Which Canon Pixma should I buy?

[Twodordan]

Hello,

My old HP's cartridges have given up after 3 or 4 refills and I definitely want a new printer.

I need a new multifunction printer, for home use. I do take high quality photos, and I do have a decent eye for detail, but I never end up actually printing more than 10 of them per year. I do print in colour fairly often, but just not at photo quality.

My budget is at most $120 / 92Euro. I don't think I really need the PIXMA MG5150, just because of it's 9600 x 2400 dpi http://www.amazon.co.uk/...lour-Printer/dp/tech-data/B00400OK16/ref=de_a_smtd
As listed in the last post here, http://www.techtalkz.com/printers/168587-dpi-do-they-make-difference.html , that high a DPI isn't your main concern.

I've been out of the game for some time; what's this about thermal inkjet vs piezoelectric inkjet?
Also, please explain the cartridge setup differences between the classic colour+black setup vs the 4 separate CMYK vs the 5 separate CMYK+(K?). I think I want a 4 cartridge setup printer.

I want a decent & reliable printer, with no paper jams or crooked paper intake, no fussy refusal to print if one cartridge is almost empty etc. (Also, I don't really need WiFi. Scanning/printing from/to USB and duplex printing would be good though.)

The most important thing is that I do NOT want to get screwed with the cartridges. They MUST be refillable. I'll have none of that chipped-proprietary-super-expensive-branded-only cartridges crap!
I heard some of the epson stylus' are like that; I also heard the print isn't high quality unless you use their printing software and/or paper.

So what multifunction printer would you recommend?

Thanks for any help/guidance!

 

[iam2thecrowe]

refilling cartridges will ruin your printer. I know you dont want to buy that expensive cartridge crap, but you wont ruin your printer with it. It's true that epsons and most inkjets only print well on photo paper that is designed for the printer, more proprietry crap you may believe, but the printer driver is set up to apply the correct amount of ink with presets for specific paper types, if you use something generic dont complain if it prints crap. The best results will come from usiong the printers official ink and paper, if you dont believe that then thats your problem. If you want crap quality prints and a printer that wont last, get refilled generic ink and paper. Also, the comment at the 9600x2400dpi, you do notice the sharpness detail that it provides, i fix printers for a living so i see and test quite a lot of them. My opinion for consumer inkjets for quality and reliability is Canon 1st, epson 2nd, and the rest are basically rubbish. If you want really reliable cheap printing, get a laser printer.

 

[Twodordan]

I had a HP for 5 years refilling 2 sets of cartridges and it still works. It's old though.
These new printers however, are a pain and risk to refill, it's true.

I think my best bet is to buy a multifunction printer that supports a CISS (continuous ink supply system). Can you by any chance recommend any multifunction printer you've seen work with a CISS?

I kept looking at laser printers over the years but they're huge, and most importantly, a decent colour laserjet costs a fortune. And like I said, I do print in colour often. Still, I am open to pretty much anything other than spending more for ink than for a printer. So if you happen to have any laserjet suggestions, don't hold out.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

low end HP colour lasers give pretty good quality. Not the same as what a new epson or canon will give using photo paper, but nothing will print better on plain paper than a laser printer. If you really need the scan function, there are small samsung models available, but the quality is crappy compared to the HP lasers. Continuous ink systems can be ok, but you need to be using them very often for the type of ink they use not to dry up in the print head. There is no guarantee when using refilled/non genuine ink, you never know what you will get.

 

[Twodordan]

All right, thanks a lot for the insight.

I'll either get an HP colour laser, either I'll screw it all and get a Pixma MP495. At least it's cheap. And you can refill it easily; if you break anything, it's just the cartridge, you can get another.

 

[rutt00]

hi is there a ciss system for canon mp495. do you need the reset printer after you refill the ink in cartridge?

 

[Thundordan]

hi is there a ciss system for canon mp495?
do you need the reset printer after you refill the ink in cartridge?

I don't think there's any kind of CISS made to work with the "classic" type of cartridge that the mp495 has.

However, fear not, because this printer (which I now own), is one of the last canons on the market that can be refilled with a refill kit very easily! And you do not have to reset anything!

As a matter of fact, I bought the following refill kits from InkTec:
- for the colour cartridge (CL-511): InkTec BKI-2011C
- for the black cartridge (PG-510): InkTec BKI-2010D
I paid for both a total of approx 21 euro or $29 or 18 pounds at a local store.

It is recommended that you fill up the cartridges when the printer says that they're at >=50%. Otherwise the printer might complain that the cartridges are empty even though you refilled them. (but it will still print as normal) It also helps to assure that the cartridge heads don't get air in them.

So this printer doesn't need any special treatment when it comes to refilling the cartridges.

Cheers!