Death by 1000 paper cuts

About 6 years ago, I was in the market for an all-in-one photo printer. It needed to print, scan, copy, fax, and print on photo paper. After reading many reviews, I chose the HP Photosmart 6150 (this is the Costco version of the 6100).   HP makes great calculators and logic analyzers, so I was ready to buy.  By the way, a quick check on Amazon shows that they still sell this printer (!!!).

This was an XP install (because back then, that was what was available), and everything initially looked like it was working and the print quality was good, but after working with it for a while, its software (and hardware) deficiencies began to rear their ugly head.

• The memory leaks like a sieve.  Every time you print something, it leaves behind 2 processes that never close.  I was constantly going into the task manager to kill these tasks.
• The sheet feeder broke the second time I used it.  The gears are plastic and it it just started clicking when they would not properly mesh together
• Could not get colour scans to scan at 600 dpi or higher.  It kept on complaining of not enough memory, even though I had the maximum amount of memory for XP (2.75 GB).  A quick math check shows that a 8.5″x11″ sheet of paper at 600 dpi should consume around 100MB of memory.  The fact sheet claims 4800×4800 dpi optical resolution with a maximum 1200 dpi scan resolution.
• Going through the fax log is agonizingly slow.  As in, many tens of minutes to retrieve an old sent fax.
• HP update never worked.  It just keeps on popping up reporting an error.  Firewall allows it, no updates were ever made available by HP, yet the error continued to annoy.
• Network connection became completely non-functional after installing the DynDNS updater.  I was able to create an IP alias and get the printer working again, but none of the other functions.  I finally had to install DynDNS on another machine that I knew would never use the printer.  Truthfully, this is probably the fault of DynDNS (I think it may have been trying to set up my printer for internet printing).
• Periodic network connection failures which would require not just powering down the printer, but also unplugging it and replugging it.
• The UI for scanning multi-page documents was terrible.  Multiple clicks to get it to scan each additional page (yes I want to scan another page, new scan, accept, repeat).  If you were busy changing pages in the scanner (because the sheet feeder didn’t work) or walked away for a coffee, you would have to remember where you were in that process.  Have I accepted the current page that I am viewing right now, or am I ready to scan a new page?  Failure to remember would mean dropping a page in the middle of your document, or getting 2 identical pages.
• Photo prints never quite matched what I saw on the screen, they would always be too dark and I would always have to brighten the image by a lot before printing (this is with the basic photo fixing enabled).
• Ink cartridge capacity was very low.  I could get around 20 8.5″x11″ photo prints before having to change a colour cartridge.  From observation I am led to believe photo printing uses K (black), Y, LM, and LC, and regular printing uses K, Y, C, and M.
• [Sidebar: HP 02 black cartridge retail cost: $35, colour cartridge (of which there are 5 of them): $15 each.  Cloned ink cartridges from www.123inkcartridges.ca, the entire set of 6 for $20]
• [Sidebar: all colour printing will print yellow tracking dots identifying your printer serial number (as an anti-counterfeiting measure), even if you are printing a black and white page, so your yellow cartridge will always drain much faster.  To save on yellow ink, when you print a b&w page, set to only use the black cartridge with grayscale printing in your printer properties.  It would be nice if it automatically did this]
• And the final straw: for no good reason and out of the blue, photo prints started printing out way too warm.  I could change the colour tone to cooler, but it still wouldn’t look right.  Reboot computer, unplug and reboot printer, complete HP software uninstall and re-install did not fix the problem.

By the way, going to the HP website to download the latest software doesn’t help, since they’ve never actually updated the software.

As a former driver software developer, these problems were not just bad software, they are unacceptable.  So, out goes the 6150, and in comes the Epson Artisan 835 ($160 at www.canadacomputers.com, as I recall this is about 1/2 the price of the HP).  [Sidebar: The only difference between the 835 and newer 837 is that the 837 can print directly from your mobile device]  Print, scan, copy, fax, CD/DVD/BD printing, photo printing, duplex printing, wireless connection.  So far every element is superior to the HP.  It is much shorter than the HP, but it is deeper due to the duplexer on back (the HP didn’t have a duplexer).  The front panel touch screen UI is much nicer, the paper tray and output trays are well designed and unobtrusive, the sheet feeder is nicely integrated.  It is sleek and svelte and doesn’t have random plastic bits sticking out everywhere.  The software doesn’t leak and its much more intuitive.  The print quality is as good or superior to the HP, photo print speed is much faster than the HP, though regular printing is slower.  Photo prints more closely match what I see on the screen than the HP and I don’t have to brighten anything.  OEM ink cartridges are a bit cheaper than HP, but I’ll still be getting clone cartridges thank you.

I’ll continue to update this blog post if I run into any problems with the Epson.  But I don’t think I’ll ever buy an HP printer again.

• I’ve only printed out a few photo prints so far with the new Epson, but I believe the ink cartridge capacity to be low also, in the same range of around 20 8.5″x11″ prints.
• Black and white printing is a manual setting, similar to the HP, so I’ll be buying more yellow ink cartridges than any other colour.

