Where do you buy your printer ink?

[app103]

First of all, I know by making this post, I'll probably be inviting every ink spammer on the internet to reply, so I will only consider replies from existing members. If you join the forum just to post on this thread, I will consider it spam and it will be deleted!

That said, I am curious where you guys buy your printer ink.

I have a brand new fancy Canon inkjet printer and I need the best deal I can get for Canon PGI-250XL/CLI-251XL compatible cartridges (all 5 colors), and I don't want to get ripped off. (shipped to a US address)

Now, this is not an invitation to do a Google search for me. I am quite capable of doing that myself. What I need is for you to speak from experience, offering only those sellers that you have purchased from, that in your opinion gave you a great deal on a great product, that was as described.

Doing a Google search, I came across a seller offering a 30-pack for $38 (free shipping), and I probably would have jumped on it, but there was only 1 review on the seller/item, and it wasn't so good. The buyer complained that they were passing off regular cartridges as XLs, and when he called the seller to complain about it, he got a woman that kept repeating "we sell quality ink" to everything he said. And when he returned the product, he had a hard time getting a refund. Not sure I want to trust a seller like that.

So, can you steer me in the right direction?

[4wd]

I have a Canon PiXMA IP4950, uses 5 ink tanks - in Australia those would cost AU$9 each for compatible replacements, (don't even ask about Canon originals).

On ebay I got two complete sets, (10 tanks), for AU$26 shipped from the UK - ink worked fine, looks fine, printer still works.  And the ink is even cheaper now, (~AU$25 for three complete sets ATM).

So I get my ink from the same seller, cheaper than buying local and I don't have to go anywhere - my parents bought the same printer, they get their ink from the same place I do.

Doesn't have your tanks though, sorry, what model is the printer?

[tomos]

Unfortunately I cant help with supplier - the one I use only ships in the EU & .ch
The ink I can recommend though, if you can find a good supplier over there:
Peach, consistently tests good and I've been very happy with the quality for years now (w. Canon printers).

[40hz]

First of all, I know by making this post, I'll probably be inviting every ink spammer on the internet to reply, so I will only consider replies from existing members. If you join the forum just to post on this thread, I will consider it spam and it will be deleted!

-app103 (November 14, 2014, 06:31 PM)

Quelle bonne idée!  

(It's also good to be a mod. )

[MilesAhead]

For my Epson inkjet printers I had very good luck with 123 InkJets

I used the clone cartridges.  Maybe one of every twenty I'd get a dry cartridge.  But at the price it was more economical to eat it than return it.

At least on the Epson the only thing I had to watch out for was bad directions on the wrapper.  Sometimes it would say to shake the cartridge then peel the seal off before inserting.  I found it always safer to insert the cartridge in the carriage before peeling off the seal.  

I could get a whole set, magenta, blue, yellow and black plus shipping, for less than the cost of one branded cartridge in Best Buy.


Edit:  The odds held pretty steady for me.  The way I avoided getting stuck with no cheap replacement cartridge was to order more when I was down to only two of a color.  Of two cartridges I never found both to be bad.  It's anecdotal but one bad out of twenty seemed to be about right.  I adjusted the "net price per cartridge" I was paying to include the shrinkage and shipping and it was still a bargain.

[app103]

Doesn't have your tanks though, sorry, what model is the printer?

-4wd (November 15, 2014, 12:14 AM)

PIXMA MG5520

[cranioscopical]

Just a note of caution.

A few years back I decided to save money by using non-Canon ink.
I bought from one of the 'better' suppliers (I don't want to mention any names as I don't want a supplier blamed for what might be a one-in-a-thousand event).
First set was fine.
Second set was fine.
Third set screwed up the printer to the point where it was useless.

So, for me, potential savings were far outweighed by replacement equipment cost.
 

 

[bit]

That said, I am curious where you guys buy your printer ink.
What I need is for you to speak from experience, offering only those sellers that you have purchased from, that in your opinion gave you a great deal on a great product, that was as described.
So, can you steer me in the right direction?

-app103 (November 14, 2014, 06:31 PM)

Before our 4-in-1 printer-scanner died, I found an excellent source at CastleInk.
I speak absolutely from personal experience they have great prices and wide selection.

BTW, I recently saw a promo for a 'conceptual printer' that ran on solar power and 'printed' by 'tanning' (i.e. 'moderately burning') the paper with a laser; turned out the promo was at least 1 or 2 years old and apparently going nowhere.
I wouldn't care if it ran off a wall outlet instead of solar, but I would be interested if somebody would show me where to buy something like that for a reasonable price.

[questorfla]

Amazon of course

[app103]

Just a note of caution.

A few years back I decided to save money by using non-Canon ink.
I bought from one of the 'better' suppliers (I don't want to mention any names as I don't want a supplier blamed for what might be a one-in-a-thousand event).
First set was fine.
Second set was fine.
Third set screwed up the printer to the point where it was useless.

So, for me, potential savings were far outweighed by replacement equipment cost.

-cranioscopical (November 15, 2014, 06:44 PM)

Don't think I don't worry about that. And don't think that I don't know that OEM cartridges can destroy a printer, too, with no recourse if the printer is out of warranty. I know that from experience. 

