bcmink Loc: Monona, WI

There are some YouTube Videos for refilling Pixma Pro 100 cartridges. As to the issue of the chip, you'll likely have to invest in a Canon chip resetter to reset the counter to zero. I have several large Canon Multifunction SOHO printers that don't have resettable chips but there are a dozen companies that sell replacement chips for DIY refilled cartridges. Do a little more research. I suspect the reason the ink is running out is that you haven't adequately sealed the cartridge after filling it. I use an alcohol wipe and then sticky aluminum tape like the stuff used by commercial HVAC folks for sealing ducts. It will form a leak proof seal.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

If they can afford to design and manufacture an electronic chip to put on every ink cartridge, you know they're making a pretty good profit on each one.

katballou Loc: Pennsylvania

I have two Cannon printers,MG6220 and pro100. Staples gives me $2.00 credit for each recycled cartridge. You start out being allowed to recycle 10 per month,then after you have spent a certain amount you move up to being able to recycle 20 per month and so on. Saves alot of money if you do alot of printing.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

And generally the inks are poor quality, inconsistent in color from batch to batch, and fade in weeks. They are also more prone to clogging. There are some high quality inks, like Cone inks for Epsons, that are color and functionally equivalent in the higher-end
Epsons. Cone even sells refillable carts. The are so close to OEM that you can replace them one at a time as you convert from OEM to Cone.

jecanes Loc: Taumarunui, New Zealand

Don't be such a tight wad, you run the risk of damaging your print heads and voiding your warranty.

mldavis2

I've gone through several inkjet printers and paid the piper with outrageous ink replacement cartridges and refills. I threw then all away and gave up. What I found was that if you print every day, the nozzles and inks work OK. If not, you'll spend a fortune on clogged nozzles and half-full ink cartridges, poor color consistency and a host of other woes.

Today I own a fantastic B&W laser printer for printing the stuff I use - from letters to boarding passes, etc. All of my photo printing goes either to Walgreen's, WalMart or Costco for the cheap 4x6's and to MPix for the bigger more critical stuff. Yes, it's fun to see that print emerge from your very own printer in real time, but you're paying a huge price for that, and you'll soon get over it. Home inkjet printers are a rip-off.

johnst1001a Loc: West Chester, Ohio

I am not sure, but all the ink cartridges already have a tiny hole in the top. Peel back the label all the way, and you will likely find it. Canon and HP printers do. Then after filling, simply reseal the label after your wipe off the excess.
I don't always find the bulk ink works all that well. Most of the time it does, but then it gets streaky. I think there may be some drying out.
As for the low ink alert, interestingly the low ink alert for a cartridge will come on, I refill the cartridge, and the alert is still on. But then after a day or two, I happened to notice that some of the alerts have gone off. I simply don't pay any attention to the alerts, I refill when I think I have printed enough pictures to warrant a refill.

MikeMck Loc: Southern Maryland on the Bay

:thumbup: :thumbup:

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

After a lengthy discussion a few months ago, it was determined that leaving the printer turned on all the time is the most economical way to operate. I used a Kill-A-Watt, and it looks like it will cost almost nothing to keep my two printers turned on all year, and they won't waste ink every time I turn them on.

Also, if you're printing something that doesn't have to look great, printing in Fast mode, Grayscale, will save ink.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Dimes!!! The carts for my new Canon pro 100 cost over a hundred for OEM. I am waiting til the after mkt shakes out before I put it in service.

For 4 years I used an Epson NX-305 with a CIS.. worked beautifully with few pluggages cleared with tip soaking in rubbing alcohol and the the printer died from "message saying outlived life expectancy." Oh! it had a mileage counter??? (think it was waste ink sponge). The money saved >$2000 not dimes... well 20 thousand dimes.

Oh, but that ink fades. Bull, the UV additive is not a big cost item to mfg of ink. I have prints 4 years old hanging .. no glass... on my wall looking OK. No perhaps if I put them in the Florida sun or a Xenon arc chamber with Oxygen added to produce high Ozone... perhaps... but that is not my living room... so that is a myth... also a myth ... void the Warranty? What are you going to say stopped working I used none OEM?? are they going to analize the ink? NO, bunk.

I just installed a CIS on my Epson stylus Photo 825, 6 color, and it is doing beautifully.

Filling the carts with a drilled hole... better to burn with a hot nail to prevent junk in the cart. I would put the hole on top near the deliver end. Stand the cart on the end with the hole high and inject 2ml at most. Next tape the hole and let the cart stabilize. That is to say, some will drip out til the pressure in cart drops from liquid loss.

Too many HumBugs in UHH who can not tie their shoes, they only know what they are told and add to problems rather than looking for solutions. No offense to those who like Velcro shoes like me nor to you RWR and others who, like Evita Peron, throw dimes to the crowd.

Good luck philo, Check the ink specs here:
http://www.earthinkjet.com/bulk-magenta-ink.html

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Humm, do they crush them for the plastic or refill and sell, betcha they refill and were they designed specifically to refill... betcha they weren't and betcha it does not mater...they reset the chips...huh?

Blaidd

I was told years ago not to use refilled cartridges (I use Epson printers) because there are special oils in the ink that are used in the print heads that the refills may not have in them. I guess it doesn't matter depending on the type of printer you have because the price of some of them make them almost disposable.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I'm fanatical about recycling my cartridges at Staples. That's how I get the money to buy new ones. In order to get the credit for them every quarter, you have to spend at least $70 on ink. I'd hate to turn in all those cartridges and lose the credit.

I didn't know about the 20 cartridge upgrade. How does that work?

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

and ink is expensive

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I'd love to know what the profit margin is on ink.

A few years ago, a newspaper did a multi-part investigation into the eyeglass industry. The profits were obscene. There are a few pieces of plastic or wire for the frames. The lenses are two polished pieces of plastic produced automatically by machines. If you get a pair of Rx glasses for $100, that's dirt cheap.