TIFF 2011 Day 11

Where Do We Go Now? (winner TIFF people’s choice)
In a remote Lebanese hamlet, the outside world begins to creep in when a villager installs a TV set. Determined to avoid sectarian violence, the women band together and hatch a devious plan. Excellent script, but I wish the musical numbers were more numerous and more universal. And why do the subtitles for foreign films always use the crappiest font they can find? 9/10

The Cat Vanishes
A professor returns home from a psychiatric clinic after having a psychotic break. Shortly after, the cat vanishes. Is it a portent of an ill wind, or has the cat just wandered off for a few days? Good start and end, but the pacing in the middle was a bit slow and needed to kick up the tension by a notch. 5/10

TIFF 2011 Day 10

Headshot
Ex-cop turned vigilante gets shot in the head and then can only see the world upside down. Non-linear story, and I had trouble determining which time period they were showing. Slow pacing, the film couldn’t decide whether it was about revenge or redemption, and that whole upside down vision thing was largely unexploited. 4/10

Producer and former TIFF programmer Raymond Phathanavirangoon

Kill List
A pair of soldiers of fortune are hired to kill all the people on a list, but things don’t seem right when the victims seem too cooperative. Done in a raw and visceral verite style, the flinch factor is high and the fun factor is low. A slow start and actors with thick accents who don’t enunciate make it tedious to watch, but it does pick up towards the end. Shot on RED but shown on a 35mm print, it looked like ass; Ryerson has a digital projector, so one can only wonder why. 4/10

Director Ben Wheatley

TIFF 2011 Day 9

There was a 1 hour delay in the start time of Smuggler due to technical difficulties. Fortunately, Bobcat Goldthwait was in the audience and gave an impromptu stand up routine.

Back at the historic Elgin to see Hysteria

The Elgin

Hysteria
Romantic comedy based on the true story of the invention of the vibrator. I was laughing so hard that I had tears coming out of my eyes. An overall crowd-pleaser with an undercurrent of social commentary, specifically on women’s rights and socialized medicine. Even if you don’t believe in those things, see this film anyways because laughter is universal, and who isn’t interested in female orgasms? 9/10

Director Tanya Wexler

Smuggler
Converging stories of a deadly assassin and a conscripted smuggler, based on a short manga story. Very strong start with an amazing slow motion action sequence but diminishes after that. Pacing is a bit uneven, but I really enjoyed the quirky high-strung characters. 8/10

Director Katsuhito Ishii

TIFF 2011 Day 8

Violet and Daisy
Bittersweet story of a pair of teenage hit girls at work. All goes well until they violate the cardinal rule of assassins: don’t talk to the job. Strong story, strong acting, great execution; director Geoffrey Fletcher is at the top of his game, and is both humble and gracious to boot. He manages to hit both the high notes and low notes in this tome; the extremes of immaturity and wisdom, kindness and cruelty, laughter and sadness, are often within the same refrain. This film isn’t Oscar bait like Precious was, but it has a lot of heart and its a far more entertaining ride. 9/10

Director Geoffrey Fletcher

Alexis Bledel, James Gandolfini, and Saoirse Ronan

The Day
Post-apocalyptic story of a group of rag tag survivors who make a final stand against a marauding horde. Familiar plot with some non-traditional story elements and decent execution. Special mention to Ashley Bell, who kicked ass. I had not realized that this film was a Western until the end. 7/10

Cory Hardrict, Dominic Monaghan, producer Guy Danella, Ashley Bell, director Doug Aarniokoski, Michael Eklund, writer Luke Passmore, and Shawn Ashmore

TIFF 2011 Day 7

Michael
Exploration of the relationship between a man and the boy he holds captive in his basement. Simultaneously disturbing and mudane, it is engaging throughout and there is a remarkable amount of tension when the characters are doing very ordinary things. Will he get caught or won’t he? Will the boy die? Is it rape time? These are the tensions that percolate as Michael goes to work and comes home every day, pretending to live a life no different than his peers. Very different from the sensationalism that this story would be elevated to if handled by the news media or Hollywood. It’s very humanizing and nonjudgmental, and shows a world that the viewer has not seen before. There are 2 films this year at TIFF with this title, this one is the Austrian one, the other is an Indian film, so try not to confuse them. 8/10

Director Markus Schleinzer

Lovely Molly
A couple moves into a house previously occupied by the wife’s deceased parents, and soon start hearing strange noises. Oooh, scary. More than just a ghost story, but still has familiar elements. Nice performance by newcomer Gretchen Lodge in a difficult role. The story took a little while before it really got going, and there was some confusion about some elements in the film (eg. the unknown woman in the POV “video” footage, was it video from her past or was she stalking a stranger? That is answered at the end of the film, but that nugget would be helpful earlier with a proper introduction of the character). Lots of POV shakey cam, but the DOP had enough sense to use short lenses so it isn’t nauseatingly shakey like Blair Witch or Sleepless Night. One aspect that I do object to is that the actors actually don’t have very much face time. The camera is often following behind them, so there is lots of the backs of their heads or 1/4 shots.
6/10

Director Eduardo Sanchez

Gretchen Lodge, Johnny Lewis, and Alexandra Holden

TIFF 2011 Day 6

Visa screening room again tonight, which means chocolate for dinner

The Lindt crew giving away chocolate in line

Filling the truffles

Hi Ruby!

