Hi, I have this weird problem with this printer, it was working fine on a PC with Windows 2000, after reformatting and installing Xp it only prints gibberish, I installed the Epson dirvers for it (even though winxp includes drivers) and the status monitor reports there is a connection error and that I should check the cable. I have tried reinstalling the printer, different cables and different drivers (epson’s and windows’) to no avail, any help would be appreciated…
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The drivers for that are built into XP but you have to manually select them.
You have to do that for any parallel connected printer it has drivers for because they’re not Plug-n-Play detectable.
The BJ-2xx and BJC-2xx and BJC-4xxx series are extremely reliable, although I stopped using the silly color / black cartridges for the color print head in my BJC-4400 long ago and use only the BC-20 black cartridge for it. I have refilled the black cartridges for the 2xx and 4xxx series many times, getting as many as 12 refills before the print head on them gave out.
The Canon drivers for them for ME / 98SE and 98 / 95 ? are better than the ones built into Windows but they can’t be used in XP, and probably 2000.
Most of the models if not all of them can be set in their Properties to power on automatically for a print job and shut off after xx minutes of inactivity automatically. The BJ-2xx and BJC-2xx series at least could do that in Dos too.
I have rescued maybe a half dozen or more of them from being thrown out and gave them to mostly people who had not much money to spare. The only ones that have failed (3) since (the printer that is) were damaged by a power surge or voltage spike (1 ?) or by the user plugging in or unplugging the parallel cable while the computer was running (2 ? – the same guy twice for sure- duh ! ).
I also have the color scanner cartridge IS-22 for the BJC-4400 – 300 dpi, slow to use, but it works fine.
I bought the BJC-4400 on sale and the scanner cartridge in Dec. 1999 and it was my main printer and after I started using XP my only printer since then until recently. It came with a color print head / cartridges (tanks), the scanner cartridge was 1/2 off ($75). I got the black cartridge free by sending away a coupon that came with Canon paper that I bought separately at the same time.
I’ve refilled the color / black ink tanks for the color print head but gave up on that (I wasn’t using that print head often enough – it clogged often), and have refilled all of the BC-20 black ones. I’ve only had to buy maybe 4 BC-20’s.
I also have a Canon Pixma ip4200, about six years old, I’ve had it for a year and a half, it’s one of the last ones Canon made that still had / has 98SE / ME drivers available for it.
I refill it’s cartridges (5; tanks) and have a chip re-setter for them. I’ve done that since it was new, before I had it for a friend. In total, fewer than one set of new cartridges (ink tanks) have had to be bought (it came with a set of them).
My brother and sister used a BJ-2xx model for many years. My brother is still using a BJC-2xx that I rescued from being thrown away for his secondary printer (black cartridge only).