'Compatible' printer cartridges

jubei

jubei

jubei

Soldato
Joined
3 Apr 2003
Posts
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Hi guys,

Got myself an Epson PX700W printer which i am very happy with after much debate over which printer to get.

Now i am looking at the ink cartridges for them and the multipack is T0807 claria inks and costs about 45 quid. Using a well known auction site can be had for about 28.

However i have also found 'Compatible' inks for the T0807 that claim to contain twice as much ink as originals, work as well if not better, manufactured by an ISO9001 approved company and will cost about 12 quid in delivery.

Now obviously it sounds too good to be true, on a normal bog standard printer i would more than happily try it out but as i have quite an expensive photoprinter i worry that i might mess up the printing on it with dodgy colours or clog it up somehow using these inks.

Does anyone have any experience using compatible cartridges and are they safe to use/give same performance?

Thanks
 
I have used compatible cartridges in my printer since the originals that came with it 3 years ago. It's not as high a spec as yours by any means but this is what I have found.

The label may say 25ml instead of 15ml or whatever but I'm pretty sure that they are not filled to the brim by any stretch, they prob only have the same amount in.....

A few of the cartridges that I have had have refused to work and still register as empty.

The colours will most likely not be the same as the genuine inks and this can produce poor quality for photos.

The inks will most likely not have any anti fade quality to them.

This is all fine for me as I am not printing many high quality photos and the price is so much cheaper that the odd duff cartridge doesn't matter.

For you it may be worth just paying the money for the proper ones.

Best idea is to try it once? Also, most printers are pretty good at clearing the No Swearing! out of the nozzles if there is any issue with that.
 
As Eddie says it all depends on what you are printing out. If its important to you the use originals.

What I have found with compatibles is even those with higher capacity cartridges, dont appear to last as long as originals. Whether this is down to the ink quality I'm not to sure.

Basically on my laserjet I always use HP original cartidges, mainly due to the fact that following a study at work, we realised that despite compatibles being about 30% cheaper, we were using 1 and 1/2 compatible cartridges compared to just one original, therefore there was hardly any financial saving, thus for peice of mind, we continued to use genuine HP.

On my Canon i965 or whatever model it is (its old now) I paid something like £20 for 4 sets of compatibles (6 cartidges per set). I still have two full set unopened, and had them about 2 years now. However I dont use the colour printer that often, and I'm not to bothered about the quality anymore when I do use it, as anything I do print can be easily replaced.

Just looked on an auction site, and I can get a 2 full sets of compatibles for £12, so at that price, as opposed to paying something like £40 for originals, so at that price I consider the compatibles a risk worth taking.

A reduction from £45 to £28 for compatibles in my own personal view isnt that good a saving to take the risk that the cartridges may leak and ruin the printer, or that you dont get the useage you would expect, however I do see on same site that you can get 1 set of 6 cartridges for your printer for £12 or 3 sets for £29, so that I would feel is a more reasonable price, to opt for compatibles
 
I've used compatibles for years with high quality images and plain text and never had a problem, compatibles are half the price and easier to get, so even if they are the same capacity, it's still a win win situation for me. Your printer will cry that it's not official but just ignore it.
 
I,v used compatible cartridges for soon years now even with my 1st printer, never had any problems print quality is still fine. Just think of the pennies you will save my printer at the moo Canon ip4300-

1 Full Set - Canon Pixma IP4300 Ink Cartridges (Genuine) £48.99.

1 Full Set - Canon Pixma IP4300 Ink Cartridges (Compatible - Ready to Use) £19.99.

A grand saving of £29, laughing all the way to the bank, need l say more.
 
Some people find a difference in quality, others find there is no difference.

I think you have your answer now,

Buy a set of compatibles and check it out. :)

*don't forget though that if your printer is like my Epson, it will take ages for the compatible ink to get through the system and onto the page as it drains half the ink out of your original cartridges just to charge the system. ie. when you first print, don't think 'wow these are great, they look exactly the same' as it will still be the ink from your old cartridge!
 
OLDPHART said:
I,v used compatible cartridges for soon years now even with my 1st printer, never had any problems print quality is still fine. Just think of the pennies you will save my printer at the moo Canon ip4300-

1 Full Set - Canon Pixma IP4300 Ink Cartridges (Genuine) £48.99.

1 Full Set - Canon Pixma IP4300 Ink Cartridges (Compatible - Ready to Use) £19.99.

A grand saving of £29, laughing all the way to the bank, need l say more.
Click to expand...

Get a chip resetter and fill then yourself, works out at 50p per cart.
 
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