Advice on buying a new inkjet

[geronimo]

I have an USB Epson CX6400 all-in-one that has died...the carriage
for the ink cartridges broke loose. Cost way too much to have
repaired. I have a top of the line HP scanner, so don't need another
all-in-one....just a printer. I am an artist, and I might print out
ten pictures in a month in color, plus very light B&W doc printing,
maybe average 20 draft pages.mo. But I *am* looking for photo quality
for pictures. The Epson was prone to printing lines....I hate that!
What is disgusting is that I had just bought a set of replaceable
ink cartridges for it, supplied by ink.manufactory. THis would have
saved a lot of cost for ink. However, I think they only offer these
cartridges (with a replaceable ink tank) for about a dozen Epson
models and a couple of Brother models.
I just can't hardly afford color printing if I have to pay full
price for replacement cartridges. (who can...you have to be rich!)
So hopefully it would be one that has some cheaper aftermarket
alternative like I had found for my CX6400.
If there isn't any cheap cartridge alternative that works well,
maybe in the long run it is better to just get one of those printers
like Tiger Direct GIVES away after rebate, just to sell replacement
cartridges? I get the impression that just about all of the sub-$200
printers die within a couple of years anyway.
I have gotten lots of used computer stuff from ebay, but am thinking
I ought to stick with a new one with warranty, as printers are so apt
to die sooner rather than later.

Thanks.

 

[irwell]

I have an USB Epson CX6400 all-in-one that has died...the carriage
for the ink cartridges broke loose. Cost way too much to have
repaired. I have a top of the line HP scanner, so don't need another
all-in-one....just a printer. I am an artist, and I might print out
ten pictures in a month in color, plus very light B&W doc printing,
maybe average 20 draft pages.mo. But I *am* looking for photo quality
for pictures. The Epson was prone to printing lines....I hate that!
What is disgusting is that I had just bought a set of replaceable
ink cartridges for it, supplied by ink.manufactory. THis would have
saved a lot of cost for ink. However, I think they only offer these
cartridges (with a replaceable ink tank) for about a dozen Epson
models and a couple of Brother models.
I just can't hardly afford color printing if I have to pay full
price for replacement cartridges. (who can...you have to be rich!)
So hopefully it would be one that has some cheaper aftermarket
alternative like I had found for my CX6400.
If there isn't any cheap cartridge alternative that works well,
maybe in the long run it is better to just get one of those printers
like Tiger Direct GIVES away after rebate, just to sell replacement
cartridges? I get the impression that just about all of the sub-$200
printers die within a couple of years anyway.
I have gotten lots of used computer stuff from ebay, but am thinking
I ought to stick with a new one with warranty, as printers are so apt
to die sooner rather than later.

Thanks.

Quality color printing and cheapness are really incompatible,
probably your best compromise is a Canon, gives excellent
printing, but the ink cartrdiges are expensive,

 

[Michael Johnson]

I suggest getting a Canon that uses CLI-8 cartridges. These printers
are fairly easy to refill. Best of all the price for refilling is less
than $1 per cartridge. Just be sure and use reputable after market
inks. Others here can give you excellent advice on what ink brands are
worth buying. The only downside I know of for refilling Canon printers
is you will lose ink monitoring via the software. This is really a
minor inconvenience considering the money you will save by not buying
OEM ink.

 

[Burt]

(snip).

Quality color printing and cheapness are really incompatible,
probably your best compromise is a Canon, gives excellent
printing, but the ink cartrdiges are expensive,

Irwell - You would only need to see a small sample of my prints made with
refilled Canon carts (MIS ink) to realize that the appearance of these
prints is absolutely equal in quality to Canon OEM inks. While they may
fade more rapidly than those made with OEM inks my prints, either in albums
or framed, still look great after about four years. Other people, using
quality refill inks report similar success.

 

[Michael Johnson]

Irwell - You would only need to see a small sample of my prints made with
refilled Canon carts (MIS ink) to realize that the appearance of these
prints is absolutely equal in quality to Canon OEM inks. While they may
fade more rapidly than those made with OEM inks my prints, either in albums
or framed, still look great after about four years. Other people, using
quality refill inks report similar success.

The same goes here. My wife is a scrapbook enthusiast and in three
years she has never complained once complained about faded prints made
with the after market ink in our Canon printers. Unless prints are left
in direct sunlight or some uncommon environment I don't see where fading
is an issue for anyone printing photos at home with any brand of printer
and/or reputable ink.

 

[irwell]

I suggest getting a Canon that uses CLI-8 cartridges. These printers
are fairly easy to refill.

How do you manage the 'chip' business?
Last time I tried the printer rejected the cartridge.


