jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

There's been a lot of discussion here about generic ink, so I'll add to it.

There is a huge price difference between OEM and aftermarket, that I don't mind taking a chance. I've never ruined a printer with generic ink. I've had good and bad results both from buying filled cartridges and from filling them myself. There are so many different companies that it's hard to keep track of what came from where. They all seem to offer warranties, but if you don't know who to contact, the warranty is worthless. I recently bought some large (PGI-5BK) black cartridges for a Canon iP4500 on eBay. They cost $10.36 (eBay Bucks) for five cartridges, and they're guaranteed. If they don't work, I'll return them (maybe) for a refund. They just arrived today, and I haven't tried them yet.

I got some unusable cartridges from Inkfarm, and I received a refund after returning them. The best results I've seen so far are with refill kits from Precision Color on Amazon. Beautiful black and color. I've filled Canon iP4500 and MP210 cartridges with their ink.

As I continue filling cartridges and buying refilled ones - for HP - I'll let you know about any special successes or failures. There is a lot online abut how to fill them. Latex/nitrile gloves are a must.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

I am in philosophical agreement with Jerry. I have two color printers at present one a Laser, Xerox one Canon TS9020. Both are running with aftermarket. I checked aftermarket knowing that the price of the printer was small compared to OEM toner or ink.

I have used aftermarket for years and had no problem. Have the photos faded, no my walls are not bathed in UV and there is no Ozone generator in my home. For display no glass, mounted photos do have a thin paraffin coating applied with a flat nap paint applicator.

Hammer Loc: London UK

I got converted to using generic ink when I was desperate for a black cartridge and found a supplier of generic stuff nearby. No problems whatsoever , so now its generic only for me . c

Jazztrader

I wonder which companies actually use the microchips:
https://www.howtogeek.com/174232/htg-explains-why-is-printer-ink-so-expensive/

I tend to buy original replacements on eBay, where some of the deals pretty much match the discounters. The caveat is you may get ink that's closer to expiration, but those expiration dates tend to have a broad window in which the ink is still good, even past the expiration date.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I've personally seen two printers ruined because the company was too cheap to purchase the recommended ink. They bought generic. It cost them just slightly less to repair them then purchase new ones. Again, they took the cheap way.
--Bob

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

That would be a good name for a TV show about millenials and their tattoos.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

I got ink on eBay for my Canon Pro-100 and never had a problem. I think I paid about $24 for the whole set. I sold the printer to a friend and it still works flawlessly with those cartridges.

wrangler5 Loc: Missouri

I make ~1,000 8x8 B&W prints each year to give away as Christmas presents to family members. (They get 'em in bound books.) Bought a Canon Pro-10 a couple of years ago and used only OEM ink for the first year - but kept the empty cartridges.

Second year I refilled the empties with the appropriate (pigment) Precision Color inks. Same print quality, at least to my eyes, and absolutely zero problems with the printer. Saved enough to buy a new printer, when the time comes.

Third year went with the PC inks again - still no printer problems, and saved enough to buy another printer. I'm seeing a pattern here. So I don't know about the generic cartridges offered at Amazon and ebay and elsewhere, but I am absolutely sold on the Precision Color inks, at least for my printer and using OEM cartridges that I bought and used new.

cam.79 Loc: Gray, GA

One big thing I have heard is just don't update the printer firmware. I heard that if you do that you cannot use aftermarket cartridges anymore. True or not, I don't know.

wrangler5 Loc: Missouri

Epson is particularly aggressive in working to make their machines immune to anything but Epson brand cartridges, and to prevent resetting the chips in those cartridges so they can't be refilled. I read somewhere else recently that close to half their (printer) product development expenses go to this work.

I THOUGHT I'd read years ago that this was illegal under US antitrust laws, as a "tying arrangement" or some such, but I guess that's not actually the case, or they've paid off enough of the powers that be to not get sued.