CLI-8 best source for generics

[dwolf]

I'd rather just buy generics instead of the refill route.. I've bought other cartridges from Fillserv that seamed fine enough... true my old canon did end up with clogged heads, but that could have happened even if I was using canon carts.. So any advice on places to purchase carts ?

 

[fotofreek]

dwolf - I take it you are looking for prefilled aftermarket carts. the only ones out there require that you transplant the chip from the OEM Canon cart to the aftermarket cart - not necessarily a trouble free procedure. Better, in my estimation, to buy bulk ink formulated for these carts and refill them. One way or another you will have to do something other than just buy an aftermarket cart and pop it into the printer. Either way, you will lose the ink monitoring function and have to monitor the ink levels manually. Not a big deal, but if you run the cart dry you risk damaging the printhead.

 

[dwolf]

At the moment I would rather transfer the chip than refill... So any recommendations on places to purchase these carts

 

[binkie]

At the moment I would rather transfer the chip than refill... So any recommendations on places to purchase these carts

dwolf,

I can probably refill a few sets of cartridges before you can transfer the chips on one set. If you have never refilled a set of cartridge, don't be skidish. It's straight foward and quick - at least after the first couple of attempts. There are a lot of good instructions on the forum sites. You also can control the brand of ink you are getting and keep it consistent. When you by third party cartridges, most of the time you don't know what ink you are getting or if the ink will be the same from cartridge set to cartridge set.

PS- The above comments a reflection of my experience in refilling Canon cartridges. If you have a Lexmark or Brother printer, good luck! That just goes to show that you should consider ease of refilling when buying a printer. You can save a ton of money.

binkie

 

[panos]

binkie is right.

I think the safest routes for refilling are:

To refill the original cartridges

or

To use a constant ink flow system

 

[dwolf]

:/ okay if I were to go the refill route.. a good source for that ?? price and quality equally important.
And I know I can probably seek out the instructions, but if you can piont toward good simple instructions that would be great.. In the past I found people putting up different approaches and debating which worked better ??
Thanks

 

[on30trainman]

I have been using Hobbicolor inks for a year now and have had good results. He has recently introduced an updated line of inks for the newer Canons - his UW8 series. Even though I am using the older Canon printers (ip4000 and ip6000D) I have switched over to the UW8 inks - they seem to give me a more lively picture than his previous BCI-6 inks. For the older Canon printers he provides a kit with the inks, syringe and empty cartridges. For the newer series his kit consists of the inks, a syringe and plastic caps for the original cartridges. As far as filing goes - I use 2 oz squeeze bottles and 1.75" needles from Howard Electronics to fill - one of the forum members clued me to this method. It is much less messier for me than trying to load a syringe and put ink into the cartridges. A few trys with either method are needed until one becomes comfortable/proficient doing it. Hobbicolors provides a complete instruction sheet for filling using the syringe - you can get it from him before you order. Right now Hobbicolor inks are only available via E-Bay, but I have gotten to the point of sending him an email (hobbi-host@hobbicolors.com) and order that way. He uses Paypal. He is very quick to answer emails and fill orders. Yesterday I sent him an email with what I wanted and asked for pricing - he answered the email within 2 hours and sent me an invoice. I sent the Paypal payment and he shipped the same day. Always great service so far.

Others here have their favorite inks also. Hopefully they will jump in with their comments.

One thing that does come up when using other than OEM inks is the differences in color charactistics between inks. They are not all alike. If you are picky with your printing you may need to look into printer profiles for your ink/paper combo. I personally use a program called Profile Prism. It was need with the first Hobbicolor inks (BCI-6) I used. The newer UW8 inks do seem much closer to the Canon inks, but I did make a profile anyways. Even using Canon inks on non Canon paper can produce mixed results - both ink and paper enter into the equation.

Hope this helps you - refilling is not a hard task, just takes some practice. You may have to consider buying a second set of Canon cartridges before refilling. It is not good to leave the printhead without a cartridge in place. The ink in the head may dry out while you are refilling the empty cartridge.

Steve W.

 

[dwolf]

kbay2002

Is this the guy

 

[on30trainman]

Yes that is his ebay ID - his name is Dave. As I said he is very quick to answer your questions and also helpful.

Steve W.

 

[sarond]

Hope this is not too late,

I have been contemplating getting these http://www.ecbinkjet.com.au/CCB3.htm They are a separate tank and clip design, this way you only have to transplant the chip once. I think they are Skyhorse brand.

This may not help you as they are in Australia.