Cost of CLI-551 ink

[wilko]

I have been using OCP CLI-8 ink for all my Canon printers (IP4500s, MG6200s & IP7250) for some time with no problems. Thought I'd price up OCP CLI-551 ink to see how it works with my IP7250. What a shock I got. Price per ltr is twice the price of CLi-8 ink and more surprisingly, C,M and Y each costs more than black pigment ink.

Wondered if this price difference applies just to OCP ink and can anyone explain such a wide difference in price.

Guess I'll be sticking with CLi-8 ink for the foreseeable future

 

[PeterBJ]

It might be a good idea to check prices from different dealers. Here are prices from a German dealer, the price difference is much less, around 15%. Here are prices for PGI-5/CLI-8 and here are prices for PGI-550/CLI-551. Scroll down to see prices for the OCP inks, they sell more brands of ink.
http://www.refillsupermarket.co.uk/index.php/inkjet-supplies/ocp-bulk-ink/canon-ink.html
Is this your ink supplier? I think the price differences are caused by supply and demand.

 

[wilko]

You're right I do use Refill Supermarket in the UK.
These are the prices of OCP ink, I found.

CLI-8 ink Octopus £16.29 per litre - Refill Supermarket £14.58 per litre
CLI-551 ink Octopus £24.22 per litre - Refill Supermarket £28.62 per litre

Still rather a large price difference between the inks, from both companies.

You're probably right about supply and demand but it would be interesting to know which ink OCP sells the most of.

I note that Image specialists ink prices are the same for both CLI-526 and CLI-8 at Octoinkjet. He doesn't sell IS ink for CLI-551 carts.

 

[The Hat]

@wilko why does the price of 3rd party ink bother you so much, there are many places around to get even cheaper ink than the ones your quoting.

The whole object of the exercise is to get the best quality 3rd ink and service that you can find and the price should be the last thing on your mind, so what if you have to pay an extra 10 or 15% for it.

Just as long as you’re satisfied with the quality of ink your using, that’s all the matters, it’s still going to be 75% cheaper than OEM ink and 50 cent here or there is not going to brake the bank.

Smaller quantities of ink are always going to be more expensive to purchase.
Question:- Which brand of ink does Refill Supermarket stock.. ?

 

[wilko]

@wilko why does the price of 3rd party ink bother you so much, there are many places around to get even cheaper ink than the ones your quoting.

The whole object of the exercise is to get the best quality 3rd ink and service that you can find and the price should be the last thing on your mind, so what if you have to pay an extra 10 or 15% for it.

Just as long as you’re satisfied with the quality of ink your using, that’s all the matters, it’s still going to be 75% cheaper than OEM ink and 50 cent here or there is not going to brake the bank.

Smaller quantities of ink are always going to be more expensive to purchase.
Question:- Which brand of ink does Refill Supermarket stock.. ?

I never said it bothered me. I am just puzzled why OCP CL-551 ink is twice the cost of CLI-8 ink

 

[The Hat]

@wilko, It’s probably got something to do with it being newly formulated ink especially blended for the 551 carts and they are just try to get back some of their R&D costs I imagine, a lot of the time when you buy low cost inks, it tends to preform poorly because they don’t do any R&D.

I only purchase from known quality ink suppliers, and yes it is more expensive from them unfortunately, and I don’t like it either, but it's still cheaper than a replacement print head..

 

[websnail]

I don't have any direct information that would help on the specific 551 vs' older but couple of things to note.

OCP prices its inks based on the cost of raw materials for that specific ink. That means that some inks are dirt cheap while others are seriously expensive.

Other manufacturers use (or used) a flat rate approach where the costs were spread over the entire range.

Now, back in 2014 prices on raw materials went through the roof (stratosphere in some cases) and with that pricing strategies also altered. The difference you're seeing may be a reflection of that for new ink blends whereas the older inks have remained with the original pricing approach. Throw in the desire to dispose of older stock and that probably explains the differences.

As I said, it's not specific to the 551 but it's certainly something we've had to consider here.