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Why Your Next Printer Won’t be a Dell

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Sometimes the big boys do not learn and companies are either forced to change their strategy or hemorrhage profits to oblivion.

This is not one of those times. HP, Epson, Canon, and others have been playing in the printing business for sometime. I work for HP and have some insight into how the market and the company are changing. HP listens to their customers and watches their competitors like a hawk. Look for some big changes in the near future, but that is all I can say right now. I can say that HP feels confident in the direction they are moving and do not see Dell as a big threat in the printer market.

So why would I buy a Dell printer? The only thing that I can think of is ease of initial ordering. This is akin to buying a “meal deal” from a fast food chain. It is natural to assume that you will be buying a printer with your PC, assuming that the PC you are buying is your first. I cannot think of very many people who buy a new printer with every new system; but who knows. So we are getting a drink with our fries and burger. But what if I want a Pepsi, Snapple, or wine instead of Coke? The major players all offer ways to order on the web, either through their site or via another retailer. No big advantage there.

There are many other things that I would consider as downfalls:

Can only buy ink from their online store

You can run to your local Target, Office Depot, or Circuit City and buy ink cartridges for most major printers. How many times have you printed a photo, your term paper, or resume and ran out of ink? You cannot wait around for someone to deliver a cartridge to you. Optionally, HP does have links to their online store and other retailers from the toolbox in the systray of your computer (assuming you have HP?s software installed).

Touch factor

If I want to compare the print quality of a Canon next to an HP DeskJet, I can run to Circuit City, CompUSA or wherever, and hit the “Print Sample” button. Why would I buy a printer without knowing if I’m going to like it or not? Also there are other things to consider: noise, form factor, and speed.

Wolf in sheep’s clothing

Let’s face it; you’re buying a Lexmark, not a Dell printer. ’nuff said.

Limited selection

Granted this will only be a short term problem but with plenty of selection currently on the market, buying a Dell printer right now should not be an option.

Ink system

I am no big fan of ink refilling. After working here, I have realized that refilling cartridges can really ruin your printer and make a huge mess. But I understand why people do it. However, if you refill a Dell cartridge, it will no longer work. The new Dell printers will recognize a cartridge that has been refilled and lock it out. Other companies are trying to do this but currently most printers will allow 3rd party or refilled pens.

There are many different printers out there to chose from, many of them better than a Dell/Lexmark printer. Don’t waste your time buying a Dell printer just because it says Dell on it. You’ve been warned…

Quotes: “Few heads will turn this morning when Dell Computer makes its long-awaited entry into the computer printer business…and customers aren’t likely to flock to Dell’s Web site to trade in their existing printer for a new one with a Dell logo.” — San Jose Mercury News – Article

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Showing 49 comments

  1. Doug at 4:44pm 14th February 2010 I just figured it out.

    Lift the cover and removes 3 screws. Carefully lift the top, scanner unit off its two, slide-on mount points. The top is snap fit all around. I unsnapped the top section starting at the back, from the two, slide on mount points and worked my way around to the front. Carefully pull the friction connectors for the electrical. There are four of them. Be careful—the connection for the paper sensor is very thin and delicate.

    Dr Doug
  2. Doug at 3:48pm 14th February 2010 Harold, I'm also trying to rip into my Dell AIO 922 printer. Did you ever figure out your way in on yours?

    Dr Doug
  3. Doug at 3:45pm 14th February 2010 Harold, I'm also looking for help disassembling a Dell AIO 922. Have you found your way in yet?

    Dr Doug
  4. Pam at 6:27am 29th January 2010 You can buy in for your Dell printer at Staples.
  5. Harold at 4:11pm 15th January 2010 I have a Dell A920 which is experiencing a "cartridge stall" problem. In reality, the carriage is jamming as it tries to move out of the service station. Does anyone know how to disassemble an A920 to gain access to the service station area? I've tried cleaning the wipers and removing any dried ink but it's really really difficult when the access is so lousy. Thanks.
  6. Brad at 2:11pm 8th December 2009 Based on my experience with my Dell printer, I will never buy another Dell printer OR a Lexmark printer. I don't care how cheap it is. The money I would save would not begin to pay for the therapy I need after dealing with the printer on a daily basis or Dell tech support.
  7. Joe at 2:52pm 7th December 2009 Cause there aint any good answers when it comes to Dell
  8. Dave Hooyer at 7:25pm 31st July 2008 I have a Dell 966...it will print fine with the refilled cartridge. A message pops up that basically says the cartridge is low, but the software print display on the computer gives you the option to tell the computer to ignore that message for now and the future. You will still have the "low ink" message but the printer will print anyway. If it is indeed a Lexmark printer, would be nice to find if there is a Lexmark cartridge that would work.
  9. curt at 2:37pm 15th July 2008 Found my solution to the Dell 966 AIO ink prices...Samsung ML-2851-ND laser jet!!
  10. clivegsd@gmail.com at 4:26am 30th June 2008 Must agree with Donald who posted in February.

