# Third party printer ink



## crimbfighter (Jan 6, 2016)

Does anyone on here who does their own printing use aftermarket inks? My PIXMA Pro 100, which I've used for a couple years now, is a fantastic printer, but it's an ink hog... I've been pondering refilling the cartridges myself for a while, but recent ink purchases, and their price increases, have renewed my desire. 

I'm looking at either ND brand inks or LD brand inks. Has anyone on here used either of those brands?


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## bratkinson (Jan 6, 2016)

Even though I'm a Canon shooter, I have yet to buy a Canon printer!

I have four printers, but mostly use a pair of Epson R380 printers.  I've had mixed results with these printers.  I literally wear each of them out every 2 years or so, mostly from directly printing about 50-60 CDs per week.  My results with 'compatible' inks has been all over the place.

First and foremost, like Epson, I'm reasonably sure that Canon has some kind of 'genuine Canon cartridge' checking logic in their printers.  It seems like every model of Epson printer I've used is more 'fussy' than the previous models.  Without a doubt, the best, sharpest, clearest printed images of my photos come from using genuine Epson ink.  I've resorted to buying them on ebay and often from Chinese sellers as their prices usually beat the daylights out of USA sellers prices.  Knowing the typical China-to-USA shipping time of about 2 weeks or so, I've learned to keep 2-3 of each color 'in stock' in my computer room.  Having to run out to buy a cartridge or cartridges at my local Staples store usually ends up as a waste of time as they usually don't have every color in stock and they're typically $15 and up for each color.

As far as 'compatible' inks go, from those I've bought from internet retailers, about 40-50% are immediately rejected by the printer with a message 'ink cartridge not recognized'.  Usually, it's one or two colors of the 6 colors I have to feed the printer.  The other colors work fine!  Go Figure.  I've never kept track of what brands I have or have used, so I don't know which are better or worse.  I recently bought another used Epson R380 on ebay and the seller put maybe 20 new compatible-brand inks in the box and the printer came with all compatible inks installed.

Once the ink cartridge has been 'accepted', the real test comes to comparing image quality from my 'primary' printer which only gets genuine ink, and my identical 'secondary' printer that gets the 'freebie' compatible cartridges that sellers included.  Even some of the compatible cartridges get rejected by the same printer they came with.  

The printed image quality has definitely lost some of its sharpness when printing identical images on both printers.  I'm guessing that the nozzles are a little bigger on the compatibles.  But I recently discovered that the compatible cartridges don't always spray out the same quantity of ink as a genuine Epson cartridge.  Perhaps 2 weeks ago, I put in a brand new compatible black cartridge while printing CDs on both printers.  The colors printed using the compatible cartridge weren't a black as they were coming from the other printer.  So I replaced the new compatible black with a new Epson black.  The 'exposure' difference was immediately noticeable.

Bottom line, "Try it, you'll LIKE it!" (some may remember that Alka Seltzer commercial).   The price differential between the 'real thing' and the 'imitation' makes it worth the try.  Make your own test by printing a handful of images with the genuine Canon ink, then immediately try the compatibles and compare the results.  It's a whole lot easier to throw out a new $3.00 compatible cartridge than a $15.00 Epson that sometimes even those get rejected!  So, when I want to print pictures on high quality photo paper, the compatibles get removed and replaced by the 'real thing'.  When I'm done with the prints, I swap the generics back and put the Epsons in a zip lock bag.


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## KmH (Jan 6, 2016)

I had an Epson printer.
Just once.
Never again.
Because of their ink and their being "fussy".


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## Buckster (Jan 7, 2016)

Depends on the client and the job as to whether I outsource it or not, but I print quite a bit here with an Epson 1400.

I tested cheap, aftermarket, non-Epson inks in it one time to see if they're any good, making several large prints for myself, then switched back to genuine Epson for client work.  The prints looked great at first, but over the course of several months, the colors faded badly and even changed colors.  The blue hues in particular weirded out completely and turned red, making the prints look like they were printed straight out of an LSD experience.  And that wasn't even in any direct sunlight.

There may be some aftermarket inks that are just fine, so others' mileage on the issue may vary.  In any case, the ones I tested didn't hold up, and that was enough for me.  I decided not to ever use aftermarket inks in it again.


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## jaomul (Jan 7, 2016)

I had a Canon cheap printer. Used third party ink once. It doesn't work anymore. Printer didn't know in was running out, now the colors are all off. Coincidence, possibly


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## john.margetts (Jan 7, 2016)

I sell my prints so I need to know the colours are good for many years. When I looked into other ink options, none of them offered any sort of stability guarantee so I use Canon's own ink only.

