Cannon Pixma MP250/Refill CL-211 & CL-210 cartridges

[brooke.bradford]

As I began researching options for refilling inkjet cartridges tonight, I was surprised to discover that Walgreens Pharmacy offers that service 24/7. Unfortunately, they use an automated dispenser which does not recognize Canon cartridges. I have been searching for a database which x-references cartridges, hoping to find that the Canon CL-211 and CL-210 are identical to cartridges used by different printer manufacturers, but have had no luck. Does anyone know if such a database exists?

As I continued my research, I found plenty of online retailers for refill kits, which seems to be the most cost effective choice. All of the sites begin by asking the make and model of the customers printer, supposedly to assure that the appropriate "ink" is provided. Originally, I assumed that the differences involved minor variations in hue, and/or diluent ratios to accommodate different d.p.i. capabilities. I have since discovered the dye vs. pigment variable, yet none of the retailers I have visited mention this. Frankly, the lack of details leaves me suspicious...

Can anyone tell me if the "ink" for my printer/cartridge combination is dye or pigment based? And/or refer me to a price competitive online retailer that either provides these details, or can be trusted not to?

Thanks for reading, I'll keep my fingers crossed...

 

[stratman]

The PG-210 is a Pigment Black ink cartridge used in printing black text documents but not used in printing images - even if there is text within the image. It is water resistant. The CL-211 is a tri-color Dye-Based ink cartridge that is used for printing images and other situations. It is water soluble.

I have no knowledge on how to refill these cartridge, so others will need to help you. Tri-color cartridges are not the simplest to refill, but I know it has been done, though which model cartridge I don't recall. Durability to withstand refilling over time and the ability to chip reset are a question mark.

 

[Tudor]

Here are InkTec's refill instructions for your cartridges:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc09PM6g9Nc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ6jAIz957Q

I have an mp250 and I refilled the cartridges:
- black - I still have the cartridge that came with the printer, refilled 5-7 times with no problems.
- colour - the cartridge that came with the printer was damaged after the second refill, so I bought a new CL-511XL cartridge and managed to refill it once before it was damaged. I refilled it before the ink ran out. It doesn't give an error, but it is unusable (exactly like the first one):

I don't know if the printer damages the cartridge or if I did something wrong. Because 2 new cartridges cost as much as the printer, the best solution to this problem was... a new printer(ip3600) which costs only 50% more than a new set of cartridges for the old one..

Maybe you will have better luck with it.