New Printers And Ink Cost Questions ?

[Robert11]

Hello,

I have a many years old Canon i 960 color printer that we haven't used for
the past few years at all since the ink ran out in a few cartridges.

I gave up on it due to the price of the replacement cartridges, which is
totally rediculous, IMHO. Have my color pix made at the local CVS, and
although the quality isn't perhaps as good, and it is a bit inconvenient,
the cost which is cheap has dictated this approach.

But, would like to get back to using my own printer again.

Are there new printers from anybody that offer "good" quality, but the ink
is a Lot less expensive than that for
the i 960 ?

I remember a year or so back that HP came out with what they claimed were
much lower cartridge costs, and were taken over the coals by the reviewers
saying that it wasn't cheaper on a per pix basis; it was just theatr their
cartridges were much smaller, and hence the lower price.

So, do I just bite the bullet and buy some more cartridges for the i960,
assuming they are even available anymore ?

Or, does it make more sense to get a new printer that uses substantially
lower ink cartridge costs ?
If so, which please ?

If you folks could bring me up to date on the state of the art in printers,
and ink costs these days, would be appreciative.

Thanks,
Bob

 

[measekite]

Hello,

I have a many years old Canon i 960 color printer that we haven't used for
the past few years at all since the ink ran out in a few cartridges.

I gave up on it due to the price of the replacement cartridges, which is
totally rediculous, IMHO. Have my color pix made at the local CVS, and
although the quality isn't perhaps as good, and it is a bit inconvenient,
the cost which is cheap has dictated this approach.

But, would like to get back to using my own printer again.

Are there new printers from anybody that offer "good" quality, but the ink
is a Lot less expensive than that for
the i 960 ?
None


I remember a year or so back that HP came out with what they claimed were
much lower cartridge costs, and were taken over the coals by the reviewers
saying that it wasn't cheaper on a per pix basis; it was just theatr their
cartridges were much smaller, and hence the lower price.

So, do I just bite the bullet and buy some more cartridges for the i960,
assuming they are even available anymore ?

No, I would get the latest technology with duplex printing and higher
quality ink. Look at the Canon Ip4600. It is less than $99.00

 

[MCheu]

Hello,

I have a many years old Canon i 960 color printer that we haven't used for
the past few years at all since the ink ran out in a few cartridges.

I gave up on it due to the price of the replacement cartridges, which is
totally rediculous, IMHO. Have my color pix made at the local CVS, and
although the quality isn't perhaps as good, and it is a bit inconvenient,
the cost which is cheap has dictated this approach.

But, would like to get back to using my own printer again.

Are there new printers from anybody that offer "good" quality, but the ink
is a Lot less expensive than that for
the i 960 ?

Nope. The i560, i860, and i960 series printers from Canon are probably
your cheapest for ink in an inkjet. Those used the 3 + 6 series
cartridges. Among the current generation printers, the Canon Pixma
series is probably cheapest, but they'll be quite a bit more expensive
than the older generation printers like yours. The reason is that the
newer Pixma printers use the 5 + 8 series cartridges. Construction is
very similar, but they've added an ink sensor chip. I haven't looked
closely, but I suspect the cartridge capacity might be a little lower
too, as the 5 + 8 series cartridges have a small "dent" added to the ink
tank area to accomodate the chip holder. So, where the old 3 + 6 series
cartridges typically cost between $10-14 each, the equivalent cartridges
for the newer Canons will cost $16-$20. That said, they're still among
the cheapest for the current gen printers.

If you intend to bring your old i960 back into service, the 3+6 series
cartridges are still available. You may find that the printhead needs
to be replaced. That will probably cost you about $40-$90 on Ebay. You
can still have the local shop order one from Canon, but it'll cost you a
lot more.

If you balk at the $10-$14 price of those Canon OEM 3+6 series
cartridges, you could always refill or buy compatibles. Compatibles
vary in price, but locally, they typically run $2-$6 each. $2 being for
the no-name Chinese imports, and $6 being for the name brand ones like
Print-Rite or the big box store brand ones. The initial print quality
is typically comparable to the OEM ones, but they seem to fade sooner.
You might be able to shave a little more off if you buy ink in bulk and
refill the cartridges 2 or 3 times before pitching them. I really doubt
you're going to get any cheaper than that for inkjet printing.

