Compatible...but is it?

[Technician]

Hi all..
I recently sent off for some compatible inks for my iX6850 printer and on their arrival I read the wording on the box very carefully.
The large black ink is labelled PGI-550XL and I assume the "PG" means it's a pigment based ink.
Just to be sure I messaged the supplier for confirmation and was surprised to be told that all the inks in the pack were dye based, just like the originals. I then messaged back to inform them the large black Canon ink is pigment based but did not receive a reply unsurprisingly.
My question then is are all these suppliers of compatible cartridges selling ink marked as pigment when it's really just dye based? Also can anyone recommend a supplier of compatible ink that is genuinely pigment ...guaranteed.

Ross...

 

[The Hat]

All these compatible carts can be filled with just about anything, but mostly they never supply pigment ink in their carts, it’s cheap and cheerful.

A good supplier to deal with is Octoinkjet.co.uk they are highly recommended my many of our members and completely trust worthy, and you can tell them The Hat sent you...

 

[Technician]

Thanks for the heads up er... Hat!
So what you're saying then is, if you really want to be sure of what's in the tank fill it yourself.

Ross..

 

[The Hat]

If you do not wish to use OEM inks then yes refill with the best quality inks you can get, aftermarket filled carts can vary enormously, but mostly the ink will be rubbish, there are a few good ones out there, but they are hard to source continually.

But there is still one caveat to overcome and consider, to get the best reliability and print quality you should refill your OEM XL carts, these can be expensive to purchase along with a resetter.

Your next option is to use refillable compatible carts, they can work extremely well for a short while, (1 or 2 fills) but from then on, they will need extra care and attention when refilling to make sure they will deliver a constant supply of ink to the print head.

I reckon it’s time for a re-think, because these 551 carts are not the easiest to refill for newbie just starting out and might be tempted into shortcuts, beware because there are no shortcuts in refilling, only stupid mistakes...

 

[stratman]

there are no shortcuts in refilling, only stupid mistake

Mine were always intelligent scientific inquiries.

 

[Technician]

I'm ok when it comes to re-filling cartridges, in my time I've replenished just about every brand of printer ink. Eventually I just came to the conclusion that for some one like me who's not a heavy printer ready filled compatibles was the way to go.
However trying to find a PGI-550XL type cartridge that contains genuine pigment ink is turning out to be impossible. Sellers say their inks are compatible with your printer, ok so they fit and they put out ink so where's the problem ? Well there isn't one until it screws your machine up, and having had that happen through using the wrong ink I don't want to travel down the same path again.
Hence I wondered if any of the good guys on here knew of a stockist that sells compatibles that contain the real McCoy.

 

[The Hat]

The only way I see for you to come to terms with your predicament is to buy an OEM XL black cart and continue to use the filled colour compatibles, it’s not the answer you were looking for, but its the best compromise, obviously the black is the most important colour for you use...

 

[PeterBJ]

However trying to find a PGI-550XL type cartridge that contains genuine pigment ink is turning out to be impossible. Sellers say their inks are compatible with your printer, ok so they fit and they put out ink so where's the problem ? Well there isn't one until it screws your machine up, and having had that happen through using the wrong ink I don't want to travel down the same path again.

When the Canon Pixma iP4000 was introduced cheap compatible cartridges became popular. Sadly a lot of these (too) cheap cartridges ruined the print heads, especially by blocking the pigment black nozzles.

A solution to this problem was to avoid the use of a bad quality pigment ink and fill the "big black" cartridge with dye black ink. This ink is much less prone to clog the pigment black nozzles and can work well. You will of course lose the benefits of the pigment ink, the print will not be water resistant and the print will be a little less sharp. After market PGI-550 cartridges filled with pigment ink might be hard to find, but a PGI-520 cartridge bought at Lidl was pigment. The Lidl cartridges were probably made by Peach. For a couple of tests to determine if the ink in the "big black cartridge" is dye or pigment see this post.

 

[Emulator]

I must say this is a bit of an eye opener for me (I use only dye inks). Can we have comments from our two professional ink suppliers please.

 

[The Hat]

Can we have comments from our two professional ink suppliers please.

The problem is with the aftermarket cartridges only and not the ink suppliers, I use KMP pigment black from OctoInkjet and I couldn’t be happier, it’s the Dogs liathróidí..