Printer Ink

J1234 · 6 Nov 2009 at 20:16

Hey guys,

I need some ink for my Canon MP610 and have seen 3rd party inks that are hugely cheaper than the official Canon ones. Is there any real disadvantages in buying these instead of the Canon ones?

Cheers.

mogwai · 6 Nov 2009 at 20:26

How cheap are they as the proper ones are usually around £9.99 each. If you want to give them try I would only do so if the printer is not under warranty.

J1234 · 6 Nov 2009 at 20:29

£12.99 for 5 chipped carts on eBay. It states:

Manufactured to ISO 9001 quality standards
0.1 microns filtered ink
Guaranteed to give same print quality as CANON originals
2 Year shelf life

Phil2008 · 6 Nov 2009 at 21:52

I have one tip for you, ALWAYS shake the carts well before installing.

I have a 5yr old epson dx4800 all in one and I've been using 3rd party inks since the original inks that came with the printer ran out, and its still gives awsome printouts today

citycm · 6 Nov 2009 at 22:30

There's no real advantage in buying genuine inks. I've used compatibles for my inkjets for years. We also use compatible toners for our laser printers at work.

swinnie · 6 Nov 2009 at 23:35

I've always been very dubious with using compatible cartridges for printers. I am never going to be 100%, until I see the clear cut facts - but thats never going to happen.

However, from experience the compatible toners and inks are only "worthwhile" if they do not have any sort of technology on them. We've got a real mix of printers where I am, and some of them have chips, others do not. As soon as we started using compatibles in the chipped printers, we started having all sorts of problems, the ones without have been fine.

Food for thought, perhaps?

feeddagoat · 6 Nov 2009 at 23:36

I use 3rd party inks in my DX5000. Can't tell the difference in quality but im certain i get less prints. Not enough to cost me more in the long run tho. Would make interesting labs IMO

alex24 · 6 Nov 2009 at 23:38

Is the printer under warranty? 3rd party inks will void that straightaway. Personally, I've never used them, but the only ones I've seen balls up printers were super cheap and nasty inkjet refills which were the wrong consistency and left the print head blocked or damaged. As you might know, getting a new print head on a printer is seldom worth it nowadays as they're so expensive.

beefybarn · 7 Nov 2009 at 00:05

I use compatibles in a canon and brother printer with no problems.

Phil2008 · 7 Nov 2009 at 12:43

Apparently the compatible inks are water bassed and genuine inks are not

Art · 7 Nov 2009 at 12:55

Phil2008 said:
Apparently the compatible inks are water bassed and genuine inks are not

Some of them are, and they might take longer to dry, smudge/spread more and run more if you get them wet. That might not apply to all compatible inks, but it definitely applies to some.

J1234 · 8 Nov 2009 at 18:55

Whoops forgot about this thread.

I think it's still under warranty, only a month or so left. I think I'll just go for some compatibles and see what happens.

mogwai · 8 Nov 2009 at 19:34

When I was at school we had a colour laser printer and the first time compatible cartridges where used they leaked all over the inside of it and ruined the printer.

jbloggs · 8 Nov 2009 at 21:43

I have a Canon Pixma IP4500 and as soon as the originals ran out I have used decent chipped comp. and have no problems at all and the quality is not bad either, there is no way I would spend around £10 on a cart, with needing 5, would be £50... not far off buying another printer at that rate!

Phil2008 · 9 Nov 2009 at 16:10

I pay just over £1 for my inks, genuine inks are only about £3 tho.

J1234 · 17 Nov 2009 at 20:53

Got some compatibles last week, work perfectly

Cost £14 for all 5.

daven1986 · 17 Nov 2009 at 20:57

With my brother printer I can get 4 cartridges (all colours and black) for £5 and they work perfectly. Have never used original cartridges with this printer!