Recommendation for new printer,old Pixma 3000 had died after 6 years

[Fano]

My old Pixma 3000 which has served me well for the last 6 years finally gave up the ghost last week.
We had been through thick and thin together ,it was often a love hate relationship due to Cyan clogs in the head .
I had gone through 4 printheads in 6 years but I had resolved the clogging issues using inksupply inks and Jettec cartridges thanks to the great advice and feedback I received on this forum.
It had been working relatively trouble free until last week when I took out the head to give it a clean but when I powered the printer back up she wouldnt power on .
I think there may have been a slight short circuit as I smelt a slight burning smell ,the head was dry when reinserting it ,I'm not really sure what happened.
I may have a go at trying to restore power but it looks a long shot.

In the meantime I need a new printer.
Now I have been doing a good bit of reading here trying to get up to speed.
The ip3000 used unchipped cartridges ,BCI-3 and 6 which were easy to refill ,required no resetter and had large capacities.
It seems any of the newer cartridges are smaller in capacity ,are chipped and require a resetter.
I need a printer that will print cd's ;duplex and wifi are not a necessity.

From what I can deduce,a Pixma 4500 would be ideal but its an old model so will almost be impossible to source in Ireland where I live.
The 4700 is more likely to be found , it uses the 520/521 cartridges which have a smaller capacity that the Pgi 5,Cli 8,but it too has been replaced.
525/526 are to be avoided it would seem due to the non opaque cartridges which make refilling and ink level monitoring akward ?
Of these new type printers the Canon PIXMA MG5250 seems to be the best ?

I used about 15-20 sets of cartridges a year on my Pixma3000 so I'd be using similar ink demands on the new printer and I plan on refilling .
Can anyone tell me if my above deductions are correct and would the 4700 be my best bet or is there a better option ?
Many thanks in advance
Fano

 

[The Hat]

Fano
Your choices are limited now to iP4850 and iP4950 printers yes they both have opaque cartridges
but that can be easily overcome by using the 520/521s with a chip swap instead of the 520/526 set of cartridges.

The ideal set-up would be to have two sets of OEM cartridges and a resetter,
refill them using only good quality inks and your problems would be few.

These newer printers are not as robust as the older models were but print better and faster so its swings and roundabouts.
You mentioned an interest in the iP4700, if you can get one then dont hesitate its not a bad printer to have.

You can look for an iP4500 or iP4600 but they are a scarce as hen teeth now and I reckon youd only be wasting your time
and will have to settle for one of the new ones, you could try dabs.ie

 

[inkoholic]

Fano
Your choices are limited now to iP4850 and iP4950 printers yes they both have opaque cartridges
but that can be easily overcome by using the 520/521s with a chip swap instead of the 520/526 set of cartridges.

The ideal set-up would be to have two sets of OEM cartridges and a resetter,
refill them using only good quality inks and your problems would be few.

These newer printers are not as robust as the older models were but print better and faster so its swings and roundabouts.
You mentioned an interest in the iP4700, if you can get one then dont hesitate its not a bad printer to have.

You can look for an iP4500 or iP4600 but they are a scarce as hen teeth now and I reckon youd only be wasting your time
and will have to settle for one of the new ones, you could try dabs.ie

Guess I should hold on to my MP610 then! As it's essentially an IP4500 with a scanner attached. I'm trying to do some fixing and maybe getting a new printhead. I have one big question: so using ink from e.g. Octoinkjet will minimize clogging horrors? Print a nozzle check each week and in case of minor clogs, just soak with Windex? Sounds a little too good to be true but miracles do happen

 

[The Hat]

inkoholic I have one big question: so using ink from e.g. Octoinkjet will minimize clogging horrors? Print a nozzle check each week and in case of minor clogs, just soak with Windex? Sounds a little too good to be true but miracles do happen

Any good ink will minimise clogs it doesnt have to be Octoinkjet ink and a nozzle check once a week should help keep the gremlins away.
An easier way than soaking the print head for a small clog is to put a couple of drops Windex
on the offending cartridge outlet and then do a head clean..

