i560 yellow printing with magenta ??

[IGExpandingPanda]

Well, I succumbed and bought a new Multifunction Canon MX310. It was $129.99 at FutureShop (Canada that is) and $39.99 at The Source (a div of Circuit City here), so with FutureShop's 10% price guarantee, I paid $30.99 plus tax. Much cheaper than a new head for my old printer.

I have one other question: can the half full "demo" cartridges (PG40 and PG41) on this MX310 be topped up like a like a normal cartridge or are they physically smaller inside? Thanks for all your help.

http://www.refillinstructions.com/Canon/C24.htm
http://www.refillinstructions.com/Canon/C25.htm

Any model that takes the PG and CL series of cartridges isn't going to have chip resetting support. One "might" be able to retrofit a redsetter if one knew the pinouts, if the cartridges take the same chips.

http://www.videolandrefill.nl/reset_instructies.php
http://www.videolandrefill.nl/i/reset/canon_pg_cl.pdf
http://www.prohan.nl/Canon reset.html

Both are in dutch, but they basically tell you there are three ways to get the printer to ignore the meter, or you can do a trick with tape and inserting the cartridges twice moving the tape each time, and remove the tape and insert the cartridges. Note this is the first time I've heard of this trick, so I don't know if it works.

In terms of quality, the mx310 is likely to be similar to your i560. It offers one pigmented text tank, three dye. The nozzle size should be the same, 30pl for text, 5 and 2pl for color.


You "may" have saved money from the get go, but keep in mind the cost of these cartridges

PG40/CL41 combo CAD$58.58 staples Canada
PG50/CL51 combo CAD$67.86 staples Canada

The ultimate measure would be how many prints you can get from a given cartridge. Often times one burns out the head on the cartridge type cartridges as you don't really have a meter. If you are able to enable metering, you should enjoy better luck. But I honestly don't know how many times a given cartridge can be refilled.

If I was you, and I would have said this if I knew you were a Canadian user, I would have considered the ip3500.
http://estore.canon.ca/product_catalogue/cat_product_detail.asp

I didn't speak of this model since you can't buy it in the states anymore. It's pretty much on par with the i550 except with newer inks. They didn't include duplex printing or CD printing.

mx310 - $31+tax
unknown quantity. Extra features like scanner

ip3500 - $50 + tax (canon estore canada)
Known quantity

 

[RSole]

Hmm, I knew each cartridge on the MX310 has a print head on it but did not know that they might have a short life.
What is the difference between a Dutch comedian and an empty toilet paper roll? One is a hollow cylinder and the other is a silly Hollander. As for those Dutch instructions, they should not be a problem since I was born in Holland and can understand it some, except if it gets too technical.

I have not yet taken the MX310 out of the box as I am wary of expensive consumables... I gotta check check out the other deals as you had mentioned....

 

[RSole]

At this site: http://www.imagerzone.com/ForumsPro/viewtopic/p=56799.html they mention that some printers phone home (via your PC's internet connection) and get updated firmware that disables/burns out the circuitry in the cartridge. I assume that some printers have that capability right from the factory. Is that what those Dutch instructions work around? They mention covering various rows of contacts as you insert and remove the carts. Other instruction are as simple a holding down the stop, reset or paper feed button for 5 seconds, but this permanently disables the ink counter. I believe the Dutch instruction let the counter still function. Am I correct? Can you please comment on what I just wrote? Thanks, Ink Jet Guru.

 

[IGExpandingPanda]

Hmm, I knew each cartridge on the MX310 has a print head on it but did not know that they might have a short life.
What is the difference between a Dutch comedian and an empty toilet paper roll? One is a hollow cylinder and the other is a silly Hollander. As for those Dutch instructions, they should not be a problem since I was born in Holland and can understand it some, except if it gets too technical.

I have not yet taken the MX310 out of the box as I am wary of expensive consumables... I gotta check check out the other deals as you had mentioned....

Well, this is where I can't give you honest advice based on experience or data.

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=896&p=2

Headphonesman has the most relevant data regarding cartridges of this series.

It could be if you keep these things refilled and don't let them run out you can enjoy similar life to separate head. I don't know. With a valid ink meter, I imagine 5x is possible.

Separate ink tanks will cost you more, and their life too is limited. You can reverse flush them to clean them, and that seems to extend their life.

$20 CDN big black PGI-5bk
$54 ($18x3) color color cli8
$74 (add $18 for 5 tank models)
(price up from about $60 from the ip3000)

Office depot price for pg tanks
CDN $35 PG50
CDN $45 CL51
$80

PG40+CL41 set
CDN $59.99

CDN $23 PG30
CDN $19 CL31
$42

Obviously if you're refilling, and you can refill them, the PG30s would seem to be a superior value. I presume they are the same volume inside, but I've never met one.

