Unfortunately where i live, no where sells cli-8 catridges, so i have to constantly source them from the US. Can cli-6 catridges be used in place of cli-8 with new canon printers like the mp500?
The answer is no. CLI-8 has a chip on it. If you are able to plug in a BCI-6 (I doubt it) it will not work still. You don't need to keep buying CLI-8 cartridges. Why not refill them? A refill kit will last 6 months easily for you. You reuse your CLI-8 over and over again. It has been done by many. Very few prolems were reported.
Although I haven't tried it, because I don't have a printer that uses the CLI-8 cartridges, I do have some CLI-8 cartridges and it is obvious that a BCI-6 cartridge will not fit in a CLI-8 slot. But a CLI-8 cartridge will fit in a BCI-6 slot.