Is this even possible? And what is the “best” printer brand(in your opinion)?

Question by Kaiyra: Is this even possible? And what is the “best” printer brand(in your opinion)?
So I have a HP Officejet 4500. The first one we got did not have that little white strip on the scanning glass(I think that the white strip lights up).

So we got another one under the warranty, which was not brand new. It had a white strip, and it was visible whenever it was off, and when we first turned it on, it would move back and forth. So a couple of days ago, I scanned some pictures and it worked fine. Then within two hours of my last scanning, I had to copy a document. It would not copy. I looked at the scanning glass, and there was not a little white strip.

This is probably a dumb question, but do those strips or whatever they are, disappear? Or do they evaporate into thin air? Could it have been suspended and supported, and somehow broke whatever supported it, and fell into the printer?

We called the HP support center, said we had to get a replacement, again. But it’s just like before, we don’t get a new one, we just get one that was broken before and was “fixed”.

The printer is plugged into the wall. We did turn it on, and re-installed it again.

Do you have any idea what happened to that little white strip inside the scanner? We are looking to either get our money back, or get a real brand new printer, or just buy another brand that is better and actually works. What brand do you reccomend?

Best answer:

Answer by Sam Vee
I think what you call a little white strip is a flourescent bulb which is part of the scanner. It illuminates the document so it can be copied. And no, it should not disappear. It should last for a number of years. In my years of hardware support, I have installed many scanners and I don’t recall having one which didnt light up. That’s out of hundreds. Something is very wrong when you are getting this many problems. It sounds like whoever is supposed to refurbish these machines is doing a miserable job.
As for the best all-in-one, keep reading:

The Epson Artisan 725 currently $ 99 direct from Epson after instant $ 100 rebate. Best warranty in the industry, Epson will fedex a replacement and pick up the old one at their expense should you need it. The Artisan 810 is $ 109 in refurb with full 2-year warranty. Since you get free shipping, this works out to the same as the 725. A year ago the refurb Artisan 800 was on sale (almost the identical printer). I and many friends bought it. In a year only one (out of at least a dozen) had to be replaced and it took one day. Not mine and I use it heavily. The Artisans are heavy-duty wireless, scanner/Copier/printers, print to DVD, fast, great output. Best of all, you can get ink for under 50 cents a cartridge. You pay under 2.50 for reusable cartridges and then get $ 2 back for the empties. Or you can buy refillables (which is what Im using now) and refill yourself for pennies. The info on the printer and the link to the epson deal is at http://ccs-digital.com/Best-printer-deals.asp

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