 

[IntergalacticExpandingPanda]

So, do I just bite the bullet and buy some more cartridges for the i960,
assuming they are even available anymore ?

The i960 is actually a very spiffy printer worth keeping in service.
Canon has since abandoned the whole light cyan/magenta in favor of a
light black.

You can check yourself
www.trymyphoto.com/

They ditched free photos from the Pixma 9000/9500 series.

Newer models listed here are going to be smaller and with the same ml/
page ratio, thus costing more. The older pixmas (ip6600d/mp960/mp970]
which would be a step up from your printer take the same sized
cartridges with chips thus costing more.

Or, does it make more sense to get a new printer that uses substantially
lower ink cartridge costs ?
If so, which please ?

There isn't one really. There is Kodak. I've not crunched the
numbers for color nor have I seen the output, but I'd wager the i960
is a better printer.

BCI-6 tanks were 13ml with an estimated yield of 280p @ 5% coverage.
There is a ton of aftermarket cartridges and ink for the i960.

You have the HP business Jets which might count, but I'd have to
crunch the numbers again.

 

[Joel]

If you balk at the $10-$14 price of those Canon OEM 3+6 series
cartridges, you could always refill or buy compatibles. Compatibles
vary in price, but locally, they typically run $2-$6 each. $2 being for
the no-name Chinese imports, and $6 being for the name brand ones like
Print-Rite or the big box store brand ones. The initial print quality
is typically comparable to the OEM ones, but they seem to fade sooner.
You might be able to shave a little more off if you buy ink in bulk and
refill the cartridges 2 or 3 times before pitching them. I really doubt
you're going to get any cheaper than that for inkjet printing.

I didn't know Chinese is trying to save US economy by providing the
affordable ink, and we should have to thank the Chinese for it <bg>

 

[Burt]

Nope. The i560, i860, and i960 series printers from Canon are probably
your cheapest for ink in an inkjet. Those used the 3 + 6 series
cartridges. Among the current generation printers, the Canon Pixma
series is probably cheapest, but they'll be quite a bit more expensive
than the older generation printers like yours. The reason is that the
newer Pixma printers use the 5 + 8 series cartridges. Construction is
very similar, but they've added an ink sensor chip. I haven't looked
closely, but I suspect the cartridge capacity might be a little lower too,
as the 5 + 8 series cartridges have a small "dent" added to the ink tank
area to accomodate the chip holder. So, where the old 3 + 6 series
cartridges typically cost between $10-14 each, the equivalent cartridges
for the newer Canons will cost $16-$20. That said, they're still among
the cheapest for the current gen printers.

If you intend to bring your old i960 back into service, the 3+6 series
cartridges are still available. You may find that the printhead needs to
be replaced. That will probably cost you about $40-$90 on Ebay. You can
still have the local shop order one from Canon, but it'll cost you a lot
more.

If you balk at the $10-$14 price of those Canon OEM 3+6 series cartridges,
you could always refill or buy compatibles. Compatibles vary in price,
but locally, they typically run $2-$6 each. $2 being for the no-name
Chinese imports, and $6 being for the name brand ones like Print-Rite or
the big box store brand ones. The initial print quality is typically
comparable to the OEM ones, but they seem to fade sooner. You might be
able to shave a little more off if you buy ink in bulk and refill the
cartridges 2 or 3 times before pitching them. I really doubt you're going
to get any cheaper than that for inkjet printing.

