Ink in the UK (i9950, initially)

Ivan

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Living in England it is nearly impossible to get hold of inks and other consumables that are "known" qualities by review or reputation.

I'm looking for a good quality aftermarket refill solution for my i9950 for producing limited editions which will be laminated for sale. (I know about the pro pigment anti-dye archival issues, btw.) but in the short term, I'll be happy just to get holf good filled tanks.

Suppliers of the reviews and best - known inks on these forums tend to be based in the USA and they either won't supply the U.K. at all or their shipping rates are laughably expensive.

There are plenty of suppliers of ink tanks and refill kit who are based in Britain, but as far as I can see these are nearly always using "Universal" compromise inks, which is NOT what I am after, or are a "part set" whose range doesn't include red and green. That makes me suspicious of just how "specifically Canon" the contents might be.

I'm obviously going to have to do research anyway, so I thought I'd formalize it and see if anyone else can contribute.

All I'm doing initially is asking suppliers of well reviewd inks if they can supply to the UK, with typical shipping prices if they can, or I'm sending something like the following message to ink vendors via their contact pages. I'm leaving it as open as possible


---------------------

(forum URL included)
Sirs.

Could you tell me please, the brand and quality reference of the ink used in the ranges:-

Canon, BCI-6** , 8-colours;

e.g. cartridges, refill kits, refill repeats -:together with any other claims and specifications for the record?
Thank you

Faithfully,

________________

what this _should_ mean to the recipient is

Someon's looking for high quality results balanced well against price, with a view to ranking it in recommendation in information forums.

This is Free adverting based entirely on how good the product and service _ is_, not on how good the marketing is.
No-one's sking for any kind of a deal here, but this is going to to lead to a "trusted" market position and increasing repeat orders for the supplier who gets this right.

_________________

but it might not. I'm open to suggestions.


Any responses I get I'll upload here, and if anyone has any appropriate information or experiences, maybe they could too?
If enough show an interest we might actually get the sticky or FAQ rhat I initially came here looking for.

If any admin want to move this or truncate it or incorporate it into anything, please feel free.
 

stickus

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I would advise you to try your local Cartridge World. The inks they use are either Formulabs or OCP depending on the make of cartridge they are refilling.
Regards
Stickus
 

Ivan

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Thanks. I'd had a look at their site and written to 'em for a quote as there is no relevant information on the site.

I've called in one of their stores in "curious" mode but I got the very distinct impression that they only squirted generic ink into whatever cartrige they were handed and that their market was purely the "cheapness is our only criterion" home or small non-graphics user.

No mention of ink brand on the site, btw, so ta for that.
 

Grandad35

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Ivan,

I spent a little time googling for U.K. inks. You don't really have a lot of options, do you? Lyson inks are manufactured in the U.K., but they only have 6 colors and the prefilled carts cost as much as Canon carts do in the US (8.79 plus VAT). Even their bulk inks are pricy (16.50 plus VAT for 125 ml).
http://www.marrutt.co.uk/fotonic-con-9000.php
http://www.marrutt.co.uk/fotonic-6000.php

BTW, AFAIK the red and green inks are only used in 2 of the newer, more expensive Canon printers (i8500/i9900), so there isn't nearly as much demand for them as there is for the other 6 colors - it is only recently that the red and green bulk inks became widely available in the US. The usage of these inks is so low (mostly in cleaning cycles) that it would be practical to use OEM carts for these 2 colors.

This situation would seem to be a good chance for an enterprising individual to make an agreement with a proven supplier in the US to act as a European (or at least U.K.) office for their products. I'll wager that the reason for the high shipping costs has to do with customs, paperwork, claims, returns, etc. A single twice-weekly shipment of multiple pre-packaged, pre-labeled individual orders to the same U.K. location would greatly reduce the shipping/paperwork costs and only add a week to the total delivery time. Since you are obviously already set up to sell to the public .....

Stickus - does Cartridge World sell bulk ink or do they also provide the labor to refill your carts? They don't list BCI-6 carts, and they don't quote refill prices except on a per-case basis - do you know how much they charge to refill a BCI-6?
 

Ivan

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www.game4game.co.uk
ink cartridges at a great price.
Phone: 01935 825049
Fax: 01935 825049
URL: <http://www.game4game.co.uk/


Hi Ivan

These inks are of iso9001 quality standard, brand new compatables, 100% no quibble money back guarentee if faulty (faulty cartridges are very rare in these). Print quality up to epson original quality.We have hundreds of satisfied customers on our books inc. business and schools.

cheers

kev

-------------------------------------------------
the above was received in response to my asking:
Subject: Free marketing in information forums Message:

Sirs.
Could you tell me please, the brand and quality reference of the ink used in the ranges:-
Canon, BCI-6** , 8-colours; e.g. cartridges, refill kits, refill repeats
-:together with any other claims and specifications for the record?
Faithfully,

Unfortunately, I have no information in the reply about the branding or provenance of the ink supplied, just that the supply meets iso9001 quality standard.

iso9001 quality standard ib NOT a specification for inkstuffs or colour pr physical or optical properties. It is a standard for workflow, protocols and procedures and basically says "we've got a set of rules that we follow and we've got a mission statement."
 

Nifty

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I think the whole "iso9001 quality standard" is irrelevant and doesn't give any guarantees of the ink and how well it will / won't work in your printer.
 

Grandad35

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Ivan said:
iso9001 quality standard ib NOT a specification for inkstuffs or colour pr physical or optical properties. It is a standard for workflow, protocols and procedures and basically says "we've got a set of rules that we follow and we've got a mission statement."
Ivan said it well. If your standards say "We sell junk and rip off our customers" and you follow those standards, you technically comply with ISO 9000/9001/9002. You might have a little trouble getting that wording past the approval agency, so you might have to say something like: "We will constantly endeavor to locate lower cost sources for our inks. We will require certification from all suppliers that they are shipping acceptable products to us." As long as you get some sort of certification from your supplier, you are in complete compliance with your standards, even if your supplier just mixes hair dye into a pail of water.
 

Nifty

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LOL :lol: :D That was funny! But, on the same note it's sad that it is true.
 
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