 

[geocha]

with Octoinks, even after 20days of no go, i had no problem with clogged nozzles

 

[The Hat]

with Octoinks, even after 20days of no go, i had no problem with clogged nozzles

I wouldnt be without it, number one fan I am..

 

[PhilC]

The Canon ip3600 is still available everywhere for about 62 online in the UK. It uses 521 cartridges which you can see through and is an excellent printer. I ve been using one for almost 3yrs with no trouble using a CISS plus inks from Fotorite and done probably 2000 A4 colour pics in that time. I believe the Fotorite ink is the same as Octoink and Image Specialists, bit cheaper from (Octoink). I ve had hardly any clogs and none that a head clean did nt fix.

 

[Fano]

Fano
Your choices are limited now to iP4850 and iP4950 printers yes they both have opaque cartridges
but that can be easily overcome by using the 520/521s with a chip swap instead of the 520/526 set of cartridges.

The ideal set-up would be to have two sets of OEM cartridges and a resetter,
refill them using only good quality inks and your problems would be few.

These newer printers are not as robust as the older models were but print better and faster so its swings and roundabouts.
You mentioned an interest in the iP4700, if you can get one then dont hesitate its not a bad printer to have.

You can look for an iP4500 or iP4600 but they are a scarce as hen teeth now and I reckon youd only be wasting your time
and will have to settle for one of the new ones, you could try dabs.ie

Thanks The Hat ,much appreciated.

The idea of using 520/521 cartridges in a newer printer using a chip swap is a good one .
I intend to use Octoink or Inksupply ink (has served me well in the past) .

I found a new iP4700 on Amazon.co.uk but unfortunately they wont deliver to Ireland but I'll keep looking.
There is an all in one Canon,the Mg5250 which is slightly more expensive that the iP4850 but it has wifi and a scanner so that might be a possibility,uses same cartridges as the 4850.

The Canon ip3600 is still available everywhere for about 62 online in the UK. It uses 521 cartridges which you can see through and is an excellent printer. I ve been using one for almost 3yrs with no trouble using a CISS plus inks from Fotorite and done probably 2000 A4 colour pics in that time. I believe the Fotorite ink is the same as Octoink and Image Specialists, bit cheaper from (Octoink). I ve had hardly any clogs and none that a head clean did nt fix.

Thanks PhilC but unfortunately the 3600 does not support cd printing from what I have read ,otherwise it would be a contender.

 

[ganguy]

I need two replacement printers for my IP5000 and my IP4000. Both have clogged printheads which I have not been able to clear. Also the 5000 appears to have something worse happening with print transport so it is definitely in the toilet. The 4000 won't recognize the printer after head cleaning, so if I could fix that I might only need 1.
I've read the above posts but don't understand the phrase "using the 520/521s with a chip swap instead of the 520/526 set of cartridges." What exactly is a chip swap?
BTW, I also have an IP4300 which I refill with Hobbicolors ink and a chip resetter - works fine.
I need CD print and photo print as well as text on all printers. I have to guess at volume, but something like 8 color refills on each printer per year, more on the text cartridge. Printing on CD/DVD is very important to us.
Summary:
1 Can I get the 4000 to be recognized by the computer so I can find out if the cleaning worked?
2 What would the best option be for a refillable replacement printer?
Thanks for your thoughts,
Reg

 

[inkoholic]

HP Officejet 8500!! Because the genuine inks are actually affordable this time. Refilling would still be cheaper, but genuine ink means minimal trouble. The black cartridge is huge with 49 or even 69ml, enough for 2000 pages at least. 22. You also need CMY carts so add another 3x14... but those will print 1400 pages.

More info on http://www.druckerchannel.de/artikel.php?ID=2844&seite=4&t=die_druckkosten I'd love to hear what other people think about the Officejets