I own an HP Inkjet Office Pro 7740. I purchased it exclusively for 'musical' chores.
I have been depping with a local (rehearsing/non-profit) big-band for the past few weeks. If the regular guy does not return (for whatever reason) then I get the feeling I might be offered the chair permanently.
The band has been running for a few decades now, hence the pad is yellowed and dog-eared to say the least! I am thinking of investing in some housekeeping (because many of the charts are falling apart at the seams!). A member of the band informed me that he had performed some TLC a while back in which he photocopied all offending parts and joined them using masking-tape rather than sellotape (the latter is an action I already use myself). Anyway, I thought there was a huge improvement even at first glance.
So, my question is, please: let's say there are 200 arrangements in the pad, and that 100 of them desperately need resurrecting. If we estimate that there are, (say) on average, four pages per song, this means there will be 400 x A4 sides to produce. I'm really don't know how printers work in this respect but I'm assuming each component has a 'lifespan'? If the copier (when it 'flashes') takes a photo then I will be executing this action circa 400 times. If I photocopy this (what I consider to be a very large) amount of pages then am I jeopardising the life/functionality of my printer, might anyone know, please?
I'm asking on this particular forum because we do (or at some point have) made extensive use of a home printer to produce our music sheets - and I would prefer to hear a musician's point of view.
Many thanks in advance for any kind assistance offered here.
Best,
Paul David Seaman (UK)
Sibelius 8.6 (v. 2018.1 / build 1449 / born 2018-01-22)
> Well the monthly duty cycle is 30,000 pages and one black cartridge is supposed to do 1000 pages you would have no problem.
Hi Robert,
You mean the unit can handle 30K instances of photocopying per month!? That does seem a heck of a lot for one poor ol' machine ;-(
(I'm not too concerned about the ink factor to be honest - it takes what it takes. I was more worried about use and abuse of the photocopying 'machinery. - ie. burnout!)
'
Paul
Paul, unlike a camera, there is no 'flash'. An led light which can last for hundreds or thousands of hours of constant use shines onto a CCD device (basically a large sensor that converts the light into electrickery) and by magic transfers that pattern to the printing part of the machine.
Wear and tear comes in only on the drive shafts and stepper motors used to push and pull things around and on the print heads. The cartridges will need replacing eventually, anyway.
Don't sweat it!
--
Win 10 Pro x64, Sib Ultimate 2021.2(build 3268) 2.6GHz Intel Core i7 9750H, 32GB,10TB (SSD + 7200rpm HDD), Scarlett 2i4, Sib 6.2,7.5, NotePerformer and others.
Si me castigare vis, necesse est me intellexisse.
mike@mike-lyons.co.uk
The printer will take it, and the light isn't a problem. Not the most cost-effective way of doing black and white copying though. And the print won't survive an argument with a brass instrument's spit key.
Is the existing pad all A4? Or one of the slightly bigger sizes normally used for commercially-published music.
> You mean the unit can handle 30K instances of photocopying per month!? That does seem a heck of a lot for one poor ol' machine ;-(
If you were running it continuously for 8 hours a day 5 days a week in an office, THEN you start thinking about how many years it will last before you need to replace it.
> If you were running it continuously for 8 hours a day 5 days a week in an office, THEN you start thinking about how many years it will last before you need to replace it.
Cheers Rob,
I really had no idea as to how to gauge the matter, to be honest.
> The printer will take it, and the light isn't a problem. Not the most cost-effective way of doing black and white copying though. And the print won't survive an argument with a brass instrument's spit key.
LP,
Thanks for confirming the longevity factor. Yes, it was the matter of the 'light' which was causing me great concern.
I think I spent a couple of months looking into different printers, and in the end I settled for this HP model.
For this big-band reprint obviously I am only replacing the duff parts in the piano pad, so other instruments are of no concern. But in my own octet I have four blowers:
trumpet
alto sax (flute & bass clarinet)
tenor sax (soprano sax)
trombone
Is this combination likely to be top heavy on saliva distribution?
> Is the existing pad all A4? Or one of the slightly bigger sizes normally used for commercially-published music.
