Canon TS700 series printers

[wilko]

I'm just an old time junkie cartridge filler. Not really into AIO printers. I have a dedicated scanner for this. My love of Canon printers began with the Canon IP4000. What a printer, and since then I have only been interested in Canon printers which have refillable cartridges. I have had the ip4300 and then the Ip4500 (sweet) and now I have 2 IP4850 printers, 2 MG6250 printers (grey ink), 1 IP4700, 1 IX 8700 (for A3 printing) My latest purchases have been for the TS 700 series. I have picked up 3 of them at bargain prices. No resetter is available, nor are ARC chips but you can pick up non ARC refillable cartridges from Ali Express for about £12. On Ebay the same carts are selling for £35+ The TS705a in the UK is smaller and more solid than the IP7250 and the ink pads are easier to access than any other Canon printer I have ever owned. The TS 705 is so quick and doesn't seem to need the exhausting wake up that older Canon printers take before printing.
It's only £49.95 in the the UK and if you are into photo printing and duplex printing it is a bargain, Replacement non OEM carts are available on EBay but these carts often contain cheap ink. Each to their own and I'm not convinced that cheap ink will ruin your printhead, but what i can state from experience is that it will ruin your photos. I have just printed a print out a nozzle check with 2473 pages. All perfect. Will post print out if someone tells me how to do it. Having said all this I have also previously posted the merits of the IP7250. Didn't work out well for me. Great printer and cheap carts but too many errors not printhead related. However, I have now come to the conclusion that all printers are disposable items which we have to accept. They are all offered at a low price which the producers hope to recoup by selling us massive prices for OEM ink. Each to their own. Just grab the printer that appeals to you. (5 inks should be the norm) and if you want to print photos look for refillable cartridges with quality ink like octoinkjet or refillsupermarket.uk.
Most youngsters just want to show their photos online but to some of of us there is nothing like seeing a print out in your hand. We may be dinousars but we have lived and IMO a beautiful printed photo on good quality photo paper will always trump online photos. It just becomes real once it is in your hand.
" You may call me a dreamer, but I'm not the only one" Thought I'd throw in the late great John Lennon quote but it really sums up this forum. I received such information in the early days of refilling which must have saved me hundreds of pounds. Different days but still savings to be made.
Not all of us can afford or need Canon pro printers and IMO we need more posts about alternatives. IMO grab hold of a TS700 series printer. Use up the Canon OEM carts for your photos, using quality photo paper and start using refillable non ARC carts. Don't get sucked into using Ebay compatible carts. They may have lower quality ink which will negate any savings you make from using genuine Canon quality ink.
IMO genuine Canon ink is the best you can purchase. However, unless you are a millionnaire Canon ink is out of reach for most of us. ArC carts and resetters were good whilst they lasted but now we have to manage what is available. Just get some refillable carts from AliExpress. Ebay is selling the same carts at £35+
I love the TS7500a, in the UK. Fastest wake up printer I have ever owned

 

[The Hat]

Well said in lots of words, but we know what you mean..

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

IMO genuine Canon ink is the best you can purchase. However, unless you are a millionnaire Canon ink is out of reach for most of us.

No, not really - you can def. afford genuine Chromalife inks when you buy the bottled inks GI53 which run on the G550/650 Megatank printer, and you easily can do refill with these inks. You cannot get a better ink elsewhere, and you use the GI51PGBK pigmented ink bottled as well.

 

[wilko]

No, not really - you can def. afford genuine Chromalife inks when you buy the bottled inks GI53 which run on the G550/650 Megatank printer, and you easily can do refill with these inks. You cannot get a better ink elsewhere, and you use the GI51PGBK pigmented ink bottled as well.

Partly agree with you about the G550/650. Seems to be a great printer with 6 inks and I have asked a question on another thread about whether refill bottles can somehow be refilled with non OEM quality ink. If it can I would be really interested in these printers but OEM ink even for these printers is still way above what I pay for refilling ink carts for my printers. These Megatank printers are the best of the current Megatank crop,IMO, and I'm tempted to buy one just for dedicated photo printing. However, my current Canon printers still print excellent photo prints and a much lower cost than Megatank OEM ink and give me duplex printing which I regularly use. If the G550/650 OEM bottles can be refilled then I might be interested. After all this forum is about refilling

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Yes, you can fill up the GI53 ink bottles quite easily with other ink.
I won't recommend one printer over the other, there are quite some detailed reviews on the internet for the G550 like here

https://www.northlight-images.co.uk/site-search-page/?q=G550

and you decide if such printer matches your requirements

refilled with non OEM quality ink.

Be glad that the GI53 genuine Chromalife inks are available bottled at an affordable price, I'm not aware of a non-OEM quaility ink, it is not so much that such 3rd party inks may give you a slightly smaller gamut , the main difference is that the longevity of your prints with such 3rd party inks is much lower compared to prints with OEM inks. Yes - such third party inks can be much cheaper but you give up long term stability. I'm not aware of a test which tells you which ink just delivers 30% compared to the OEM ink , or 10% or just 1% , and yes - you can buy inks which you can watch fading - from day to day. So it's up to you which inks you are going to use - ink swapping is not that simple on a G550 or alike. You cannot just swap cartridges with a second set - one set for Chromalife inks and another set for no-name inks as you could do on a printer with cartridges.

And be aware that the type of photo paper impacts the longevity as well - cheaper cast coated - cc- papers - those with a paperlike back side - lower the long term stability compared to photo papers of the PE/RC type - papers which are sandwiched with PE film on both sides.

