Does anyone here refill their own inkjet cartridges?

[rgG]

I am looking at a cheap Canon printer the IP1600 at Amazon. It is $39 shipped. A set of replacement carts is $1 less than the printer. Generic carts are not available for this printer. If I get this I would have to have a cheaper way to use it than spending $38 for a set of carts. I was considering a refill kit. I have never refilled my carts because I was always able to buy cheap generic ones. So, if any of you have opinions about refilling your own carts, please let me hear them.

If you are wondering why I picked this printer it is because I just want a cheap printer mainly for light home office printing and my daughter's homework. Very little picture printing. I don't want the carts to break the bank. This printer has good reviews and I found the Canon driver that will work with the intel iMac. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Jimmypoo]

MonsterInkjets.com

[Jimmypoo]

btw.... with the rebate, did you check out that Canon 4200?

[rgG]

No I didn't check out the 4200, but I will now.

[Racer X]

Yes, I refill my own frequently. I got my bulk ink from several places. Look into MIS Supply. They don't show the iP1600 yet though, but you could e-mail them. Does it take the same carts as some other models that may be listed? They list an iP1500 and have carts for it, maybe they take the same ones? if so a refill kit for the 1500 should be fine.

I had an Epson SC800, then an 850, and now a SC740. they could digest just about any ink I stuck in them.

the key is that the ink must be formulated for the printer. Some generic refill kits claim they will work for printers that use dye-based inks, and other printers that use pigment-based inks. Um, no. No no no.

there may be issues with a chip in the cartridge that need to be reset with respect to ink left in cart, or worked around.

MIS also makes aftermarket archival inks, and bulk delivery systems as well.

[rgG]

MonsterInkJets doesn't have the carts, and the 4200 has the same problem, no generic carts. But thanks poo, for trying.

[rgG]

Thanks RacerX.

The 1500 takes the older easy to find carts. I wish I could just find a 1500, but they seem to have been discontinued a while ago. I found a place that says they have the refill ink for the specific carts that this printer takes, but I don't remember the site right now. It is bookmarked on the iMac and a 14yo has taken it over for the moment.

[Racer X]

If you use high quality ink, and replace the cartridge after maybe 5 uses, it is no big deal. My ink refill kit for $60 from MIS Supply lasted almost 3 years. I went through the black far faster than the color, and they usually have 2-3x as much black in the kits.

Now this depends on your individual printer, but the black carts on my 800/850/740 are rather large, and they need to sit for 12 hours before use to let the air bubbles float up and let the foam fully saturate, so rotating carts is a really good idea. The tri-color cart has smaller partitions, and isn't a problem. My Photo 1200 6 ink printer has small tanks, so there isn't a problem with them either.

[rgG]

RacerX,
The site I found with the specific refill kit is Atlanticinkjet.com. Since they show the specific cart I think I would be more inclined to go with them than a generic refill kit, for the reasons that you pointed out. I still wish I could find a new model Canon that uses the older carts, but I think that is why they change the models so much, so we will be forced to buy the new expensive carts, at least until the generic makers start making them.

[Racer X]

yep. They make their money on the ink and paper. The low end printers are essentially at cost or a loss leader. They make it up on the ink and the higher end ones, because the higher end wide-format ones can't really cost 5X as much just because they print 13" vs 8.5" wide.