LP,
That's a very good point and funnily enough I only considered it this morning. Yes; there are some pieces which appear to be somewhat beyond the A4 compass - probably around 15% of the pad, or maybe a little more. Actually, these are main culprits in that the tops and bottoms of the pages are creased, torn or otherwise.
From memory I think they were mostly American arrangements, I seem to recall.
> Paul, unlike a camera, there is no 'flash'. An led light which can last for hundreds or thousands of hours of constant use shines onto a CCD device (basically a large sensor that converts the light into electrickery) and by magic transfers that pattern to the printing part of the machine.
Wear and tear comes in only on the drive shafts and stepper motors used to push and pull things around and on the print heads. The cartridges will need replacing eventually, anyway.
Don't sweat it!
Good evening Mike,
I really appreciate your technical explanation - though it's a little above me. But I think the gist of what you are sayin' is that it's the moving mechanical parts which are likely to give way first.
I think we actually purchased the same HP model, did we not?; and at around the same time also.
> From memory I think they were mostly American arrangements, I seem to recall.
Maybe they are on US size paper. American "concert" size paper is 9 x 12 inches which is a bit taller than A4. 9.5 x 12.5 and 10 x 13 are standard US sizes as well.
> Maybe they are on US size paper. American "concert" size paper is 9 x 12 inches which is a bit taller than A4. 9.5 x 12.5 and 10 x 13 are standard US sizes as well.
Rob,
I think they were hard-copy purchased/originals (so they were produced that way at source). The name "Dave Wolfe" seems to be credited as the arranger on many of these pieces.
They are taller (than A4), hence the tops and bottoms are heavily damaged.
The scanner on this printer is A3 size. It'll certainly handle over-size A4, concert and anything up to A3. It also has a sheet feeder, so A4 parts can be piled into that and take some of the drudgery out of it.
--
Win 10 Pro x64, Sib Ultimate 2021.2(build 3268) 2.6GHz Intel Core i7 9750H, 32GB,10TB (SSD + 7200rpm HDD), Scarlett 2i4, Sib 6.2,7.5, NotePerformer and others.
Si me castigare vis, necesse est me intellexisse.
mike@mike-lyons.co.uk
I have only ever used my HP to produce A3 sheets. Even if the page of music only takes up the area of A4, I still use one sheet of A3 (so that half of the horizontal page is blank). I can't be doin' with mixin' A3 and A4 pages together.
Have you ever used your HP printer offline? I mean, so that it is not connected (USB or wirelessly) to your PC?
I ask because I was considering the scenario of printing/photocopying the library of damaged music sheets via the printer alone. Meaning one would use the menu/display of the printer to perform all of the actions whilst the PC is switched off. Would this, typically, be your own approach?
First of all, DON'T use an ink jet printer to copy trombone parts. They will be an unreadable blobby mess after a very few plays when the spit valve glides over the desk. Secondly, copying larger than A4 sheets onto A4 paper, you need to set the zoom level. Measure the length of the original page in millimetres (or inches) and divide 297 (or 11.69 if in inches) by this number. That will give you the zoom level you need.
Adrian, modern HP printers have pretty much waterproof ink. I know this because I have tested it.
Paul, have you read the manual? You seem determined to make a rod for your own back. There's nothing to stop you copying A4 parts all in one go and then do the A3 parts in another batch. I have the top tray for A4 paper and the bottom tray for A3. The printer can decide which to use according to the paper size - especially if you are using it as a photocopier.
Yes. You can use it independantly. I tend to use a flash drive in the usb socket under the display if I want an electronic copy of the sheets. If you use the COPY function rather than SCAN it will work EXACTLY like a photocopier - including, as Adrian said, the enlarge/reduce and single/double sided copying functions. You can even copy single sided copies and print them all together in a 'booklet'.
--
Win 10 Pro x64, Sib Ultimate 2021.2(build 3268) 2.6GHz Intel Core i7 9750H, 32GB,10TB (SSD + 7200rpm HDD), Scarlett 2i4, Sib 6.2,7.5, NotePerformer and others.