Best of all the price for refilling is less

 

[P & H Macguire]

I suggest getting a Canon that uses CLI-8 cartridges. These printers are
fairly easy to refill. Best of all the price for refilling is less than $1
per cartridge. Just be sure and use reputable after market inks. Others
here can give you excellent advice on what ink brands are worth buying.
The only downside I know of for refilling Canon printers is you will lose
ink monitoring via the software. This is really a minor inconvenience
considering the money you will save by not buying OEM ink.

Could I butt in here with two questions:

1 Do you mean the cartridges used in the Canon Pixma IP4200

2 When you say you lose ink level monitoring, I've heard that you must
make sure ink doesn't actually run out or the print heads will be ruined.
How exactly is this done? Do you physically have to keep an eye on all five
tanks when you just think they're getting low? Or what?

Regards

Pat Macguire

 

[Michael Johnson]

How do you manage the 'chip' business?
Last time I tried the printer rejected the cartridge.

There are quite a few people hear refilling the chipped cartridges
without having this problem. Maybe they can chime in.

 

[Michael Johnson]

Could I butt in here with two questions:

1 Do you mean the cartridges used in the Canon Pixma IP4200

2 When you say you lose ink level monitoring, I've heard that you must
make sure ink doesn't actually run out or the print heads will be ruined.
How exactly is this done? Do you physically have to keep an eye on all five
tanks when you just think they're getting low? Or what?

I have read numerous posts here where people are refilling these
cartridges with very few issues. It is a bad idea to let any Canon
cartridge run dry or it will damage the print head. It requires the ink
to keep the nozzles cool. Since ink monitoring via software is disabled
when refilling the chipped cartridges you have to manually monitor ink
levels. Depending on your printing load you can probably get by by
checking once a week and topping off low cartridges. From what I
understand, after refilling, the software gives you a few warnings but
will continue to print. You just won't get accurate ink levels from the
software.

 

[Burt]

How do you manage the 'chip' business?
Last time I tried the printer rejected the cartridge.

There isn't really anything to manage. First of all, I've seen reports of
these printers rejecting Canon OEM carts that are full or nearly full.
There are some glitchy OEM chipped carts out there! I don't have one of the
chipped cart printers, but I've read from several people's posts that when
the printer senses that you've put a refilled cart in, it puts out a message
that you should not continue to print. There are some button presses that
you can do to eliminate the "nag" message. You are warned that your
warranty will be voided if you continue. With the right button presses
Canon gives up, lets you continue printing till the printer falls apart, but
it disables the ink monitoring system. Very spiteful response which, I'm
sure, is designed to hasten the demise of your printer! Since the carts are
clear it takes less than a minute to visually check the ink levels. For
light use you can just check them occasionally as I do for my wife's ip5000.
If I use her printer for a large print job I put in full refilled carts
before starting and break the print run into smaller numbers of pages with a
visual ink level check in between.

So---the choice is to continue to use OEM inks at $14 US per cart and keep
your warrany or refill for around $1 per cart and risk having to buy a new
printer or printhead. Very small risk with good quality refill inks - I've
replaced one printhead in three years of use of my i960 and have had no
problems with my wife's ip5000 for about a year. Now you can do the math.
I've seen new ip4500 printers on sale for under $100 at Staples. Two sets
of replacement carts is over $140. Ink sufficient to do five sets of
refilled carts will cost anywhere from $25 to $45 including shipping,
depending on the vendor. What is the value of the warranty at that point?
If your printer only lasts through the five sets of refills you will have
offset $350 worth of Canon OEM inks with $25 to $45 worth of quality refill
ink and some of your time. My experience with my printers not being damaged
has been far better than that.

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

Are these cartridges clear?
In other words, can you monitor your ink levels simply by eye?

Richard

 

[ggreekx]

Irwell - You would only need to see a small sample of my prints made with
refilled Canon carts (MIS ink) to realize that the appearance of these
prints is absolutely equal in quality to Canon OEM inks. While they may
fade more rapidly than those made with OEM inks my prints, either in albums
or framed, still look great after about four years. Other people, using
quality refill inks report similar success.

I also used MIS inks and can say that colors are almost equal with
those from canon.
The problem is fading!My photos had gone magenta after 30 day

 

[Burt]

Are these cartridges clear?
In other words, can you monitor your ink levels simply by eye?

Richard

Richard - Yes, the carts are clear plastic. "Eyeballing" them in the
printer will only work when they are nearly full, but you can lift them out
one at a time just enough to see the ink level and quickly reinsert them. I
can check ink levels this way in my i960 (six carts) in 30 seconds or less.
The chipped carts can be checked just as easily. This is unlike the last
Epson I owned. The Epson carts were opaque and you could not see the ink
levels. in addition, they were totally filled with foam whereas the Canon
carts have two chambers - one filled with foam, and the other a reservoir
for the ink. This makes refilling of the empty OEM carts really simple.

 

[Michael Johnson]

I also used MIS inks and can say that colors are almost equal with
those from canon.
The problem is fading!My photos had gone magenta after 30 day

Where do you keep these photos that cause them to fade in 30 days?

