Testing compatible cartridges in a Canon IP4200

[Colin Reddish]

I have recently purchased in the UK a new Canon IP4200 printer complete with
the boxed and sealed OEM catridges and Print Head. Purchase price was less
than the cost of a set of OEM cartridges. I intend to use compatible
cartridges with this printer. I have obtained a set of compatible cartridges
(unbranded on eBay) and so far have soursed a Black (PGI) and Yellow empty
OEM catridges complete with chips. I would like to be able to test the use
of the compatible cartridges and if they are satisfactory continue to use
them for general printing but retaining the partly used OEM cartridges for
"special" prints if there proves to be any advantage in this. I would
welcome comments on the practicality of this approach. Questions which come
to mind are whether it is a) reasonable to do so and b) what is the best
method of sealing partly used cartridges whilst they are not installed in
the printer, and whether it reasonable to store partly used cartridges for
some time in this state?

Also, if I install a cartridge approximately how much printing do I need to
do before I know that I am using the ink from that cartridge rather than
from the previous one? I assume there will be a residue of ink in the
"pipework" between the cartridge and the printhead?

Can anyone provide any links to user experiences of using non-OEM cartridges
in either the IP4200 or other Canon printers using the chipped cartridge?
There does seem to be a wealth of information on re-filling OEM carts but
little on using "compatible" carts in these printers. I have scrolled
through a large number of posts in this group and tried various search
algorithms but have not found much user information. The compatible carts
have been available for several months now so I would have expected some
user experience to be available.

 

[Tony]

I have recently purchased in the UK a new Canon IP4200 printer complete with
the boxed and sealed OEM catridges and Print Head. Purchase price was less
than the cost of a set of OEM cartridges. I intend to use compatible
cartridges with this printer. I have obtained a set of compatible cartridges
(unbranded on eBay) and so far have soursed a Black (PGI) and Yellow empty
OEM catridges complete with chips. I would like to be able to test the use
of the compatible cartridges and if they are satisfactory continue to use
them for general printing but retaining the partly used OEM cartridges for
"special" prints if there proves to be any advantage in this. I would
welcome comments on the practicality of this approach. Questions which come
to mind are whether it is a) reasonable to do so and b) what is the best
method of sealing partly used cartridges whilst they are not installed in
the printer, and whether it reasonable to store partly used cartridges for
some time in this state?

Also, if I install a cartridge approximately how much printing do I need to
do before I know that I am using the ink from that cartridge rather than
from the previous one? I assume there will be a residue of ink in the
"pipework" between the cartridge and the printhead?

Can anyone provide any links to user experiences of using non-OEM cartridges
in either the IP4200 or other Canon printers using the chipped cartridge?
There does seem to be a wealth of information on re-filling OEM carts but
little on using "compatible" carts in these printers. I have scrolled
through a large number of posts in this group and tried various search
algorithms but have not found much user information. The compatible carts
have been available for several months now so I would have expected some
user experience to be available.

Colin
Yes compatible cartridges have been available for some time but so far as I
know there are no compatible chips yet. That means you have to transfer the
chips from the old cartridges to the new and you will have an empty cartridge
report which you can ignore and then you will lose monitoring of the ink
levels. The same will apply to empty (pre-used) OEM cartridges.
Tony

 

[george]

I have recently purchased in the UK a new Canon IP4200 printer complete with
the boxed and sealed OEM catridges and Print Head. Purchase price was less
than the cost of a set of OEM cartridges. I intend to use compatible
cartridges with this printer. I have obtained a set of compatible cartridges
(unbranded on eBay) and so far have soursed a Black (PGI) and Yellow empty
OEM catridges complete with chips. I would like to be able to test the use
of the compatible cartridges and if they are satisfactory continue to use
them for general printing but retaining the partly used OEM cartridges for
"special" prints if there proves to be any advantage in this. I would
welcome comments on the practicality of this approach. Questions which come
to mind are whether it is a) reasonable to do so and b) what is the best
method of sealing partly used cartridges whilst they are not installed in
the printer, and whether it reasonable to store partly used cartridges for
some time in this state?

Also, if I install a cartridge approximately how much printing do I need to
do before I know that I am using the ink from that cartridge rather than
from the previous one? I assume there will be a residue of ink in the
"pipework" between the cartridge and the printhead?

Can anyone provide any links to user experiences of using non-OEM cartridges
in either the IP4200 or other Canon printers using the chipped cartridge?
There does seem to be a wealth of information on re-filling OEM carts but
little on using "compatible" carts in these printers. I have scrolled
through a large number of posts in this group and tried various search
algorithms but have not found much user information. The compatible carts
have been available for several months now so I would have expected some
user experience to be available.

