Looking for a printer that you can refill yourself

[eganders]

I am looking for a color inkjet printer that has good overall color
printing capability and can be refilled reliably. Being able to
visually see the ink level would be a plus. I don't want a printer
where the manufacturer's object in life is to maximize his return on
ink sales.

Its photo capability should be (from 1 to 10) a 7, its use of ink
should be in the 8 to 9 area with factory ink or 4 to 5 with user
refills. Its reliability for all the ink colors working without
cleaning the hell out of it about a 9.


I would like to keep the cost at under $300. Any suggestions??


To give you an idea of what I am used to, I have an Epson 740. The
photos it makes are very acceptable (it would be nice to have that
quality). The use of the ink drives me nuts. At about $40 a pop for
refills about once a month or so, it drove me to the refill market. Its
reliability using the refills leaves something to be desired. If the
sponge drys out--forget it! I don't want a sponge in my new printer.


I had an old fairly high speed HP color inkjet (Can't remember the
model, but it was a high end home/small business $500 printer about 10
years ago) that used refills very well and was very reliable, but not
good for photos.


I have never used a Cannon or other inkjet but I have heard good things
about Cannon and Lexmark.

 

[Dan G]

Canon

 

[Jon O'Brien]

I don't want a printer where the manufacturer's object in life is to
maximize his return on ink sales.

I'd give up now, then.

Jon.

 

[Shooter]

Epson with a CIS system. A R300 or R800 would do what you require and give
super quality. I get stunning results with an Olympus C70 for point and
shoot and R300 with monitor and I still use my Olympus E20 for more serious
work with the R300.

 

[Pixmaker]

You'll get a lot of answers on this one.

Do a Google search. Your question has been asked squillions of
times...and answered as often. (Squillions: a non-metric unit of
measurement.)

FWIW, I recently bought the Canon iP 4000 specifically because it's
about the easiest and least-expensive to refill...also one of the
least expensive to buy. For the money and refill ease, I think you
can't go wrong.

YMMV and others will disagree.


DaveinFLL
==========================
It's not the heat, it's the humidity
==========================
(Think the humidity's bad?
You should watch us vote!)
==========================

 

[Burt]

eganders - there are two links that deal with refilling or aftermarket
cartridges (carts for short) Neil Slade's site is interesting and has some
good information - http://www.neilslade.com/papers/inkjetstuff.html
The other is the Nifty stuff forum. http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/
They are both helpful in sorting out the aftermarket ink and cartridge issue
and helping someone to get started with these products if they wish to.

Canon printers are ideal for those who want to refill carts as there are no
chips in the cartridges (Epson and HP) that make refilling a bit more
complex. They are also transparent and allow you to know the ink level
prior to and during refilling. There is one individual on this NG who
always follows your question about aftermarket ink and carts and my response
with negative comments. While he is certainly entitled to his opinion, he,
by his own admission, has never refilled carts or used aftermarket carts or
inks.

I use a Canon i960 printer (six color) with bulk MIS inks and find my photos
to be equally as beautiful as with Canon inks. Several participants in this
ng use Formulabs bulk inks, also very successfully. After you read Neil's
site about his technique for refilling and read instructions from various
ink vendor's sites you can then decide if you want to refill. I find it
easy to do, not too time consuming, and minimally messy. With rubber gloves
on and a work area that can survive a few little drops of ink you will soon
learn the little tricks that make it really easy.

Generic inks - those that are sold to be used for several manufacturers'
printer - are to be avoided. Although there may be several decent bulk inks
I would stay with either MIS or Formulabs bulk ink, both of which claim to
be formulated for each specific manufacturer and model. Formulabs is
available from Alotofthings. You can refill the original carts and there are
also
aftermarket empty carts available that are quite good. Some people have
reported using Arrow prefilled carts from Alotofthings and then refilling
them. There are several references to spongeless carts on the Nifty-stuff
site. The ones they have tried for Canon printers have not generally
worked out well. I have refilled OEM canon carts as many as 10 times before
they stop functioning properly. I have also refilled empty carts purchased
from MIS and have a set of empty carts from Hobbicolors that I haven't tried
yet. There was one individual who posted a message on this NG who uses the
Hobbicolor carts and inks and says they are excellent in color match and
function.

I tried refilling an Epson Stylus 900 and had difficulty getting decent
color balance. These carts were also more difficult to refill as the sponge
fills the entire cartridge and requires removal of the foam (air plus the
ink remaining in the sponge) prior to refilling. The Canon BCI-6 and BCI-3
carts have two chambers, one of which is a reservoir and the other a
sponge-filled section from which the ink is delivered. You only need to
refill the reservoir and should do so when the reservoir is about 3/4 empty.

