dsnapper46

Hi guys and this is my first post from across 'the pond' here in Scotland. I have been reading most of the items that interest me and I would like to reply to who ever submitted the post on printer inks or third party inks for a Canon Pro series printer.
I would advise that the client uses the Canon inks and Canon paper for his work as I have the same printer and thought exactly the same as yourself but the difference is in the quality of the print. If you use Canon recommended products you will see a noticeable difference as I said I have tried both 'cheap inks' and the genuine product and as I exhibit a lot the 'trade off' is not worth it but if not convinced buy one set of third party inks and then try the genuine product and see the difference.
Hope this helps as I speak from a personal view.
dsnapper46

warrior Loc: Paso Robles CA

http://www.inkfarm.com. My pictures have won 1st place at the Mid State Fair using their cannon ink.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Welcome to the forum. My ancestors on fathers side are from the north of the island Lewis.
I know what you're saying, I have the PRO 10 printer and I always used Canon OEM inks, but they are expensive. I'm ay work at the moment so I can't look at a cartridge but, I found an aftermarket ink manufacturer that claims their Canon replacement inks are formulated as close to Canon's product as possible. This ink is not cheap but it is about 35% less expensive than Canon ink. You can buy just the ink or the replacement cartridges as well. Their cartridges aren't quite as heavy as OEM but they're much heavier than the Cheap cartridges I bough once, only once and never again. I don't know off hand if they're inkfarm or not, I don't think so, but I've read up on inkfarm and I may give their products a try. By the way, I always use Canon paper.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

I own a Canon Pro-100 printer, and have used both Canon OEM cartridges and LD Product after-market cartridges. My print results are identical. My printer works the same with either manufacturer.
http://www.ldproducts.com/Canon/Ink-Cartridge/PIXMA/PRO-100/8488-Printer.html

bioteacher Loc: Brooklyn, NY

I usually only buy Canon ink, but I wait for a sale from Canon and stock up. Tou get free paper with your order when they run the sales. I have so much paper that I don't know what to do with it.

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

removed as not applicable

Ron 717 Loc: Pennsylvania

I agree with this post 100%, if you watch for sales on Canon's site or eBay and Amazon you can find occasional deals. I have a spare set of cartridges in stock and when I use one I replace that cartridge for I believe $17.00. After the initial priming of the print head the cartridges last a lot longer than people are aware of.
Like another poster indicated, if you buy several cartridges in one order from Canon they usually have a deal where they send a bunch of free photo paper with order, I received 10 packs of 100 sheets on my last order.
Canon Printer + Canon Ink + Canon Paper = Troublefree, great prints and reliability.
Did you ever wonder why people are always looking for cheap ink that is as "Good as Canon ink"?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Welcome to our forum!

I've tried several different sources for printer ink - although not inkfarm - and I've been dissatisfied.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

I am not a pro (as many here can verify by the quality (or lack thereof) of my photos. And I only print for myself or familly members. But if I were and sold my prints as part of my business, I would only use OEM inks. The risks of third party inks just would not be worth the savings, and the cost would be deductable. Paper is another thing. Here I would not be bound to OEM.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

The usual reasons people have trouble with third party materials are inconsistency of manufacture, poor/unknown UV light fastness of the dyes or pigments, and failure to use custom ICC profiles for the exact combination of ink and paper in use.

There are a few reputable dealers who have solved these problems. Still, it is very easy to get "off track" with ink/paper/profile combinations.

Since the printer manufacturer builds a SYSTEM of paper, ink, and ICC profiles built into its printer drivers, it is easiest to achieve high quality results with OEM materials. Not all OEM papers and inks are the same! The chemistries used by HP, Canon, and Epson are all a bit different. So using, say, Canon paper in an Epson printer is not exactly optimal. Using third party papers may or may not be optimal for your printer. Using third party inks is probably better, since the better vendors of ink at least match their chemistry to the OEM papers and provide profiles for those OEM papers.

So, if you have a third party dealer willing to make custom profiles for EACH combination of paper and ink they sell, go for it.

If you have an advanced color management system from X-RITE or ColorVision Systems' DataColor, AND the knowledge, time, and patience to make your own profiles, knock yourself out! It is not difficult. But it is NOT fun duty... I set up ICC color management for a pro lab. When I moved from lab management to training, I then worked with consultants doing the same thing in my absence. It's painstaking work, requiring careful attention to detail and many iterative tests.

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

Welcome to 'posters of the UHH' partake often!

I'm glad to hear from another Scotsman. Truth be told I'm only genetically Scottish, my forebears crossed the pond about 1690; their incentive was that they were at risk of losing their Protestant heads and lands, but figured that the heads were worth more than the lands.

I posted a thread yesterday regarding my exclusive use of Canon inks in my Canon PIXMA Pro 9000, because some years ago I had two experiences with non-OEM inks leaking, one HP & one Epson, both of which ruined the printer and required replacement . Unlike you I use Red River papers, but the shipping cost, and maybe duty(?) from the states may make that option expensive for you. The Red River site is full of other good information; if you haven't looked at I'd suggest you do so. redriverpaper.com. [You may have to add a .us to that??]

TeeKay

In the UK Fotospeed makes/sells good quality replacement inks, also papers. I have no experience of Canon printers, but they work well in Epson printers. Whenever you move away from OEM materials you need to profile printing, but profiles may already be available for ink/paper/printer combinations. Fotospeed does a free profiling service for their materials.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

I continue to only use OEM inks in my printers, mostly Epson, and will continue to do so. I purchase, almost exclusively now, Red River Paper which comes with icc profiles for my printer make/model and specific paper. I am very pleased with my output from my Epson P800 on many types of Red River, and some Epson, paper. YMMV.

dsnapper46

Thanks to all who replied and hope I've not started another American Civil War!....lol.

WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

Here is an alternative that I have heard nothing but good things about, that is, if you don't mind doing the work. I am seriously thinking of switching over to this method myself.
http://www.precisioncolors.com/index.html