To Refill or not?

[rksmith51]

I have a Canon Pixma MP990 printer and its just cost me £40 to change the inks, crazy price. I can get a chip re setter for £15 but what inks to use. Has anyone any recommendations and are the inks as good as the Canon ones, are we just being ripped off or is there good reason for the high price off a spoonfull of ink.

Bob

[Oldboy]

The reason why Canon's inks are so dear is because, it pays for the cheapness of the printer. Thirdparty inks don't carry this overhead. You need to check that these inks are as good as Canon's own brand, as some are and some aren't. 

[skellum]

I can recommend " Phoenix Inks " but I only have experience of them for Epson printers. I have tried others but none came near.  www.discandink.co.uk   They are about 2 miles away from me and I use them all the time.

[rksmith51]

Thanks Dave, I can get a complete set for £19, amazing, I get an order off and give them a try, though I was thinking of refilling my old ones as they just hold the ink there is no head on them.

Bob

[Jonathan]

There are 3 key things in printer ink

1. Will they knacker your printer?  (Not immediately but after a month or 2)
2. Do the colours look any good?
3. Do the prints last?

Everybody who raves about 3 party inks seems to concentrate on number 2.  The fixatives that make them last can be the most expensive and complex stuff to put in.  So if 3 is important you may want to consider premium brands.

As for point 1...I'm glad printers are subsidised by the manu so it's not an issue

I've had good results from the hilariously named StinkyInk.  http://www.stinkyinkshop.co.uk/

[Malcolm1938]

There is another way to reduce ink costs without losing ink quality by using a Continious Ink System.

They are not available for all printers but you can get good deals on new printers with CIS on Ebay.

You can buy the best quality inks in bulk at sensible prices.

Any comments from existing users of CIS.

Malcolm

[Colin]

I bought a CIS system for my HP8250. It never worked  and it would cost more to send it back than it cost so it went in the bin. It was a good idea in theory. I have a friend with an Epson A3 printer his worked but the output was c--p so that too went in the bin. From these two experiences I would suggest that you look long and hard at a CIS before you gamble your money BUT YMMV.

[WillyP]

I used to have a nice printer, refilled my inks.  Sometimes they would leak, and then the printer stopped working.  I think the ink leaking ruined the printer.  This was before they would chip them, so it was just a matter of drilling a hole in the cartridge and filling it with a syringe.  Then plugging the hole with a set screw.  Then you were supposed to put a piece of Scotch tape over the screw to seal it, but that did not work so well.

None of the printers I have had since have lasted as long nor printed as well, though, even though I haven't refilled them.

[Beryl]

I think the best printing comes from top quality paper , top quality ink and a printer that matches.
Also when you look at a a photo on you screen you are seeing Red Green abs Blue  rays a printer can only print in the primary colours Red Blue and Yellow so it has to convert the rays to solids  so your printouts will never look identical to what you see on the screen