 

[Stick Stickus]

Sorry screen shots did not send correctly, Here are the instructions with
the screen shots removed. Hope they make sense!


IMPORTANT CUSTOMER INFORMATION

For Using Refilled Canon CLI - 8 / PGI - 5 Cartridges



We have compiled this information because Canon has recently introduced chip
technology to their ink cartridges. These electronic chips communicate with
the printer and are part of the system that creates the ink levels you see
displayed on your PC. At the present time we cannot reset or replace the
chips, so please read the following instructions carefully and follow the
guidelines set out below to ensure trouble free printing.

PLEASE NOTE -BUTTON DESCRIPTIONS MAY VARY FROM MACHINE TO MACHINE.



- Always replace your cartridge when the "ink low" warning appears
on your PC



- To continue printing under the "ink has run out" message you must press
the printer's OK button.



- After printing several more pages the ink out warning will appear again.
Press OK/RESUME on the printer to continue printing.



- Click OK.

- Click YES



- In order to continue printing you must press the STOP/RESET/RESUME button
on your printer



- Once you have pressed the STOP/RESET button printing will start again.


IF YOU ARE USING A STANDALONE MACHINE (NOT CONNECTED TO A PC):



Initially the on screen displays shows the following error message:

Ink has run out

Replace ink Tank and close cover



Press the OK button and printing will
continue.



From now on you will not be able to view the refilled cartridge(s)
remaining ink level.


It is very important that you check each refilled cartridge on a regular
basis by removing it from the printer to see if it is empty. Failure to do
so could result in the ink running out and as a result damage could be
caused to the printhead.


IMPORTANT TIPS:

a.. Always have a spare set of cartridges for your printer, that way, when
one runs out you can simply swap it over for a spare one and you can
continue printing.
b.. If you plan a big print run and are using refills, make sure you are
aware of how much ink you have remaining, and if necessary, change the
cartridge before hand. (You will not be able to do this in the middle of a
large print run!)
c.. Regards
d.. Stick

 

[Burt]

I also used MIS inks and can say that colors are almost equal with those
from canon.
The problem is fading!My photos had gone magenta after 30 day

They must be exposed to strong sunlight, a light source with strong UV, or a
place that generates lots of ozone.

 

[measekite]

I suggest getting a Canon that uses CLI-8 cartridges. These printers
are fairly easy to refill.

Something you do not want to do. Nobody has been able to product ink
like CL

Best of all the price for refilling is less than $1 per cartridge.

After your results fade and you see the lower quality then you would not
say that.

Just be sure and use reputable after market inks. There are none
Others here can give you excellent advice on what ink brands are worth
buying.

There are no brands. Nobody really knwos what they are using because
the fly by nite venors will ot tell them.

 

[Stick Stickus]

Something you do not want to do. Nobody has been able to product ink like
CL

Not true check out;
http://www.trustedreviews.com/printers/review/2007/04/21/The-Inkjet-Investigation/p1

After your results fade and you see the lower quality then you would not
say that.

Again not true.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/printers/review/2007/08/12/The-Inkjet-Investigation-Part-2/p1

There are none

Again not true. The oem's do not say who makes their ink. They do not make
their own.

There are no brands. Nobody really knwos what they are using because the
fly by nite venors will ot tell them.

Not True. As has been said before, the leading third party supplier is OCP
inks who supply amongst others Cartridge World.

 

[Michael Johnson]

I'm glad old misinformationkite is still buying OEM ink. His foolish
spending on Canon branded ink helps to insure I pay a very low price for
my next Canon printer. The facts are quality compatible inks give 95%
of the performance of OEM ink for less than 10% of its cost. Plus, in
our house we have NEVER had an issue with faded prints made using
compatible ink and the print quality is as good as with OEM ink.
Compatible ink may fade marginally more with prints exposed to the
harshest conditions but then photos printed with Canon branded ink will
fade too so even OEM ink isn't providing the user fade free prints. If
minformationkite is so worried about fading, he shouldn't even be using
Canon dye based inks anyway. Instead he should use Epson printers with
pigment based inks. He can't even follow his own advice.

 

[jcisney]

"probably your best compromise is a Canon, gives excellent
printing, but the ink cartrdiges are expensive"

"The problem is fading!My photos had gone magenta after 30 day"

Might I suggest the Kodak AiO inkjet printers? I work at Kodak and w
are excited about these printers because they use inexpensive ink.

http://www.kodak.com/go/inkdata

The color cartridge is $14.99 and the black cartidge is $9.99. You ca
save up to 50% on everything you print.

Personally I like the printers, because I print out a lot of stuff fo
crafting and scrapbooking and the prints dry immediately, I don't hav
to wait to use them. Also when you use the Kodak paper, the prints las
a lifetime... (no fading!) Of course the prints look great too.

Might be exactly what you are looking for.

http://www.kodak.com/go/ai