Need help buying a printer

[Zepper]

Canon doesn't want you to refill their iP/MP or newer cartridges. They can be refilled and you can get clone ink tanks to which you can transfer the chips from the OEM tanks or you can get clone tanks with clone or "reset" chips. If you refill or use the chip-swap tanks, eventually those tanks (actually the chips) will be locked out and the level sensing will stop working in those positions, but the printer will still keep printing and you'll have to monitor your own ink levels.
. So OEM carts or the clones with clone or reset chips are the better way to go as those will retain full functionality. You have to make sure you are getting pigmented black in the text black and dye black in the photo black tanks or refills - don't settle for less. Check the Nifty-stuff.com forums for lots of info on these Canon chipped tanks and work-arounds. Like I said somewhere above, the change to chipped tanks is partly why I went to the HP K5400. Look at how much the pre-chip Canon models (iP3000, 4000, 5000 still in good working condition) are going for on fleaBay, etc. New iP3000s are listed for $300 and $400.!!! They were going for well under $100. when they were being clearanced. I know I sold my pre-chip Canons for a lot more than I paid for them - kicking myself that I didn't keep my iP3000 until it totally died...
. I'd still be looking closely at the refurb MP830 on fleaBay (and elsewhere) rather than any of the other models still in the contest. They are from the same generation as the 610, but the 830 has the sheet feeder and maybe other features. I'd have to go back to the spec sheet to find out what other features it has over the 610.

.bh.

 

[13Gigatons]

Originally posted by: ArenaNinja

Originally posted by: 13Gigatons

Originally posted by: ArenaNinja
Gigatons, the mp610 reviews do seem to be better than those of the mx700. However, I can see on online forums some people have bought this printer for as low as $70. Are you sure it's a "steal"?

Zepper, thanks for the info. I guess I'll stick to looking out for inkjets.

Probably a refurbished model from Fry's, I couldn't find the MP610 but I find a MP600 still selling there for $99. http://shop3.frys.com/product/5325918

Well it's not that I mind the price point. I'm just wondering if I should wait for the price to drop down some or jump on it right away. I can afford the $129

Also, I've noticed that this printer uses the same CLI-8 ink as the newer Canons. Does this mean that the ink tanks cannot be refilled?

Lastly, would you recommend the mp610 over the mx850?

Thanks

They are basically the same printer. The printhead is the same for both models. The scanner is the same. The difference is in the looks and the fact that the mx850 has Auto Document Feeder. The MP610 is prettier looking imho.

 

[13Gigatons]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Canon doesn't want you to refill their iP/MP or newer cartridges. They can be refilled and you can get clone ink tanks to which you can transfer the chips from the OEM tanks or you can get clone tanks with clone or "reset" chips. If you refill or use the chip-swap tanks, eventually those tanks (actually the chips) will be locked out and the level sensing will stop working in those positions, but the printer will still keep printing and you'll have to monitor your own ink levels.
. So OEM carts or the clones with clone or reset chips are the better way to go as those will retain full functionality. You have to make sure you are getting pigmented black in the text black and dye black in the photo black tanks or refills - don't settle for less. Check the Nifty-stuff.com forums for lots of info on these Canon chipped tanks and work-arounds. Like I said somewhere above, the change to chipped tanks is partly why I went to the HP K5400. Look at how much the pre-chip Canon models (iP3000, 4000, 5000 still in good working condition) are going for on fleaBay, etc. New iP3000s are listed for $300 and $400.!!! They were going for well under $100. when they were being clearanced. I know I sold my pre-chip Canons for a lot more than I paid for them - kicking myself that I didn't keep my iP3000 until it totally died...
. I'd still be looking closely at the refurb MP830 on fleaBay (and elsewhere) rather than any of the other models still in the contest. They are from the same generation, but the 830 has the sheet feeder and maybe other features. I'd have to go back to the spec sheet to find out what other features it has over the 610.

.bh.

The MP830 is $110 plus $30 shipping on eBay.

 

[Zepper]

IDK, I saw one purchaser comment who had both the MP610 and the MX850 who said that both the printing and scanning quality of the 610 is better than the 850. I extrapolated that the 830 would also be better in those regards as the 610 and 830 are of the same generation, but I was wrong, the 610 has the iP4500 engine, while the 830 has the iP4300 engine and the MX850 does use the iP4500 like the 610. I've seen comments about moire patterns in the scanning and weaker print output in the 850. I hate inconsistency! Can't take it any more, so I'll leave it that the 610 is fine unless you need the added features of the 800 models - then the 830 may be better than the 850 even though it has 1100 or so fewer nozzles.

.bh.

 

[ArenaNinja]

Ok everyone. Thanks a lot for all your help.

I jumped the gun earlier today on the MP610. I may regret this come Black Friday but hopefully I won't. I bought some ink through pricegrabber storefront (price lower than Amazon). All in all I spent around $300 (I bought extra ink). Now as soon as I receive it it'll be happy printing.

In case anybody ever reads this thread, I'll make some comments on why I selected the MP610:
- Much more affordable than the MX850
- Also a lot less bulk
- I probably won't be copying more than 10 pages at once. If I am, I'll go to Kinko's to save on supplies
- I won't be printing many photos (that I can foresee...)
- Has 5 ink tanks, which will be good for ink efficiency

Thanks again!!!!