Since the printer is so cheap why not buy another one and then use one
printer for your ordinary printing with refill ink and the other one
for your special prints. I have a IP5000 for throw away work that I
refill and an IP4200 for photos. The refill ink fades about 20 times
faster than the Canon ink.

 

[Colin Reddish]

Since the printer is so cheap why not buy another one and then use one
printer for your ordinary printing with refill ink and the other one
for your special prints. I have a IP5000 for throw away work that I
refill and an IP4200 for photos. The refill ink fades about 20 times
faster than the Canon ink.

What a great answer!! Why didn't I think of that? That gets me a full set of
empty carts that I know have good chips for no wasted outlay. I was thinking
of getting another printer to make use of the genuine carts but sell the
print head hopefully for a reasonable sum on eBay and the rest of the
surplus printer for spares, but you suggestion is much better, thanks.

I would still appreciate answers on the question of storing partly used
carts and the using up ink already in the print head. This will be useful
whilst I do some experimenting. Having the second printer as you suggest
will be a fallback if I wreck one of them.

 

[Colin Reddish]

Colin
Yes compatible cartridges have been available for some time but so far as
I
know there are no compatible chips yet. That means you have to transfer
the
chips from the old cartridges to the new and you will have an empty
cartridge
report which you can ignore and then you will lose monitoring of the ink
levels. The same will apply to empty (pre-used) OEM cartridges.

Thanks Tony, I'm aware of those restrictions and am prepared to accept them.
What surprises me is that there is so little detail of actual user
experiences reported in the forums or on web sites.

 

[george]

I would still appreciate answers on the question of storing partly used
carts and the using up ink already in the print head. This will be useful
whilst I do some experimenting. Having the second printer as you suggest
will be a fallback if I wreck one of them.

To store partly used cartridges put the orange breakaway tab back on
the cartridge and hold in place with a rubber band.

 

[zakezuke]

To store partly used cartridges put the orange breakaway tab back on
the cartridge and hold in place with a rubber band.

Or, I use blue masking tape my self... but that's only because I don't
stock rubberbands.

 

[Colin Reddish]

Or, I use blue masking tape my self... but that's only because I don't
stock rubberbands.

Thanks for the replies. I'll do that. Is it best to store them in their
operational position i.e. with the outlet at the bottom? I have seen
comments about using blotting paper to catch drips when removing temporary
seals. This would be prevented if they were stored inverted. Maybe this
would cause the sponge near the outlet to dry out?

 

[Burt]

Thanks for the replies. I'll do that. Is it best to store them in their
operational position i.e. with the outlet at the bottom? I have seen
comments about using blotting paper to catch drips when removing temporary
seals. This would be prevented if they were stored inverted. Maybe this
would cause the sponge near the outlet to dry out?

I think that right-side up would be best as the cart, when installed again,
has to have a wet exit port filter. About the masking tape - Zakezuke is an
excellent source of information, but I've had problems with the regular
masking tape getting soggy after a while. I was storing them in a sealed
refrigerator carton after rubber banding the outlet port cover back on as a
seal at the bottom and using masking tape over the air vent. I switched to
a good quality black plastic electricians tape and like it better to seal
the air vent.

 

[zakezuke]

Thanks for the replies. I'll do that. Is it best to store them in their
operational position i.e. with the outlet at the bottom? I have seen
comments about using blotting paper to catch drips when removing temporary
seals. This would be prevented if they were stored inverted. Maybe this
would cause the sponge near the outlet to dry out?

Upside down would not be wise. I lack the experence base of others but
proper operation would seem to depend on having the foam not quite 100%
saturated. I've noticed if the cotton wod gets 100% full it restricts
the flow of ink out the outlet. Upside down would cause the ink to
flow to the top of the cotton wod. Not to speak of the fact there is a
hole there under the label.

Storing upright is from my limited experence base, the way to go. The
same would go with OEM.

 

[Colin Reddish]

Storing upright is from my limited experence base, the way to go. The
same would go with OEM.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Martin]

Thanks Tony, I'm aware of those restrictions and am prepared to accept them.
What surprises me is that there is so little detail of actual user
experiences reported in the forums or on web sites.

Bit late in the day but just to note... I think one of the reasons
you've not seen too much on this is that most people with a clue have
eskewed the newer canons because of the chips. Those who have gone that
route have often had the experience to know that refilling is cheapest
of all and just refilled the original carts.

The compatibles are there but I doubt many people have touched them and
from what I've seen on the rare forum posts that do mention them, they
are a little prone to failure and chips being unrecognised.