    Instead of just bashing the Dell who make products to a price rather than a quality, can anyone come up with a solution to getting reasonable cost printer cartridges or a comparison table of cartridges that will fit Dell printers. That would be a better use of this forum.
  11. Karen at 8:29am 28th June 2008 Went low on color ink in my 924. Thought I had an extra but didn't. They bundle the ink in such a way that I had to buy black even though I have 3 already. If you don't buy the bundle, they are really, really expensive. Tried to use a refill done at the store (office max) and one from the shelf and the machine doesn't recognize either one. I am saving up to buy a new printer.
  12. ken at 7:01am 8th June 2008 I have a 6 month old Dell photo 966 All in one printer/fax/scanner. I had an issue with the Window's Vista mail program and Microsoft had to do a "clean repair". When I went to reinstall the printer after with the disk it won't load the drivers. Dell can't figure it out, and neither can Microsoft. GET THIS! Dell's solution, "GIVE THE PRINTER TO SOMEONE ELSE AND BUY A DIFFERENT ONE!" I swear! Either that or Uninstall and reinstall the operating system completely.(not a repair like was done a week ago. Making sure to back up any important information. (it wouldn't be saved on my computer if it wasn't important.) Then install the printer drivers BEFORE I upload any 3rd party software. Oh, that sounds easy. Just wipe the whole computer clean in order to install the printer. Makes sense to me...or throw this one out and spend another $400 on a new one. Hmmmm. Thanks Dell! Their reason for this was "Windows Vista has known compatability issues". Well sinse I order everything from Dell, and they installed the Vista software, how is it my fault that it's not compatable???? Buy from anyone but DELL!!!!...and stear clear of VISTA!!!
  13. Sewardsfolly at 7:27am 18th April 2008 I agree. Dell is not a printer MFG. I have a Dell 966 with wireless printing

    There are four primary reasons not to purchase.

    1. it is a lexmark, not dell
    2. the set up utility is lacking and confusing
    3. the bi-directional communications cause problems with wireless networking once you finally get it figured out
    4. Ink is only avialable from Dell and Staples, Refilling is not realy an option cause even if you refill through an alternative vendor the cartrige has a serial number embeded and it only sees that cartridge as empty and it can not be reset.
  14. Jake in LA at 8:19pm 6th April 2008 I too had purchased the Dell 944 printer, and yes, tried the generic cartridge refill route. My PC now tells me the refill is unsupported and I cannot bypass the message. Another observation is that the cartridge does not hold a good deal of ink, costing yet more. To quote another dissatisfied buyer, "Buying a Dell printer when you have to order the cartridges online, is about as useful as buying a car that only accepts mail-order gas" I'll try for a fix in the meantime...
  15. Donald at 10:51am 14th February 2008 Well all I see here is a bunch of people bashing Dell but no one offering any answers. I happen to own an hp 7760, 932C, a450n (desktop) and a Compaq desktop. My Comjunk died 1 year and 3 days that?s right 3 days out of warranty and was told that I would have to pay for service! My 7760 came to me DOA from HP but was replaced 3 weeks latter. So before you all bash Dell remember HP is not any better when it comes to customer service. Now if Lexmark makes Dell?s printers I would think you should be able to take your Dell cartridge to someone that sells Lexmark cartridges and match them up. I just got a 924 only cost me 38.00 so i'll see if I can find a compatable Lexmark and let you all know.
  16. Donald Davenport at 10:51am 14th February 2008 Well all I see here is a bunch of people bashing Dell but no one offering any answers.
    I happen to own an hp 7760, 932C, a450n (desktop) and a Compaq desktop. My Comjunk died 1 year and 3 days that?s right 3 days out of warranty and was told that I would have to pay for service! My 7760 came to me DOA from HP but was replaced 3 weeks latter. So before you all bash Dell remember HP is not any better when it comes to customer service. Now if Lexmark makes Dell?s printers I would think you should be able to take your Dell cartridge to someone that sells Lexmark cartridges and match them up.
  17. JJ at 12:53pm 31st January 2008 Dell AIO A940 Black Ink wouln't print (I almost gave up and bought a new printer.) Here is the fix (for ours, so far - fingers crossed...)