Sent from my A1-840 using Tapatalk


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## shefjr (Jan 7, 2016)

I own the Pixma pro 100 and know all about it drinking up ink. I went with sscarmack 's recommendation to use Precision Colors C5B refill kit and am really happy with the results. I do not print for clients but, I do believe that Sean does. You could DM him for more information. 
As far as doing the refill they made a youtube video which makes everything dolt proof. I hope this helps.


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## crimbfighter (Jan 8, 2016)

bratkinson said:


> Even though I'm a Canon shooter, I have yet to buy a Canon printer!
> 
> I have four printers, but mostly use a pair of Epson R380 printers.  I've had mixed results with these printers.  I literally wear each of them out every 2 years or so, mostly from directly printing about 50-60 CDs per week.  My results with 'compatible' inks has been all over the place.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the reply with your experiences. I know for my Canon, the cartridges each contain a microchip that needs to be reset with a special device, but other that that, the research I've done doesn't suggest any issues with my printer not recognizing them. There are however, aftermarket cartridges that do seem to have problems, but as long as the OEM cartridges are refilled they seem to work well. If I do end up trying a refill solution, I will definitely be printing some test images beforehand to compare to.  



KmH said:


> I had an Epson printer.
> Just once.
> Never again.
> Because of their ink and their being "fussy".



Can't speak to the Epson you owned, but my Canon is far from fussy. In fact, I've never even had so much as a hiccup with it, yet. And it's about two years (and lots of expensive ink) later. 



Buckster said:


> Depends on the client and the job as to whether I outsource it or not, but I print quite a bit here with an Epson 1400.
> 
> I tested cheap, aftermarket, non-Epson inks in it one time to see if they're any good, making several large prints for myself, then switched back to genuine Epson for client work.  The prints looked great at first, but over the course of several months, the colors faded badly and even changed colors.  The blue hues in particular weirded out completely and turned red, making the prints look like they were printed straight out of an LSD experience.  And that wasn't even in any direct sunlight.
> 
> There may be some aftermarket inks that are just fine, so others' mileage on the issue may vary.  In any case, the ones I tested didn't hold up, and that was enough for me.  I decided not to ever use aftermarket inks in it again.



How long ago did you try the aftermarket inks? My primary concern is actually the longevity of the inks. I plan to create custom ICC profiles for any aftermarket ink I try, so color accuracy shouldn't be an issue. But I also don't want my prints to fade quickly. I know it also depends on exposure to light, pollution levels in the air, etc. But I surely wouldn't want to send out a print that won't last. 

I still do outsource prints, especially when it's a large number and there is no hurry. When it's a one off, or just a few, or maybe just for me, family, or friends for around the house, I like to ability to print at home.  There have also been times when I didn't have the time to wait for production and shipping and someone needed a print ASAP. For that, I like the home printing option.



jaomul said:


> I had a Canon cheap printer. Used third party ink once. It doesn't work anymore. Printer didn't know in was running out, now the colors are all off. Coincidence, possibly



Interesting, thanks for the reply. 



john.margetts said:


> I sell my prints so I need to know the colours are good for many years. When I looked into other ink options, none of them offered any sort of stability guarantee so I use Canon's own ink only.
> 
> Sent from my A1-840 using Tapatalk



Do you mean longevity for fading?



shefjr said:


> I own the Pixma pro 100 and know all about it drinking up ink. I went with sscarmack 's recommendation to use Precision Colors C5B refill kit and am really happy with the results. I do not print for clients but, I do believe that Sean does. You could DM him for more information.
> As far as doing the refill they made a youtube video which makes everything dolt proof. I hope this helps.



Thanks for the reply, I'll have to check out that link and send him a message.


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## Don Kondra (Jan 8, 2016)

I've been using third party inks since 2007 for my own use.  The few prints I have sold I have had printed at a pro lab.

And it's a good thing 

I've just recently changed over some of my older framed/matted prints and they are quite faded after seven years.

I think it was two years ago I purchased a Canon iX6520, the 13" x 19" prints look Great but time will tell if the quality/longevity of current third party inks is as good as they claim ! 

Cheers, Don


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## Buckster (Jan 8, 2016)

crimbfighter said:


> Buckster said:
> 
> 
> > Depends on the client and the job as to whether I outsource it or not, but I print quite a bit here with an Epson 1400.
> ...


About 2 years ago.  None of them survived long term.  They all ended up in the dumpster.


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## john.margetts (Jan 10, 2016)

crimbfighter said:


> john.margetts said:
> 
> 
> > I sell my prints so I need to know the colours are good for many years. When I looked into other ink options, none of them offered any sort of stability guarantee so I use Canon's own ink only.
> ...


Yes, longevity for fading - which includes colour shifts.



Sent from my A1-840 using Tapatalk


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