 

[13Gigatons]

Black Friday deals suck this year so you won't regret it, $300..you bought a lot of ink. I recommend Hobbicolors ink sold on ebay.

 

[Zepper]

Good luck with the 610. With inkjet printers I wouldn't let them set more than one week without printing. I suggest creating a page with both text and photos that will exercise all the nozzles to use for an exercise file. Print it once or twice a week during slack periods. In my experience, Canons aren't very susceptible to clogging, but these new heads with 4500+ nozzles have pretty fine nozzles that may clog more easily than earlier models. Better safe than sorry. There are head cleaning kits out there (mainly saw them on eBay) which may be a good investment. Check the Nifty-stuff.com inkjet forum for advice on these as I have no personal experience, but I may get one to see if my iP4300 can be resuscitated...

.bh.

 

[Zepper]

For followers of this thread.

Deals: Canon MP830 refurb - $80. (seems to be gone already at the Canon store), MP960 refurb - $100. +tx+sh direct from Canon eStore.

News/Rumor: The entire line of Canon printers that use the PGI5 and CLI8 (1st gen of chipped) tanks are being replaced now that all sorts of chipped clone tanks and chip resetters are available. The ink tanks of the new models are smaller in ink volume and more expensive to boot. Know that once these new models are in the channel, the obsoleted models will likely rise in value just as the unchipped ones did when the chipped ones had filled the channel. The entrepreneur who had filled some rental storage with sealed iP3000s, iP4000s and iP5200s when those were clearanced could have made out quite well (nearly as good a hedge as gold). The iP4600 is already at a very low price (don't know how they cheapened it re. the iP4500 - OIC the 4600 uses the new tanks too)... I presume this info is true, but no guaranty as to its veracity is expressed or implied, but the MP620 and 980 are already out there with the new tanks...

.bh.

 

[Rottie]

Originally posted by: ArenaNinja
Thanks for the replies guys.

Rottie, since you have owned Canon printers, do you have any comments on ink efficiency? (i.e.: how often do you replace them? do pages look faded when the ink is low? estimated cost per page?)

Zepper, I did notice that AIOs had very critical reviews all over the web. Something always seems fishy. Unfortunately, I'm currently in college, so I have neither the budget nor the space to have separate devices for the functions. Honestly, I'm now looking only to the PIXMA MX700 since it found a decent balance with Editor's reviews, User reviews and cost (can be had for $100 on a good day). Since it has 4 different ink tanks, I believe it should have a pretty low TCO. I've had two HP inkjet printers before (albeit very cheap ones), and they turned out to be crap. They would always jam and when the ink was running low my pages looked like I was printing rainbows. Lots of paper was wasted because I never figured out what their (or my) problem was. Suffice it to say that the only price HP could offer me to buy one of their printers is "free."

Thanks for the feedback guys. Now I can do some more research

sorry for being so late to post....
black ink runs out pretty fast if you use alot of black color photo but it is nice to have two black tanks in my ip400 it save my money and when it is about to run out it sends you a low ink warning before you can print photo or it will not print at all until you get a new ink tank i prefer to buy canon ink replacement than genric tank or refill because it messed up my photo papers like fade or streaking marks
so canon ink tanks cost alot than genric tank or refill ink but it is worth to buy canon ink tanks so you wont be sorry

 

[Lemon law]

I am lucky enough to have a canon ip4000 which was the last generation of Canon printers before the chips. Printing using either clone cartridges or refilling is dirt cheap. Using hobbicolor ink, I can print B/w for a
a third of a cent in ink consumables, and even plain paper color is well under a cent a page. Which compares to 3 cents and 8 cents using OEM cartridges.

There is no reason other than a basic price fixing conspiracy to have absurdly high ink jet consumable costs, but the printer manufacturers make a fortune off the average inkjet user, Charging $3000 to $12,000
dollars or more for ink that retails for less than $100/gallon.

But its my understanding that chip resetter is now available for the Canon CLI-5&8 cartridge line, almost making any Canon using those chips into a buy it now or you will be too late.
Refilling CLI-5&8 Canon cartridges or my BCI-3&6 cartridges is absurdly easy, but don't tale my word for it, try the following link.

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/

 

[SniperDaws]

ive got a Canon MP520 and i only buy cheap ink off Ebay, but dont buy this printer if you intend to print Black and white Photos because for some reason they always come out with a hint of Magenta, im not sure about the rest of the Pixma range maybe somone could let us know.

 

[Zepper]

Sniper et al.,

The MP-520 has only 4 tanks - the black tank is used for text only. The black in photos (or grayscale for B/W photos) is composite black made up of the three photo color inks. This "black" is almost always off in some way. If I recall, most of my Canon composite black (iP3000 and earlier) printers had a greenish tinge. A lot of magenta is used in composite black as it has the highest color density of the three colors, but mine always came out greenish. IDK if there is any way to rebalance the colors for B/W or grayscale printing - check your advanced settings. Otherwise, get a printer (may apply to Canon only as I'm not sure that any of the others offer general purpose printers with two specialized black tanks - most of the true photo printers with 6 tanks or more have a true black for photos) has at least 5 tanks so you get both the text black and a true photo black ink tank. Always a good idea to do your homework when buying a printer, so if B/W photos is your thing, you get a printer that can do them justice.

.bh.

PS: Also when you have a printer that uses composite black, avoid printing photos with lots of black and gray in them as that really eats up the color inks. .bh.