My advice if you actually opt for that route is to go for refilling and
use nifty-stuff forum as a good base for learning the ropes.

Hope that helps.

Martin

 

[Burt]

Bit late in the day but just to note... I think one of the reasons you've
not seen too much on this is that most people with a clue have eskewed the
newer canons because of the chips. Those who have gone that route have
often had the experience to know that refilling is cheapest of all and
just refilled the original carts.

The compatibles are there but I doubt many people have touched them and
from what I've seen on the rare forum posts that do mention them, they are
a little prone to failure and chips being unrecognised.

My advice if you actually opt for that route is to go for refilling and
use nifty-stuff forum as a good base for learning the ropes.

Hope that helps.

Martin

To reinforce Martin's advice, there are several people posting to the
nifty-stuff forum about their experience with the newest Canon printers.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/

 

[Colin Reddish]

To reinforce Martin's advice, there are several people posting to the
nifty-stuff forum about their experience with the newest Canon printers.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/

Thanks Burt and Martin. I've noted your advice and am currently following
relevant threads in the nifty-stuff forum. Like on here there is little
experience of compatibles for the chipped Canon printers. In recent weeks
several of the more reputable UK suppliers have introduced compatible carts
for the 4200/5200 printers so they probably believe there is a market for
them. So maybe more users will be trying them and reporting results. I have
purchased a set on eBay but not installed them yet. The OEM carts supplied
with the printer which I purchased a couple of weeks ago are still almost
full so I will take my time getting to know the printer using them and being
convinced the printer does not have any faults before I sacrifice the
warranty by using the compatibles. I have also bought some empty OEM carts
from which I will use the chips. I have also been reading about re-filling
as an alternative approach but at the present time I'd rather stick with
compatibles if they work out OK. There are also a significant number of
IP4200's being sold on eBay and they are fetching reasonable prices
(£30-£50) although much less than the IP4000's which tend to be twice that.
I suspect many of the buyers of the 4200 are un-aware of the significance of
the chipped cartridges.

 

[zakezuke]

The OEM carts supplied
with the printer which I purchased a couple of weeks ago are still almost
full so I will take my time getting to know the printer using them and being
convinced the printer does not have any faults before I sacrifice the
warranty by using the compatibles.

While use of compatibles in it self does not void the warranty, your
logic is sound. See how it works out of the box before you make a
change to your operating procedure. Use the OEM ink as a point of
reference, then judge all others based on that. I do the exact same
thing... though others would be tempted to sell off the OEM ink and
save $40 to $50 on that printer purchace.. or 30 to 35quid.

Either way it's your printer, your choice.

 

[Burt]

Thanks Burt and Martin. I've noted your advice and am currently following
relevant threads in the nifty-stuff forum. Like on here there is little
experience of compatibles for the chipped Canon printers. In recent weeks
several of the more reputable UK suppliers have introduced compatible
carts for the 4200/5200 printers so they probably believe there is a
market for them. So maybe more users will be trying them and reporting
results. I have purchased a set on eBay but not installed them yet. The
OEM carts supplied with the printer which I purchased a couple of weeks
ago are still almost full so I will take my time getting to know the
printer using them and being convinced the printer does not have any
faults before I sacrifice the warranty by using the compatibles. I have
also bought some empty OEM carts from which I will use the chips. I have
also been reading about re-filling as an alternative approach but at the
present time I'd rather stick with compatibles if they work out OK. There
are also a significant number of IP4200's being sold on eBay and they are
fetching reasonable prices (£30-£50) although much less than the IP4000's
which tend to be twice that. I suspect many of the buyers of the 4200 are
un-aware of the significance of the chipped cartridges.

Colin - the Canon OEM carts in the ip4200 are easily adapted for refilling.
After several refills they don't feed the ink as well, and they can then be
flushed out with a simple device made from a few hardware store items and
restored to like-new function. All this information is on the nifty-stuff
forum. Refilling gives you the opportunity to buy inks that are more
predictable than with prefilled compatable carts. There are just a few that
you will see noted on this and the nifty forum that anyone recommends. Once
you learn the refilling routine it is really simple to do.

 

[Taliesyn]

The OEM carts supplied
with the printer which I purchased a couple of weeks ago are still almost
full so I will take my time getting to know the printer using them and being
convinced the printer does not have any faults before I sacrifice the
warranty by using the compatibles.