Countdown
A debt collector is diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and must use his skills to find a matching donor within the next 10 days. Really strong script and acting performances. Jung-Jae Young as the deadpan bad ass collector is both hilarious and poignantly sentimental in his role. Good pacing and kept me engaged throughout. Unbeknownst to me, the two actors are the Branjelina of South Korea, and there were throngs of groupies at the screening, including a few who rushed the stage to touch them. Throngs of fans at the stage door too, which made for a difficult exit. 8/10

Do-yeon Jeon, director Huh Jong-ho, and Jung Jae-Young

Sleepless Night (Nuit Blanche)
Dirty cop has to return the dope he stole from a mobster to get his son back. Decent story and it’s always fun to watch Tomer Sisley on screen. Plenty of action throughout, but it seemed a bit repetitive. I strongly disliked the cinematographic style, which had lots of long lens hand-held shakey-cam and made me nauseous. It had lots of hard light and an extremely contrasty look, to the point where every scene looked either under exposed or over exposed and usually both (just like old SD camcorders). And even though it was shot entirely on the 5D, they added a generous amount of grain and lowered the resolution to make it look like film, so it had the worst of all worlds. They may as well have shot it on handy cams. Surprising since the cinematographer is Tom Stern, who is Oscar nominated. 6/10

Director Frederic Jardin and Tomer Sisley

TIFF 2011 Day 5

First screen at the Elgin during prime time, which means Lindt chocolate. This year they were giving away freshly made milk chocolate truffles. Yay, chocolate!

Life Without Principle
Intertwined stories of a Hong Kong banker and a loan shark during the time of the Greek debt crisis. Look to the title of the film for the common theme. Not your typical Johnnie To film as there is very little violence compared to his previous films. The more I ruminate about this film, the more I like it as many comparisons are made of those two worlds, and it is made clear that the bigger crooks are the bankers. The best scene in the film is when the major characters have made their bets on the direction of the stock market, which then proceeds to fluctuate up and down. 7/10

Director Johnnie To

The Incident
Short order cooks are trapped in an asylum for the criminally insane when the power goes out and the inmates riot. Great build up of tension and humanizing the characters. The plot was a bit derivative, but the execution was very well done. 7/10

The audience beachball has morphed...

Director Alexandre Courtes

TIFF 2011 Day 4

First a few walking around pictures

Twixt
Third rate horror novelist finds inspiration in a small town’s local ghost story. The first half of the film was engaging, but began to lose me in the second half as the dreams got more disjoint. Probably because the entire story is based on an interrupted dream of Francis Ford Coppola. Val Kilmer shows us his improv chops in one particular scene, and he really is quite funny. There were 3 distinct cinematographic styles in the film: reality/flat, dream/desaturated with single colour passthrough, and climax/3D (the 3D was passable, but not great; too much divergence and too much bokeh). This really gave some interesting moods and tones to the film. Ultimately the whole story kinda falls apart in the last act. 5/10

Director Francis Ford Coppola

Val Kilmer and Francis Ford Coppola

Extraterrestrial
In the awkward moments after waking up after a drunken one night stand, a couple looks out the window to find the city deserted and a giant alien craft hovering over it in this science fiction romantic comedy. Quirky characters, moments of hilarity, and ludicrous situations make for a fun ride. I have some criticism for the script, it could have been tweaked a bit more before going to picture; I found that I needed more convincing for some character motivations. Director Nacho Vigalondo is quite a funny guy in person as well. 7/10

Director Nacho Vigalondo

Livid
Three people search for hidden treasure in a creepy house. Genuinely creepy, but violates one of the most important rules of scary movies. You must establish a set of rules and stick to them; this film sets no rules and in the second half all sorts of random things happen with no explanation, to the point where continuity is blatantly violated. Establishing mood: great. Why did that happen: I don’t know. Cinematography was mostly ok, except many low light scenes were way too noisy. 5/10

TIFF 2011 Day 3

First a few walking around pictures.

The Ides of March
The 2008 Democratic primary race mixed with some high profile political scandals and a thin veneer of fiction. Ok, so the story is a composite as well as some of the characters, but that makes for good movie making. Political backstabbing at its finest supported by a stellar cast. If you weren’t a cynic before seeing this movie, you will be afterwards. No cast or crew showed up for this screening. 8/10.

You’re Next
Uninspired chills and thrills stalker film. Derivative and predictable plot. Not very good camera work with way too much handheld, lots of focus errors, and overuse of long lenses (it shrunk the distance between people who were not supposed to be close to each other). I did like the lead actress Sharni Vinson, and the build up of anticipation of the trap at the end. Move along now, nothing to see here. 4/10.

Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett

Rob Moran, Margaret Laney, Barbara Crampton, Wendy Glenn, and Sharni Vinson