    Go to PRINT, PROPERTIES, PAPER SETUP, SPECIALTY PAPER, PHOTO/GLOSSY

    Good Luck!
  18. Nick at 9:06pm 10th December 2007 Bought a new PC in mid-Nov., a Dell 330, with Dell printer 966.
    Apart from the loud "scrunch" when you switch on the printer, which scares the hell outta me, the main problem I have is with the paper. I place about 30 sheets in the tray, and when I print, out comes anywhere up to 8 pages stuck together, very occasionally just the one printed page, but usually 2 or 3 or more.
    I checked the manual and riffled (fanned) through the sheets to separate them, but it still happens. The side adjusters are always correctly in place, yet out comes several sheets at a time. Sometimes the top line of the printed page is missing and is printed on the top of the blank page underneath.
    Any ideas, anyone? Thanx!
  19. chris at 8:17am 28th November 2007 Would someone just answer the damn question at hand about the bypass of the cart. so we can use 3rd party refills.
  20. D Klein at 3:52am 28th November 2007 Had Walgreens refill dell ink. After four trips
    and a lot of frustration, I finally got my money back.
    Why can't Walgreens warn customers that they can not refill for 944 printer. Honesty is the best way to keep customers.

    '
  21. C Latta at 3:23pm 29th October 2007 I purchased a Dell laptop and printer two years ago and have nothing but problems on the laptop. Now, I can't find a reasonable price for ink cartridges for the printer. What a mess! Never, never will I purchase another Dell product or relay any good comments to anyone. I have had problems with their service center, etc.... NO WAY WILL I EVER BUY ANOTHER DELL!
  22. Temple Davis at 7:01pm 18th October 2007 I had a Dell computer. It was terrible. It crashed in two year's time. Terrible. Also, the very nerve of having to order the cartridges from only them, Dell.

    Also, my Dell Printer lost the drivers when I bought my new Hewlett Packard Computer (which I love), and now my all in one printer A920 won't even work. It was not cheap.

    When I went to Dell's site to download the drivers, I got nothing, and when I put in my
    service tag number I was still rejected as no longer being in their files.

    Now I have a printer and scanner that doesn't work. I spent three hours downloading supposed drivers for the Dell printer, information obtained from my HP Help, but then it was only for a Fax.

    I will NEVER buy another Dell product. I have always preferred Hewlett Packard, and allowed someone to persuade me to buy a Dell.

    Now, since my Dell all-in-one A920 printer will not work, I will likely buy another printer. PLEASE recommend the best printer-scanner. This computer has Vista, where I previously had XP.
  23. Temple Davis at 7:01pm 18th October 2007 I did have a Hewlett Packard computer, which I loved. Then I was persuaded to buy a Dell. Big mistake. Due to problems with the Dell I have now bought another new Hewlett Packard.

    I have a Dell Printer A920, all in one, and in the transition to my new HP I lost the drivers for the Dell Printer and Scanner. Now I can't use it. When I went to Dell's site to download the drivers so I can use the printer, I was told that I was no longer listed, although I had the Service Tag on the printer.

    HP has told me they located and downloaded the driver, but I haven't found it, and of course the printer still isn't accessible. I don't want to have to buy a new printer at this time, since my computer was expensive.

