CLI-221 cartridges backward compatible with BCI-3 BCI-6 CLI-8 ??

[yupkime]

I just got some empty CLI-221 cartridges that are for newer Canon printers but are smaller (less taller) than the previous 2 generations.
However, they snap in perfectly into the cartridge holder in my i560 and are basically the same shape from the bottom up.

I will refill them next time I do a batch but has anyone done this before and do they work exactly the same other than they run empty faster?
It's great to know that down the road I can use any cartridge in these older Canons.

 

[pharmacist]

Yupkime,

this is great to hear. What about the ink level detection by the prism ? Is it still functioning and is the prism recognized (same location like the BCI-3eBK/BCI-6 cartridges) ? What about installing these cartridges inside a PGI-5/CLI-8 printer ?

Another proof that Canon's new printers are not so new as Canon may claim....

 

[yupkime]

Prism is in the same place and looks the same.

If it wasn't for the "blackout" covering the sponge side and underneath you probably couldn't tell which cartridge was which from the bottom although there are some different indentations/notches on the bottom.

My printer doesn't have chip detection so I don't know about how it affects newer printers.
The only difference in the chips is that the CLI-221 chips look blue and the CLI-8 chips look green to me.

Anyways, for those people who have i560/i4000 generation printers, it looks like we have lots of cartridges to choose from.

 

[Smile]

Great to hear It seems I'll have some food to choose from for my ip3500.

 

[yupkime]

It's basically a buffet! (all you can eat or in this case fill)

 

[Manuchau]

There are enough pgi-5 and cli-8 empty cartridges around. Why use the smaller 220 and 221 series cartridges on the older printers when you'll just have to refill them much more frequently??

 

[Token]

Hmm... im wondering.. can you use this cartridges in a cli-8 printer? Not as-is, of course, but if you purge them, refill them, and swap their chips?
Its always good to have a supply of genuine canon cartridges handy, even if you have to look at them to measure ink level (resetted chips, while giving an ink level, wont be correct as the cart is smaller).

 

[pharmacist]

Token,

I would not risk to trust on the CLI-8 chip when attached to an CLI-221/521 cartridge. As you know the amount is 1/3rd less compared to the CLI-8 cartridge and when the chips says "low" the sponge is already dry as a mummy and your printhead is starved of ink already many sheets ago.

I think installing them into a BCI-6 based non-chipped printer is saver as the ink level is guarded by the prism and you will get a pretty accurate warning when the ink is going to run out and refill accordingly. But why should you ? You want to pay more for less......?

 

[Token]

Pharmacist:

i dont want to use the chip to monitor ink levels, as, like you said, the cart may indicate "low" but the sponge may already be dry. I was just wondering if i could use them at all (ie, without resetting them/using ink monitoring).

Its always handy to have a set of carts usable, even just for emergencies, or even for testing of different colours etc.

I just wanted to know whether it was physically possible (and not the fact that you'd have to be insane to reset and use them full time ), in a similar sort of way that they are used in the bci printers.

I dont have a resetter, so i just inspect the carts, and swap it out and refill if its less than one third full.
[thread hijacker: where can i get a cheap resetter in australia? all the ones that ive seen on ebay are, in my opinion, too expensive, and the postage is a killer]

Also, i dont plan to buy these carts; i plan to get them from those ink cartridge recycling bins, so, it will be free.

also: wow, 1/3 rd the ink capacity of cli-8 carts?? This makes me even happier that i got myself an ip3500 and ip4500...

 

[pharmacist]

Token,

something about the 1/3rd capacity: it is 1/3rd LESS, so 2/3rd of the capacity. Still twice the amount you have in mind (I think), but still to be avoided.

Canon is upsetting me with the latest printers, not only 35% less ink per cartridge (same price like the CLI-8) and also less nozzles in total. The IP4600 is inferior to the iP4500 both in ink and in the amount of print nozzles. We are having the financial crisis due to the greed of some individual bankholders and maybe soon a printer crisis....