I prefer laser to inkjet and I buy laser toner on Ebay to refill laser cartridges on the cheap.But,if in the future I get an inkjet I would just obtain OEM cartridges I find at my local swap meet for cheap and transfer the ink to the cartrige that fits my printer.I'm always finding Canon,HP,Epson,etc.OEM inkjet cartridges for cheap(like $1 each) at my local swap meet.They don't usually fit my printer but the ink is likely the same so I can just use a hypodermic and transfer the ink.So,that's how you get good ink supply for cheap.
I have an HP OfficeJet Pro K5400dtn which uses the HP88 series of ink tanks. I bought a set of easily refillable clone tanks which came pre-filled from a seller on eBay. I have had one clog problem with the black which I had to clear using the Windex method. Possibly incompatibility between the pre-fill ink and the refill ink I'm using now (well regarded, MIS ink, from inksupply.com). Since I cleared the clog, all has gone well. My prints look as good as with the OEM tanks, but then this is only a 4-color printer and not really optimised for photo printing.
The HP88 series of tanks (the XL version which the clones match) hold lots more ink than typical tanks as this printer is designed for fairly heavy use. It's one of the only ink jet printer's that I'm aware of with a published duty cycle. And it has different tech than most as the ink tanks are stationary and connect to the heads thru tubes. Very easily set up for CIS use.
I used to be a Canon fan (still am for overall print quality) before they started chipping their ink tanks and found lots of Canon ink lore on the www.nifty-stuff.com site.
.bh.
I have used, not all there is, but have due to cost explored; "other optons" with cartridge replacement, refills.
I have used HP Printers, Lexmark, and Cannon.
Even as good as the Lexmark was, having to realign the print everytime the cartridge was replaced, or reinstalled after manually refilling it, turned into "never own a Lexmark again" mindset.
To decrease cost, it was decided to purchase the refill kit at the local store, and refill it when it needed it. Even as deliberate as the effort was to maintain a clean refill, always, somehow the ink managed to be everywhere when the task was complete, excluding the time for the ink stains on your fingers to finally fade.
Another attempt to maintain cost was to purchase one of the office supplies brand of the cartridge, once installed it failed to run and a list of fault codes, from ink supply low, to printer unable to find cartridge, created all types of problems. Fortunately, the X-factor was the new office supply version of the cartridge, once it was replaced with an OEM cartridge, all faults codes disappeared.
With all of that, my preference is to stick with the OEM brand of cartridge replacements, and here is the reasons why.
With all three of my HP printers, I cannot use anything other than HP without getting a message that tells me that either I'm using a defective cartridge or it's not inserted properly. On two of them (9800 & C7180), the printer will not operate with 3rd party including Staples, OfficeMax or Office Depot's house brands. The electronic circuitry contacts must be HP or they just don't operate at all!
Try working with inkproducts.com. They supply a chip that over-rides those messages and their products work perfectly. I have had no problems since I purchased their continuous ink supply unit for my printer, and have saved about 90% of previous ink costs.
I just visited their website and it appears that their chip may just be the solution that I've been looking for. I wonder how they get away with it though, as the HP protection is pretty much the same as DRM. I'd think they're infringing on patents and trade secrets there, aren't they? Incidentally, do you print documents only or some photo prints, too? The HP C7180 that I use is actually the only one I use to print out my pics and I'd like the prints to come out just as good as the HP's quality. Have you had any disappointments on that count?
I don't think that what they are doing is illegal -- they would have been stopped long ago if that were true. It works like a charm -- when you get the message that they aren't genuine cartridges, you just sqeeze the chip (only 1 needed) on their cartridge block (6 color cartridges on my Epson RX595) and the whole thing immediately works like normal. I have been printing color digital photos for years (since 2002), and find absolutely no difference in the results. The prints have lasted for years with no fading. I print 4 on an 8 1/2 X 11 page of premium, high gloss paper (buy it when it is buy one get one free). I store them, back to back in a clear "sheet protector" in a 3 ring binder. If I'm giving them away, I just cut them into 4 X 5 singles. I had an Epson R300 prior to this printer with same results. Hope this helps.
If it prints fine after giving you an error, you know, you can actually disable those messages where it whines about the ink cartridges.
Open the HP Toolbox under configuration, click "Configure status message" and uncheck what you don't want it to display errors about.
That does take care of the messages showing up, but the printers still stay disbled until you replace the cartridge with a "genuine HP replacement" cartridge. But, thanks anyway.
I have a Canon ip6600d that's almost 3 years old, and I'm using the original cartridges that came with it. They have been refilled apx. 25 times each. The black probably 40 or more times. The only problem I've had is that I have no ink level indication. I just check them every week or so.
As far as print quality, well I profiled with the original Canon ink when I first got the printer and then again once all the cartridges were filled with aftermarket ink (Hobbicolors from eBay). I have prints hanging on the wall in front of me using both inks and on the same paper (Office Depot Professional Photo Paper) and can't tell a bit of difference in the quality of them.
rather have the original ink from the manufacture, due to the fact that the compatible ink had already cost me a printer. The original ink might cost more over time but at least I will not have to re-buy a printer to boot.
I purchased a large format Epson Stylus Photo 1400, it holds 6 ink cartridges, OEM replacement ink costs around $125 + shipping, I paid $175 for the printer itself. I stopped using OEM’s because of the cost.
I can get 7 ink cartridges (+2 black) with free shipping for $55, so far no problems. Yes I know I’m taking a risk.
To HP printer, the best is HP inks!
I use ink carts from Abacus inks for my 2 Epson printers, and they work fine. Do they last as long as original carts? Probably not, but for home use that's not a problem for me, because it takes a long time between refills as I don't print that much. You can't beat the price, $3.95 per.
We use a label printer here and the yield is at least %25 higher than a refill cartridge. We have test several as we print 400 lables a day 11x17. This is on a laser jet 5100.
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