Advice? What Canon Printers use non-chipped, non-pigment ink?

[Maureen23669]

Looking for a simple clog-free printer for my daughter to take to college. I have piles of BCI-6 and BCI-3e cartridges that I use for my own printers. But I'm used to cleaning up clogs. She will just shrug her shoulders and tell me MY printer doesn't work. Advice on the simplest idiot-proof option for her?

Thanks!

 

[turbguy]

A laser printer. Inkjets would require too frequent maintenance for her.

 

[fotofreek]

Looking for a simple clog-free printer for my daughter to take to college. I have piles of BCI-6 and BCI-3e cartridges that I use for my own printers. But I'm used to cleaning up clogs. She will just shrug her shoulders and tell me MY printer doesn't work. Advice on the simplest idiot-proof option for her?

Thanks!

First things first - All inkjet printers can clog. Unfortuantely, some level of knowledge is necessary to manage any device. Using refilled cartridges or non-oem aftermarket prefilled carts also introduces additional potential problems that one must know how to deal with. The main thing would be for her to not let it sit idle for weeks at a time.

Having raised two kids myself, I know what you are faced wtih. Does she really need a color printer? In the long run a fairly inexpensive laser printer would be more fool-proof (kid-proof?). They don't clog, and the only maintenance is to change a cartridge.

If she really needs an inkjet printer and you are either going to use new OEM carts or do the refills yourself you can look on craigs list. The availability of printers that use bci-6 carts has nearly dried up in this area, and I would have to be very careful in buying a printer from that generation as they have been in use for a long time.

I've picked up some excellent used printers as backups and as first line printers for myself. I found an ip4300 that I gave to my granddaughter and an ip4500 that had hardly been used at all. These do use cli-8 and pgi-5 carts, but they are good printers. They do require that you use a chip resetter when refilling. Recently, in the San Francisco Bay Area, I saw an ip4300 on sale, used, for $30. I would only buy a used printer in my immediate area and would want to do a nozzle check and print an 8x10 photo to be sure that it is OK before buying it. I'm sure you know to be leary of a printer that is advertised with some of the carts missing or one that has been gathering dust in a closet for a year. These may need a lot of work to unclog a prnthead, and there would be no way to test them before you purchase.

 

[Maureen23669]

Thanks, guys. I've been wondering about using a laser printer. I have zero experience with them, but she really isn't going to need much in the way of color. I'll do some research.
Also, I developed a list of Canons that use only BCI6 cartridges, because I thought that it was the 3e's that were pigment. But all of the 6's seem to be photo printers. Do I have it backward? And will a photo magenta/cyan be a pigment version, even if it's a 6? I've spent years and years with Canon 3e and 6 printers, and can work on them in my sleep. But all of my demons have been on the pigment side, perhaps because of those years and years. I agree that these non-chipped printers are rare now, and commanding a premium.
I may be overthinking this whole thing. I am assuming that she'll be doing LOTS of work.
Thanks again.

 

[turbguy]

Only the BCI-3eBK is pigment. All the others (BCI-6 or BCI-3e colors) are DYE inks, and actually seem to be interchangable with regard to functionabilty.

Wayne

 

[fotofreek]

Thanks, guys. I've been wondering about using a laser printer. I have zero experience with them, but she really isn't going to need much in the way of color. I'll do some research.
Also, I developed a list of Canons that use only BCI6 cartridges, because I thought that it was the 3e's that were pigment. But all of the 6's seem to be photo printers. Do I have it backward? And will a photo magenta/cyan be a pigment version, even if it's a 6? I've spent years and years with Canon 3e and 6 printers, and can work on them in my sleep. But all of my demons have been on the pigment side, perhaps because of those years and years. I agree that these non-chipped printers are rare now, and commanding a premium.
I may be overthinking this whole thing. I am assuming that she'll be doing LOTS of work.
Thanks again.

Several of the Canon inkjet printers that use bci-6 dye-based inks also have a large black pigment ink cart, the BCI3e-BK, that is used for text printing when the plain paper setting is selected. The photo cyan/photo magenta carts are for six or eight cart printers. They are a more dilute dye based ink from the cyan/magenta carts and are used to give more subtle gradations of color in photos. These are really photo printers that can also be used for text and graphics. They do introduce the "photo" dilute colors that are used in greater quantitiy than the basic cymk carts. Unless she is primarily interested in photo printing, there is no need to use a six or eight cart printer as she will be going through these carts very quickly. The printers that include the BCI3eBK large black pigment cart are designed to do both photos and good text printing. Using new OEM Canon carts will be a rather costly way to have her print - especially if she is only in need of black text printing.

Check out a laser printer that has a replaceable cartridge. Least maintenance, good text printing, and pretty foolproof. The cartridges are pretty expensive, but your cost per page will probably be less than using OEM Canon carts in an inkjet printer. Go online and google laser printer reviews. I've used higher end consumer grade HP laser printers, but a student should be just fine with one of the lower cost units. Participants on this forum might be able to give you advice for a printer well under $200.

 

[Maureen23669]

That helps with my confusion. I thought that pigments were for photo printing and dyes for text. Now I see that that doesn't even make sense. So if I want her to use my pile of cartridges, she would be safest using a four cartridge photo printer, even though it might be slower.
I'm warming to the laser printer option.
Thanks!

 

[The Hat]

That helps with my confusion. I thought that pigments were for photo printing and dyes for text. Now I see that that doesn't even make sense. So if I want her to use my pile of cartridges, she would be safest using a four cartridge photo printer, even though it might be slower.
I'm warming to the laser printer option.
Thanks!

The best option for your daughter would be a laser printer no dough about it.

To give an inkjet printer to someone who is not too interested in caring for it
would be a complete nightmare for you and no end of trouble.

A basic home Laser printer is extremely cheap to buy and would suite the lifestyle of a student much better
than an inkjet printer would by its very ease of use and operation without having to know how the darn thing works.

Its a simple press and go printer no settings, no mess and above all no cleaning
and if she wants colour photos then she can always use the local film print shop.

All youd have to do is to keep a spare replacement cartridge for it
and that would be the only care it would need for years..

 

[fotofreek]

That helps with my confusion. I thought that pigments were for photo printing and dyes for text. Now I see that that doesn't even make sense. So if I want her to use my pile of cartridges, she would be safest using a four cartridge photo printer, even though it might be slower.
I'm warming to the laser printer option.
Thanks!

Just for your information and not to contribute to the choice of printers for your daughter - there are inkjet printers with all pigment carts. These are definitely photo printers. The benefit is that, unlike the dye-based ink printers, the prints are colorfast and more fade resistant. There are other differences in the prints, but for your purposes these are academic.