eventually, the pad will become “full” and the printer will lock you out. It is possible for people to clean these pads themselves, but officially there is no way for someone to unlock the printer even if the pads are cleaned. According to the Canon manual, only a Canon technician can enter in a secret code to unlock the printer. Obviously, having to take your printer to a certified Canon technician is either highly annoying/inconvenient or downright impossible. So, some people have come up with their own ways to try to outwit their printers. Here is one method from fixyourownprinter.com:

1: Power off printer
2: Hold Resume button then press and hold POWER, the beeper will sound once.
3: Hold POWER and release RESUME
4: Press RESUME twice
5: When the indicator lights steady, press RESUME three(3) times. The indicator should be orange.
6: Press Power to set data

We have seen a couple different variations on this code, but they all basically follow the same steps. There are a couple different methods in this forum and on other sites on the Web.

Canon BJC-3000 waste ink tank full [fixyourownprinter.com]

Amazon has the PIXMA iP1600 on sale for only $29 with free shipping and no rebate to mess around with either. Granted, this printer usually only retails for $40-$50, but still, you can’t really beat $29 for a new Canon.

The PIXMA iP1600 is a photo printer that is rated at 19 pages per minute for black prints and 16 ppm for color. It has a resolution of up to 4800 x 1200 and it can produce a 4 x 6 in a little over a minute. Other than not having memory card slots, the iP1600 doesn’t really skimp anywhere. The print speed and resolution are pretty standard and it can take all different sizes of paper.

If you already own the PIXMA iP1600, let us know what you think about it. If you are looking for PIXMA iP1600 cartridges, you can find those on our site.