I still have the full original OEM carts for my iP5000 bought in
December 2004. They're about two years old now so I guess I should use
them out before they lose their flavor. I never bothered registering
the printer and went straight to using a mixture of compatibles and home
refill for the BCI-3e black. Then some months later I went to full
refill, and I'm still at it. Printer works flawlessly with various
aftermarket inks. And why not? No surprise there. My biggest worry was
mechanical breakdown and NOT anything related to the inks. So far so
good with the mechanics and the limited life span printheads they give
us for a laugh and then charge more than 1/2 the price of a new printer
to replace when burnt out!

-Taliesyn

 

[Olin K. McDaniel]

I still have the full original OEM carts for my iP5000 bought in
December 2004. They're about two years old now so I guess I should use
them out before they lose their flavor. I never bothered registering
the printer and went straight to using a mixture of compatibles and home
refill for the BCI-3e black. Then some months later I went to full
refill, and I'm still at it. Printer works flawlessly with various
aftermarket inks. And why not? No surprise there. My biggest worry was
mechanical breakdown and NOT anything related to the inks. So far so
good with the mechanics and the limited life span printheads they give
us for a laugh and then charge more than 1/2 the price of a new printer
to replace when burnt out!

-Taliesyn

Just a personal observation, to partially support the comments above.
My Canon i950 is considerably older than the one discussed here, and I
refilled the original cartridges many, many times before the print
head finally failed. My best estimate is between 2000 and 3000 full
color 8X10 photographs before this failure occurred. And I bought a
brand new, sealed print head off eBay for about $80 US, and with it
and a new set of OEM cartridges, I'm back running fine again. Also,
refilling as often as needed, no problems there either. My original
cost of that printer was about $250 as I recall, so my new printhead
cost only about 1/3 original printer. Furthermore, I don't have to
put up with the current "monopolistic" chipping behavior of those
money grubbing jerks!

Olin

 

[Michael Johnson, PE]

I still have the full original OEM carts for my iP5000 bought in
December 2004. They're about two years old now so I guess I should use
them out before they lose their flavor. I never bothered registering
the printer and went straight to using a mixture of compatibles and home
refill for the BCI-3e black. Then some months later I went to full
refill, and I'm still at it. Printer works flawlessly with various
aftermarket inks. And why not? No surprise there. My biggest worry was
mechanical breakdown and NOT anything related to the inks. So far so
good with the mechanics and the limited life span printheads they give
us for a laugh and then charge more than 1/2 the price of a new printer
to replace when burnt out!

Hey, Canon has to make their money someplace if we're not buying OEM
ink. The cost of a print head for the iP4000/MP780 is still less
than the cost of a set of OEM cartridges. I'll be using our non-chipped
Canon printers until their wheels fall off. Even then, I have a big
roll of duct tape and bailing wire sitting on the shelf to patch them up
again.

 

[measekite]

Colin Reddish wrote:

"Burt" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...



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







Bit late in the day but just to note... I think one of the reasons you've not seen too much on this is that most people with a clue have eskewed the newer canons because of the chips. Those who have gone that route have often had the experience to know that refilling is cheapest of all and just refilled the original carts. The compatibles are there but I doubt many people have touched them and from what I've seen on the rare forum posts that do mention them, they are a little prone to failure and chips being unrecognised. My advice if you actually opt for that route is to go for refilling and use nifty-stuff forum as a good base for learning the ropes. Hope that helps. Martin



To reinforce Martin's advice, there are several people posting to the nifty-stuff forum about their experience with the newest Canon printers. http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/


This is a predudicial forum of hackers and hobbyists who (many) have some type of affiliation with the relabelers in the generic ink industy.  If you want the truth by independent professionals like Wilhelm Labs, PC World and PC Magazine as well as Popular Photography I would google then and read professional reviews.


Thanks Burt and Martin. I've noted your advice and am currently following relevant threads in the nifty-stuff forum. Like on here there is little experience of compatibles for the chipped Canon printers. In recent weeks several of the more reputable UK suppliers have introduced compatible carts for the 4200/5200 printers so they probably believe there is a market for them. So maybe more users will be trying them and reporting results. I have purchased a set on eBay but not installed them yet. The OEM carts supplied with the printer which I purchased a couple of weeks ago are still almost full so I will take my time getting to know the printer using them and being convinced the printer does not have any faults before I sacrifice the warranty by using the compatibles. I have also bought some empty OEM carts from which I will use the chips. I have also been reading about re-filling as an alternative approach but at the present time I'd rather stick with compatibles if they work out OK. There are also a significant number of IP4200's being sold on eBay and they are fetching reasonable prices (£30-£50) although much less than the IP4000's which tend to be twice that. I suspect many of the buyers of the 4200 are un-aware of the significance of the chipped cartridges.