Replacement inks: Has anyone had any experience with "123Inkjet" replacement inks? They sell both the OEM replacement as well as "compatible" inks. There is a significant cost savings...

Trentc Loc: Denver, CO

Has anyone had any experience with "123Inkjet" replacement inks? They sell both the OEM replacement as well as "compatible" inks. There is a significant cost savings with the "compatible" versions. Any experience with this company and their replacement inks?

Thanks,

Trent

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Personally, my recommendation is always to stick with OEM inks. Third party inks, and refilled OEM ink carts, will cause trouble sooner or later. When they do, your printer will not be covered under warranty. Yes, they save money, but they are also not as good as the OEM inks. To me, this is like owning a Porsche and using regular gas! It is difficult enough to get "perfect" prints without introducing another variable. YMMV.

djtravels Loc: Georgia boy now

I have used 123 for years, both with an HP and Canon Pixma. I recommend them very highly. No printer problems, no service problems, and FAST delivery. I always wait for a special and the cost is a no-brainer. You'll probably hear bad stories from others, but I'm on their side 100%. djt

Trentc Loc: Denver, CO

Great to know, thanks for the info. One added bonus for me is they appear to have some marketing agreement with United Airlines. 11 miles for every dollar spent!

Trentc Loc: Denver, CO

It is difficult enough to get "perfect" prints without introducing another variable. YMMV.[/quote]

Good point, thanks for the input.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Trentc wrote:

Has anyone had any experience with "123Inkjet" replacement inks? They sell both the OEM replacement as well as "compatible" inks. There is a significant cost savings with the "compatible" versions. Any experience with this company and their replacement inks?

Thanks,

Trent

I've tried several, and always for back to the originals.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

CJC2 said in part: " Third party inks, and refilled OEM ink carts, will cause trouble sooner or later." Oh good!! it may be Later.
djtravels, agrees with me. I use a CIS over 5 years with an Epson and its failue was "Out Lived" failure. During that period my calculations vs OEM ... about $2000. OH BUT. UV!!, come on now give me a break... do you run UV lamps in your living room or display your photos in Florida Sun or illuminate Xeon Lamp. Also UV additives are low cost and in inks..

Jerry41 says: "I've tried several, and always for back to the originals." No Jerry it may be red but not a substitute for a good red wine. Jerry you did not explain specifically what problems you have had... what were the problems??? Or was it just "a feeling?"

Chris

On my day to day printer I have used the off name brands but on my photo printer I use original only

blackest Loc: Ireland

Trentc wrote:

It is difficult enough to get "perfect" prints without introducing another variable. YMMV.

Good point, thanks for the input.[/quote]

It kind of depends black and white printing can be entirely third party.

e.g http://www.inksupply.com/qn.cfm

ultratone inks can be very interesting, i'm looking at converting my old epson into a black and white photo printer. Essentially changing the colour inks to shades of gray.

Problem with a colour printer is they are trying to produce gray from colours which tends to leave a little cyan and magenta in the mix, probably worsens as the print ages.

Nobody wants to make an inkjet that doesn't do colour, not without charging big bucks for it. There are a lot of epson printers that can be converted, even 13 colour printers with duff heads can be recycled to black and white use. You can get good results with less cartridges often 6 or 7 shades of gray.

Only trouble is for me at least getting supplies to Ireland, Ink supply are very much US based.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Trentc wrote:

Has anyone had any experience with "123Inkjet" replacement inks? They sell both the OEM replacement as well as "compatible" inks. There is a significant cost savings with the "compatible" versions. Any experience with this company and their replacement inks?

Thanks,

Trent

I have been using "4INJET" for years and can't tell the difference on my Canon printer. Cost less than 1/2 of the original.

RICARDOOO Loc: Findlay, Ohio

Trentc wrote:

Has anyone had any experience with "123Inkjet" replacement inks? They sell both the OEM replacement as well as "compatible" inks. There is a significant cost savings with the "compatible" versions. Any experience with this company and their replacement inks?

Thanks,

Trent

Don't scrimp on inks, you will regret it in the long run. I only use Epson inks in my Epson printer, but there are places that sell them at a discount. ATLEX is one such place ...www.Atlex.com

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

dpullum wrote:

Jerry41 says: "I've tried several, and always gone back to the originals." No Jerry it may be red but not a substitute for a good red wine. Jerry you did not explain specifically what problems you have had... what were the problems??? Or was it just "a feeling?"

Right - "just a feeling." :D I always worried that the formula might upset my printer, since it would be different from the good, factory ink. I didn't want my printer getting mad at me and shutting down.

No, seriously, the colors would often not be right at all, although they might start out looking fine. When I printed any type of graphic with color, it would often be off a bit. I'd print a test page I have made up with the basic colors, and it would look fine, but when I printed anything that required some mixing to achieve the right shade, it just didn't work right. Very frustrating. It could print the right colors in a test, but not in a picture. Switching to the factory ink solved the problem.

One of our members switched from Canon and sent me a load of his non-Canon ink. Some of it worked, and some of it didn't.

GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI

Trentc wrote:

Has anyone had any experience with "123Inkjet" replacement inks? They sell both the OEM replacement as well as "compatible" inks. There is a significant cost savings with the "compatible" versions. Any experience with this company and their replacement inks?

Thanks,

Trent

I used them for a long time on a Canon Pixma MG, until one day they didn't give me a good picture. I tried a new set...still bad. I put in Canon ink & the pic was perfect. So, for me I'll always use OEM ink.

On another note, they do have great customer service. My printer died and I still had 2 sets of ink. The new printer used a different ink cartridge, so they made a no-hassle exchange.

Bottom line? Keep a set of OEM for pictures and use 123 for everything else.

EDIT: I always wondered if the off-brand ink CAUSED my printer to die. The 123 ink just sits on the shelf now, but I could use it for unimportant stuff...like printouts of all the camera gear I want!! Lol :lol:

slom0376

Ive taught computer in schools since the TRS 80s were in existence. Used every type of printer since then. Always used inks that I refilled my self as well as oem cartridges and never had an issue with my machines nor the printing results.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Trentc wrote:

Has anyone had any experience with "123Inkjet" replacement inks? They sell both the OEM replacement as well as "compatible" inks. There is a significant cost savings with the "compatible" versions. Any experience with this company and their replacement inks?

Thanks,

Trent

One of the best ways to save money on printing ink is to choose a printer that uses less ink to clear/clean the print head. Consumers Report found that the "cheapest" printer in the long run was the printer that used the least ink to clear/clean the print head. One example they gave was an Epson that, for the same quality printer, was more expensive than the competitor's to buy. But by the time a year would have past, the Epson would have been cheaper by a substantial margin just by using less ink for the same quality and quantity of prints. The difference was not in the amount of ink used for the prints, but in how much ink was used to clean/clear the print head.