For those of you with printers that buy ink all the time, here is the solution

[ZaneNBK]

It's cheaper to buy a new printer than it is to buy new ink.

That's why new printers come with low yield cartridges. They've generally got 50% or less ink than a standard refill. Usually it states that on the box or in the manual. So even if the ink cartridges cost more than the printer you're probably better off getting the cartridges unless they're close to double the cost or your printer is on it's last legs.

 

[ZaneNBK]

Have you looked at the ink prices on those?

I saw a color laser for $149. A single set of toner cartridges for said printer was $800.

Samsung makes a pretty nice all-in-one color laser for around $300-$350 ($300 w/ free shipping on Newegg last time I checked) and it was $100 for a three-color toner cartridge set with 1000 or 1500 yield. That's pretty decent.

Sooo tempted to buy it.

 

[bob4432]

been running lasers at home since '96 😀, still have a cheap color canon pixma that is sadly pretty equal to the minilabs at the drug stores and supemarkets around me, on the glossy paper of course.

 

[TygGer]

So for b/w printing, is laser generally the way to go in terms of being less expensive (to operate) and better quality?

 

[Jeff7]

Originally Posted by Raizinman
Yes, I had a HP OfficeJet that would go through ink jets very fast. I purchased a new ink filler kit off ebay too. Unfortuantely, I did not save money:

Cost of Kit $100
Ink spillage when trying to refill
Damage to dining room table, chairs and carpet $600
Damage to shirt and pants $100
Damage to shoes $75
Damage to dog, who is now yellow $50
Damage to printer when ink ran out $50
Damage to carpet under printer when ink ran out $100
Two rolls of paper towels $4.00
Damage to another shirt $20
Damage to 1/2 reem of paper when ink spilled on new paper $2.00

Nope - I'm sticking to the tried and true HP cartridges.

Geez, I hate to see the damage you'd cause from changing your car's oil.

Hell, accident-prone like that, I'd hate to see the damage he'd cause by brushing his teeth.

Damage to teeth by using toothbrush backwards: $900
Damage to sink: $100
Treatment for infection from using toothbrush after it fell in the toilet: $250
Further damage to teeth by mistaking braided steel wire for dental floss: $4000
Slipped on spilled toothpaste, spinal injury: Paralyzed
Wife couldn't handle a permanently disabled husband: Divorced


Also, "Damage to printer when ink ran out". 😵?




Edit: Hm, seems we're not in OT anymore. Allllrighty then...

 

[Modelworks]

Using a canon pixma980. It prints great and uses 5 colors. Photos look better than the ones that come from the printing in stores. The drawback is the ink usage is high. The solution of course is to refill the carts yourself.

This printer uses the CLI-221 cartridges and each has a chip that measures the ink. Instead of completely blocking refills canon allows you to keep using the printer without resetting the chip. You have to agree that you realize the cartridge may be empty in the menus and then you can keep printing and it never bothers you again. It is canons way of protecting themselves from people returning printers with bad print heads from doing a poor job at refills. The control panel will say "some ink may have run out' but its just a notice and nothing you have to click through or anything and it will still print fine.

Refills are easy with this one as the cartridges are all separate colors and you can refill them without removing them from the printer. Just pre-drill a refill hole , then when it gets low open the cover, insert syringe and top it off. Ink I buy in bulk bottles. The biggest issue with this printer is one of the colors is gray . Gray is a very hard ink to find , some places will try to tell you to just use black instead but that will make the pictures come out dark as the printer uses gray with the color prints as well.

When buying ink make sure you know who the manufacturer of the ink is. Durafirm is the ink I use. Most people think that printer companies make their ink but that is false. Durafirm for instance makes ink for canon, lexmark and HP. You can even cross brands if you can get it cheaper. Yellow for HP works in Canon carts fine. The main thing to consider is if it is a pigment ink or dye ink. Pigment inks cannot be used in place of dye inks because pigment inks contain little bits of material that make it the color it is. Those bits can clog dye ink holes in print heads. Dye inks can be used in place of pigment inks in most printers but the output may not be as good.

Remember to never let the printer run out of ink and printing for long periods of time, the print head will overheat and burn out. Also try to print one color image once a week and that will help prevent clogs.

 

[Lemon law]

To start out, a continuous ink system may have advantages for people who print in huge volumes, but if you have fairly large cartridges, it may be more advantageous to refill existing cartridges like I do with my Canon IP4000. I stockpile empty cartridges, refill a bunch at a time, and then I just keep popping in fresh cartridges when empties without having to refill every time. That way I only have to refill cartridges twice a year or so. And if I batch refill, I can refill a single cartridge in less than five minutes.

The second thing to note, you can go to photoprinting web sites like the nifty stuff forums or steves digicams, and they will recommend inks that do an excellent job of photoprinting. For just plain printing, the requirements for perfect OEM color match are less demanding, but inks with almost perfect OEM color match are not at all expensive.
But the other rub is that a refill ink must match the brand of printer, never buy a refill ink that is advertised to work in any printer.

Third, Color lasers may be nice, but they can't do high quality photoprinting.

