My resin printer was powered off with resin in the vat for about 7 months. Last night I turned it on, gave it a job, and I woke up to a successful print.
My inkjet printer was powered off for 2 weeks. Last night I turned it on, gave it a job, and was instantly disappointed with a streaky, blotchy output. Running a clean cycle just made the output worse.
Why are 2D printers so terrible despite decades of development? What are some 2D printers this community has had good interactions with/would recommend?
Sounds like the consensus. I also have a dye sublimation printer for photos (Canon Selphy) and it never fails. We’ve used it as a “near instant photobooth” at weddings, put probably a thousand photos through it, and photos today looks as great as the day we bought it.
The dye sub printers are doggedly reliable because basically the entire print mechanism is actually in that CYMK film cartridge, and every time you replace it you get a whole new everything. The printer itself only encompasses the linear heating element and paper handler and doesn’t have to contain any ink/toner/pigment handling hardware at all.
But that’s also why the things are so damn expensive per print. They’re excellent for the singular purpose of printing photos, which admittedly is what they’re marketed for, but lousy at everything else.