ink question

[Michaela521]

Hello I didn't know were to post this so I'll just try here. I am debating over weather or not to purchase generic brand or the manufacturers brand of ink for my printer. I have read articles on it and many state that the generic are just fine but some might be of poor quality. What is you professional opinion. I was thinking about just using the generic brand for all of my printing that I don't care about printing quality of which takes up about 95 percent of my printing and just taking out the generics and placing in the good brand whenever quality is in mind like when I am printing a picture. Do you think that this is a good idea? The only problem that I can think of that might be wrong with this idea is that the ink might dry out on me on the manufacturers brand because they will not be sitting inside the printer and will not be used until I want to print out a good picture of which is like every three weeks or so. Perhaps I could store them in a ziplock/plastic bag of a kind and if needed wrap them in a moist towel. Thanks for the very well appreciated professional help. :)

[TampaJim]

I tried generic - a friend gave them to me when his Canon printer died and he bought a newer one that used different cartridges. My experience = painful! The ink in them was thinner and made a big mess all over my printhead, etc. I cleaned it all up and immediately went back to original Canon cartridges and POOF - no more mess.

I use factory stock - but I also selected Canon over HP and Epson due to the better value, separate tanks, etc. My cost per page is within my budget and that is what matters.

I find that if you purchase cartridges at Costco, use coupons, etc. that you can save quite a bit without compromising printer life, print quality, etc.

This is my opinion and my experience only.

[Rhys]

I hardly ever use manufacturer's .ink. It's horribly expensive. Even if you only save $1 per cartridge with independent then every X cartridges or so you can reckon is a freebie over manufacturer's prices :D

[Michaela521]

Thanks for the replies. I have a canon pixma mp780. As if I didn't know what they were going to say in the first place I went ahead and sent a email to the manufacturer regarding using generics over the original inks. They responded with this.........Thank you for writing to us. We value you as a Canon customer and
appreciate the opportunity to assist you.

Canon USA does not recommend the use of inks manufactured by third
parties in Canon Bubble Jet Products. Canon genuine inks are formulated
specifically for use in our ultra-precise print head, which contains
high density inkjet nozzles, approximately one-fifth the diameter of a
human hair. Our print head and inks work together as a precisely
engineered system to support optimum image quality, print speed and
reliability in higher resolution text and color printing applications.

Should you decide to use inks manufactured by third parties in your
Canon Bubble Jet product, and such inks cause damage to your product,
this damage will not be covered under the product's limited warranty.
Any repairs required as a result of such damage must be made at your
expense.

It seems that the opinion on using generics or the manufacturers is pretty cut straight down the middle. If you go to a generics sight they always say that there's is as good or even better than manufacturers. I am not buying that better statement by them though. For know I really don't know what to do.

[photosytes]

I have been considering buying generic brands as well. In the past I have had some excellent and some horrible results. Prior to buying a photo printer I use to use Epson printers. My first one work wonderfully with a generic brand. My next one (777) was terrible. It leaked all over the place, made a huge mess.
Now I have a Canon Pixma iP5000. It uses a lot less ink than my Epson and doesn't waste it by needing to clean the heads often. I have been very satisfied with it. Now I need to replace one of the cartridges and have been debating whether to try out a generic brand. I use the printer mostly for photos, but also for regular text.
I have to decide soon but am definitely torn. I also know that some generic brands are better than others, and some printers can get away with generic brands while others can't. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a website dedicated to letting consumers know? If I knew in advance that they wouldn't work, I wouldn't even bother. :confused: Only time will tell, right?