Printer inks

[#1]

Anyone out there had a reasonably long term experience with third-party printer inks, especially continuous ink systems of the kind that Permajet and Marrutt (for example) make? I'm thinking particularly of any adverse effects these may cause. They seem good value to me, especially as they are around 80% cheaper than OEM cartridges.

[#2]

I used a continuous system on my Canon ip4000 for a few months until the head died on me, but since the printer was >6 years old I don't think it was the ink just wear and tear.
I would get another for my new printer but haven't found any at a reasonable cost.

[#3]

I don't typically use ink anymore. I grabbed a duff laser printer off freecycle moons ago and fixed that - 3 or so years later i'm still using it.
What I will say is printer inks are a con. My partner bought be a nice new hp all-in-one with a doc feeder a while back. 130 pages later and the black is empty. I've done 0 colour printing and they are down to 3/4 too. On the box it claims upto 500 pages   Needless to say it'll be going back soon.
If you want a rock solid cheap to run printer, the old hp deskjets were superior - something like the deskjet 720c. Cartridges lasted forever and were dirt cheap too!

[#4]

Agree about the HP deskjet 720 ... BIG cartridges, and you could refill them if you wanted to... However, I got fed up with that... got a lot of messy hands and decided to get myself a new printer... got me a Epson stylus SX445w.... got seperate cartridges in it... all manufacturers give a minimal amount in the initial cartridges to make the unsuspecting public buy new OEM cartridges, however,.... I have got myself two sets of replacement cartridges from an on line source.. ( cant remember who )... that cost less than one original set. 
When I used to refill my cartridges, I used 100 ml bottles which I think were designed for the continuous ink process, and never had any problems with the print heads on the HP cartridges. Never bought OEM cartridges or ink...

[#5]

I'd never touch another epson after myold cx3600. It was a fantastic bit of kit for scanning but you could empty the cartridges in a week. Sure one cartridge would cost the same as the tri colour cartridge from the deskjet but there was a slight problem: They'd all run out at the same time hitting you with a triple whammy cost wise. There is a good reason they use magenta, cyan and the other one instead of RGB.. because it's guaranteed to use all 3 no matter what colour you print. Strangely despite having seperate cartridges that you canreplace one at a time they then flood the market with packets full lof all the cartridges too so that you're pretty much forced to buy them all at the same time anyway.
If I'm honest, I think the damn things are nothing but a con.

[#6]

I like Canon printers. You couldn't give me an Epson - they always seem to print with a Magenta colour cast?
The difference between branded inks and other inks is branded inks are calibrated for the YMCB gamtut of the software. In Englishish, they produce almost WYSIWYG. In theory. Also, manufacturer's inks should be inert to the paper (no acidity) - colours will last a long while. In theory. So if you demand archival quality, get a mortgage - or buy a new printer, which is often cheaper.
Meanhwhile on planet real world, for everyday printing on everyday papers, clone inks work just fine. I've used all kinds of clones, including those anonymous bulk carts from eBay suppliers - and have had no complaints so far. I print photos, which DRINK the cyan and magenta carts. I also avoid low-key images as they are all black ink.
You can try refilling your cartridges with a refill kit. This can save money. It can also turn into a total disaster darling!

[#7]

Quote from: Thunderclap

I like Canon printers.

Funny you say that, I've heard many good things about their printers. I wanted the canon from Tesco with the doc feeder but my missus screwed up and got the HP  Although it's not bad it has many annoyances such as randomly disconnecting from the usb and reconnecting. Consequently before any printing I have to open the control panel to find out if it's printer 1, 2 or 3 that I need to select in the printer dialog box. Just yesterday it malfunctioned and now shows up as an unknown device.

[#8]

Quote from: 7up

it has many annoyances such as randomly disconnecting from the usb and reconnecting.

From my experience, USB discontent is often down to the connectors not quite making contact. Just touch the connector and the line drops. A shaking printer will wobble off the connection. Tried another lead? 
Canon printers have stable software drivers. As for the carts, that's where Canon makes their money. But not from me. FYI I have purchased bulk carts from GoInks through eBay.

[#9]

Over the past 10 years I have had 3 Printers, first was a Epson which lasted about 12 months and then had the habit of printing everything in green, never managed to sort it out so scrapped it.
The next 2 printers were Canon ip4500  followed by Canon MP610 both were excellent and I have still got them, always refill my my own cartridges using the original canon cartridges, these can also be reset using a Redsetter, I also refill using the German method and use top quality inks.
You need to do the research but details about everything I have mentioned and more is available on the following website,
http://www.printerknowledge.com/

[#10]

I have an IP4500 and I was so pleased with it that when it started suffering from apparent blocked nozzles - I say apparent as a full clean including immersing it in propyl alcohol didn't fix it - I bought a new head

[#11]

Until recently I had an IP4500 but it sadly died after performing admirably for a few years.
I replaced it with an Epson WF-3540 which is performing well and satisfactory for my needs.
It is loaded with compatible cartridges.
Strat ducks to avoid the flak

[#12]

Quote from: Oldjim

I have an IP4500 and I was so pleased with it that when it started suffering from apparent blocked nozzles - I say apparent as a full clean including immersing it in propyl alcohol didn't fix it - I bought a new head

Must admit I have had to purchase 2 replacement print heads, fortunately for me the ip4500 and MP610 take the same print head so if something goes wrong I can check if it's the print head or not.

[#13]

I have had a Canon i905D for so long that I do not know what its age is, certainly over 5 years,  more likely nearing 10! It has been mechanically superb and the colour prints from camera cards as good as you can get. It did have trouble printing envelopes which sometimes skewed out of line. In the end it stopped printing altogether probably due to a fully blocked head. When asked about a replacement head, Canon nerly fell off their stool saying that they stopped making them long since, there are no stocks anywhere and what are you doing with the printer that old!! I had always used reputable clone refills without any complaint. I then went to HP and have a similar one (Officejet 6100) which is working well. I do find that its periodical mechanical burst of activity, presumably checking the head etc, a bit disturbing in that it tends to shake my desk somewhat. I am on the second large black cartridge (HP) but the spare colours are still in their packets. My office work covers a lot of black text, many with coloured headings and logos. Paper consumtion has been about 3 reams of  normal office quality. It is pretty quick printing, very much faster than my old HP deskjets 690 and 845. No complaints so far!

[#14]

Quote from: gleneagles

The next 2 printers were Canon ip4500  followed by Canon MP610 both were excellent and I have still got them

Lucky git! I was going to get the MP610 but the delivery time was 3 days and I needed a printer on the day I bought the epson. I made a serious mistake there. The cannon had tons of 5 star reviews too so you can imagine how annoyed I was with myself..

[#15]

Unfortunately most of the current Canon Printers do not have the same reputation as the older models previously mentioned.
The Older ones had a steel rail which the printer head moved along but I understand the modern ones have a plastic rail and some users have commented that this is the cause of some problems.
A Few years ago there was a Canon outlet that sold refurbished printers including the MP610 and ip4500, they were selling for around £60 but included a new printer head and a set of New Original Canon cartridges, even if the printer turned out to be duff it was still an excellent bargain as printer head and inks would set you back around £100. Sadly I did not invest in one. They advertised through e-bay but they don't seem to be around now.