replacement ink

[nak]

Hi,
I need to buy new ink for my canon mp610 and IP4500.
I previously bought ink from Computer Friends who I believe is out of business.
I have no idea who manufactured the ink.
My question is "Do I have to buy new cartridges and replace all the ink?"
Can I just add the new ink to the existing cartridge?
Can I integrate the new cartridges (with new ink) to the existing cartridges (old ink)?
I also need a referral to a company for the cartridges and ink.
thank you

 

[fotofreek]

When I started refilling canon carts about 9-10 years ago Computer Friends was recommended by Neil Slade, the person who preceeded this Forum in evaluating inks and techniques for refilling. Computer Friends sold a refilling kit at that time which included the inks, syringes, and rubber plugs. Neil suggested that, after buying the kit, we could buy the same ink from MIS at a lower cost. He had determined that both sold Imaging Specialist inks, Today that ink can be purchased from MIS or from Precision Colors. I bought from MIS for several years before Precision Colors started their business. I now buy IS inks from Precision Colors. They are more competative pricewise, identify the inks as Image Specialist on the label, and the service is excellent.

The best cartridges are OEM Canon carts. They can be reused for years but may require purging occasionally to keep them feeding ink properly. You should consider purging the carts (see previous posts) if the ink in them was purchase many years ago. The shelf life for these refill inks is two years. In the past I simply added IS inks to an OEM cart after the original Canon ink was used up. I also added new ink from MIS to carts that had used the ink from Computer Friends. Appeared to be no different. If you are at all concerned, the safest thing to do is purge the carts before adding new ink.

I just googled Computer Friends and found the following links: http://www.sourcedata.com/500/000183.html which has contact information, and http://cfriends.info/ which is a web site in progress. MIS is listed as a vendor for IS but didn't indentify the ink that you buy from them as IS inks. Neither did Computer Friends. Precision Colors definitely identifies the inks as made by IS.

 

[nak]

Fotofreek,
Thank you so much for the information.
While reading your response, I recall reading posts by Neil.
I'll go to Precision Colors and order ink.
Thanks again.