Yet Another - Canon Ink Question

[BobS]

Been following some of the interesting comments in recent threads about
Canon inks and after reading all that, I have a couple of questions:

I recently purchased the Canon i9900 printer along with a full set of spare
cartridges. At approximately $12 (USD) per cartridge this is not totally
outrages compared to some other prices I've seen but if I can lower my costs
on large prints and still maintain quality and longevity, I'm all for it.

Anyone out there using the Canon i9900 or similar printer that uses the
BCI-6 cartridges, find a source of quality ink supplies that has a known
good reputation?

I can find about a zillion suppliers for ink cartridges doing a search but I
certainly would like to hear from those that sell their prints and use 3rd
party supplies. From one of the reviews I read, Amazon inks was high
quality but not as good as the OEM. Comparison for Epson printer and inks.

So for those that have equipped their printers with the larger external
cartridges and paid the price of admission - who's ink do you use? Any
comments pro or con are welcomed.

Thank you,

Bob S.

 

[Bill Crocker]

Occasionally, CompUSA has a 25% off sale, on computer accessories. These
ink cartridges fall under that category. Their regular price is $11.99, so
when the sale is on, they're only $8.99/ea. Usually, they offer one penny
shipping, via FedEx Economy, so it's a great deal! These are fresh, Canon
brand cartridge too! One catch though...when I did this, the discount only
applied to two items, so I entered four separate orders, it worked!

Bill Crocker

 

[Michael Johnson, PE]

Been following some of the interesting comments in recent threads about
Canon inks and after reading all that, I have a couple of questions:

I recently purchased the Canon i9900 printer along with a full set of spare
cartridges. At approximately $12 (USD) per cartridge this is not totally
outrages compared to some other prices I've seen but if I can lower my costs
on large prints and still maintain quality and longevity, I'm all for it.

Anyone out there using the Canon i9900 or similar printer that uses the
BCI-6 cartridges, find a source of quality ink supplies that has a known
good reputation?

I can find about a zillion suppliers for ink cartridges doing a search but I
certainly would like to hear from those that sell their prints and use 3rd
party supplies. From one of the reviews I read, Amazon inks was high
quality but not as good as the OEM. Comparison for Epson printer and inks.

So for those that have equipped their printers with the larger external
cartridges and paid the price of admission - who's ink do you use? Any
comments pro or con are welcomed.

Thank you,

Bob S.

We've run numerous compatible cartridges through our i9100. The best I
have found is from a seller on ebay. Their cartridges have allot more
ink than most and they're about $2 each. Here's a link to their Canon
compatible cartridges: http://tinyurl.com/4x6ep

 

[Crhoff]

If you refill, I have been using ink from www.alotofthings.com and have had
great results. It's Formulab imk

 

[BobS]

Bill,

After doing some searching and being a member of Sam's Club, I found that
they offer the cartridges on-line only for $9.33 each (regular price) and
that includes the PM and PC colors. Downside is that it's ~$7 for shipping
for 8 cart plus good ole tax and at the end of the day- it still comes to
$11.11 per cart. - a small savings. So whether I catch a sale or purchase
from Sam's, the cost will be about the same it appears.

In reality not all colors are used equally and I found a chart on the Canon
site I believe that shows how many average prints you get per color
cartridge. The PM was the lowest at 282 as I recall with the rest hovering
from 300 to 500 prints. Their estimates are pretty well what I'm
experiencing.

So while the above costs are not show-stoppers, I'm not against lowering
costs either and using bulk ink if I can find it.

Thanks for your suggestion,

Bob S.

 

[Don Elie]

Anyone out there using the Canon i9900 or similar printer that uses the
BCI-6 cartridges, find a source of quality ink supplies that has a known
good reputation?

My printer is a Canon i960 which uses the same ink as your i9900, that
is, BCI-6x or BCI-6xx.

If you check out www.inkproducts.com you'll find lots of goodies in
addition to excellent ink. They are my supplier of choice. YMMV

Hint: save your Canon empties /and/ their nozzle caps.

Regards,
Don
--

 

[Anoni Moose]

Bill,

After doing some searching and being a member of Sam's Club, I found that
they offer the cartridges on-line only for $9.33 each (regular price) and
that includes the PM and PC colors. Downside is that it's ~$7 for shipping
for 8 cart plus good ole tax and at the end of the day- it still comes to
$11.11 per cart. - a small savings. So whether I catch a sale or purchase
from Sam's, the cost will be about the same it appears.

http://www.canogacamera.com sells them for a hair less (no membership
needed) and their postage is very reasonable. They've also good prices
on Canon paper. I speak only as a customer (I'm a thousand miles north
of them).

We use cheap ($3) klone inks in our inexpensive Canon
copier/fax/scanner/printer (used primarily by my wife)
device (F50) where we don't use it for photographs that we really care
about. But for our spendier i9900, which we use for our photo
printing,
we use Canon ink and papers. At very least the ICC profiles will be
correct and print lifetimes somewhat more predictable.

Mike

 

[BobS]

Anoni,

Thanks for the link and it appears to be about the best price I've seen for
Canon ink and paper.

Thanks for your time,

Bob S.

