rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

I must be very lucky, because all of these years I've never once had a problem with 3rd party ink.

Naldo

For what it's worth:

I used to repair & maintain inkjet & laser printers for a living back in the 1990s. Our "best" (meaning most frequent) customers BY FAR were always those who used refill ink & toner. Furthermore, when we did side-by-side test printouts comparing OEM vs third-party refills, the quality difference was so readily apparent that anyone who looked at the results was converted back to OEM forever.

PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

So you disagree with 99% of the independent lab studies done by photographic magazines and websites ? Care to share any empirical evidence for your claims ? I understand when people attach a value on a name - and those who wish to pay a premium to have that name on their 'stuff' should purchase exactly what they want - but to denigrate a third party product without evidence and no actual data is misleading and in my opinion arrogant. If you do your own research and testing as many of us who use third party products do, you might just find that your premise about name brand products being better is just based on conjecture and supposition. In the case of batteries, no manufacturer makes their own batteries so when you buy a third party battery you are potentially purchasing from the same manufacturer of the battery that costs 30% more because they print the manufacturer's name on it. Now THAT'S expensive ink used to print the name ...

MT Shooter is the only person who I have seen in this forum demonstrate any potential third party ink failures and that was from a number of years ago. The fading of the inks was interesting in that where the print was 'protected' by cellophane tape the OEM and third party inks looked like they were comparable (based on the screen image) . My own experience is that side by side a year after i purchased my Pixma Pro-100, there is no difference in print appearance between the 2 test images. Certainly with only a year into the comparison, it is not exactly definitive proof but in the worst case situations, after 4 or 5 years I can always reprint if needed. When selling, I will always use a professional print lab in most cases because they specifically print for longevity.

drc023 Loc: North Little Rock, Arkansas

There is a vast difference between ultra cheap Chinese ink and that formulated in the USA or Korea. I've been refilling since 2004. Initially it was ink mfg'd by Sensient-Formulabs. After the supplier went out of business I switched to an eBay seller with an almost cult like following on the printer forums. Those inks were for my iP4000 printer. I still have it, but it was retired in favor of a five color MG6220 and then the addition of a wide format IP8720. I've also used a variety of low cost inks and cartridges on all of those printers. Some inks were passable and others not so much. However I never had a clogging issue with any of those inks. I figured even if I did the cost of a replacement printer Canon printer would be much less than I had saved by using cheap ink and cartridges. I finally decided to quit being cheap and go for quality so I switched to Precision Colors for both of those printers. Sure it costs a little more, not much though, and the improvement in color quality was huge. I recently added a Pro-100 and then ordered a full refill kit from Precision Colors. I had a large run of 13x19 prints and started with the OEM cartridges and then refilled each one as it reported empty. Lots of prints equalled several refills of each color. The was not any noticeable difference between prints using the OEM Canon ink and the same prints using refills. I know there are other refill inks that users say are excellent and I wouldn't be surprised to find out they are from the same manufacturer. Bottom line for me is that #1 refilling will not kill your printer, #2 there are inks out there that have poor color matching and #3 I am now a committed user of Precision Colors ink. Now, if I knew as much about photography as I do about refilling, my photos would look a whole lot better.

josquin1 Loc: Massachusetts

So you're not sure of the longevity of the products. It would probably take many years to see about that in which both prints would have to be in a side by side comparison with equal amounts of shade and sun. Being in my 8th decade i don't feel I have that kind of time to see. You have excellent points and the only drawback seems to be the time. The youth will see. But I do believe that Canon and Epson should lower their ink prices. They must make 100% profit on them if not more.

G. Crook Loc: Linden, TX

So, I’ll ask the question again; every one talks about third-party inks but what brands are best? Nobody seems to mention a brand.

JaiGieEse Loc: Foxworth, MS

3rd party inks are like cars or anything else. Some work well, others do not.

It should also be said that some 3rd party inks may well perform flawlessly in one person's workflow, and not in another.

