What's your experience using "compatible" ink cartridges on a nice photo printer?

JuryDuty · 11-05-09, 04:30 PM

I have what I consider a nice Canon photo printer that always makes beautiful photos when I print. The ink, however, costs about $60 every time I have to refill.

I've considered trying some "compatible" ink cartridges like they sell on ebay or abcink.com, as they're only about $20 for a set of what they say is the same thing--even with the built-in microchips. (ie http://www.abcink.com/4pack-canon-cl...ma-ip4200.html)

But I'm concerned about having cruddy photos or messing up my printer. Of course, all reviews for these places make their products sound like gold.

Can anyone give me some real-life reviews? Are the inks reliable? Just as good, even for printing 8x10s? Etc?

Kmical · 11-05-09, 05:41 PM

I have three Canon printers at home, all from the Pixma line: an iP3000, an iP4000, and a brand new iP4600. I've been using non-Canon cartridges for years. I have used cartridges from the following source with no issues:

Atlantic Inkjet

For the two older ones, I was purchasing generic cartridges from www.megatoners.com

They were just over $1 each for the color, and $1.50 for the black. They worked in a pinch, but I normally used bulk ink from Atlantic Inkjet to refill (since those printers were the last line to not use the chipped cartridges).

If you really want to save money, you can take advantage of those nice bundles on e-Bay. You can save $4+ per generic cartridge ($13 over a genuine Canon) if you don't mind moving the chip from the empty Genuine Canon cartridge to a non-chipped one.

For the iP4600, I purchased a bundle of 30 cartridges (w/o chips) for $50 shipped. I do not see a difference in quality vs. the genuine Canon cartridges.

JuryDuty · 11-05-09, 05:56 PM

Wow, that's really encouraging. Maybe I'll give it a shot. The sales pitch on Atlantic's site sounds better than what I was reading at abcink (which just focuses on superfast shipping and a great return policy).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kmical

You can save $4+ per generic cartridge ($13 over a genuine Canon) if you don't mind moving the chip from the empty Genuine Canon cartridge to a non-chipped one.

Is this difficult? I mean, ~$25 for all 4 cartridges sounds good (via my link above), but if it's easy, I guess I could save more...

al_bundy · 11-05-09, 06:36 PM

Online is anlot cheaper

I haven't had a printer for years now

11-05-09, 04:30 PM	#1
JuryDuty DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Lost in Texas Posts: 3,894	What's your experience using "compatible" ink cartridges on a nice photo printer? I have what I consider a nice Canon photo printer that always makes beautiful photos when I print. The ink, however, costs about $60 every time I have to refill. I've considered trying some "compatible" ink cartridges like they sell on ebay or abcink.com, as they're only about $20 for a set of what they say is the same thing--even with the built-in microchips. (ie http://www.abcink.com/4pack-canon-cl...ma-ip4200.html) But I'm concerned about having cruddy photos or messing up my printer. Of course, all reviews for these places make their products sound like gold. Can anyone give me some real-life reviews? Are the inks reliable? Just as good, even for printing 8x10s? Etc? __________________ --JuryDuty Tumbling with JuryDuty. Last edited by JuryDuty; 11-05-09 at 04:33 PM.

11-05-09, 05:41 PM	#2
Kmical Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Pewaukee, WI Posts: 274	Re: What's your experience using "compatible" ink cartridges on a nice photo printer? I have three Canon printers at home, all from the Pixma line: an iP3000, an iP4000, and a brand new iP4600. I've been using non-Canon cartridges for years. I have used cartridges from the following source with no issues: Atlantic Inkjet For the two older ones, I was purchasing generic cartridges from www.megatoners.com They were just over $1 each for the color, and $1.50 for the black. They worked in a pinch, but I normally used bulk ink from Atlantic Inkjet to refill (since those printers were the last line to not use the chipped cartridges). If you really want to save money, you can take advantage of those nice bundles on e-Bay. You can save $4+ per generic cartridge ($13 over a genuine Canon) if you don't mind moving the chip from the empty Genuine Canon cartridge to a non-chipped one. For the iP4600, I purchased a bundle of 30 cartridges (w/o chips) for $50 shipped. I do not see a difference in quality vs. the genuine Canon cartridges. Last edited by Kmical; 11-05-09 at 05:43 PM.

11-05-09, 06:36 PM	#4
al_bundy DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Transfatfreeville Posts: 22,214	Re: What's your experience using "compatible" ink cartridges on a nice photo printer? Online is anlot cheaper I haven't had a printer for years now