Si me castigare vis, necesse est me intellexisse.
mike@mike-lyons.co.uk
Thanx for the verification, Mike. I still occasionally come across parts that are not waterproof, especially when the bass player throws pages away (due to lack of page turns) and land face down in my pool of spit on the floor ;-[
If you want to produce durable parts, IMO you would be better off scanning the existing pages to create a PDF and then using a print shop to print it on a laser printer. That is more likely to be liquid-resistant than any inkjet ink, "waterproof" or not.
Also good quality inkjet paper usually has a shiny surface (to prevent the ink soaking in and spreading as it dries) which may not be as readable in bad light as good quality matt finish paper that works fine in a laser printer.
> If you want to produce durable parts, IMO you would be better off scanning the existing pages to create a PDF and then using a print shop to print it on a laser printer. That is more likely to be liquid-resistant than any inkjet ink, "waterproof" or not.
Hi Rob,
I understand your advice, thank you. But the (big-band) piano-pad is not my own and so I don't really want to be going off on a mission, or spending more than it would ordinarily cost (this gesture is coming out of MY pocket btw!). And to be honest ANYTHING would be a significant improvement to it's current condition (it must be over 30 years old at least!).
> Secondly, copying larger than A4 sheets onto A4 paper, you need to set the zoom level. Measure the length of the original page in millimetres (or inches) and divide 297 (or 11.69 if in inches) by this number. That will give you the zoom level you need.
Ade,
Wow, I did not know that - many thanks. That's super helpful information!
> Paul, have you read the manual? You seem determined to make a rod for your own back. There's nothing to stop you copying A4 parts all in one go and then do the A3 parts in another batch. I have the top tray for A4 paper and the bottom tray for A3. The printer can decide which to use according to the paper size - especially if you are using it as a photocopier.
Mike,
I may not have explained myself clearly here, I do apologise.
I was specifically referring to the fact that if an arrangement is 3 pages long, then I will intentionally deploy 2 pages of A3 for the task. Some arrangers might use 1 page of A3 and then 1 page of A4 (for the final/single page of music). I tried this a couple of times a while back and I found that it felt/looked a bit weird having a single A4 page at the end (eg. for the coda). This was even more apparent the greater the amount of A3 pages in the arrangement.
Don't ask me why as I'm not even sure I can put it into words other than the aesthetics of the final presentation seemed a bit 'odd'.
> Yes. You can use it independantly. I tend to use a flash drive in the usb socket under the display if I want an electronic copy of the sheets. If you use the COPY function rather than SCAN it will work EXACTLY like a photocopier - including, as Adrian said, the enlarge/reduce and single/double sided copying functions. You can even copy single sided copies and print them all together in a 'booklet'.
Mike,
Very interesting to hear that you make use of the flash-port. You actually read my mind a little here!: if I scanned each part and THEN printed, I could have the whole piano pad saved as PDFs on my hard-drive!?
Personally I don't like 'booklet' format, if I'm honest. I can see the logic in it, but in a big-band (playing jazz charts) it's more suited when you can lay the arrangement open. Nothing against 'booklet' but, when playin' jazz, it's always felt a little on the 'academic' side. Great for other genres though, I'm sure.
Slightly digressing, half of the reason the pad is weather-beaten is because the folder is falling apart.
Does anyone know what these music-folders are called, please? I have seen them in bands I played in many many moons ago, but I honestly don't know their official title? The bow has snapped off both folders, also.
Why don't you like booklet parts? I use them whenever page turns allow. Best way to save the forest. The alternative is fanfold, which uses twice as much paper, pages need to be sellotaped together, and page turns still have to be cleverly planned out unless you don't mind several pages hanging over the edge of your desk.
> Why don't you like booklet parts? I use them whenever page turns allow. Best way to save the forest. The alternative is fanfold, which uses twice as much paper, pages need to be sellotaped together, and page turns still have to be cleverly planned out unless you don't mind several pages hanging over the edge of your desk.
Ade,
Well you kinda' hit the nail on the head there - I don't like double-sided pages of music.
I'm getting a bit better now at avoiding endless V.S. instances.
Regarding 'length' I invested in 8 of these for my octet (well obviously it would be 8!):
The music stand extenders are fine for the rhythm section players. I have a home made music stand that gives me a spread of about 5 pages on my home studio keyboard. Regarding the blowers, stand extenders would certainly solve the problem of social distancing ;-) if the stage was large enough.