 

[BobS]

Crhoff,

I looked at their site and if they run their business like they do their
site - I'll stay away. Broken links, still showing that they're not open
until 26 Dec (click on support link to get to main page). Plus, I'm a bit
leery about any vendor that states their ink matches or exceeds an OEM's
then does not offer any proof of that other than stating "our testing
proves"...

Not saying that these inks are not any good and they certainly have the cost
advantage but I was looking for some proof on their advertising claims and
can't find it. Other articles I've read only indicate a "few" ink suppliers
that offer good quality inks that are certainly useable but any testing done
often shows that they are short-lived (i.e. Wilhelm Labs).

The message I'm getting is that OEM inks are really the best for their
particular printers. You can get lesser cost supplies that may look good
initially but will eventually fade or otherwise deteriorate in some manner.
And that may be okay if I was only interested in making snapshot prints that
won't be hung on a wall or displayed. Not that any of my work is worth
hanging on a wall in anyone else's home but I can force them on family and
relatives......so I don't want them having any excuses like - "It started
fading, so we took it down"......;-)

Looking at the sites and following the various links, reading comments from
others and doing some research has been a good education.

Thanks for your input,

Bob S.

 

[BobS]

Follow-up. I sent them an email indicating some broken links and actually
got a response back....

..........email from Alotofthings.com..............

There are actually a lot of broken links on the site.
We are currently not supporting the site directly as we are working on a new
shop cart.
The shop cart is independent of the site so all references to commerce will
be removed once the new cart is completed.

Rhonda Flores
TrueColor Imaging
Alotofthings.com
A Paradise Multimedia Company

....................................................................

 

[Ron Cohen]

Alotofthings is alive and well, however as posted they are having problems
with the software they acquired. Their business is booming, mainly as the
result of eBay sales, local shows and their resellers and the web site isn't
the main source of orders. This is a link to their eBay store
http://stores.ebay.com/ALOT-OF-THINGS. The prices are better there than at
the website. If you have any concerns about the ink, check out the ink
manufacturers website www.formulabs.com . As to your concerns that the inks
would be inferior to OEM inks, I can't provide any evidence to the contrary
other than my own personal experience and that of numerous other posters in
this newsgroup. I've been refilling for a long time on several different
Canon printers and the results have been identical to OEM inks. Fading has
not been a problem. I've got prints that are in excess of three years old
that have been displayed for that entire time and they show no signs of
fading. I wish I could say the same for some professionally done portraits
that we paid big bucks for which faded to a light sepia. The entire package
faded - from the 16x20 over our fireplace to the 8x10s and wallet sizes that
have been kept in an album. I suspect the lab used bad chemistry. As to
color accuracy of the OEM Canon inks compared to refilled cartridges I can
see no difference. My most recent printer purchase is an iP4000. Upon
receipt, I installed the Canon cartridges and printed several sheets of
reference photos and color charts. I then replaced those cartridges with a
set of OLD cartridges from my i950 which have been refilled way too many
times. The PC and PM cartridges weren't used since the iP4000 doesn't use
them. After running cleaning cycles to purge the previous ink from the
printhead, I then printed the same reference photos and color charts. The
ink used in these cartridges was purchased in late 2002 from alotofthings. I
also have a new set of bulk inks from alotofthings and I repeated the
process with newer cartridges refilled with that ink. The only way to tell
which ink is on the paper was from the notations I wrote on the sheets to
identify them. As a former printshop owner I have a pretty good eye for
color differences and I can't find any from the test sheets I printed.

 

[BobS]

Ron,

Your comments and strong convictions are convincing me to give this another
look - and I will. Appreciate your time and effort to state your experience
with their products.

Thank you,

Bob S.

 

[Ray R]

Alotofthings is alive and well, however as posted they are having problems
with the software they acquired. Their business is booming, mainly as the
result of eBay sales, local shows and their resellers and the web site isn't
the main source of orders. This is a link to their eBay store
http://stores.ebay.com/ALOT-OF-THINGS. The prices are better there than at
the website. If you have any concerns about the ink, check out the ink
manufacturers website www.formulabs.com . As to your concerns that the inks
would be inferior to OEM inks, I can't provide any evidence to the contrary
other than my own personal experience and that of numerous other posters in
this newsgroup.

I agree that their site is poorly done, try finding Canon i850. A
larger concern is after finding the BCI3 bulk ink refill page it warns
not to use pigmented ink if you use it to print color. This is correct
but the only BC3 black ink that I could find was pigmented. It may be
on their site, but navagation was so difficult that I coudn't find it.
Maybe you can help me find it. Their eBay site seems to solve the
problem by ignoring it.

 

[stewy]

Been following some of the interesting comments in recent threads about
Canon inks and after reading all that, I have a couple of questions:

I recently purchased the Canon i9900 printer along with a full set of spare
cartridges. At approximately $12 (USD) per cartridge this is not totally
outrages compared to some other prices I've seen but if I can lower my costs
on large prints and still maintain quality and longevity, I'm all for it.

Anyone out there using the Canon i9900 or similar printer that uses the
BCI-6 cartridges, find a source of quality ink supplies that has a known
good reputation?

