CLI-8 ink in Pixma IP4700 CLI-521 cartridges: experience?

[BWlover]

Dear all, sort of slipped this question in in another post already, but thought it would be more appropriate here...
I am in a bit of a fix. I am looking for refill ink for a IP4700 with CLI-521 cartridges. Thought I go for inktec since I hear good things about this ink.
However, they don't sell the whole range here. I have read that you can use CLI-8 ink in CLI-521 cartridges and have also seen some websites advertising inks as CLI-8/CLI-521 ink. So it should not be far off... (I hope)
However, I have also seen people saying that you can use CLI-8 inks in old BCI-6 cartridges (still having a S800 which I am going to try to convert to B&W-only - see other post - my attention was drawn to this). Interestingly enough if I would like to refill my BCI-6 catridges with Inktec ink, I would HAVE to switch to CLI-8 inks since they don't sell BCI-6 photo magenta and photo cyan (they do sell the other BCI-6 inks).
This would mean that bci-6 ~ cli-8 ~ cli-521, but ghwellsjr pointed out (wow, he(or she?) is really helping out a lot of people here!) Canon changed there inks along the way.
So my question: anyone has any experience with CLI-8 replacement inks (esp. Inktec) for CLI-521??? If there is a clear color shift, is it correctable via printer driver settings or colour adjustment in image editing program?

 

[chirantha7777]

I used BCI-6 Inktec ink in my CLI-8 IP3500 and after sometime it killed my print head

BCI-6 ink is a bit darker than CLI-8 ink

 

[websnail]

I can't give you any experiences as I've not got a PGI-220BK style printer here (all iP4500 or older)... However I do know that the inks I stock for the PGI-5BK is completely different to the PGI-220BK... I'm also aware that as of the iP4600 printer the build quality of the general printer has dropped dramatically.. I have no idea at all what that means in terms of the printhead but my guess would be that it hasn't improved.

Bottom line I wouldn't risk it... Dyebase inks can probably be used again but off the top of my head I'm pretty sure the Cyan and Magenta are also different so colour values will be off too..

Hasten to add, I'm not trying to pimp my product but if you don't want to potentially wear out a printer I'd consider getting a fresh supply specifically for your model.

 

[nanosec]

I use CLI-8 ink in the newer 4700 & 4600 models with no issues whatsoever. If we're looking at how many times refilled, I would say 25 times on the 4600 for each color and maybe 10 on each color in the 4700s.

This is of course my own personal experience, so take it with a grain of salt!

 

[The Hat]

I too use the same colour dye ink in all my cartridges BCI-6 / 8 / 521 with no running problems. The colour however I have noticed does start to fade in day-light after two years. So please remember it is my choice to use the same dye ink in all my printers for convenience sake, so take that on board. The only problem I had with a clogged print head is when I put a sample of pigment black into (BCI-3eBK) as a trail. It went very well and achieved near perfect quality print but started to show banding after 6 pages of text & graphics, so ended another trail..

Neil Slade once said If you want Canon quality then buy Canon ink..

 

[ghwellsjr]

Dear all, sort of slipped this question in in another post already, but thought it would be more appropriate here...
I am in a bit of a fix. I am looking for refill ink for a IP4700 with CLI-521 cartridges. Thought I go for inktec since I hear good things about this ink.
However, they don't sell the whole range here. I have read that you can use CLI-8 ink in CLI-521 cartridges and have also seen some websites advertising inks as CLI-8/CLI-521 ink. So it should not be far off... (I hope)
However, I have also seen people saying that you can use CLI-8 inks in old BCI-6 cartridges (still having a S800 which I am going to try to convert to B&W-only - see other post - my attention was drawn to this). Interestingly enough if I would like to refill my BCI-6 catridges with Inktec ink, I would HAVE to switch to CLI-8 inks since they don't sell BCI-6 photo magenta and photo cyan (they do sell the other BCI-6 inks).
This would mean that bci-6 ~ cli-8 ~ cli-521, but ghwellsjr pointed out (wow, he(or she?) is really helping out a lot of people here!) Canon changed there inks along the way.
So my question: anyone has any experience with CLI-8 replacement inks (esp. Inktec) for CLI-521??? If there is a clear color shift, is it correctable via printer driver settings or colour adjustment in image editing program?

