Compatible ink vs OEM ink for printing photographs (Page 2): To a fellow Canon printer, I'm stead fast on Canon ink only. Like you, when I had an i9900 printer, I tried a third party...

elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

To a fellow Canon printer, I'm stead fast on Canon ink only. Like you, when I had an i9900 printer, I tried a third party ink, used it for about two months until clogged jets. Only solution was to purchase another holder/ink jet device. Why do that again? I don't, and my Pixma 9500 also uses 8 cartridges. How to save money? eBay. There is one eBay store that actually goes out to retail stores and buys their damaged boxes. Who wants to pay $35-45 for a single ink cartridge and get a damaged box? Retail stores want to dump them, and that eBay store sells sealed ink cartridges for about $15. Others are doing that now too. As long as they are still in their plastic sealed packaging and you can see the inner seal strips on the cartridge, I'm happy. But for me, never again will I use a third party company, knowing I put my print heads at risk.

wildweasel

I use Ink Owl carts in my Canon iPF6400 (12 carts) and have for 2 years, no issues and the folks I print for comment on how the colors pop. A complete set is $419.

alf85 Loc: Northumberland, UK.

Why are you all still using ink cartridges, i use a contraflow system, and have done for years. i buy six bottles of ink,(one of each colour) that costs me £11.00, and just fill up the containers when need be.
Regards, Alfie.

chem

Hello,
As I have said, I am a chemist, actually a physical organic chemist, and I was part of a team that was developing ink jet inks several years ago. These inks were developed for HP printers and the development chemists developed (and patented) an ink that was better than those on the market. That is- better fade resistance, better water resistance and would not clog a jet, even after years of settling. We couldn't sell the ink, even at a lower price.-- Go figure.

dajanes4

I've used Precision Colors for several years saving hundreds of dollars on hundreds of prints with no problems!

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

chem wrote:

Hello,
As I have said, I am a chemist, actually a physical organic chemist, and I was part of a team that was developing ink jet inks several years ago. These inks were developed for HP printers and the development chemists developed (and patented) an ink that was better than those on the market. That is- better fade resistance, better water resistance and would not clog a jet, even after years of settling. We couldn't sell the ink, even at a lower price.-- Go figure.

This question of oem vs compatible inks has been discussed on this forum quite frequently and I have asked in the past if anyone has any information on where the various suppliers get their inks - IOW, who actually manufactures the inks for Canon and who for Precision or Ink Farm, for example, but have never received a reply to this question. Since you are an expert and insider, so to speak, in the business do you have any info on this? Is it possible there Canon, Epson, etc. inks actually come from the same factories as the compatible inks? I think the answer to this is important in determining the potential positives and negatives of the inks. Thanks for any info.

chem

Yes, I have information about suppliers of ink, but it was company confidential. We had samples of each ink jet manufacturer's oem supplier- clearly identified so it could be shipped. Secrecy agreements prevent the disclosure of such information. Plus, this was before I retired, about 10 years ago and may not be relevant today. I will say that printer manufacturers are loath to change suppliers unless a force ma-jeure requires it. In industry, just because you are better and cheaper does not mean you will sell.

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

chem wrote:

Yes, I have information about suppliers of ink, bu... (show quote)

I respect the need for confidentiality in this situation but could you at least reveal about how many ink manufacturers there are and if there is any common sources between oem and aftermarket inks, without naming the actual ink brands? Even if the info is ten years old it would be very interesting. Thanks for your reply.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

grichie5 wrote:

I am curious about the experience of others using ... (show quote)

I have a Canon PIXMA PRO-9000, older similar to the PRO-100 (13x19" paper). Once I used a batch of non-OEM ink, nothing remarkable happened, but since I always only need one to three colors at a time, I buy OEM Canon ink not entire sets.

For my previous general use HP printer I could get ink refills at COSTCO. Not so for the Canon. Some high end Epson Professional and Commercial printers use large reservoirs of ink that only have to be refilled from time to time, but these models have a huge initial investment! A friend of mine bought some sort of high end printer and so he is going to provide a custom printing service for really large prints.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

When I had the Pro-100 I used this ink from eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/8-Combo-Pack-Ink-Cartridges-for-Canon-CLI-42-CLI42-CLI-42-PIXMA-PRO-100-PRO-100S/182134369964?var=null

Now that I have the Pro-1000 I use ink from eBay that is new, but near or at the "use by date". I get it for about 1/2 price.

grichie5 wrote:

I am curious about the experience of others using ... (show quote)

grichie5

I use Canon CLI-8 ink but have never seen a use by date or expiration date on the cartridges. Where is this information located? Thanks.

grichie5

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

Sorry, only use OEM ink. It is air-sealed in the cartridge to prevent oxidative reactions with the air which congeals the ink causing the heads in your printer to clog. 3rd party ink refills which may be very similar in ink do not have this precaution.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

grichie5 wrote:

I am curious about the experience of others using ... (show quote)

There are a few brands of decent third party inks. However, there has been little archival permanence accelerated aging (fading) testing done on them.

I’ve seen enough printers ruined with cheap inks, and enough faded prints, that I stick with OEM inks. Some third party papers are quite good, though.

WayneL Loc: Baltimore Md

I have been using Jarbo ink cartridges in my Canon printer for 2 years and no problems

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

Agree with you on paper. Biggest issue with 3rd party ink is clogging. Not worth it to go thru that.

burkphoto wrote:

There are a few brands of decent third party inks. However, there has been little archival permanence accelerated aging (fading) testing done on them.

I’ve seen enough printers ruined with cheap inks, and enough faded prints, that I stick with OEM inks. Some third party papers are quite good, though.