Good new printer / after market carts ???

[ssteve731]

A good buddy of mine was just asking for advice about a new printer, and so of course the first thing I told him was, to make sure he could buy aftermarket ink carts for it.

Now, I believe my Canon iP6000D was just about one of the last Canon's which would use non-chipped carts.

So, for my buddy {or myself, should my iP6000D have a catastrophic failure} what choices are out there ? I'd probably prefer another Canon, or an Epson, myself, which is what I told my buddy, but you guys might have other suggestions.

My buddy said price wasn't that big of an issue, but I told him that nowadays, you could get a pretty nice printer in the $125 to $150 range, and beyond that, you were paying for either more bells and whstles, or a larger format....

But anyway, suggestions on a new printer please....
Thank you,
Fish Chris

 

[johnsmith5097]

Americans generated nearly 246 million tons of waste in 2005, most of which ended up in landfills. Each year, over 350 million inkjet cartridges end up in landfills, and that number is growing. With many consumers searching for green solutions, the inkjet printer and its disposable ink cartridges are one area of their lives where they can make a difference. A number of inkjet cartridge refill options have sprung up recently. So much so, that retailers like OfficeMax and Walgreens have added inkjet refill systems to their locations.
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johnsmith

Epson T048
Epson T048

 

[ssteve731]

Is this a spam posting ???

I'm not looking for refill options. I'm asking about a nice new printer, which can use aftermarket carts.

Fish

 

[chaosoffar]

Most of the forum topics regard refilling so answers in that direction are somewhat likely. Epsons seem easier to get refillable cartridges for then aftermarkets now. You can get aftermarket cartridges for the better Canon printers(IP4500 etc.) but they come without chips which you have to switch off of your original Canon carts. If you go that route you lose ink monitoring unless you buy a resetter. I have a CX4400 which for a while aftermarket carts were hard to come by, they seem readily available now though. Also from what I've heard Epson isn't anywhere near reliable atm, for a while if you called and your printer needed replaced they didn't want it back. Personally considering how much I've sworn at my CX4400 I'd buy a Canon if I were buying another printer and buy a resetter if necessary.
You don't say what the printer will be used for and if printing quality is a concern, although I would guess not as aftermarket carts usually mean cheap ink.

 

[fotofreek]

Americans generated nearly 246 million tons of waste in 2005, most of which ended up in landfills. Each year, over 350 million inkjet cartridges end up in landfills, and that number is growing. With many consumers searching for green solutions, the inkjet printer and its disposable ink cartridges are one area of their lives where they can make a difference. A number of inkjet cartridge refill options have sprung up recently. So much so, that retailers like OfficeMax and Walgreens have added inkjet refill systems to their locations.
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johnsmith

Epson T048
Epson T048

In my estimation, not spam but a valuable contribution. There are several issues with the inkjet manufacturing and sales model that are a problem. The one we deal with on this forum most prominantly is the extremely high cost of OEM inks. Makes gasoline look like the greatest bargain in the world at $5.00! Good thing we don't run our cars on OEM inkjet ink! Another major issue is the "throw-away" society that spawns development of 13 ml. ink containers that are designed to toss into the landfill. Several forum participants have also reported on finding inkjet printers at thrift shops for a few dollars that were relatively easy to bring back to life with techniques, some of which should be in the user manuals. The waste ink pad issue is another ploy that sends tons of printers to the dump. Although it is messy, there should be some way for the end user to change it out and keep the printer running. Surely, a manufacturer could design a cartridge-like pad that can be easily handled and changed. That is, if the companies really were consumer friendly!!!

 

[ssteve731]

Thank you guys.

Chaosoffar, your probably right. But i've been down the refilling path already, and it was just a big pain in the arse. Oh sure, a person could get good enough at it, that it became substantially easier.... but it will never be as easy as > I'm sitting at my PC doing some printing, the low ink level indicator pops up (say its for cyan) I reach over, while it's finishing the print that it's working on, grab a cyan cart from my ink cart box, and as soon as its ready, I throw it in, and bam, I'm right back printing..... without ever having to have stood up.

My buddy plans to print mostly full color photos, on glossy photo paper..... Just like I do. I've used Ink Grabber BCI-6 compatible carts for a few years now. Always had excellent colors...... although admittedly, I did go through a period of leaking carts, which wasted at least 1 print head.... and now the latest carts don't seem to have real accurate color..... So, while I'm primarily asking, for my buddy, theirs a good chance I might get a new printer myself. Getting low on BCI-6 carts anyway.

You said > Epsons seem easier to get refillable cartridges for then aftermarkets now. < Okay. Which models should I consider ?

Fish

 

[chaosoffar]

You said > Epsons seem easier to get refillable cartridges for then aftermarkets now. < Okay. Which models should I consider ?

Fish

Well, I'm not a printing expert or someone who sees alot of printers like some on here, but if going Epson I'd avoid the R280 and prolly Epson's latest generation period. I'd prolly try for a C88+(Newegg has some atm if from the US) or maybe a R260, should be plenty of cart options for either.

The Alotofthings blog has some interesting articles about recent Epson printers: http://www.alotofthings.com/viartshop/articles.php?category_id=57