Which printers works best with refills or Continuous Ink Systems!

[Old Chipper]

I been using CIS for 4-5 yrs, mostly in Lexmark and HPs. MY year old HP Pro550 has quit on me. Their tech tells me the Non HP ink messed up the print heads. New print heads would cost almost as much as a new printer. Dont think the ink was the problem any way. I have always tried to buy the best ink I could get! Instead of the normal route of buying a printer, then looking for a ink system. I thought I would ask you guys which printers adopt best to these ink systems. I would like a printer I can use to print on both sides. Duplex would be nice but as long it does the job I dont mind turning the paper myself. somewhere between $100-$400. I print 200-500 page reports, once in awhile, but not everyday and so far not more than 10 sets per job They are text with 50-75 color photos. The Pro K550 did a fair job when it worked. It often would grab more than one sheet. I dont care if it is slow, noisy or ugly as long as it prints decent and I dont have to fiddle with it all the time. Hope you all can help me! I looked at over 500 reviews last nite and am now more confused than ever.
Thanks.

 

[websnail]

Not sure if you mean the Officejet K550 but either way right now I think probably one of the better printers for CIS installation would be the K5400. Mainly because the cartridges are static while the printheads are on what amounts to a CIS rig already built into the printer (just like the K550)

The bog standard USB only version is pretty cheap and will do the job well and if you want more you could opt for the more expensive versions with networking, duplexer or even the extra paper tray.

The only thing I would warn you about though is there are few really poor CIS kits and refillable cartridges with this model printer. Most of them side-step the ink detection/safety feature that's built into the cartridges (and no, I don't mean the chips). Rather than repeat myself here's the ebay guide I wrote a ways back:
http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/Cartridge...Officejet-printers_W0QQugidZ10000000005564255

Last thing is that the HP88 printheads have a chequered history in terms of reliability... I've had various reports and experience problems myself although in the main I suspect the problem was more my original CIS (ebay type) kit... It's still affecting newer kits I've built myself. So something else to tally up.


Next up, you could look at Epsons but be careful of the latest printers because chips and kits seem to be somewhat short on the ground. Just noticed that MIS have created a kit for the C120 so that may be worth a look. Of course the problem with Epson C series is they use the pigment ink that has a habit of clogging if left for any length of time so you may want to consider that.

I would avoid the Canon CIS kits purely because the printers themselves really don't lend themselves to CIS kits and whilst I may be somewhat biased having spent an inordinate amount of time trying to perfect my own kits, they do seem to require more maintenance than most others.

 

[Old Chipper]

Thanks for replying.
I'm thinking maybe I should just get a new printer, I choose the 550, because it had the separate print heads. But it took 3 printers to get one that worked. The first one was dead right out of the box. After several hours with their tech, they sent me a rebuilt one. It worked until I added the duplex unit. Again more wasted time with their techs, They sent me another rebuilt one. All seemed well for awhile. But I had to do the cleaning cycle a lot. (every 100 pages or so) I installed a CIS system things seemed better, until the print heads stopped working. I think it may have been the black ink I was using. I base this on the fact that if I do the manual cleaning of the print head. (the soaking routine) It will work for 20 pages or so.
How can one tell if we are getting GOOD ink? I read 100's of blogs, etc. I went with a US seller who claimed his stuff was top of the line. The tanks, tubing, and cartridges looked okay! But I'm sure it was made in china. I haven't seen any that were not made in other countries. I still learning, so any help you or anyone else care to offer would be most welcome! I need to know which printers to stay away from! Or wether I should just get new printers and try a different ink source?
Note: I dont know about the rest of you, but it burns me to buy a new unit and end up with a rebuilt one. Who knows what kind of treatment it may have had! To me, thats like buying a new car and ending up with a Taxi!

 

[websnail]

Thanks for replying.
I'm thinking maybe I should just get a new printer, I choose the 550, because it had the separate print heads. But it took 3 printers to get one that worked. The first one was dead right out of the box. After several hours with their tech, they sent me a rebuilt one. It worked until I added the duplex unit. Again more wasted time with their techs They sent me another rebuilt one. All seemed well for awhile.

Ok.. having had three brand new ones, a new one from ebay and a "used" one, also from ebay I can tell you a few things.

1. Brand new ones worked well but there were problems with the paper tray (on the dtn models).
2. The OEM black printheads received with the units all failed (not sure if that was due to an inherent problem with the heads or my original CIS kit which really sucked!).
3. The K550 hasn't had that good a rep all round.

But I had to do the cleaning cycle a lot. (every 100 pages or so) I installed a CIS system things seemed better, until the print heads stopped working. I think it may have been the black ink I was using. I base this on the fact that if I do the manual cleaning of the print head. (the soaking routine) It will work for 20 pages or so.

Ok... something you probably didn't know... The K550 printheads are actually ink reservoirs themselves.. They hold around 4ml of ink each and any attempt to clean the printhead actually results in the printhead pulling in air rather than ink. In all my research every indicator points to printheads failing because they absorb air into the head instead of ink and eventually the printhead just clogs with tiny air bubbles. Most annoying of all there's no way to re-prime the printhead that I've found as yet..

How can one tell if we are getting GOOD ink? I read 100's of blogs, etc. I went with a US seller who claimed his stuff was top of the line. The tanks, tubing, and cartridges looked okay! But I'm sure it was made in china.

Ok... the important thing to note here is that a CIS kit can be Chinese and not use ink from China... Some of the more reputable sellers tend to sell ink from OCP or Image Specialists (to name a couple) with their kits. In the main though I've only ever come across one non-chinese clone kit for the K550 and that's at inkbags.com .. Of course I have to mention that I'm launching my own kits when I've sorted out my suppliers but that's another story.

I haven't seen any that were not made in other countries. I still learning, so any help you or anyone else care to offer would be most welcome! I need to know which printers to stay away from! Or wether I should just get new printers and try a different ink source?
Note: I dont know about the rest of you, but it burns me to buy a new unit and end up with a rebuilt one. Who knows what kind of treatment it may have had! To me, thats like buying a new car and ending up with a Taxi!

Initially I think my advice would be to buy a new K5400.. start with the basic model.. You should find your K550 duplexer works with the K5400 (if you had one). The benefit is that you'll have a straight through path for printing too as that's the standard back panel fitting on a K5400 normally (or at least I think it is).

Then buy yourself some HP OEM cartridges of the XL type... Let the printer settle and make sure you've got it working 100% and there's no issues with the printheads, etc... By the time you're ready to buy a CIS for it you'll then be sure of the following:
1. The printer does or doesn't work with OEM supplies
2. If it doesn't you're covered under warranty
3. You'll have had the time to look for a decent CIS kit

Hope that helps