Bulk ink for Canon CLI-551 and CLI-581

[stratman]

combined with third party firmware

Is this a hacked third party firmware, like what was available for certain optical drives in the good old days?

Is a flash utility required to flash the EEPROM with the aftermarket firmware?

What additional functions are available?

 

[Hugorm]

Having tested both genuine and claimed resetable cartridges on a Canon Ts705 using x81 type cartridge I can confirm that none are resetable. Both are behaving the same way (inklevel have to be disabled for continuos use)!

Accepting to run without inklevel detection I need a yelow ink more like the genuine. Se picture-

Left hand is genuine. Right hand is compatibel (Ink-mate).
I know all the colors are different, but the yellow have the most difference.

Is there a more compatable ink available?

 

[websnail]

Is this a hacked third party firmware, like what was available for certain optical drives in the good old days?

Is a flash utility required to flash the EEPROM with the aftermarket firmware?

What additional functions are available?

A bit of judicious searching with the terms "chipless firmware epson" should help with info on that front.

I suspect it's partly related to some enterprising individuals comparing firmware for cartridge based models with Ecotank equivalents and working out how to make the cartridge models think like Ecotank units.

 

[stratman]

A bit of judicious searching with the terms "chipless firmware epson" should help with info on that front.

Thanks. Appears I have been there, done that since the November post.

Good of mikling to get back to me on it. Oh, wait. You did. He didn't.

 

[Hugorm]

Can I mix bulk yellow and magenta dye ink from the same manufacturer?

I want to have the original color (see #62) of yellow. I can reach allmost the right result by changing the color-setting in the printerdriver, but it would be easier to change the ink before refilling. (I know I've to do some experiment to get the color right).

Two items worries me:
Will I risk the dye ink to separate in the cartridge?
Will I risk heavy blocking of the printhead?

 

[The Hat]

Can I mix bulk yellow and magenta dye ink from the same manufacturer?

Firstly, yes you can mix your colour inks together without causing any harm to your printer, no separating or clogs issues will occur.

But if you mix the yellow/magenta colours together, you’ll get a completely different outcome, that will then affect all the other colours too, and you’ll never get satisfactory colours again.

The compatible colour spectrum is different to OEM inks but are used as a complete set, so you can’t just change 1 colour, the best way to overcome this is to use the printer preferences / manual Colour Adjustment and that will make a big difference to your output…

click to enlarge..

 

[PeterBJ]

I also have that DataNord test image in a PDF file. Printing this using an iP4300 with OEM inks I get a result that is very much like that in post #62, with a pale orange instead of a bright red. I think I read on the forum that colours might not print properly from Word documents and PDF files (?) so maybe that test image is not the best(?).

I agree with the Hat that mixing inks will complicate things. Instead the colours should be adjusted in the driver settings. Here is a trick that makes this adjustment easier.

I remember DataNord from the days of the 486 CPU. I bought a second hand VLB graphics card from them.

If you a couple of years ago bought a box with 50 OEM PGI-5/CLI-8 cartridges at DKK10 = 1.5 $ or € per cartridge using OEM ink in your default printer is affordable

 

[PeterBJ]

I guess I made a mistake by printing the DataNord test image on plain paper. That test image looks much better when printed on a sheet of photo paper. Using the iP4300 with OEM ink, Canon Photo Paper Pro as selected media, Quality = standard and Colour and Intensity = Auto and a 4x6" sheet of Netbit 300 GSM glossy photo paper, the result is much better. Here is a scan using an Epson V33 scanner with 150 dpi and default settings. Click to enlarge.



So @Hugorm If you printed the test image on plain paper, then try printing it on photo paper before making any colour adjustments. Your inks and printer might be better than you thought, An inkjet printer needs photo paper to show its full potential.

 

[Hugorm]

Thank you for all the answers.
I think I understand most of the problems and look for solutions to reduce the cost/work of this:
Task:
Printing approx. 200 pages A4 (8"x10") plain paper a week.
Using high quality setting (to avoid lines) on a Canon IP7250. (roughly 125 pages/cartridge).
Wish:
Ability to refill at a lower cost than 20 DKr/cartridge (3$ USD) and not having to correct colorscheme on each PC.
Being able to switch the hole ink setup directly back to OEM without changing printer setup (I have to clean or change printhead).
Looking for:
Bulk ink with a higher likeness to OEM (G-ink maybe in IP7250?)

When I want photo cuality I use TS9150 wih OEM ink and Canon PR-101 glossy paper.