Before our 4-in-1 printer-scanner died, I found an excellent source at CastleInk.
I speak absolutely from personal experience they have great prices and wide selection.

-bit (November 15, 2014, 08:45 PM)

I am a bit confused as to what they are selling here. This is rather pricy, but it's not clear if they are an unmentioned brand compatible with Canon printers, or the Canon branded ones. Reading the description does not really answer that. And I am unsure what info is in their chart. Does "Brand" refer to the cartridge brand? Or the printer brand it's made for? And the image is too small to be able to read anything on it to be able to tell that way, either.

For that price, I would expect the real thing, but who knows?

Amazon of course

-questorfla (November 15, 2014, 08:58 PM)

You can get burned on Amazon just as easily as anywhere else. 

[Deozaan]

Amazon of course

-questorfla (November 15, 2014, 08:58 PM)

You can get burned on Amazon just as easily as anywhere else.  

-app103 (November 15, 2014, 09:56 PM)

I hate how they've gone all "eBay" (aka marketplace) without making it more clear that you're not always buying from Amazon. )c:

[MilesAhead]

Amazon of course

-questorfla (November 15, 2014, 08:58 PM)

You can get burned on Amazon just as easily as anywhere else.  

-app103 (November 15, 2014, 09:56 PM)

I hate how they've gone all "eBay" (aka marketplace) without making it more clear that you're not always buying from Amazon. )c:

-Deozaan (November 15, 2014, 10:23 PM)

It would be nice if someone came up with a "bid filter" for searches.  Like anything where you have to bid rather than make a straight buy doesn't show up at all.  I'd bid $1 for that AddOn. 

[app103]

Amazon of course

-questorfla (November 15, 2014, 08:58 PM)

You can get burned on Amazon just as easily as anywhere else. 

-app103 (November 15, 2014, 09:56 PM)

I hate how they've gone all "eBay" (aka marketplace) without making it more clear that you're not always buying from Amazon. )c:

-Deozaan (November 15, 2014, 10:23 PM)

It would be nice if someone came up with a "bid filter" for searches.  Like anything where you have to bid rather than make a straight buy doesn't show up at all.  I'd bid $1 for that AddOn. 

-MilesAhead (November 16, 2014, 09:47 AM)

Bid? I have never had to bid on anything on Amazon. Never seen anything like that.

What I was referring to, and think Deozaan was too, is the 3rd party merchants, some of which are quite scammy. You know, the ones selling cheap stuff with outrageous shipping costs, things not quite as described, and sometimes even counterfeit goods (be very careful buying a copy of Windows on Amazon, avoid all 3rd party merchants).

[MilesAhead]

Amazon of course

-questorfla (November 15, 2014, 08:58 PM)

You can get burned on Amazon just as easily as anywhere else. 

-app103 (November 15, 2014, 09:56 PM)

I hate how they've gone all "eBay" (aka marketplace) without making it more clear that you're not always buying from Amazon. )c:

-Deozaan (November 15, 2014, 10:23 PM)

It would be nice if someone came up with a "bid filter" for searches.  Like anything where you have to bid rather than make a straight buy doesn't show up at all.  I'd bid $1 for that AddOn. 

-MilesAhead (November 16, 2014, 09:47 AM)

Bid? I have never had to bid on anything on Amazon. Never seen anything like that.

What I was referring to, and think Deozaan was too, is the 3rd party merchants, some of which are quite scammy. You know, the ones selling cheap stuff with outrageous shipping costs, things not quite as described, and sometimes even counterfeit goods (be very careful buying a copy of Windows on Amazon, avoid all 3rd party merchants).

-app103 (November 16, 2014, 02:36 PM)

What I mean is a filter that blocks any merchandise for bid in results.  I've wasted lots of time on bargain or best price sites only to come out after 2 links to something for bid.  The bidder shill game is old news.  But they rely on a sucker being born every minute.

[cranioscopical]

they rely on a sucker being born every minute

-MilesAhead

… and not always the same sucker either 
 

[bit]

Before our 4-in-1 printer-scanner died, I found an excellent source at CastleInk.
I speak absolutely from personal experience they have great prices and wide selection.

-bit (November 15, 2014, 08:45 PM)

I am a bit confused as to what they are selling here. This is rather pricy, but it's not clear if they are an unmentioned brand compatible with Canon printers, or the Canon branded ones. Reading the description does not really answer that. And I am unsure what info is in their chart. Does "Brand" refer to the cartridge brand? Or the printer brand it's made for? And the image is too small to be able to read anything on it to be able to tell that way, either.

For that price, I would expect the real thing, but who knows?

-app103 (November 15, 2014, 09:56 PM)

^I stand corrected.
I'm done with the printer game; I've seen the scandals of printers programmed to waste ink and quit working after they're out of warranty.
They also print an invisible set of microdots that ID your printer serial number on every page; my typewriter never pulled that sneaky trick.

About that 'concept printer' that 'tans' the paper with a laser, it occurred to me a wood-burning plaque-making machine could be reset to 'tan' one page at a time at lowest 'burn setting', but it would only give one page every few minutes, on an expensive machine.
But look at all the ink you would save.

