Barry Watzman said:
That is simply not true.
Some inkjet printers have the printhead in the consumable, others have
permanent printheads, the consumable is just an "ink tank" and there are
tubes from the tank to the permanent printhead.
A manufacturer has every right to rightfully void the warranty of a
printer with permanent printheads that are genuinely destroyed by a 3rd
party ink, and they do it. On the other hand, the only permanent damage
that a consumable with a built-in printhead can do is to leak inside the
printer and create a mess, and this doesn't happen often.
Barry - Except for a new model with the printhead in the cartridge (is this
what you reference as the consumable?), Canon printheads are user removable
and replaceable (although sometimes at about the cost of a replacement
printer). The "ink tanks" sit directly on the printhead and feed into it.
No tubes.
I have read that in the US there are laws that prevent a printer company
from voiding a warranty because you used aftermarket inks. Has to do with a
company not forcing you to use their consumables as a condition of honoring
a warranty.
Using the wrong inks could conceivably ruin a permanant printhead. I would
expect that using pigment-based inks in an Epson (printhead not replaceable
by the consumer) that is designed for dye-based inks might permanantly clog
the nozzles and render the printer not economically repairable. Refilling
carts for a Canon dye-based printer with pigment-based inks would probably
cost you an easily replaced printhead. HP printers with the printhead on
the ink cartridge would not be harmed by the use of inks which could damage
the printhead. You would just replace the ink cartridge which comes with a
new printhead.