 

[IGExpandingPanda]

At this site: http://www.imagerzone.com/ForumsPro/viewtopic/p=56799.html they mention that some printers phone home (via your PC's internet connection) and get updated firmware that disables/burns out the circuitry in the cartridge. I assume that some printers have that capability right from the factory. Is that what those Dutch instructions work around? They mention covering various rows of contacts as you insert and remove the carts. Other instruction are as simple a holding down the stop, reset or paper feed button for 5 seconds, but this permanently disables the ink counter. I believe the Dutch instruction let the counter still function. Am I correct? Can you please comment on what I just wrote? Thanks, Ink Jet Guru.

Until now I thought Canons didn't phone home.
I can report on the ip3000, ip5200, mp760, mp830.
1) I've NEVER had the canon driver trigger my firewall (Tiny Firewall)
2) I've NEVER had the driver automatically updated.
3) I've NEVER had a rom updated reflected in my service print pages

Your link might be correct, the PG/CL series of printers, MP and MX under 500, and iP under 3000 might. If they do, I'd contact the correct agencies, in my case the state attorney general and the FTC.

You have more up to date information than I do. I never heard of the "Extended Survey" software before. It could be you can avoid installing it. It also seems one can uninstall it if it's installed.

I'm sure it's possible on older canons to update the roms. AFAIK the ip3000 used EEproms. I've never done a rom update, nor found software to do a rom update, otherwise I would have investigated tweeking with the roms to disable the counter and depend on the prism.

I don't really understand dutch, but I sort of gathered from the instructions the tape procedure was to fool the printer into flashing the rom on the cartridge as being full.

I can only really speak on cartridges I have direct experience with, and that's the PGI-5bk and CLI-8s. I refill those. I've been refilling them for a couple of years now without issue except the loss of the meter. Now I have a chip resetter, it's a non-issue.

 

[chobo2]

Well, I succumbed and bought a new Multifunction Canon MX310. It was $129.99 at FutureShop (Canada that is) and $39.99 at The Source (a div of Circuit City here), so with FutureShop's 10% price guarantee, I paid $30.99 plus tax. Much cheaper than a new head for my old printer.

I have one other question: can the half full "demo" cartridges (PG40 and PG41) on this MX310 be topped up like a like a normal cartridge or are they physically smaller inside? Thanks for all your help.

Wow that is a pretty sweet deal. I am shocked that "The source" actually had a good deal for once. Did futureShop give you a hard time to do it? I know sometimes when I do it at staples and even at futureshop they sometimes give me a hard time. I know one time at staples I was trying to price match something 30Dollars CAD down and they gave me the around. I only saved $3 and I would have not even bothered if it was not for the fact that when I went to futureshop to buy the item in question(they where having the sale) all the packages where ripped open so I did not want to buy something that was ripped open.

They actually phoned futureshop to see if the item was and stock and then needed the flyer and crap to keep for a personal record. It took like 30mins. Then another time I priced something down by $80 at staples(with price match the item came out to be like $15) and it took like 5mins they did not ask to keep the page for proof nor did they start phoning futureshop up.

I also had the same problem as you with my cannon i560. Magenta was causing me problems too. When I printed all the colors out magenta would always over power yellow and it would just turn out that I had 2 magenta colors instead of yellow. This happened to me like a couple weeks after I bought refill ink from percision inks and was refilling it myself. I tried everything you tired and I even went out and bought 4 new carts(generic not cannon genuine) to see if it was because of my refilling method or whatever(it was my first time refilling carts).

So I ended up doing what you did I went out and bought a new printer(brother mfc-465cn). I did not get as good deal as you. With the tax, warranty and the stupid enviromental tax it came out to be $99CAD.

When I was looking for a printer I wanted it to be cheap and I wanted to buy it from staples because of the warranty. Usually warranty sucks especially from futureshop but since my item was under $250 I paid only $10 for the warranty and if I have any problems with it I can return it with no questions asked and they will give me a new printer. They actually stand by this since I had to do this on other items. The best thing is since they don't have any service stations in their stores they have to take your word on it. So if the printer is not even broken I could return it and say it is.

I bought the warranty since it gives me piece of mind since when my printer broke it was just like 2 weeks after I started refilling so I was kinda scared it was something to do with the ink. Now I can just try as many different ink brands in the next 2 years and if breaks well at least I am not out $99.

On the plus side if the ink breaks my printer or my printer just breaks and I have to get a new printer I get a full new set of of genuine ink carts(not half carts but full carts) since my brother printer came with a full set of carts what is pretty sweet since the cost of those 4 carts would cost about $80.