Thanks, Bert. That's a great tip. I found that a small, fine pair of
snips, or clippers, will snip the piece of plastic off most of the way
down too--certainly enough to see when the cartridge needs refilling.
Canon sure as heck went to a lot of trouble to hide the ink level
while the cartridges were in the printer, didn't they? And probably
that tapered piece of plastic plus the metal clip that holds it at the
top were both causes for Canon to increase the cost of their
cartridges over the old series of cartridges. We pay for it every time
we buy one!
When is someone going to come out with a reliable CFS (continuous flow
system) for the Canon pixma line of printers so we don't have to put
up with such foolishness?
I'll bet Canon engineers are already trying to figure a better way to
substitute something else for the tapered plastic piece & its metal
clip to make absolutely sure they can screw us into buying their
overpriced cartridges. What a great way to engender brand goodwill and
loyalty!
Rifty said:Completely agree with your sentiments. I have half a dozen catridges of
third party ink which worked perfectly well in a Pixma 3000 that are
just a fraction different in shape from the 4300.
And their ink is ridiculously overpriced. I use one for printing labels
on DVDs - does anyone use another printer that does that job but with
more sensibly priced cartridges?
Not really. You do not save since you do not get the same thing. OfMichael said:We have several non-chipped Canon inkjet printers that will be used
until total failure. I'll even replace the ink purging systems should
they need it and if the parts are available before buying a new
printer using chipped cartridges. I save almost $50
We have several non-chipped Canon inkjet printers that will be used
until total failure. I'll even replace the ink purging systems should
they need it and if the parts are available before buying a new printer
using chipped cartridges. I save almost $50 for every set of compatible
cartridges I use over OEM ink. At this rate of savings it pays to do
the repairs when and if they are ever needed. At least with the new
Canons you can refill if you can live without ink level monitoring.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Ink savings can indeed be substantial:
http://www.geocities.com/phineaspaine/ip5000.jpg
If you look at my EEPROM info sheet example, you read correctly. At
the date of printing (Oct. 12/2006), this iP5000, my first, had 8,294
pages on it. I generated this particular page to document the stats
when it's first printhead wore out. On close inspection /
magnification, the pigment black (BCI-3eBK) nozzles were flattened and
worn from use, so a new printhead was required. If you look at the
cartridge count (CT= in the first paragraph), you'll see it used 13 x
BCI-3eBk pigment blacks, 4 x BCI-6 black, 9 x BCI-6 cyan, 10 x BCI-6
magenta, and 10 BCI-6 yellow. Only the initial, factory-supplied set
were Canon OEM. After that I used nothing but CoralJet non-OEM
cartridges, and I've used enough of them over a long enough period of
time to be completely satisfied that they're functionally equivalent
to OEM for my purposes (mainly plain paper colour printing).
Regardless, that's a total of 41 cartridges at $1.80 each, or $84.87
including sales taxes, or about a penny a page. If I had purchased
Canon OEM inks, the total cost would have been $943.00, or almost 11.5
cents a page! That's a HUGE savings of $858.13.
I have a 2nd iP5000 on which I do most of my personal photo printing.
It now has 1246 pages printed, of which 133 are photos, and 45 are
CDs. So far, I've only had to replace each of the factory OEM
cartridges twice. That's 10 cartridges at $1.80, or $20.70 including
tax, or about 1.6 cents average per page. If I had purchased Canon
OEM inks, the total cost would have been $230.00, or 18.5 cents
average per page. Savings: $209.30.
That's over a thousand dollars just between these two printers!
On the 1st iP5000, I've since replaced the waste ink pads, reset the
waste ink counter, and now, with 9,878 pages on it, 1,874 of those on
it's 2nd printhead, it is still going strong, and it still prints
perfectly, even photos! I also have 2 more iP5000's in my family,
plus 2 iP5200's and 1 iP5300's. The 2nd and 3rd generation iP's also
use CoralJET cartridges, with the factory chips transferred, and ink
monitoring disabled for now...whoop-dee-do! I can re-enable it if a
chip resetter ever comes along - service mode rocks!