I'm still using an i960 that is about six years old. I've given it a lot of
use and have replaced the printhead once. The only OEM ink I've run through
this excellent printer was the set of carts that came with it. From then on
I've refilled with very good ink that costs a bit more than $1 US per
refill. The six color printers drink the photo magenta and photo cyan very
quickly. The use of these light dye load inks is what creates the quality
of photo prints you have enjoyed. Refilling carts is easy and minimally
messy once you get the hang of it. The inks I've been using were from MIS
and were probably Imaging Specialists inks, although they don't identify it
as such. They are listed as the US distributer on the IS web site. I now
buy from Precision Colors, located in Canada, http://home.eol.ca/~mikling/ ,
which sells IS inks and, becuase that is the only ink manufacturer whose
goods they sell, can positively identify them as IS inks. They do ship to
the US very reasonably and are less expensive than MIS. IS is a very solid
US company that makes many types of inks. My experience is that their
product has been very stable and reliable for the six years I've used it.
Some people also use Hobbicolors inks, available on eBay, and report very
good results. Instead of using syringes I purchased 2 oz. squeeze bottles
with luer lock needles from Howard Electronics online. No need to open
containers, fill syringes, clean syringes, etc - much faster and neater.

The aftermarket prefilled carts can be a problem. The one issue that I
agree with our resident troll on is that the prefilled carts that may
initially have good color response may have the manufacturer change to inks
that are inferior. In addition, the aftermarket carts are generally not
engineered or constructed as well as Canon OEM carts and may not feed well,
appear to create clogs as a result of poor ink feeding, and eventually cause
damage to the printhead. Here is the issue that Measekite is dead wrong
on - there are good refill inks out there - but you should only consider
using inks that have been recommended by others who report good results.
The troll accuses everyone who advocates refilling of being shills for the
aftermarket vendors. There can be some of those, but the majority of people
who report good results are just happy consumers who have found the way to
beat the high price of inkjet inks by refilling.

I would suggest, if you might be interested in refilling, that you go onto
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/ , sign in, read through several threads
about refilling and ask questions of the participants. That site has
attracted so many participants that the moderator asked several people,
myself included, to also participate as moderators. This assures you that
you will not encounter trolls, flaming or other unpleasant interaction, and
will find knowledgable people who are very helpful.

 

[IntergalacticExpandingPanda]

 The inks I've been using were from MIS
and were probably Imaging Specialists inks, although they don't identify it
as such.  They are listed as the US distributer on the IS web site.  I now
buy from Precision Colors, located in Canada,http://home.eol.ca/~mikling/,
which sells IS inks and, becuase that is the only ink manufacturer whose
goods they sell, can positively identify them as IS inks.  They do shipto
the US very reasonably and are less expensive than MIS.  

http://www.inksupply.com/image_inks.cfm?action=find

You "can" buy Image Specialist branded inks from inksupply so long as
you buy by the pound (pint). . Since MIS switched to free shipping
it's difficult to say who's cheaper.

 

[Burt]

"IntergalacticExpandingPanda" <[email protected]>
wrote in message

The inks I've been using were from MIS
and were probably Imaging Specialists inks, although they don't identify
it
as such. They are listed as the US distributer on the IS web site. I now
buy from Precision Colors, located in Canada,http://home.eol.ca/~mikling/,
which sells IS inks and, becuase that is the only ink manufacturer whose
goods they sell, can positively identify them as IS inks. They do ship to
the US very reasonably and are less expensive than MIS.

http://www.inksupply.com/image_inks.cfm?action=find

You "can" buy Image Specialist branded inks from inksupply so long as
you buy by the pound (pint). . Since MIS switched to free shipping
it's difficult to say who's cheaper.

for my six color Canon i960 printer, two and four ounce sets of the six
colors are about half the price from Precision Colors than from MIS. Add
about $8 shipping and it is still considerably cheaper. I don't print
enough to buy pints of each color as the ink would go past the two year
shelf life before being used up. I would rarely buy full sets of the same
ink volume as the six color printers use more than twice the amount of photo
cyan and photo magenta as magenta and cyan, yellow is used a bit more than
M and C, and black is used the least. This is when printing most photos.

MIS does free shipping for orders over $50. Both are very good vendors.
Precision is a smaller operation, and occasionally the owner is away for a
week or more and doesn't fill orders til he returns. Before Precision was
in business I bought exclusively from MIS (inksupply) and would use them
again if Precision were not selling IS inks. Although you note that you can
buy IS inks by the pint from MIS I see no reference to that information on
the MIS web site. MIS is listed as a vendor of IS inks on the IS web site.
Precision positively identifies their inks on the web site as IS inks.

