Peripherals: OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and refills?
- 7/17/09 2:48 PM
OEM inkjet cartridges or third-party ink cartridges?
by SteveRMann - 7/10/09 8:17 PM In reply to: OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and refills? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If all you do is mostly B&W printing for office use, then yes, go with the OEM cartridges or refills. If you deal with photographs or graphics and color accuracy is important to you (professional photographers, for example), then you must use the OEM cartridges or your printer profiles won't work.
I wouldn't try third-part cartridges or refills again
by kayo38 - 7/10/09 8:17 PM In reply to: OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and refills? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I too, had an unfortunate experience with third-party cartridges, only it simply ruined the printer. That was my first and last experience!
I used to print photos, but the cost of ordering them online is cheap compared to paper, ink, and trial prints. The company I use accepts the changes I make in Photoshop and they do a great job as most of my photography these days is photographing dogs in hunt tests.
Try printing less to save money!
Office Maz refills ink cartridges
by pdfornow - 7/10/09 8:19 PM In reply to: OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and refills? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Office Max refills ink cartridges for $10 (black); sightly more for color. A machine is used with a touch screen and things appear to proceed in an orderly manner.
The first time, I had a black 74 for HP refilled. Ink did not seem to last too long. Next visit, both 74 and 75 were refilled. My computer could not communicate with my printer and ink had spilled onto the inside. YUK!
I needed to make 141opies ASAP and, so, went to the nearby Sam's and purchased an HPC5550 and 74 XL and 75 XL. Problem solved.
The next day took my refils back to Office Max and asked the girl to find out how much ink was left. Black was 50 percent full while the color was 75 percent. And, I never used them.
I will never purchase third party ink...PERIOD
Peter in Tucson
OEM cartridges vs. third-party cartridges & refills
by D-Smoke - 7/10/09 8:19 PM In reply to: OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and refills? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've had a lot of trouble with 3rd party cartridges, both inkjet and laser, especially when done by a local company. Large scale companies like Micro Center seem to do better. If your needs are critical, stick to OEM, even though you'll pay a premium. The time lost in getting replacements more than offsets the savings.
Alternative Ink Cartridges
by Zouch - 7/10/09 8:27 PM In reply to: OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and refills? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Joel,
with the price of genuine ink cartridges, it is very tempting to try OEM or remanufactured cartridges. Should you do it? It all depends...
I'd say from my experience that genuine manufacturer cartridges do give a more consistent quality and reliability than cheap substitutes.
That said, I have very successfully refilled Canon cartridges - for a BJ10Ex with ink sold as Canon compatible. Really, there is no risk with cartridges of this type, where the print head is in the cartridge - if it doesn't work out, a new genuine cartridge will come with a new head anyway.
If you are going to refill your cartridges, there are a couple of things to remember - don't refill more than 3 times, the quality will be rubbish. And don't let the cartridge dry out - if it does, some of the jets will dry up and it's almost impossible to clean them. Some cartridges, HP, Epson and some newer Canons, have usage chips on them - you will need a chip resetter if you decide to refill these and naturally, the manufacturers take a dim view of this, so they can be hard to find.
If you have a printer where the head is in the printer and the ink cartridge is just a feeder tank, then you need to be more careful, because if the jets block in this case, it can be very expensive to have them cleaned or even replaced.
For these printers, either stick with the manufacturer or buy a good quality OEM cartridge. Here in the UK, Cartridge World sell very good substitutes and I'm sure there will be similar outlets where you live. I use Pro-Jet cartridges in an Epson R200 6 tank printer with very good results and I can get a set of 6 for the price of ONE genuine Epson cartridge! I have had a couple of duds but I'm still very much in profit.
Don't buy the really cheap refilled cartridges, though, they really can clog your jets.
Remanufactured Laser toner cartridges can make a great saving too but don't even think about refilling those yourself - the toner is carsenogenic!
Non-manufacturer's ink.
by marybarbara - 7/10/09 8:30 PM In reply to: OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and refills? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Here's what I have been told:
Engineers who develop printers start with the ink, THEN develop the printer around it. Doesn't sound right? It's counter intuitive, I know, but that's why printers are so sensitive to ink, especially colored. Your printer is built for one ink specification only.
Hre's a test for you: What's the price of a good printer? Not much, right? Almost a giveaway. Now, what's the price of a year's supply of colored ink in a busy environment? No giveaway, here. It's due to both smart marketing and engineering demands.
Good shoppers consider the manufacturer's ink cost first -- not the price of the printer. There is no cheap substitute 'cuz there ain't no substitute.
Inks
by oscaboy - 7/18/09 4:56 AM In reply to: Non-manufacturer's ink. by marybarbaraYour response is very true. Odd though it may sound.
I've worked with various ink systems (dye, IJ sublimation, etc.) and that is exactly what the mfg. does. Ink first, then printer. For some of my sublimation...a set of inks can run over $1500 ! YIKES!!
What a racket!!!
After market, 3rd party ink jet cartridges....a warning
by natureskid - 7/10/09 8:32 PM In reply to: OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and refills? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have found that refilling the original HP Ink Jet Cartridges, while really messy ,does work. However, 3rd Party Cartridges prove temperamental and not worth buying. My printer knows the difference and refuses 9 times out of 10 to recognize these fakes. I cannot speak to Canon cartridges, but the topic made me want to express my opinion about HP's policy of not allowing 3rd party manufacturers to compete for the ink cartridge trade.