The current Canon Pixma line does have a six color printer with the same
print head as the i960 I use. The photo print quality is excellent in my
estimation. It has the usual CMYK inks plus a photo cyan and phot magenta
with lower dye loads that are used to blend colors better. There is also an
eight color model that adds red and green inks for more vivid colors in
those spectrums. I have read posting on this NG that also praise the
IP4000, a CMYK printer with an added black pigment based cart for text
printing. Those would be the models I would consider.

Before you buy the printer, however, do read Neil Slade and Nifty sites for
background info. If you have further questions you can sign in to the
Nifty-stuff forum and ask any questions you wish. It is a very friendly,
helpful forum for newcomers and very experienced computer users alike. Be
sure that you don't use aftermarket products unless they havebeen personally
recommended by people that have used them.

 

[measekite]

eganders - there are two links that deal with refilling or aftermarket
cartridges (carts for short) Neil Slade's site is interesting and has some
good information - http://www.neilslade.com/papers/inkjetstuff.html
The other is the Nifty stuff forum. http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/
They are both helpful in sorting out the aftermarket ink and cartridge issue
and helping someone to get started with these products if they wish to.

THESE ARE SLANTED VIEW FROM REFILLERS.

 

[Irwin Peckinloomer]

I am looking for a color inkjet printer that has good overall color
printing capability and can be refilled reliably. Being able to
visually see the ink level would be a plus. I don't want a printer
where the manufacturer's object in life is to maximize his return on
ink sales.

Its photo capability should be (from 1 to 10) a 7, its use of ink
should be in the 8 to 9 area with factory ink or 4 to 5 with user
refills. Its reliability for all the ink colors working without
cleaning the hell out of it about a 9.


I would like to keep the cost at under $300. Any suggestions??


To give you an idea of what I am used to, I have an Epson 740. The
photos it makes are very acceptable (it would be nice to have that
quality). The use of the ink drives me nuts. At about $40 a pop for
refills about once a month or so, it drove me to the refill market. Its
reliability using the refills leaves something to be desired. If the
sponge drys out--forget it! I don't want a sponge in my new printer.


I had an old fairly high speed HP color inkjet (Can't remember the
model, but it was a high end home/small business $500 printer about 10
years ago) that used refills very well and was very reliable, but not
good for photos.


I have never used a Cannon or other inkjet but I have heard good things
about Cannon and Lexmark.

I am getting excellent results with a Canon i960, refilling with bulk
ink from alotofthings.com (they also sell on eBay). Refills cost about
50 cents per cartridge and are extremely easy to do, requiring only
syringe & needle, and hot glue gun to seal cartridge (and masking or
duct tape during the refill. Cartridges are transparent, and printer
reliably signals when they are low. The i960 is no longer made, but
tigerdirect.com had some at good prices a few months ago. The current
pixma line has all the virtues of the i960, and the 3000 and 4000 have
gotten good reviews and are available now at deep discounts plus some
rebates. These are 3 colors plus black, and appear to work very near the
level of the 6 color i960.
MIS inks also get good reviews, but cost about twice as much (still
really cheap), however I'm getting perfect results with my refills, so I
would go with alotofthings.com again if I had it to do over again (or if
I ever run out).

 

[Jon O'Brien]

THESE ARE SLANTED VIEW FROM REFILLERS.

They should balance your slanted views, then.

Jon.

 

[SLLD]

I use printpal.com at about one half the cost you have listed
I have used several epson products. your carts are $3.95 and $4.95 each fyi
if I have chosen the correct 740
Just offered as another way to keep printing
...

 

[measekite]

I am getting excellent results with a Canon i960, refilling with bulk
ink from SNIP (they also sell on eBay).

Oh NO

Refills cost about
50 cents per cartridge and are extremely easy to do, requiring only
syringe & needle, and hot glue gun to seal cartridge

A MESS AND A PAIN IN THE ASS

(and masking or
duct tape during the refill.
HAHAHAHA

Cartridges are transparent, and printer
reliably signals when they are low. The i960 is no longer made, but
tigerdirect.com had some at good prices a few months ago. The current
pixma line has all the virtues of the i960, and the 3000 and 4000 have
gotten good reviews and are available now at deep discounts plus some
rebates. These are 3 colors plus black, and appear to work very near the
level of the 6 color i960.
MIS inks also get good reviews,

TOTALLY UNBRANDED GENERIC STUFF WHERE THEY WILL NOT TELL YOU WHAT YOU
ARE BUYING

but cost about twice as much (still
really cheap), however I'm getting perfect results

THE CLOGS WILL COME PECKERBLOOMER

 

[measekite]

They should balance your slanted views, then.