 

[IntergalacticExpandingPanda]

for my six color Canon i960 printer, two and four ounce sets of the six
colors are about half the price from Precision Colors than from MIS.  Add
about $8 shipping and it is still considerably cheaper.  

Well MIS it's $2.50/oz if you buy 4oz at a time.
$60 for a i960 set

http://cgi.ebay.ca/24oz-Refill-Kit-...34.c0.m14.l1262&_trkparms=|301:1|293:3|294:30

Presuming $8.00 shipping & $32ish that's $40, so it looks like you're
right, a good deal cheaper, $1.66 an oz rather than MIS $2.50.

 Although you note that you can
buy IS inks by the pint from MIS I see no reference to that information on
the MIS web site.  MIS is listed as a vendor of IS inks on the IS web site.
Precision positively identifies their inks on the web site as IS inks.

http://www.inksupply.com/imagespec.cfm

You are correct, there is no link from the main page but they do have
a website for Image Specialists inks. You have to buy by the pound,
literally they sell by weight not volume for IS. It's $1.00 a oz for
dye, $3.00/oz for pigment on canon.

The price is better, but like you I'm not likely to use ink that
quickly. 4oz does me for 6months.

 

[LF]

The i960 is actually a very spiffy printer worth keeping in service.

IGP,
Exactly. I've been running an i960 and an i860 on MIS inks for
several years.

Best,
Larry

 

[Burt]

The i960 is actually a very spiffy printer worth keeping in service.

IGP,
Exactly. I've been running an i960 and an i860 on MIS inks for
several years.

Best,
Larry

Same with me. i960 and refilling initially with MIS inks and now Precision
Colors (Image Specialist) inks. You might bite another bullet and learn to
refill your OEM carts. Assured quality of ink and carts that work extremely
well for at least 5-6 refills after which you can purge the carts and start
over. Not much work, minimal mess if any once you gain a little experience,
and absolutely the cheapest way to go with very good results.

 

[measekite]

IGP,
Exactly. I've been running an i960 and an i860 on MIS inks for
several years.

Best,
Larry

Same with me. i960 and refilling initially with MIS inks and now Precision
Colors (Image Specialist) inks. You might bite another bullet and learn to
refill your OEM carts. Assured quality of ink and carts that work extremely
well for at least 5-6 refills after which you can purge the carts and start
over. Not much work, minimal mess if any once you gain a little experience,
and absolutely the cheapest way to go with very good results.

You need to choose the level of mess you want. A lot of mess or a little
mess. It is like having your dog making a little crap on the white carpet
or a big crap. Either way it is not dinner.

 

[Burt]

snip - frank's response to our resident troll

Moosetripe has never refilled a cartridge but tells all that it is a big
mess. Opinion based on zero experience. His dog may crap on HIS white
carpet but I don't drip ink on my desk, carpet, sink, or any area where I
refill my carts. Cheap latex gloves and yesterday's newspaper on the desk
contains the few drops of ink that would qualify as minimal mess that
disappears when I throw away (or recycle) the newspaper. Gloves can be
reused several times as well and cost about $5 per hundred. Saved myself
lots of time when I killfiled his posts, and I only see them when they are
included in a response to his nonsense and falsehoods. He loves to follow
all of my posts with his diatribe. Too bad that he is so easily insulted by
the truth.

 

[Joel]

IGP,
Exactly. I've been running an i960 and an i860 on MIS inks for
several years.

Best,
Larry

Same with me. i960 and refilling initially with MIS inks and now Precision
Colors (Image Specialist) inks. You might bite another bullet and learn to
refill your OEM carts. Assured quality of ink and carts that work extremely
well for at least 5-6 refills after which you can purge the carts and start
over. Not much work, minimal mess if any once you gain a little experience,
and absolutely the cheapest way to go with very good results.

If it's available, you may learn to byte another bullet to buy the newer
refillable in cartridge which not only be able to refill forever, but it's
also much easier than older messy method.

 

[measekite]

Moosetripe has never refilled a cartridge but tells all that it is a big
mess. Opinion based on zero experience. His dog may crap on HIS white

A Swinehoont has never driven a Yugo but it does not take any experience
to know it is crap.