Affordable & refillable printer with duplex capabilities?

[Feldrod]

Hello everyone,
after three years with my beloved MB5150 I have messed up and caused quite a lot of burned nozzles (no error so far but I have to print on high quality to compensate for the streaks that happen during standard quality prints) and am looking for an afforadable replacement. Could you be so kind and maybe share your tips with me? Affordable basically means the cheaper the better (I would consider max to be 200€ but would like to be in more of a 100-125 range). My only requirements from a new printer are : automatic duplex, refillability (prefferably from inks sold at https://eshop.inktec.cz/ as they are pretty much the only affordable option I trust in my country) and expected lifespan of 3+ years (load around 10-30k double sided pages per 3 yrs). I know the Maxifys up to the 5150 are available in such pricerange but aren't there other options that are cheaper? It doesn't have to be pigment ink printer like the Maxifies, basically if BK is pigment, CMY can be dye as I am mostly printing "textbooks published by university" ("the scripts") that are free for myself and collegues, personal scans and other study-related materials which are mostly black with a little hint of CMY usage. The Workforce Pro WF-3820DWF looks promising but I cannot find any ink for that printer that is specifically designed to be used in such printer - would it be possible to use my leftover pigment CMYK InkTec ink for the Maxify - if anybody can tell, considering the use of piezoelectric method instead of thermal I personally believe it might but don't wanna ruin a brand new printer. Thanks for any comments.

 

[Redbrickman]

It is probably not burned nozzles but clogging due to the use of 3rd party inks. I have exactly the same model of printer and it produces streaky prints during a nozzle check print but when printing normally it works just fine. I print high quality most of the time as ink is relatively cheap. I would jjust continue to print with the Maxify until your ink is used up then change to a new printer if you need to.

You could also get a replacement print head for the Maxify which might be a lot cheaper and keep it going for another few years.

 

[Feldrod]

It is probably not burned nozzles but clogging due to the use of 3rd party inks. I have exactly the same model of printer and it produces streaky prints during a nozzle check print but when printing normally it works just fine. I print high quality most of the time as ink is relatively cheap. I would jjust continue to print with the Maxify until your ink is used up then change to a new printer if you need to.

You could also get a replacement print head for the Maxify which might be a lot cheaper and keep it going for another few years.

Thanks.
I actually use the refillable V2s and as far as my experience is concerned - you can print standard quality without streaking from them. I only f'd up the printer a year ago when I was printing with both plugs in (I didn't realize one should be taken out for air intake until I took a closer look at the cart) which produced "feathering" in some areas during test prints (on normal prints it was not easily visible). But during the summer brake I have left the printer turned off for 3 months and when I started printing again the printer did only its own clean cycle, I didn't check and also didn't check the ink levels so after 100 pages I look and "Oh I'm printing without ink". I do plan on keeping it as long as possible - even considering that I might buy another 1L black as I am running out and when this breaks just go the "another MB5150" route) but I am just trying to have emergency plan in case this one flat out fails.

 

[Redbrickman]

I used Chinese carts with ARC chips but they often leaked when put back into the printer after refilling so I now fill the OEM carts with ARC chips and they work great.

https://www.octopus-office.de/info/...n/canon-pgi-1500-pgi-2500-refill-instruction/

 

[Feldrod]

I used Chinese carts with ARC chips but they often leaked when put back into the printer after refilling so I now fill the OEM carts with ARC chips and they work great.

https://www.octopus-office.de/info/...n/canon-pgi-1500-pgi-2500-refill-instruction/

Yeah I am aware of the OctopusInks method but I threw away my starter carts three years ago and so I use the refillable V2 with the little diaphragm inside. They work really great as long as the user isn't dumb me
I have no leakage problem with them, they are highly reliable and as I said - able to print standard quality (when the printer was "okay" after I found about the air intake plug not being supposed to be there during printing I printed appx. two printjobs, each at 600 leafs of paper, dualsided with no issue at standard quality) however when now I print standard the streaks make the text illegible and the streaks are continually the same size and the same place with no matter of cleaning procedures making them go so I am pretty sure I burned some nozzles

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

The WF3820DWF runs with pigment inks, and 3rd party cartridges are available which need the original chips, and you need a resetter.
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005...00023179657684!sea&curPageLogUid=Ybxj3pYyQAjL

Such chips are better than AutoReset Chips - ARC - since may may get into trouble in the midddle of a printjob when one cartridge reports empty, and you cannot do a refill before you start such a job. You can fill up all cartridges with regular chips before you start a longer job .

I'm using pigment and dye inks in a WF2010W and don't have a problem, as well not with Canon pigment inks which I used for testing, that's just my experience, other people may have experienced different issues in the past.

 

[Artur5]

Feldrod, by what you say, the trouble is with the black nozzles.. or it's also with the CMY colors ?.
It would help us to diagnose the problem if you posted here a nozzle test, preferably a good scan of the page, not a photo.
If you want my opinion, your present MB5150 seems to be the best balance between cost and performance, among the Canon range, I wouldn't know about Epsons. On the other part, a new printhead is not cheap, if you buy from a reputable dealer.
Time ago, when the printhead of my first MB5150 died (not clogs but total electrical failure ) I decided to purchase a new printer. It wasn't much more expensive than a new printhead and now I have a spare printer as well as an additional set of OEM carts.

 

[Redbrickman]

Yeah I am aware of the OctopusInks method but I threw away my starter carts three years ago and so I use the refillable V2 with the little diaphragm inside. They work really great as long as the user isn't dumb me
I have no leakage problem with them, they are highly reliable and as I said - able to print standard quality (when the printer was "okay" after I found about the air intake plug not being supposed to be there during printing I printed appx. two printjobs, each at 600 leafs of paper, dualsided with no issue at standard quality) however when now I print standard the streaks make the text illegible and the streaks are continually the same size and the same place with no matter of cleaning procedures making them go so I am pretty sure I burned some nozzles

Can you send me a link to the V2 carts? Not sure if I have seen them but they sound interesting. Often on Ebay you can pick up empty Maxify carts so that would be another way to make up an OEM set with ARC chips.

 

[The Hat]

I print standard the streaks make the text illegible and the streaks are continually the same size and the same place with no matter of cleaning procedures

I had much the same problem with my black images, on standard mode and had to print everything on high to maintain quality, I purchased a new head (Difficult to get) and then noticed a new printer was only a few €’s more, so I got one for spare..
P.S. The old black ink I used was always clogging and that’s what did in my nozzles.. That and laziness not checking..