In fact, I'm so put-off by the printer scandal of overpriced ink wells combined with printers deliberately programmed to waste the ink 'cleaning' the jets, or set to quit working after x-months, and allowed to lapse into 'new Windows version' incompatibility limbo, that I would happily switch all my photo printouts to b&w on a wooden plaque-burning machine with its laser power set to 'paper tan' if only I could get my hands on one for an affordable price.

Imagine what could happen if an artistically-minded friend found out you had just acquired such a machine, and discovered to their delight that they could now write (i.e. 'laser burn') on any number of formerly impossible mediums.

For my limited needs, a manual Royal typewriter would suit me, but I usually just do handwritten, and have a great liking for gel ink pens.

FWIW, this thread also prompted me to wonder what would happen if I cut out a flat white paper donut and stuck it in my CD-image burner.
Maybe if I could find some plain white newsprint paper, that stuff fades to off-sepia in a day or two in the sun and might work in the CD-burner.

[J-Mac]

For my Epson inkjet printers I had very good luck with 123 InkJets

-MilesAhead (November 15, 2014, 09:39 AM)

I used cartridges from the same company (123inkjets) for my Canon All-in-Ones (830 & 860), though I purchased them from Amazon. Never had a problem with them at all. I never even got a dry cartridge.

When I got my Epson Workforce AIO I couldn't find ink cartridges for it from that company on Amazon, unfortunately.

Jim

[bit]

Altho this is purely wishful thinking, I'm surprised at how inexpensive some laser engraving machines are becoming, as here.
Interestingly, while ink printers continue to waste consumers' money on exorbitantly over-priced little ink pots, blowing ink to 'clean heads', and auto-croaking in planned stealth obsolescence, the inkless laser engraving machines are steadily dropping in price.
In between the two domains, 'concept printers' are 'tanning' paper ink-free but never offered in the 'real world' for public sale.
We are so close to having an off-the-shelf laser engraving machine that can self-feed (or -what the heck- manual feed) notebook-size typing paper, and pseudo-'engrave' with a laser at an ultra-low power setting (thereby also possibly extending the lifespan of the laser tube) and produce black & white text or image 'print-outs'.

[MilesAhead]

That laser engraving is interesting. I wonder if maybe someday they'll get it to engrave in color using some chemical in the paper.  Like some new kind of stealth "ink" that only shows up when bombarded by light of a certain wave length or intensity or some other variable factor.

Edit:  I guess that sounds suspiciously like toner.  But I don't remember how laser printers work.. if I ever really knew.

[bit]

I read somewhere lasers can change the color of metal by the wavelength of the cut-scan.
Not sure what could be done with paper, but perhaps a partial effect like 'smokey color' could be produced (just wild conjecture).

[MilesAhead]

I read somewhere lasers can change the color of metal by the wavelength of the cut-scan.
Not sure what could be done with paper, but perhaps a partial effect like 'smokey color' could be produced (just wild conjecture).

-bit (November 20, 2014, 06:30 PM)

I just hope the smoke doesn't rise up out of the printer while running.  I'd hate to have to atone to the boss for that. 

[Stoic Joker]

But I don't remember how laser printers work..

-MilesAhead (November 18, 2014, 01:49 PM)

(condensed version)Laser draws image on drum, drum picks up toner where laser has altered the drum's charge, drum transfers image to paper, fuser (or fixing unit as they are sometimes called) melts toner into paper.

Side note: In certain really cold environments a laser printer will emit a visible amount of steam when the paper comes out if the humidity is high enough for the paper to be just a tiny bit moist ... Oh the fun we had on that service call..

[MilesAhead]

^ Interesting.  Thanks for the refresher. 

[bit]

But I don't remember how laser printers work..

-MilesAhead (November 18, 2014, 01:49 PM)

(condensed version)Laser draws image on drum, drum picks up toner where laser has altered the drum's charge, drum transfers image to paper, fuser (or fixing unit as they are sometimes called) melts toner into paper.

Side note: In certain really cold environments a laser printer will emit a visible amount of steam when the paper comes out if the humidity is high enough for the paper to be just a tiny bit moist ... Oh the fun we had on that service call..

-Stoic Joker (November 21, 2014, 06:51 AM)

I always thought the laser beamed directly onto the paper and the ink was magically transferred to the paper somehow. 

[crabby3]

But I don't remember how laser printers work..

-MilesAhead (November 18, 2014, 01:49 PM)

(condensed version)Laser draws image on drum, drum picks up toner where laser has altered the drum's charge, drum transfers image to paper, fuser (or fixing unit as they are sometimes called) melts toner into paper.

Side note: In certain really cold environments a laser printer will emit a visible amount of steam when the paper comes out if the humidity is high enough for the paper to be just a tiny bit moist ... Oh the fun we had on that service call..

-Stoic Joker (November 21, 2014, 06:51 AM)

Laser vs inkjet... which is a better value?  Sounds like laser printers would be more precise and give finer detail.
My only experience is inkjet.  Occasionally I print something... maybe once every 2-years.