I can find about a zillion suppliers for ink cartridges doing a search but I
certainly would like to hear from those that sell their prints and use 3rd
party supplies. From one of the reviews I read, Amazon inks was high
quality but not as good as the OEM. Comparison for Epson printer and inks.

So for those that have equipped their printers with the larger external
cartridges and paid the price of admission - who's ink do you use? Any
comments pro or con are welcomed.

Thank you,

Bob S.

Here in Osaka BCI-6 cartridges can be bought for 740yen, which is about $7.
However mailing from Japan could be expensive unless you bought in bulk - eg
2Kgs worth.

 

[BobS]

On the http://www.formulabs.com/ site they show a BCI-3PBK dye ink. Click
on the Quick Find link at the left and then enter Desktop and Canon, then on
the next page select the printer cartridge number and it will show the
cartridge ink information and which printers it goes with. The list is way
behind form what I can see but the print cartridges are there.

Bob S.

 

[BobS]

stewy,

Well ya know - with the airfares dropping about as fast as they are going
bankrupt, it just may be feasible to fly over there and pick them up. This
of course assumes that the airline is still in business for the return
flight and I don't get hit with the $100 fee for changing airlines.....
otherwise I loose any savings.... ;-)

Interesting to hear that you pay less for them in Japan.

Bob S.

 

[Ron Cohen]

Searching by model number isn't too good from them or a number of other
sites I've visited. With Canon it really isn't all that necessary since the
same group of cartridges fit so many of their printers. Only a few Canon
printers such as the BJC3000 (I still have one from) use BCI-3ePBK. The
warning they put on the web site is entirely valid since using a pigmented
ink in a printhead designed for dye based inks would be quite a problem. In
the case of the BCI-3PBK and the other BCI-3 photo inks, a separate photo
ink printhead assembly is required. The BJC3000 uses the BC-33e assembly for
standard printing and the BC-34e for photo inks. Only a very few Canon
models used this ink. Later 4 tank Canon printers (such as the i850) don't
use dye based BCI-3PBK. They only use pigment base BCI-3BK. I wouldn't say
they solve the problem on their eBay site by ignoring it. Rather, the market
for the older photo inks is so small in relation to the current inks that
they may not have seen the need to list it on eBay. I did find it listed on
their website under this link
http://www.alotofthings.com/catalog/bulkinks_canon_bci-3.html Look at the
bottom left item - Bulk 3-Color Photo BCI-3e PC/PM/PBK. So, after all this
your concern about a photo black for the i850 can be laid to rest. The i850
doesn't use that ink.

Ron Cohen

 

[Ron Cohen]

If you go to the Product Line page, the listings there appear to be current.

 

[Ray R]

Searching by model number isn't too good from them or a number of other
sites I've visited. With Canon it really isn't all that necessary since the
same group of cartridges fit so many of their printers. Only a few Canon
printers such as the BJC3000 (I still have one from) use BCI-3ePBK. The
warning they put on the web site is entirely valid since using a pigmented
ink in a printhead designed for dye based inks would be quite a problem. In
the case of the BCI-3PBK and the other BCI-3 photo inks, a separate photo
ink printhead assembly is required. The BJC3000 uses the BC-33e assembly for
standard printing and the BC-34e for photo inks. Only a very few Canon
models used this ink. Later 4 tank Canon printers (such as the i850) don't
use dye based BCI-3PBK. They only use pigment base BCI-3BK. I wouldn't say
they solve the problem on their eBay site by ignoring it. Rather, the market
for the older photo inks is so small in relation to the current inks that
they may not have seen the need to list it on eBay. I did find it listed on
their website under this link
http://www.alotofthings.com/catalog/bulkinks_canon_bci-3.html Look at the
bottom left item - Bulk 3-Color Photo BCI-3e PC/PM/PBK. So, after all this
your concern about a photo black for the i850 can be laid to rest. The i850
doesn't use that ink.

I still don't understand. The i850 uses black ink for photo printing.
Your site says don't mix dye and pigmented inks. For color the i850
uses dye inks. The only choice you offer is pigmented black.

http://atlascopy.com/refills/bulkcanon.htm offers a choice for the BCI-3
of either dye or pigmented ink. Thier tech support says to use the
dye ink in the i850. Which is correct mixing pigmented black with color
dye ink or using all dye based ink?

Thanks

Ray

 

[GB]

I still don't understand. The i850 uses black ink for photo printing.
Your site says don't mix dye and pigmented inks. For color the i850 uses
dye inks. The only choice you offer is pigmented black.

I only ever printed colour photos with my i865 (all does are printed on my
laser), and while the BCI-6BK was used much more, it still used the BCI-3BK
as well, so there is no doubt the printer uses both carts when printing
photos. Why/How: Don't ask me

Read this:
http://www.alotofthings.com/inkjetinformation/BCI-3ePigmentedandBCI-6dyebased.htm
My experience sort of contridicts this though (the mixing question), unless
all my 3e usage was head cleaning wastage! Then again on my i9950 I have
only the 6BK which is also meant to be pignment according to that page and I
sure go through that as well (even though I only print photos too)