Jon.

:-D

 

[Frank]

THE CLOGS WILL COME PECKERBLOOMER

How do you know jackass? You've never in your pathetic life refilled or
used after market inks.
Tells us about your experience bozo.
None huh. Then shut up!
Frank

 

[measekite]

How do you know jackass? You've never in your pathetic life refilled
or used after market inks.
Tells us about your experience bozo.
None huh. Then shut up!
Frank

 

[measekite]

How do you know jackass? You've never in your pathetic life refilled
or used after market inks.
Tells us about your experience bozo.
None huh. Then shut up!
Frank

THE CLOGS WILL COME

NOW I KIND OF THINK YOU ARE A TEMPREMENTAL OLD FART ALSO.

 

[Frank]

THE CLOGS WILL COME

NOW I KIND OF THINK YOU ARE A TEMPREMENTAL OLD FART ALSO.

Oh really? What does that make you pinhead! We all know that you're a
mentally ill psychotic moron who happens to also be an idiot jackass.
Get lost loser.
Frank

 

[measekite]

Oh really? What does that make you pinhead! We all know that you're a
mentally ill psychotic moron who happens to also be an idiot jackass.
Get lost loser.
Frank

 

[measekite]

Oh really? What does that make me a pinhead!
Yep

We all know that I am a mentally ill psychotic moron who happens to
also be an idiot jackass.
Get lost loser. Frank

Yeah, Get Lost ha ha ha ha or is it he he he I guess that is the way old
farts say it.

 

[Irwin Peckinloomer]

Oh NO

Actually, Oh yes!

And the vendors name he snipped out (for Sentient inks that I am using)
is alotofthings.com. Measly doesn't like them because they were rude to
him (I wonder what caused that?) and badmouths them while admitting he
has never done business with them. I've dealt with them once, and thier
product and service was excellent. (Maybe that's because I didn't act
like a complete jackass moron psycho, but I'm just guessing).
Measly then goes into his usual bit about not knowing who made the ink,
etc.

Since he obviously didn't read or understand the question or my
response, let me point out that we are talking about buying bulk ink for
refilling cartridges. I do know who made my ink, because it has
manufaucturers name, lot number and mfg. date on each bottle of ink
(Measly doesn't know this, because he has never seen a bottle of bulk
ink, by his own admission). This is way more information than he gets
when he buys his OEM cartridges. In addition, since I will be using ink
from the same bottle the next 100 or so times I refill, I am assured of
getting ink from the same batch each time. When he buys a new Canon
cartridge, he has no idea if the ink is even from the same sub-
contractor, much less what batch it is from. I doubt this is a problem,
but since I don't buy Canon cartridges I'll just have to imagine all the
problems this causes Measly, just like he imagines that refilling causes
me problems (get the subtle point here, fantasy boy?)

Also pay no attention to his cries about how messy it is to refill,
since he has never done it, and is only imagining what it must be like.

 

[measekite]

Actually, Oh yes!

And the vendors name he snipped out (for Sentient inks that I am using)
is snip.com. Measly doesn't like them because they were rude to
him (I wonder what caused that?) and badmouths them while admitting he
has never done business with them. I've dealt with them once, and thier
product and service was excellent. (Maybe that's because I didn't act
like a complete jackass moron psycho, but I'm just guessing).



Measly then goes into his usual bit about not knowing who made the ink,
etc.

Since he obviously didn't read or understand the question or my
response, let me point out that we are talking about buying bulk ink for
refilling cartridges.

Oh No

Try to get prefilled carts

I do know who made my ink, because it has
manufaucturers name, lot number and mfg. date on each bottle of ink
(Measly doesn't know this, because he has never seen a bottle of bulk
ink, by his own admission). This is way more information than he gets
when he buys his OEM cartridges. In addition, since I will be using ink
from the same bottle the next 100 or so times I refill, I am assured of
getting ink from the same batch each time.

Hey stupid, I can buy a gallon from Sensinent and have a lifetime of
ink. ha ha ha

When he buys a new Canon
cartridge, he has no idea if the ink is even from the same sub-
contractor, much less what batch it is from. I doubt this is a problem,
but since I don't buy Canon cartridges I'll just have to imagine all the
problems this causes Measly,

None Peckerbloomer

just like he imagines that refilling causes
me problems (get the subtle point here, fantasy boy?)

Also pay no attention to his cries about how messy it is to refill,
since he has never done it, and is only imagining what it must be like.

Do you imagine what it is like to get laid?