grichie5

I am curious about the experience of others using compatible ink cartridges in their ink jet printers. I mainly print photographs, using one of two Canon printers. Over the years, I have tried compatibles from time to time and while they seemed to work fine at first, they ultimately caused one or more of the ink jets to clog. These clogs could not be cleared by trying to clean the jets using the printers maintenance software.

After ruining two inexpensive printers recently, I decided to bite the bullet and use only genuine Canon ink. Have others had this experience? Are some brands much better than others/

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

When I did my own printing with a Canon printer, I used compatible ink cartridges. In fact I would refill my own cartridges.
Today I vendor out my 4x6, and up printing for Fuji Emulsion Crystal Paper. Costco is my primary vendor.

pbcbob Loc: Delray Beach, FL

Several years experience using Carrot Ink/Ink Jet cartridges without any problems on an Epson Artisan series printer. Less than half price. I also use Red River paper.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I only use OEM ink for my Canon printer.
(I don't print a lot at home, sending most to Costco for printing on photo emulsion paper.)

Nikon_DonB Loc: Chicago

I love Red River Paper. But as far as ink, I use NOTHING but Epson ink. I LEARNED THE HARD WAY, by ruining 2 nice printers over the years. NOW, I'm NOT even risking an$700. printer to save a couple bucks on cheap ink....J M H O.

Kuzano

Refillable ink cartridges end up saving about half the cost on ink, until you find out they can only be recharged to about one half the amount of OEM ink cartridges. OEM ink cartridges do not leave ink on your hands and about two feet of anything you use as a refill surface.

I've heard it said that using aftermarket ink will void the warranty on your printer? Never tried it to find out. Sometimes DIY is just a shitty way to go!

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Huh! I am pretty much a klutz sometimes and though I get a bit on my fingers refilling cartridges I plan ahead of time, I use a newspaper for a table cloth, put all the carts on a paper plate as I take them out of the printer, reset the chips, fill over another paper plate or bowl (being careful to not over flow), plug the fill hole, wipe off the cart and filler syringe with kleenex, place back on the first paper plate, carry them to the printer and reinstall them. I do all the cartridges at once when one goes empty - topping off and resetting the others. they are actually refilled to a bit more than a new set, since the carts are transparent I have looked - the factory carts have a bit of air gap which I usually go ahead and fill with ink because I refill just before or during a printing job and don't have to worry if heat will expand the ink and cause leaking around the rubber plug in the refill hole. The level is going to be down in just a short time as I print.

I am speaking of a Canon Pro-100 with 8 cartridges. For a lot of info look up Jose Rodriguez's video series: http://www.youtube.com/user/cheo1949/featured

I use "Precision Colors" inks and refill kit to include their cleaned, modified OEM cartridges and electronic chip resetter. Their inks are made for them by "Image Specialists" a supplier of ink to the commercial industry and OEM cartridge makers. The ones used by Precision Colors are from Image Specialists' museum quality certified inks and often a custom mix that equal or exceed the OEM cartridge ink.

My first kit: resetter, special filler caps, cartridges with safety cap/bracket and a set of 8 4 oz bottles (enough for about 7 complete fills of each color) was $175 dollars shipped. They sell ink in bottles up to 16 oz (6 of the colors are $26 and the two grays are $28 for 16 oz). A full set of OEM is about $125 msrp.

Precision Colors: http://www.precisioncolors.com/index.html

Yes, using after market carts or refilling will void the warranty if it goes in for repair. But I just waited until the 1 year warranty was over, then starting refilling.

PeterBergh

I only use Canon ink in my Pixma Pro-10. If you buy for $30+ ink at a time from Canon, they will throw in free paper and free shipping, I believe that this erases any price advantage that third-party inks may have -- not to mention the horror stories I read about third-party inks clobbering printers.

Last time I bought Canon ink, the free paper was 50 sheets of 13 by 19 semigloss; list $99.99, B&H $49.99.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

There are many people who are happy with 3rd party inks, some are reliable I guess, I personally wouldn't take a chance, and why? I'm happy with my OEM inks and I know everything is going to be fine and I know I'll get the results I want!

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

I don't print every day and I am not a pro, so my income is not affected. I use Ink Farm I save about 50 bucks a set. I have gone through 5 or so sets in about 3 years. So at 5X50=250 I am way ahead and I have paid for a new printer if it explodes tomorrow. BTW I can't tell the difference between prints made with Canon ink or InkFarm ink. All that said if my living depended upon the quality of my prints I would only use OEM ink

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Not only that, but print fading is premature, and ink color consistency from batch to batch is not there. On high-end Epson printers, ConeColor inks are actually as good as OEM, and are commonly used in CIS (continuous ink systems) without issue, but the Epson Matte Black is still better than the Cone version.

waegwan Loc: Mae Won Li

Ditto

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

"Compatible" ink may or may not be any good. I've found it to be hit or miss, even from the same seller. I can get half a dozen cartridges on eBay for $10, or I can pay $70 for one cartridge. Sometimes, the cheap cartridges work fine, but sometimes, the colors are off. If printer makers charged reasonable prices for their ink, we wouldn't be looking for cheaper alternatives. The cheap ink is so cheap that if you get a bad batch, throw it away and try again. I've used all different brands of ink, generally with good results, and I've never had any printer damage caused by the ink.

For anything important, I would use the manufacturer's ink and paper.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Please refer to the section on inks:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/inkjet-printer-ink-paper,2979-4.html

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Yes, I too could not resist the 60# Pro 100 for less than $1 a pound if the paper thrown in is counted. I left it in the box till aftermarket ink came available... but that was further delayed by my purchase of a Canon TS9020 when the $200 RMP dropped to $50 with the intro of the 9120. I came across replacement inks for 4 sets for $35 on Amazon!! Yesterday change two of the OEM carts replacing the low cost carts... The printer did not blink at accepting the non OEM carts! [OK, OK, sorry, a little humor, empty carts in the 9020 blink]

Considering how common/universal ink formulations are and how little of low cost UV protective compounds are I am not concerned. At 82, all inks are archival !!

Please refer to https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/inkjet-printer-ink-paper,2979-4.html