FIrst off, I'm a he, George is my name.

Second, where is "here" for you? I'm not aware that Inktec photo magenta and photo cyan are no longer available for BCI-6 cartridges. The USA supplier still lists it, but then they still list the BCI-3eBK ink which has been discontinued. That pigment black ink causes clogging so I wouldn't use it anyway and I'm not sure about any other Inktec pigment ink. By the way, don't buy their compatible cartridges as they are not necessarily made by Inktec and do not contain Inktec ink.

Third, I know that there is is significant difference between the shades of the magenta and cyan inks in the BCI-6 and CLI-8 cartridges. I would not use them interchangeably unless you compensate by profiling or you just don't care about your colors. I'm color blind and I can tell the difference.

I'm not aware that Inktec has come out with specific inks for any cartridges beyond the CLI-8. I don't know if that means the original cartridges use the same inks but it is not hard to test this. Just do a nozzle check and some photo printouts on your printer that uses Canon OEM CLI-521 cartridges, then flush the cartridges, dry them, refill them with Inktec CLI-8 inks, do the same printouts again and compare them. That's what I did to determine that there was a difference between the BCI and CLI-8 OEM cartridges.

 

[pharmacist]

Hi ghwellsjr,

There is a specific Inktec CLI-221/521 ink. Have a look here:

http://www.tintenalarm.de/inktec-dr...non-cli521c-druckerpatrone-pixma-p-16775.html

Also a specific PGI-520/220 pigment ink:

http://www.tintenalarm.de/inktec-dr...on-pgi520bk-druckerpatrone-pixma-p-16777.html

According to Inktec the dye formulation has been significantly improved to be more fade resistant against UV and oxidative gases and produce long lasting pictures (see website of Inktec.com).

 

[ghwellsjr]

Unfortunately, Inktec has only one supplier in the USA and they only supply the very small syringe/bottles which I happen to like for refilling with the German method but as far as I can tell, they only sell the CLI-211 and CLI-221 in kits where you get one of each color and it is very expensive.

Pharmacist, have you been able to find out if Inktec has ever owned up to the clogging problem of the BCI-3eBK ink and if that is why they took it off the market? More importantly, have they made a claim that the problem was fixed in any of their later pigment black inks?

 

[leo8088]

The fact that Canon Pro9000 MKII, Pro9000, ip9900, ip9950 and ip8500 all have a same print head (same part number) I simply believe the inks are interchangeable among the different cartridges for different printers. I have used the same Hobbicolors UW8 inks on both CLI-8 and BCI-6 ink cartridges for several older/newer printers for many years without problems. I refilled my neighbor's ip4700 with my Hobbicolors UW8 (dye based) and PMT (pigment based) inks. His ip4700 has PGI-220 and CLI-221s. As far as I know his printer is working great.

I really don't have any desire whatsoever to use different inks for my printers with BCI-6 cartridges. It is so much easier to simply refill all of them with the same set of Hobbicolors inks. My MP780 never printed photos as good as my ip4300 did when they both had the original OEM cartridges with OEM inks. The most important requirement for me is that the ink does not clog my print heads. To me the UW8 ink is the safest ink I have used so far. I am using the ink on my new Pro9000 MKII too. The colors are just fabulous.

 

[BWlover]

I am living in the Netherlands. People seem to be very fond of third party cartridges, but not of refilling... My experience with the Pelikan cartridges is positive: less than half the price, nearly identical colours, but very hard to get (only one site sells all I need for a reasonable price, but they are nearly always out of stock; they mentioned that they have problems with their supply). But not with the other cartridges: 123inkt.nl which is the biggest here and wins all kind of 'webstore awards' sells colours which are completely different, give terrible color cast, and contain less ink than the Canon or Pelikan ones while advertising that they contain more....
Inktec is available but not the whole range (and very expensive). Luckily, I have found a nice German website where they sell all of the inks in 100,250 and 1000 mls quantities. Shipping to the Netherlands is not to expensive.
Hobbicolors are not sold here, it seems. Maybe I have to have a look via German sites. People are selling it via eBay from the US. No experience with that yet.
I am still doubting between Inktec and Hobbicolors...