Wow, I ve just popped in here.

Music Image

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As I say, Wow!!! Ive just been here about 10 minutes and this looks like a good site. JUST WHAT IM LOOKING FOR IN FACT !!! Ive been researching buying a printer and I could have done with coming here earlier. No harm done though as I havnt made my choice yet, and I will most certainly be giving this place a decent look.

Cheers, Music Image.
 

Nifty

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I'll warn you now, there is a lot of Canon bias on this forum. I'm not sure if that is because they have better printers / easier to refill, or if it is because the people who started posting in this forum have Canon's, so the search engines picked up on this.

I like statements like "JUST WHAT IM LOOKING FOR IN FACT". I've spoken with a few of my new inkjet buddies I've met here on the forum and we really like the atmosphere that has developed on this forum and hope it will continue, but with more users.

I look forward to hearing more about your experiences in the forum. Even InkJet Forum Newbies have experiences they can contribute and help everyone out.
 

Music Image

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Hi, nifty-stuff, neat to be here.

The way I look at it is, if there is a bias to-ward Canons, then theres gotta be a reason for it. Thats what my job is, is to find out why people are and unless everyone here works for Canon, I think the views should be pretty safe. :) Ive not long been out of a Looooong thread about refilling etc, and I was so amazed at the effort and enthusiasum you people have put in here I just had to post.

Unfortunately my experience with printers is about zilch. In my quest with things computer re-lated, Ive put off researching printers to pretty much the last thing in the batting order. This statement is an involved one for me, meaning, Ive had to do some pretty serious research to get the best products for what I do. Out of researching Digital Audio Recording systems, specialized Sound Cards, UPS', (a lot of gory details with these things) PCs, Macs, and a host of dovetailing circumstances, Printers have scared/waried me the most. As such, Ive put it off and put it off, needless to say, I need a printer yesterday.!!! NOW is the time to get on with it. As you can see, Im not one of those who just go and buy the 1st thing that pops along like some people do. I know enough to know that Canons have a pretty good name. Ive heard of the chips that Epsons have which can be defeated. Ive read articles in times past about how crooked this whole business is with the cost of inks etc. Its a cut throat business.

Where the real effort comes in with the "which printer" syndrome, is the sheer magnitude of the number of printers available, the unintuitive naming of the models (certainly for newbies), the difficulty of xreferencing information on websites due to the layout of their info and how they catalogue their products, trying to figure out the cost of consumables Vs the cost of the printer, and just the general confusion and pitfalls. Im sure a lot of this confusion is capitilized on by the big printer companies.

Quote, "we really like the atmosphere that has developed on this forum"...

Ive been to many many forums, and it is always nice when you have a decent atmosphere. Some forums dont have that, and it really can put some people off.

I'll stop raving on, and go and read some more of these wonderful threads Im seeing.

Cheers, Music Image.
 

BlasterQ

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Musicmage, get a canon. the ones with individual inks. not only are they economical, they are even more practical than the 'chipped' individual inks offered by other brands.

Sorry I've been away guys, i'm still here in the Philippines on my vacation, and i only go online to check e-mails.
 

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BQ... good to see you!

Music Image, like I said, even as a newbie you can share your research and experiences. Many of us are far past the non-bias point of view, and sometimes a person with a new point of view is refreshing and takes us back to the days when we were doing all that research.
 

Music Image

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"even as a newbie you can share your research and experiences"

Well howz this for starters, Ive been here for hours and hours. :eek: , :).

Heaps of good reading. My purchase is pretty much decided upon. It will be a Canon. I NEVER do anything in a hurry and it will eventuate all in good time. I followed a link from here, and I see the higher iPs are indeed amongst the cheapest to run for photos, but the lower iPs fall into the expensive bracket big time. This would be a lot to do with the seperate ink tanks no doubt..

Cheers Music Image
 

panos

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Canon is not necessarily the easiest brand to refill.

If one prints relatively small volumes, HP (the latest models) is easier to refill. You don't have to deal with ink viscocity, air vacuums, sealing holes in HP. Just remove a label, insert your needle to the right hole and refill. And even if you do something terribly wrong, you just go to your local store and buy the 27-28 cartridges which are cheaper (contain less ink but can be refilled normally) and contain printheads as well.

Also, HP allows for 6 color photo printing for a much lower price. HP also produces the best Black and White photos out there. Their original inks are better for double-sided printing on plain paper (they don't pass through the paper as is often the case in Canon) and their latest Vivera inks last longer than any other printer out there.

I would never buy my girlfriend a Canon. If you are interested in comparing printers, I would suggest that you read this Tom's Hardware article.
 

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Panos is right, its horses for courses.

Need to decide if you want to be an OEM man. A compatible man. A refiller or you may even want to chase a CIS degree (continuous ink systems).

There is a wealth of knowledge here by people who get a thrill from beating the OEM rip off system. Though it may not be a smooth road.

"My inkjet refilling disaster " would be an entertaining thread.


There seems to be a lot of non OEM options for people with Canons- probably why canon is popular for self inkers.

Canons latest line of IP Pixma printers have made quality very affordable.

Looking forward to your contributions.
 

Nifty

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I'm very open to hearing more suggestions regarding what printer to get if you are:

OEM only:
"Compatible man":
a refiller:

One thing I really love is the translucent / clear cartridges. Do other manufacturers that have easy to refill cartridges have these?

Also, are the HP cartridges with print heads really less expensive? I've never seen a cart with a printhead cost less than one without. If that's the case, then that would be a refiller's dream... you could almost put any liquid you want in your printer because you wouldn't be damaging a permanent head.
 

panos

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OEM only: Canon. They cost less to operate, are faster, have duplexers, CD printing, cassete - feeder combination, excellent paper handling

Compatible man: (I guess it means consumer of compatible consumables) Canon again; Canon compatible cartridges, though not easy to find at the local store, are much more reliable than HP refurbished ones.

Refiller (starter): HP. Not as good as Canon, but mistakes can be forgiven with a new cartridge as it contains a printhead. Much easier to refill for starters.

Refiller (advanced): Canon for all the reasons specified above and also for all the options given by empty cartridges, spongeless ones (sigh) etc.

In regards to Rob's question about HP cartridge cost:

HP 27 (black) & 28 (tricolor) cartridges cost less than $16 each. These cartridges are full size but contain half ink. When I had an HP, I used to buy them and fill them up to the top (until I saw fluid reaching the top of the sponge) to turn them to 57 and 58. Then I could refill them 5 times at least. (Especially when I discovered that a few drops of liquid soap in the ink could allow more refills and no clogs).
 
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