When the aftermarket cartridges do work, they do not pose a threat to the continued efficiency of the printer, since the cartridge is the print head. Other printers my only use ink, like the HP-8200 and the quality of the ink may affect the performance of the print head, and possibly should be avoided.
OEM Inkjet carts
by Superbigbob - 7/10/09 8:32 PM In reply to: OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and refills? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I used to refill carts for printers for 15 years. starting with a canon bjc-4000, canon bjc-3000, lexmark, epson c84, c88,epson 5400. I finally started buying replacement ink tanks for a canon bjc 3000, mp780 and ip4000. Also an HP copier 290 and HP G 85. I buy most of my tanks from Megatoners.com or bulkinjetcarts.com. I can't detect any difference between OEM and canon compatible tanks as far as reliability. I DO see slight color variances from the OEM and compatiblr carts.
I won't buy an epson printer again since the printers all reported cartridges were empty when they were half full or more hence the lawsuit. Chipped carts are a pain!
I print tons of packing slips and shipping labels so 90% of my printing is black. I swear by Canon non chipped printers and I have saved many THOUSANDS over the years by using compatibles.
OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and ref
by ac0mputerguru - 7/10/09 8:34 PM In reply to: OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and refills? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Let me start with an "...I remember when..."...
I was a service tech for Epson. We recommended Epson brand ribbons because the ink also had a lubricant that was necessary for the pins in the printhead to properly do their job w/o friction. MANY times were spent running printheads whilst squirting alcohol then the recommended oil in order to work all of the gunk (wrong lubricant) from the $500 printhead.
I believe the same is true with inkject printers, but with a twist. If you have a printer where the print head is replaced with the inktank (HP Deskjet 6xx series, eg.) then I would use OEM equipment. If your printer uses "tank" technologies (old Canon/Apple, eg.) then I would dare to rotate between OEM and replacement inks. My logic is that in the HP example, the ink goes straight to the pins and can do immediate damage. If it's a tank, then is uses a wicking technology and the inks have a change to merge and disperse, creating a kind of mixture of the inks.
My bottom line is, if you really like your printer, then use OEM...otherwise, use a reputable non-OEM supplier / OEM rotation.
Refill ink cartridges vs OEM
by Zonieguy - 7/10/09 8:39 PM In reply to: OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and refills? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have had Canon printers for at least 6 or 7 years and I have never bought refilled cartridges. Instead, I refill my own. I have never had any problems as a result, and I have saved a ton of money. But I do buy high quality ink, from a well-regarded supplier, that is guaranteed to be OEM equivalent and is specific to the make and model of printer. It's my strong belief that generic, widely advertised, cheap ink is to be avoided.
The same supplier offers refilled cartridges for those who prefer not to do the refill themselves. This is more expensive than buying bulk ink, but it will still save quite a lot as opposed to buying new manufacturer's cartridges.
Use genuine name brand cartridges
by texasdan - 7/10/09 8:39 PM In reply to: OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and refills? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I made the same mistake with a HP printer. That printer is now in a landfill and my new Canon will only see Canon brand cartridges. They are more expensive, but not compared to a new printer. On the other hand, I have friends that tell me they always use the cheapest they can find with no problems. This probably isn't helping you make a decision, so I guess you have to decide what's best for you.
inkj cartridges
by vaq130 - 7/19/09 7:10 PM In reply to: Use genuine name brand cartridges by texasdanIn some cases found that instead of buying a OEM ink cartridge that it was cheaper or the same to buy a new printer, that tells you something about the ink cartridge prices that the OEM charges.
My 2 cents.
OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and ref
by Mikejax - 7/10/09 8:44 PM In reply to: OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and refills? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I can only tell you my experience...the first time I tried to replace a cartridge on a Lexmark printer with a "rebuilt" cartridge I destroyed my printer!...not the cartridge's fault per Se...my fault for aggressively replacing the cartridge several times because the printer did not "recognize" the replaced cartridge! I was right in the middle of trying to print my Income taxes and not exactly in a good mood at the time.
I swore to myself that I would not try to save a couple of bucks by purchasing rebuilt cartridges in the future. I bought a new printer to replace the one in many pieces on my floor...several years later I succumbed to the idea of trying to save a few bucks and bought (3) rebuilt cartridges for the price of 2 new cartridges. Again, my printer did not "recognize" the rebuilt cartridges...same story..different ending...I calmly removed the rebuilt cartridges (while repeating "Serenity now") and sent them back to the manufacturer for credit.
Bottom line...I will never repeat this mistake again...If I can't replace the cartridges with new cartridges I probably should not have a printer - just not worth the aggravation!
Experience with Ink Refills
by Joe M. Winters - 7/10/09 8:49 PM In reply to: OEM inkjet cartridges vs. third-party ink cartridges and refills? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Because I use Photoshop, and do a lot of retouching I find that the cost of Ink can be a major expense. I use two sources of re- generated cartriges. Generally when you use these replacements your printer program will not recognize them, and so it's up to you to see if you can re-balance to adjust for color shift. There are times when
you simply have to give up, and purchase the original OEM ink. I am currently using replcements for Cannon Ink, and I find that I have to increase the density of all images to get the needed result. If you are interested in adjusting to compensate then give it a try this can mean changing the curves, and Gamma in your program.
Best of luck.
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