Recommendations for a newbie Kiwi please

[bs1999bs]

I have an old Canon BJC-210SP and it has been a real workhorse. I bought bulk ink and have successfully reinked it innumerable times. With a head in the cartridge I am relaxed about the ink I used because it was easy to replace the cartridge in the event of a bad ink choice. As it was I only experienced one failure over the years and this was likely because I was getting careless in my cleaning the head. I found using hot water was sufficient to keep it clean.

Latterly I bought a Brother DCP 115C but now I am less relaxed given that the history of Brother heads appears shocking and because the head/s are fixed and unable to be replaced (at prohibitive cost) I am uncertain how I can reliably refill myself.

As a newbie can I ask please:
1 Is there only one printhead to cover all colours? Probably a real silly question but as my need for colour is tiny I wondered if low colour content (Brother always signifies low when there is, I am told, quite a reasonable amount left) runs the risk of destroying or fouling the ability to print black. Reinking may not see a compatible ink being used in a previously bought but now (nearly) empty cartridge.
2 In the event the printhead became unserviceable would I be able to continue to use the printer just as a scanner?
3 Here in NZ we don't seem to have very good access to a range of bulk ink so my choices are somewhat limited - but I am still researching that as Australia seems an option for easier supply.

Any thoughts on a printer that offers the same ability as in my old Canon with BC 03 where I can refill without the worry of wrecking a head hidden deep in the bowels of the printer which would make it far too costly to take chances with?

Thanks all from NZ

 

[nanosec]

I don't know how it is for there, but in Canada the older gen Canon printers are almost a dime a dozen.
I can walk into a second hand shop and find older canons which only have no ink as the reason why they were donated.

I know there's a guy at magink@froggy.com.au who can do bulk ink.

Yes the scanner portion will still work even if it doesn't print.

I personally would stick with Canon, as much as I hate their DRM on their printers, they are pretty easy to refill and you can always buy replacement print heads.


The models you should try to find used are: Ip4300 Ip4500

If you can find one of these you're pretty much set for hassle free refilling with a reset tool.

I hope this helped.

 

[ghwellsjr]

And if you want to avoid the reset tool, find a used printer that uses BCI-6 cartridges. In the USA, there are always MP780 all-in-ones for sale on eBay. The iP4000 uses the same print head but it is just a printer. They seem to be a little harder to find at a good price.

The BCI-6 (and BCI-5) cartridges are even easier to refill than the BC-03, especially if you use the German method.