    In my view Hewlett Packard is still the best!
  24. Debbie at 10:08am 17th October 2007 I will be replacing my Dell Photo 966 All in One printer with an HP printer. I bought the Dell printer four months ago and it has never worked property (often won't print from the Internet; if it does, it freezes after the first couple of pages if the print range is more than a few pages; difficult to delete a document from the print queue, and more). Since July, I have had ten (!) different case numbers with probably 15 different technicians, each case number averaging about 3 hours of my time, and no resolution in sight, including a replacement printer. BOTTOM LINE: ONE OF THE TECHNICIANS ADMITTED THAT 30% OF THE DELL PRINTERS DO NOT WORK PROPERLY WITH VISTA.
  25. J T at 11:16pm 28th September 2007 Just found your site as I was searching for a solution. I bought a Dell 944 printer with my computer and the black ink quickly ran out. I refilled it with a refill kit that says it can be used for Dell but can't get it to print. The ink diagram shows full again on the black ink , but nothing. Did anybody find a way to bypass the programming Dell apparently put on these cartridges/printers to prevent us from being able to refill ?
  26. Chimommy at 11:16am 20th September 2007 I am so glad I can upon this article. I have a Dell All-in-One A920. It has been giving me problems with paper jamming for no reason and the print quality has dropped substantially. I just upgraded from Win XP to Vista and now the stupid thing doesn't work at all. I was trying to decide if I should get another Dell printer or just buy one from another manufacturer. I believe I will be doing the latter. Thanks for the info!
  27. Russ at 2:30pm 25th May 2007 Dell A940 is a good enough printer when it works, but after 2 years of use it has now stopped printing in black. Seem that the printer can recognise using third party cartridges and will stop printing. The printer still goes through the print cycle moving back and forth feeding the paper through with nothing on it. Dell needs to bring down the price of the cartridges and make them more accessible to buy or it will be squeezed out of the market. I have tried re-installing the software, nothing doing, changed cartridge, still nothing, send it to the land fill site would appear to be the solution. or e-bay.
  28. chuck at 6:35pm 21st May 2007 I have a Dell 810 with refills it will not read I have the tape off and all but it is the Dell nightmare tried to pay to get around there prices and still cant.Anyone know how to run a print head Cleaning Utility
  29. Ashley at 3:18pm 5th April 2007 Can someone please helppppp
    I bought a Epson DX5000 Printer & scanner but my dell 3100 will not regonise the softwear.Yet when i have tryed it on my friends system (not dell) it uploads perfect
    Can someone out there please help because the shop will not take it back as they say it is a fault with my dell pc
    ..Ashley
  30. Michael E. at 6:41pm 11th March 2007 I bought a Dell 924 printer. I called Dell and they said that the ink cartridges contain a microchip which lets the printer know when the original amount of ink has expired; unless the mircrochip can be bypassed, there is no option to refill. Can anyone help? Thank you.
  31. RickF at 12:20pm 6th March 2007 I'm glad I found this forum. I was thinking about purchasing a DELL 966 All-in-one printer. I heard that the only place you could get ink cartridges were thru Dell directly. So to be sure, I visited Staples in town. According to a Staples tech, they are allowed to cary ink cartridges for only 4 models of Dell printers. I don't remember all 4 models he mentioned, but as I recall, two of the models were, 920 and 960. So if you need ink, I'd suggest you call Staples and ask if they have your model cartridge.

    I think I'll stick with my old HP Deskjet 720C. It's about 5 years old but still works ok -- but slow.
  32. James at 5:44pm 2nd March 2007 i got my dell printer as a freebie on a deal with a dell laptop, the laptop is great but the printer a 924 is a true nightmare, i hate it, at first it was alright, it did everything quite well, until i'd printed maybe 10 pages, after this the colour cartridge read half way and the black colour cartridge is putting great big black lines through everything. the software provided with the printer doesn't work properly, the scanner (which i have never used before) is jammed. contacting dell was pointless, they told me i must have been tampering with it and it wasn't covered. i hate this printer and i've only had it for two months.
  33. BJ at 12:15pm 2nd March 2007 I just received the Dell 810 with the purchase of my new system. Being proactive I started checking around for cartridges. Are there compatibles that will work? I prefer not to refill. I may be better off sticking with my old HP?
  34. Pauline Auwbrey at 4:44pm 18th February 2007 TO: EDWARD R. BLUNT:

    I was able to print an Owner's Manual for
    the 922 at www.dell.com/suppliers
    support.dell.com
  35. Pauline Auwbrey at 4:44pm 18th February 2007 I will NEVER again purchase any Dell product), and would never have purchased a Dell PC and printer if I had known the following:

    1. That you can only purchase Dell ink
    cartridges from Dell; AND,

    2. That BOTH color and black cartridges
    MUST be full simply to print a black
    copy! RIDUCULOUS!!!

    Those are just a couple of problems I have encountered so far.

    A few months ago, I purchased 8 black/color cartridges from Dell for approximately $90, and today I find I am out of color ink cartridges.