I sell prints of my images, along with some specialty products using my images. I presently use an Epson SureColor P800 wide-format printer. This machine uses Epson's UltraChrome HD pigment-based inks. They run $51 per cartridge, but these are 80 ml cartridges and they do last a while.

I used Red River papers with this machine.

So far, my results have been nothing less than superb. Given my business reputation depends on the quality of my product, I see no benefit in chancing said rep by using less expensive, non-OEM inks.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Actually some of the third party stuff is made by the contractors who do the OEM products and their stuff is just as good or in rare cases better because they make improvements that the OEM brand does not adapt. Batteries come to mind, there are only a few companies set up to make battery cores in industrial quantity and they make all those different brands on contract or supply the cores to the brand name to be incorporated into their batteries. Of course they make several types and grades at different price points.

I have some older Amazon Basics AA rechargeable from when they were made by Eneloop on contract. But I understand Amazon started having them made in China and the quality is now poor.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Because if you need warranty work or a replacement and it has 3rd party ink in it they won't honor the warranty.
So I used Canon OEM ink carts for the one year (and saved all my empties) and the started refilling with Precision Colors. I have a ready supply of cleanable, refillable carts and a source of chips for the modified ones I bought from Precision Colors.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

My opinion and also several reviews: PRECISION COLORS their refill kits us Image Specialist inks - a company that supplies inks to the OEM cart brands and the commercial printing industry. They have certified Museum Quality Archival inks as part of their line up.

drc023 Loc: North Little Rock, Arkansas

Reread the replies. Precison Colors is a supplier/brand mentioned many times on other postings and several times in this thread. www.precisioncolors.com

Horseart Loc: Alabama

and speaking of Epson...I uses to use my $325 Epson printer a LOT and never used anything but Epson inks in it...clogged anyway and left streaks on everything I tried to print...so I bought a cheap HP printer for $30 and it makes a beautiful print...slow as Christmas but very nice.

pbradin Loc: Florida

I've been using third party batteries for well over a decade with no problems, similar # of shots per charge as OEM batteries in five different Canon digital cameras since 2002 (Watson, ProMaster and OEM for the 7D, 7D II, and eFilm, Watson and OEM for the 20D). I don't touch OEM inks and never explored the idea. Just don't want to take the chance of messing up a $1700 Epson printer. I've tried "off-brand" lenses, but they didn't stand up to the quality, sharpness and durability of Canon's "L" series. I am not rich, by any means. I just make an investment in the absolute best I can get, new, used, or refurbished. None of the lenses in my bag were bought new, but, again, they are "L" series and a couple of them are pushing ten years old, still work smoothly and give me sharp shots (17-40 f4, 70-200 f2.8 IS, 24-105 f4 IS, 2x TC, 1.4X TC and 12mm and 25mm extension tubes). Currently saving up for a refurb 100-400 L II. I figure that will be my last lens (I am 72). Camera is Canon 7D II along with original 7D and an old 20D that isn't worth selling. I bought one $150 tripod and head and quickly found out that you get what you pay for. Saved up for a year and bought a good tripod and head that will support 37 lbs and it's rock solid. I now only use the old one to support an off-camera flash with a 25' cable. I say, you save money where it doesn't affect picture quality or print quality, and for the stuff that will directly affect quality, you buy the absolute best you can afford. That's my ten cents.

pbradin Loc: Florida

If you bought old ink cartridges they may clog, OEM or aftermarket. Dealers are supposed to check stock for out-of-date, but they don't always do that. If they were stored in a hot warehouse, that can contribute to clogging after they are sold, too. I always by from a well respected source (I won't name names, because I am not hear to promote one business over another) and have never gotten an out-of-date cartridge or one that gave me trouble. My printer is eight years old and going strong.

gekko11 Loc: Las Cruces NM

I concur with your post, as for the part after LOLOL,, absolutely concur