Best non-Canon ink and paper for a Canon Pixma IP3000?

[mshan]

What non-Canon combo of ink and photo paper have others found to work particularly well with a Canon Pixma IP3000?

 

[shoRunner]

i use inkgrabber.com and have had no problems.

 

[mshan]

Pretty nice price on those 6 packs.

How does this ink compare to Canon's own and any particular paper brand you've found to work really well with those inks?

 

[beatle]

I'm planning to go with SwiftInk.com next time I buy ink. I was not happy with USAInkjets, despite many recommendations from the forum.

 

[Ike0069]

I get the cheap rainbow cartridges from tylermartin.com. They also sell USA inkjets tha are supposed to be even better, but I have no problem with their Rainbow brand.
They also have a money back guarantee if the ink is crap that they actually honor.

 

[mshan]

I am shopping for my dad, who has a Canon i860.

He isn't too picky about absolute print quality. I think cost and ink that doesn't clog the (unreplaceable) Canon print head is more important.

Also, I get the impression that the ink / paper combo is important, so listing paper used would also be appreciated.

 

[Ike0069]

I just use whatever paper they sell at Walmart. Cheapest ink and cheap paper work great on my Canon printer.

 

[mshan]

Any reported problems with clogged printers heads with these very cheap ink jet catridges?

 

[Ike0069]

Not yet. Only on the second set now though.
But Canon's don't normally have trouble with clogging heads. That is more of an Epson issue.

 

[Zepper]

The i860 print head is easily user replaceable as are most of the i and iP series heads. Try SwiftInk.com. Kodak paper works nicely for me. They have suggested settings for their papers for most Canon printers right on the Kodak site which will get you in the ball park.
. Use the Plain Paper/High Quality setting for most important printing on matte or plain papers other than Canon's own. To get the best output when running other than Canon ink w/ Canon paper always requires a bit of dialing in. Just the price of admission...

.bh.

 

[xgsound]

For inks I have stayed with the Canon ($40 US a set) as they last 3 to 6 months for me.

For paper and standard print, any decent injet paper is fine.

For photo paper, Kodak is decent, Fugifilm is better, Canon gives best results. Many have said that Office Depot paper and Red River paper are as good as Canon, but I never used it since even the Kodak is fine for me.

The printhead is changable, but I don't know what the cost is. With excellent printers selling for $60 to $150 complete with new full (Canon) cartridges they would have to be below $30 to be worth buying.


Jim

 

[13Gigatons]

Originally posted by: xgsound


The printhead is changable, but I don't know what the cost is.

Jim

.........$54

With excellent printers selling for $60 to $150 complete with new full (Canon) cartridges they would have to be below $30 to be worth buying.

Can buy a new printer cheaper.

 

[Zepper]

Yeah, the Canon print heads are generally quite a bit lower than the cost of a similar class of printer. The i860 is equivalent to the iP4000 that normally sells for $150. and even on the sales and rebates that they are having now to move them out before the new models start flowing the iP4000 is still around $100. So a new Canon printhead is a valid option for most i and iP models unless a new printer has features you lack and want. The plastic tub that holds the ink tanks in place includes the print head in the Canons.

.bh.

 

[Zepper]

For XGSound and other Fuji paper lovers, Staples has 20-packs of 4x6 and 8.5x11 glossy in sale this week. You can get up to two packs for FREE (other than sales tax). Hard to beat FREE! I grabbed a pack of letter size today. I'll let you know what I think of it.

.bh.

 

[Venomous]

Ive tried several ink companies and the best that have worked on my I5000, I860 and I960 has been Swiftink, hands down.

I was going through ink4art cartridges like ruben was wishing he had toilet paper on along came polly.