Great idea of trimming that plastic away to see the ink levels. I'll
have to try that. Thanks!
Also, all 7 of our "North American" Pixmas can also print on printable
CD/DVDs, and all do an excellent job of it. Great printers...
Michael said:snip
You saved nothing. You may have spent less. When one gets less andI couldn't begin to guess at how much I have saved using compatible
ink in five Canon inkjet printers. I have gone through at least
200-250 cartridges over the years.
measekite said:You saved nothing. You may have spent less. When one gets less and
spends less they did not save anything. You only save when you get the
same exact product for less money at some vendor and only if you need it
not because you bought something that you just did not need because it
cost less. Look at the real truth.
Frank said:Lying idiot!
Michael said:He really is an idiot. What the hell was he trying to say?!?!? I spend
$1.59 per cartridges verses $11+ per cartridge for OEM ink. Somehow he
thinks I did not save anything? Is that fuzzy math he is using? My
prints don't fade, the print head doesn't clog and the print quality is
excellent so where am I getting less than if I used grossly over priced
OEM ink? He is a waste of human flesh and proves it on a daily basis by
his contributions to this newsgroup.
You saved nothing. You may have spent less. When one gets less and
spends less they did not save anything. You only save when you get the
same exact product for less money at some vendor and only if you need it
not because you bought something that you just did not need because it
cost less. Look at the real truth.
It takes one to know one and you know them all. If you spend $5.00 forMichael said:He really is an idiot.
Only if you print so very often.What the hell was he trying to say?!?!? I spend $1.59 per cartridges
verses $11+ per cartridge for OEM ink. Somehow he thinks I did not
save anything? Is that fuzzy math he is using? My prints don't fade, I am sure they do.
the print head doesn't clog
There are guys who think their ugly girl friend is beautiful also.and the print quality is excellent
NotMe said:| Frank wrote:
| > measekite wrote:
| >>
| >>
| >> Michael Johnson wrote:
| >>
| >>> snip
| >>
| >>
| >>>
| >>> I couldn't begin to guess at how much I have saved using compatible
| >>> ink in five Canon inkjet printers. I have gone through at least
| >>> 200-250 cartridges over the years.
| >>
| >> You saved nothing. You may have spent less. When one gets less and
| >> spends less they did not save anything. You only save when you get
| >> the same exact product for less money at some vendor and only if you
| >> need it not because you bought something that you just did not need
| >> because it cost less. Look at the real truth.
| >
| > Lying idiot!
|
| He really is an idiot. What the hell was he trying to say?!?!? I spend
| $1.59 per cartridges verses $11+ per cartridge for OEM ink. Somehow he
| thinks I did not save anything? Is that fuzzy math he is using? My
| prints don't fade, the print head doesn't clog and the print quality is
| excellent so where am I getting less than if I used grossly over priced
| OEM ink? He is a waste of human flesh and proves it on a daily basis by
| his contributions to this newsgroup.
I'm an engineer with a minor in chemistry. I've run a qualitative analysis
of the aftermarket inks I've used as well as on the OEM equilivant.
Not unlike RX you can by the name brand or you can by generics. For the
most part there is scant difference in the chemistry and likely less in the
use/application
It takes one to know one and you know them all. If you spend $5.00 for
3 apples or instead you spend $2.00 for 4 oranges do you think you saved
money? Only an idiot would think so. Now if you spend $1.59 for generic
ink instead of spending $11.00 for Canon ink do you think you saved money.
You do the math. You cannot subtract numbers unless they are like for
like. Most people learned that in the 3rd grade.
They are comparing dollars for dollars, so the dollar savings in your
example is $9.41 more remaining in their pockets than in Canon's pocket.
Whether the generic ink quality is equal is the debate. Many here say the
quality of the generic inks has risen to the point that from their
perspective, there is no noticeable difference. As such, the price point of
the product now becomes the only difference to these buyers.