drc023 Loc: North Little Rock, Arkansas

In this topic I've seen comments regarding the use of refilled cartridges and dye vs pigment ink and that only dye inks provide permanence. Pigment inks are the ones for permanence. However dye based OEM inks are now archival for newer Canon and Epson printers. Unfortunately the cost of OEM cartridges is obscenely expensive. Canon and Epson have provided a workaround to this with their Ecotank & Megatank models. While these printers can give fairly nice output they are limited by only having the basic CMY and pigment black. The OEM refill ink is inexpensive, but the printers are about two to three times the cost of comparable cartridge based models. For high volume users such as office or soho environments the return on investment is tremendous making the equipment cost insignificant.
For those of us doing photo printing as a hobby or business we have to make the decision between high quality and price for OEM cartridges or in many cases using third party cartridges or refilled cartridges regardless if the ink is dye or pigment based. This to me is where most of the misinformation originates. I know there are highly recommended third party cartridges that can still be a little pricey. There are also dirt cheap tanks ranging from decent on down to bad.
The other alternative is to refill your own cartridges. This is what I do and have been doing for many years. This way I always know the source of my ink and what to expect. I had my share of cheap low quality ink, but overall most of the ink was pretty good. Refilling can be messy if basic precautions are ignored, but that doesn't have to be the case. There are numerous suppliers selling high quality refill ink and supplies. I now use only refill ink from Precision Colors and have done so for about the last four years. Results are outstanding and at a low cost. I currently have a Canon Pro-100 and an older but remarkably good Canon MG6220. Using the "Squeezy bottles" from Precision Colors and just a little bit of common sense refilling is a breeze. To say all refilled cartridges will fail because of a single bad experience is to me the same as saying that all efforts at using a DSLR will fail because of a screw up with improper settings.

nikonbrain Loc: Crystal River Florida

These guys dont get it even with proof they still want to try it . If you want to brick your print head use third party ink , its not a matter of if its when it will die . Canon printers and some epsons that use thermal heads use glycerin in there inks this glycerin is used as a lubricant in the nozzles , to prevent clogging I know the pixma pro 9000 series did and most newer versions The ink itself is used as a coolent for the head , the worst thing you can do it if a nozzle is clogged is keep doing cleanning and power cleanings in a row you will heat that nozzle with no ink moving you will burn out that nozzle set. Better to space the cleannings apart to prevent over heating. I also print 4 inch test strips every other day to keep ink moving thru the head . The second worst thing you can do is let the printer sit not printing.. Canon getting better at fighting clogs on their newer series the head comes to rest in glycerin tanks with negative pressure on the nozzles allowing glycerin to be drawn into the nozzles to keep them moist ...good luck with third party ink ...

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

Cheaper is unusally more expensive in the long run.

brooklyn-camera I Loc: Brooklyn, NY

I left out that I never tried the refills from squeeze bottles, I use 3rd. party ink cartridges (non-refillable) type. I do return the empty ink cartridges back to Staples.

awis01

I use an HP photo smart printer, always with HP inks. Always been glad that did. Your test just confirms a good decision.

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

I don't think some of the more expensive printers can get cartridges on the refill market. AS the Canon Pro 1000 or the equal in the Epson line.

nikonbrain Loc: Crystal River Florida

I used precision colors on my pixma pro 9500 6 months later print head no worky no more ...needs a new head I had used it for 3 years before I started using precision colors ink...