Fourth, chipped printers are a pain in the butt for refillers, and CIS or just refilling cartridges, you have to void the warranty to refill chipped printers, unless you can find models that have chip resetters available.

 

[Jad37]

Canon IP4000.

I have the same printer. I have no experience with refilling used cartridges, but due to the cost (especially here in Finland) of replacing cartridges, I've decided to join the club🙂 DO you mind telling me which ink you use? I am thinking of using DuraFIRM. My understanding is that the DuraFIRM black can be used for both the black cartriges in the IP4000 (pigmented and dye), is that correct? Having one ink for both would make it cost effective.

I don't print photos and so the ink quality doesn't need to be 100%. Any suggestions/advise for a newbie would be appreciated. Cheers.

 

[Lemon law]

Hey Jad37,

Why don't you go to the same place I went in learning refilling, http://www.nifty-stuff.com/

As it is I mainly use hobbicolor inks but I do not think you can get it shipped to Finland.
I have not heard of Durafirm inks, but if their black can be used in both the text black cartridge and in photoprinting, it likely means its a dye only ink with no pigments. As it is, I find a dye based inks does fine for text.

You also have another option in using 3'rd party non OEM prefilled cartridges, that cost about 10% as much as a Canon OEM cartridge.

But I find refilling the Canon BCI-3&6 cartridges is really really easy.

 

[Jad37]

Thanks for getting back to me and for all the pointers. I am over to check the link .. thanks again🙂

 

[Modelworks]

I am thinking of using DuraFIRM. My understanding is that the DuraFIRM black can be used for both the black cartriges in the IP4000 (pigmented and dye), is that correct? Having one ink for both would make it cost effective.

Durafirm makes both pigment and dye inks so you need to use the correct one for your printer.

 

[alfa147x]

wtf why do people come in here and talk about their monochrome laser printer? I have one too but this guy is talking about color

 

[Lemon law]

No no no and no, almost regardless of printer brand, photoprinting uses only dye based inks. Text printing allows the use of pigment based inks that are less subject to fading problems.

The problem with dye based inks have always been in weakly bonded electron pairs that render the dyes subject to degradation and fading in strong light, ozone, and other conditions.

But at the end of the day, the type of photo grade paper used is the most important factor in fading.

 

[Tsavo]

I print high quality photos at Costco and low quality photos at Walmart.
Monochrome laser for the win.

Old ladies look at you funny when you have them print porn.

Home printers for the win.

 

[wwswimming]

Using a canon pixma980. It prints great and uses 5 colors. Photos look better than the ones that come from the printing in stores. The drawback is the ink usage is high. The solution of course is to refill the carts yourself.

This printer uses the CLI-221 cartridges and each has a chip that measures the ink. Instead of completely blocking refills canon allows you to keep using the printer without resetting the chip. You have to agree that you realize the cartridge may be empty in the menus and then you can keep printing and it never bothers you again. It is canons way of protecting themselves from people returning printers with bad print heads from doing a poor job at refills. The control panel will say "some ink may have run out' but its just a notice and nothing you have to click through or anything and it will still print fine.

Refills are easy with this one as the cartridges are all separate colors and you can refill them without removing them from the printer. Just pre-drill a refill hole , then when it gets low open the cover, insert syringe and top it off. Ink I buy in bulk bottles. The biggest issue with this printer is one of the colors is gray . Gray is a very hard ink to find , some places will try to tell you to just use black instead but that will make the pictures come out dark as the printer uses gray with the color prints as well.

When buying ink make sure you know who the manufacturer of the ink is. Durafirm is the ink I use. Most people think that printer companies make their ink but that is false. Durafirm for instance makes ink for canon, lexmark and HP. You can even cross brands if you can get it cheaper. Yellow for HP works in Canon carts fine. The main thing to consider is if it is a pigment ink or dye ink. Pigment inks cannot be used in place of dye inks because pigment inks contain little bits of material that make it the color it is. Those bits can clog dye ink holes in print heads. Dye inks can be used in place of pigment inks in most printers but the output may not be as good.

Remember to never let the printer run out of ink and printing for long periods of time, the print head will overheat and burn out. Also try to print one color image once a week and that will help prevent clogs.

thanks a lot ModelWorks for the info.

i have an HP all-in-one that needs new ink. i'm debating between the cheap ink from
http://www.swiftink.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=CB335WN&CartID=2

or the re-fill kit from
http://www.carrotink.com/HP-74-Large-Black-cartridges-category-Ink-47947-24877-HP.htm

but looking at these guys -
http://123refills.net/cic/product.php?product=Durafirm+1+Liter+Ink+designed+for+use+in+HP

WHOA ! Lifetime Re-fill !

The distinction between the dye & the pigment ink ... OK got some more research to do.

> open the cover, insert syringe and top it off

it sounds like it might work to drill & tap a hole, fill it up, then put in a screw to plug it until the next re-fill ... using an 8-32 maybe - depending on inkjet cartridge wall thickness.

where do you get the Syringes ?

thanks again for the info. got to do some re-fills.