That's the good thing overall - you have the choice of lower or higher performing consumables - inks and papers - and you pick those which you consider good (enough) for the intended print jobs.

 

[wilko]

Yes, you can fill up the GI53 ink bottles quite easily with other ink.
I won't recommend one printer over the other, there are quite some detailed reviews on the internet for the G550 like here

https://www.northlight-images.co.uk/site-search-page/?q=G550

and you decide if such printer matches your requirements


Be glad that the GI53 genuine Chromalife inks are available bottled at an affordable price, I'm not aware of a non-OEM quaility ink, it is not so much that such 3rd party inks may give you a slightly smaller gamut , the main difference is that the longevity of your prints with such 3rd party inks is much lower compared to prints with OEM inks. Yes - such third party inks can be much cheaper but you give up long term stability. I'm not aware of a test which tells you which ink just delivers 30% compared to the OEM ink , or 10% or just 1% , and yes - you can buy inks which you can watch fading - from day to day. So it's up to you which inks you are going to use - ink swapping is not that simple on a G550 or alike. You cannot just swap cartridges with a second set - one set for Chromalife inks and another set for no-name inks as you could do on a printer with cartridges.

And be aware that the type of photo paper impacts the longevity as well - cheaper cast coated - cc- papers - those with a paperlike back side - lower the long term stability compared to photo papers of the PE/RC type - papers which are sandwiched with PE film on both sides.

That's the good thing overall - you have the choice of lower or higher performing consumables - inks and papers - and you pick those which you consider good (enough) for the intended print jobs.

Thank you so much for your reply and the link you posted. A proper in depth review of the G550. I take your point about longevity of photo prints and fading but as a photo printing enthusiast junkie, I just want the best photo print I can achieve at the lowest price. Like most photo enthusiasts, all of my photos are digital online and on various HDD backups but I still print many photos for friends and family. Fading isn't a problem for me. I can just print another photo. However, I do want the best photo I can achieve with my printer. I also use my printers daily for duplex printing so perhaps The G550 could become my dedicated photo printer using OEM inks. For almost 20 years I have avoided paying the inflated prices for Canon OEM inks but perhaps the G550 is the new deal breaker and OEM inks are the only deal in town

 

[wilko]

Just getting back to my original praise of the Canon TS 700 series. The ink pads are readily available to change/clean. Never seen this in any other Canon printer I have owned. Just got my first problem, Duplex paper jam. Cleaned paper rollers now back to it's best 2473 pages printed. Mostly duplex. Great printer but don't buy it unless you are willing/able to purchase refillable ink cartridges from Ali Express. Ebay UK sell the same carts at inflated prices. Or willing to pay for non OEM pre filled carts with inferior ink. Not sure there are many on here still into refilling so perhaps my post may fall on deaf ears. Still it has been good while it lasted and many thanks to those who helped me save thousands of pounds throughout the years.

 

[wilko]

No, not really - you can def. afford genuine Chromalife inks when you buy the bottled inks GI53 which run on the G550/650 Megatank printer, and you easily can do refill with these inks. You cannot get a better ink elsewhere, and you use the GI51PGBK pigmented ink bottled as well.

Just took the plunge and purchased th G550. Wow! Don't know how they stand up against the Pro printers but the G550 prints are way above anything I have ever printed. Used Canon paper and good quality printer paper and both give excellent photos. Will continue printing with my current crop of Canon printers but any photos I print will always be on my G550 printer. Got it for £199 in the UK with a 3 year warranty. IMO it's just a purely photo printer. No duplex.
Surprisingly there is no black photo ink and I presume that the grey ink is the alternative. As this is purely a photo printer I find it surprising that there is a black pigmented ink as part of the package. Perhaps Canon wants to appeal to all with this printer.
IMO, stay clear if you want an all round printer but if you want a printer which can deliver fantastic photo prints at the cheapest possible price, this is the one to go for.
Love it. Thank you Ink Stained Fingers for alerting me to to this fantastic printer.
Just a word of warning. I am always worried about praising a particular printer but I love how you just fill up the printer with bottles. No more worries about ink cartridge starvation etc. I will continue refilling my IP4700, IP 4850 x2 MG6250 x2, TS705 x3 until the day they die. They are all fantastic printers but none of these basic printers can deliver quality photos like the G550, IMO. Still the G550 can't give me duplex printing and is a waste of ink for printing documents.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Surprisingly there is no black photo ink and I presume that the grey ink is the alternative.

the G550 printer uses both a dye black GI53BK and a gray GI53GY ink , it does not use a separate matte pigment black ink for document printing like other 5 color Canon printers do

 

[wilko]

the G550 printer uses both a dye black GI53BK and a gray GI53GY ink , it does not use a separate matte pigment black ink for document printing like other 5 color Canon printers do

Thanks for info. Makes perfect sense for a dedicated photo printer. Have often used black photo ink in my other printers which have a black pigment ink cartridge so no loss as far as I am concerned. So we have a Canon photo printer which uses all 6 inks for photo printing at a reasonable price with replacement OEM ink at a reasonable price. Kills refilling but a full ink refill of OEM ink amounts to about £84 and lasts ages. Also single refill bottles can be purchased at about the same cost as a Canon ink cartridge. The G550 ink bottles contain 60m whilst cartridges contain 7ml. Only possible downside is non duplex printing but this is mainly a photo printer that can also print documents at a price that is way below anything that previous Canon ink cartridge printers can compete with.
Photo prints are fantastic, imo, but it should be seen as a photo printer, not as a replacement for a MFP printer which most people seem to favour nowadays.
Looks like it's about be replaced because it is available in the UK at a reduced price of £199. Not on the Canon site though