02 Feb 2003, 15:52, JIM HOLSONBACK (1:123/140), wrote to MATT MC_CARTHY:

Hi JIM.

 MM>> THANKS!  I recently picked up an old HP LaserJet III that my 
 MM>> dealer threw out, and finally got it to print a test page.  Now 
 MM>> that I know toner can be refilled cheap, I will have to clear out 
 MM>> a space for that monster!
...............

 JH> THE UGLY
 JH> Your 92295A cartridge may not be a very good candidate for 
 JH> refill.  I only found one Ebay seller of refills for those.  See my 
 JH> email and other post about that. 

Got those and saved for later reference...
..............

 JH> THE BAD  (maybe not so bad if you don't have either of these 
 JH> probs) LJIII seems susceptible to paper-jam problems- worn out pick-up
 JH> rollers or other.   

The history:  About three years ago the LJIII was working fine, then got
moved to my dealer's home when they sold their 'storefront'.  A year later
he thought he could sell it, but it only gave a "50" series error
code.  I tore it all apart in his wife's living room over a course of two
weeks and after finally getting 12 layers deep got to the main circiut
board and found three leaky caps.  Replaced those as well as several
corroded traces, got it all back together and it worked!  A 'sale' at that
time was no longer an option, so it spent the next two years in a hall
closet.

Two weeks ago he had another potential 'sale' for it, and we couldn't find
it!  Seems last summer his wife got on a health kick, and decided she
wanted her bicycle in that closet instead of way out in the backyard shed.
We found the printer in the shed, stored on its side!  Brought it back in,
and nothing but error messages galore.  He put in a new cartridge, and
after blowing the whole thing out, shaking, kicking, re-seating, etc., it
was left with only the "Paper Jam" message, but there was no
paper in it!  After an hour of that, he finally said he didn't want that
#{at}$%$%&^%&**(%$ piece of {at}#$$%^% anywhere within his sight, and
took it outside and put it in my car.

Well, I couldn't get it out of the car without help, so I rode around for a
week with it in the back seat until one day my daughter was home at the
same time I got there, and had her help.  Put it in the basement, connected
it up, installed the Win98SE driver(s), and it asked "Do you want to
print a test page", hit "Yes", and printed a perfect test
page on both the letter and legal trays.

I guess it was tired of resting in the shed on its side, and just wanted to
go for a ride!   :-)

The HP website did give several warnings about "Paper Jam
Switches" that often stick, and the bouncing in the car might have
unstuck something.
.................

 JH> There is a site - www.fixyourownprinter.com - which lists
 JH> common problems by make and model, and sells parts to fix, plus a 
 JH> VCR video showing the procedure.  

Will save that one for reference also!

...................
 JH> which parts you need, replacement pickup rollers and other parts can 
 JH> be obtained at lower prices by ordering directly from HP website.

Also good to know!

 JH> Did your test print come out OK?  

They were perfect, as it has a new cartridge.  (see above)

 JH> THE GOOD
 JH> The 92295A cartridge (also called 95A) used by LJII, IID, III and 
 JH> IIID was used by a number of other printer brands also, even including
 JH> Apple. It is compatible with Canon EP-S cartridge.  Others, like 
 JH> Lexmark, make clones of this cartridge.  Plenty of these cartridges, 
 JH> new HP, new Canon, new clones and remanufactured,  are available at 
 JH> Ebay - a search on "92295A" finds well over 100 current auctions.  
 JH> Some even have "Buy It Now" prices for under $20. With
some patience, 
 JH> I expect you could come up with a bargain for under $20 for a whole 
 JH> new cartridge, and that might be attractive 
..........................

VERY attractive, especially if I outlive this cartridge...   :-)

As in your case, I normally only print two pages per month, and that's only
for the wife's glucose summary for her doctor.  A situation I so far have
not been able to beat with my old daisywheel and the dry carbon ribbons, as
they last forever!  Certainly not enough printing to _invest_ in a laser,
but since the price was right...!   :-)

     Thanks, M.

--- Msged/386 TE 06 (pre)