Canon PGI-2x00XL compatibles?

[Feldrod]

Hello dear people of printerknowledge,
I'd love to ask. I know I may be spamming this forum with (now second I think?) question about Canon's MAXIFY printers but please, bear with me.
Has anybody tried compatible cartrides for the Canon MAXIFYs IB4xx0 and MB5xx0?
I have personal reasons to not refill the cartridges (it was a gift) but I want to save money on printing. The main thing I worry is voiding warranty (which is why I want to use compatibles - I know I will void it, but as far as I can tell, if I will swap cartridges right before the printer going to service center, they shouldn't tell anything), ink starving (I heard about banding issue when using refilled/refillable carts) and what the ink is based on. Most of compatibles are ofcourse dye-based but I found some dirt cheap carts from Ronells, they are 3€ per one (and that's 20ml for C/M/Y and 70mls per black) and they have imprinted big "PIGMENT" on their labels (at least by the seller's pictures). I already contacted the seller if he could confirm if it is dye-based or pigment-based. But I think it would be great if people from here could share their advices and experiences with any MAXIFY compatible carts as that would help people like me and people who don't want to fiddle with things and just consume.

 

[stratman]

Congratulations on your new Maxify. It is a great printer for it's designed use.

I found some dirt cheap carts from Ronells

Generally speaking, "dirt cheap carts" typically mean "cheap dirt ink", ie not quality ink. Be careful.

You can check to see the quality, or existence, of "pigment" ink by printing a page/image, letting it dry completely, and then letting tap water run over one-half the page for a second or two. Little to no streaking or ink run-off should occur with true pigment ink. As less and less pigment is in the ink, the more the ink washes off.

Please post a link to the cartridges you posted.

 

[Feldrod]

It is not printer-only or English retailer so the whole site is in Czech language.
https://www.yescom.cz/p/canon-pgi-2500xly-kompatibilni-napln-zluta-22ml
The retailer actually replied to me few minutes back and I think I will not buy from them only because of how they act with customers.
She basically told me "f' off, don't interrupt me, it's written "PIGMENT" on them so ofcourse they're "PIGMENT" " (not so harshly ofcourse, but the messege stays)
I'm not asking only about these cartridges but basically about any compatible one. I just don't want to ruin the printer. Color accuracy isn't problem for me. When yellow is "yellow-ish", cyan "cyan-ish" and magenta "magent-ish" then it's fine by me. I just want the printer to last and the prints to last.

 

[stratman]

Cannot advise on this particular brand of aftermarket cartridge or ink. I have yet to buy any ink, refill or otherwise, with my Maxify. Maybe some others in the forum can advise on compatibles they have bought in your area of the world.

One other thing to consider when buying aftermarket inks... the constituent parts of the ink play a role in cooling the nozzles of a Canon inkjet print head. If those constituents responsible for cooling are not approximated properly then you have increased risk for irreparable nozzle burnout. This is why I used the words "quality ink" before. The difficulty is knowing what aftermarket inks are "quality". "Cheap" doesn't necessarily mean poor quality but recommendation is to not be penny wise and pound foolish.

 

[Feldrod]

Yeah I know. I know it from my personal experience the hard way. I know Canon uses thermal ink nozzles (unlike Epson f. ex. which uses piezoelectric system) and that's why I am so worried about. Epson would be no big deal. Take the print head out, flush liters of ink flush (basically higher concentrated Bleach), put original cartridges in and it's Ok.
I actually burned three printheads in my life. Thanks God it was those PGI-545 and CLI-546 cartridge/printhead hybrid. By my own fault (not refilling when running out of ink because I couldn't guess when)
I'm just looking for alternatives. I know Canon's XL MAXIFY cartridges aren't terrible value (compared to HP f. ex.) but every penny saved is worth it, as long as it does not cause damage. And that's the problem. But I think I may buy them when the life of the Maxify will come to an end. Or just risk it.
I even found original ones (not XL though) to be on sale for 4 euros/piece.

 

[Artur5]

Ink options for Maxifys (and most printers) :
- Absolutely the best but very expensive : OEM carts.
- Second best : refill OEM carts with good quality bulk ink.
- Third best : refill third party carts with good quality bulk ink.
- Four best (and worst): buy compatible cartridges prefilled with dubious ink of unknown brand.

With your choice of saving but not refilling you’re restricting yourself to the worse solution. It’s trial and error. Maybe you’ll be lucky, finding quickly a reasonably good brand at a very good price, but you might as well damage your printer after a few unsuccessful attempts with poorly designed carts and bad ink.

 

[palombian]

Ink options for Maxifys (and most printers) :
- Absolutely the best but very expensive : OEM carts.
- Second best : refill OEM carts with good quality bulk ink.
- Third best : refill third party carts with good quality bulk ink.
- Four best (and worst): buy compatible cartridges prefilled with dubious ink of unknown brand.

With your choice of saving but not refilling you’re restricting yourself to the worse solution. It’s trial and error. Maybe you’ll be lucky, finding quickly a reasonably good brand at a very good price, but you might as well damage your printer after a few unsuccessful attempts with poorly designed carts and bad ink.

Agree 100%.

Don't worry about warranty, this is only to make you buy OEM ink.

The Maxify is not an expensive printer, good refill ink is so much cheaper and you don't need many other things for refilling (except autoreset chips maybe), after 3 or 4 refills you already recovered the original purchase price and you print for less than 1 cent a page.