    However, I learn from my mistakes. Today, I will order a HP printer for less than $90, and will have a much better quality printer for which I can purchase ink cartridges anywhere.
  36. EDWARD L. BLUNT at 10:57am 8th February 2007 don't you sme's jump on this senior citizen non-tech person for my lack of "procedure" and knowledge.

    i have a dell "photo aio printer 922," and can't find instructions on how to print envelopes.

    any help ???

    elb
  37. Tony at 1:26pm 29th January 2007 well i just bought 3 dell 924's with systems. now i guess i wish i had not. i have been refilling for a number of years. when the black ink light started to blink i refilled the cartage. prints but still blinks. tried killing power and resetting. nothing works. anyone know what the lexmark number is for the j5566 cartage ? or a fix for this ?
    thanks Tony
  38. david bathie at 12:58pm 14th January 2007 CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW TO GET MY DELL (@$ PRINTER TO WORK AFTER I REFILLED THE BLACK CARTRIDGE.I'VE LOOKED FOR 2 DAYS TRING TO FIND AN ANSWER-TRIED UNPLUGGING -REINSTALLING CARTRIDGES,NO AVAIL.DO I HAVE TO UNINSTALL PRINTER SOFWARE?? OR JUST PAY THE "DELL THIEVES"-$80.00-H-E-L-P--!!
  39. david bathie at 12:58pm 14th January 2007 I re-filled my Dell 924 black ink cartridge when it started showing "LOW INK".I bought the refill kiton E BAY for $9.00.I checked with the seller,they said would be fine.I refilled cartridge(easy) installed,computer/printer ran for two days,then stopped ltting me select print in B/W on preference page.Seems I need to get a Dell cartridge to reaet this sofware,I tried unplugging and re-starting,will not work.Can anyone help-? I'm not a computer person,someone said to delete all printer software and reinstall-Don'T think I could do that w/out some insruction.Dell sucks.
  40. Amelia at 11:08pm 6th January 2007 I too bought a Dell 960 AIO printer. Yes, it was because of the ease of purchase and also some recommendations from friends and co-workers. My next printer will not be a DELL, it died only after 2 yrs. Paper jams all the time, no matter what I do. Ink is expensive and recommends using only Dell ink. It's big and bulky. If I new it was a Lexmark, I definately would not have bought it. Live and learn I say. My very first printer bought 8 yrs ago was HP still functioning so I decided to buy another HP. Thanks for letting me vent. Hope this helps when thinking about your next printer.
  41. Conrad Walczak at 12:17pm 19th October 2006 Quote: "just had to make a little ajustment which took about 5 sec so dell will not get anymore ..."

    So what is the little adjustment? It's in the intro but not in your article.
  42. Cynthia at 8:01pm 3rd July 2006 I would like to know what adjustment Scott made for that to work. I can't stand the fact that I can only order my ink... When I want it, I want it then.

    Cynthia
  43. Cheryl at 1:33pm 20th April 2006 I have a Dell 960 all in one and it came with the bundle that we purchased through my husband's employer. I hate this printer with a passion and if I could I would throw it in front of a train. It doesn't copy with a plug nickle and the ink, oh there's another story entirely. Does anyone know if there is a Lexmark cartridge that I could use in this stupid printer of mine? Any information that anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.
  44. Charlene at 7:43am 17th April 2006 Google List a bunch of places to purchases cheap refills that will work look at the link below

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859...
  45. Charlene at 7:43am 17th April 2006 here are places to purchase the ink refills

    www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=ca...
  46. Jose at 10:23am 5th April 2006 Does anyone on here know which Lexmark cartrige would fit a Dell 922? I would appreciate any help. Thanks!
  47. betty at 9:47am 19th March 2006 i have a new 924 all in one copier. the paper gets jammed all the time and there doesnt seem to be any jammed paper inside.
  48. Nick at 9:44am 28th January 2006 I have a A940 Dell printer and am having problems printing in black. Do you recommend an after market cartridge? If so which one? According to Dell the remanufactured cartridges or do it your self refill kits just do not do the job right and according to Dell that is why I'm having the problems. And frankly I do kind of regret purchasing a Dell printer.

    Thank You. Your response is appreciated.

    nick.
  49. scott at 7:51pm 26th January 2006 I agree with you I bought a dell printer with my dell computer 2 years ago and was about to buy a whole new printer from someone else just for the fact I couldn't get my ink from any local retailer But I did find a way to get get my ink from a local wal-mart On my printer I can use a lemark 82 for black and I a lexmark 83 color I just had to make a little ajustment which took about 5 sec so dell will not get anymore of my money when it comes to Printers.
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