I'm Just Giving Up On My Canon

[cannonvictim]

Come on mikling give me a break. I'm 76 years old and ham fisted. I don't need to figure out how to punch out bb's or which type of screw to reseal a refilled cartridge. What I need is cheap prefilled carts that don't need chips removed or attached. I would like to get such a printer cheap too. Maybe you're right about not taking it to Good Will. But I can go there and see if anything better than my old Lexmark is for sale cheap. This business reminds me of the Gillette razor company. They gave away beautifully made razors for a song so they could make their fortune on the blades.

 

[fotofreek]

cannonvictim - As a 73 year old I can tell you that refilling isn't rocket science! Your best bet is to avoid trying to buy a used inkjet at goodwill. Who gets rid of a perfectly functional printer (except someone disillusioned by having the misfortune to buy a newer canon with chipped cartridge). It will probably be clogged or have electronic or paper feed problems. There are still a few non-chipped Canons out there, but they now command premium prices for the same reason that you are looking. Up until a few weeks ago there were some new mp780 multiple purpose printers available, but I just googled that model and it looks like most have either been sold or the price has jumped. Refilling the ip5200 isn't that difficult once you get the hang of it. I've shown a few friends exactly how to create and seal the fill hole and the work flow to refill these carts without making much of a mess. Since you own the printer it wouldn't cost much to try it - about the cost of two new carts. If you really want to give the ip5200 away I'll be the first in line!

Usually, the cheaper the inkjet printer, the more expensive the ink. The cheapest ones have tricolor carts that have around 5 cc of each color whereas the dye based carts for your printer have about 13 cc ( if they are the same as the bci-6 carts from the previous printer models).

Your comment about the Gillette Razor model is accurate with one major exception. The blades were reasonably priced. Replacing the carts in your printer cost nearly what the printer cost you.

If you really want to give the ip5200 away I'll be the first in line!

 

[mikling]

About the razors. When I started using the Trac II and Trac IIIs. They were priced pretty high but what a shave. Too bad I couldn't resharpen those myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hey wait, I never tried.

cannonvictim as a 73 yr old, your kids and possibly your grandkids should be helping you refill those. They should not be letting a senior suffer like that.

fotofreek, the newer tricolor cartridges which come with those really well priced All in Ones only have about 3 cc of "usable" ink before the ink monitor kicks in and says better buy some more.

Now where is that 9 pin Dot Matrix I used to spray WD-40 onto the ribbons for refills and I didn't have to worry about clogging. Best yet, the sound of precision as it printed away..... hey look at that new 24 pin printer WOW!!!! Sharp graphics.

 

[ghwellsjr]

This business reminds me of the Gillette razor company. They gave away beautifully made razors for a song so they could make their fortune on the blades.

Your comment about the Gillette Razor model is accurate with one major exception. The blades were reasonably priced.

About the razors. When I started using the Trac II and Trac IIIs. They were priced pretty high but what a shave.

Gillette is still up to their old tricks. I have been using a Mach III with Turbo blades for several years but a few months ago, I received in the mail a new Fushion model that has FIVE edges and it was far and away the best shave I have ever had. The one cartridge that came with it lasted for three months. I decided to buy a pack of the very expensive cartridges but it turns out they are no better than the Mach III.

At least Canon doesn't make special long-lasting cartridges to get you hooked on their printers.

 

[Tin Ho]

I will never buy another Canon product!!

The problem of this is that other alternatives may be worse. Been there. Done that. And all my HP and Epson printers are now covered with one inch thick dust. But my Canon is polished and working. The reason is the supply can be cheap if you learn how to manage it. Despite your age it is quite possible you can deal with it. If you give it to your children you are not punishing them at all. They will thank you for the gift. They will probably love it. Hope someone in this forum can change your mind to give it one more thought.

 

[pebe]

...... Despite your age it is quite possible you can deal with it. If you give it to your children you are not punishing them at all. They will thank you for the gift. They will probably love it. Hope someone in this forum can change your mind to give it one more thought.

I'm 81 and I have no problems refilling Canon carts. It's easy!

 

[Speedy1]

...... Despite your age it is quite possible you can deal with it. If you give it to your children you are not punishing them at all. They will thank you for the gift. They will probably love it. Hope someone in this forum can change your mind to give it one more thought.

I'm 81 and I have no problems refilling Canon carts. It's easy!

I'm 108 years old you know! And I don't have any problems refilling my Canon either.
I remember when this was all trees .. just can't remember to get to the bathroom on time...

 

[Tin Ho]

Have just done that. I wasn't aware I could do that. Thanks, Ghwells.

It's not funny to joke about age. I remember I could scream at very high pitch when I was young. But one day I lost that ability. Of course it was a result of growing up. Seriously, Canon printer is the ultimate alternative for canonvictim. It is just that he is unaware of that. Yes, chipped carts does not make life easier. But these new printers with chips are better printers than those without. I am willing to give up printers with BCI carts to exchange the new ones with chipped carts. I really think ip4300 is far better than ip4000.

Just recently I got an Epson R300. It's a horrible printer to own. It scares me all the time. Just this morning I turned it on and I just felt like to look at my cartridges moving to the position for removing cartridges. I did not remove any cartridges. I did lift the latch but I did not remove anything. I pressed OK button so that the printer could go back to rest in its parking lot. Guess what? It statrted a cleaning cycle. I almost got a stroke. That's a few bucks down the toilet by doing nothing. This printer will never replace any of my Canon printers. No Epson will ever replace my Canons.

If you are as unfortunate as I am to own an Epson, you want to know about this. If you want to replace all of your cartriages and do it one at a time, by the time you get the last one replaced your newly replaced first one has at least 20% of the ink in the waste ink tank. This is because for each one you replace the printer will run a cleaning cycle. Unleass you replace all at once, if you replace one by one and you have 6 carts like mine you figure how much ink you will lose to the waste ink tank. That's 6 cleaning cycles of waste. Besides, I think it won't take too long for the waste ink tank to fill up. And Epson won't give you money back even if you take the waste ink tank to them and ask for a refund.

Thanks god. We still have Canon that makes life colorful.

 

[cannonvictim]

OK I'll give it one try. I really hope someone here can direct me to the best place where the CLI 8 and PGBK cartridge refill procedures are clearly outlined and the source for ink that works too. I found a post that had so many updates that I really couldn't follow what to do. I think the latest was that the PGBK carts take pigment ink and don't work with dye ink. But that thread is very hard to follow. As you say I can wait till my son visits---but I have another higher priority way for him to spend his time here. Maybe I can master it myself.

 

[fotofreek]

Like so many new skills, the first few times are kind of a shake down cruise. You will learn a lot from just doing it, and the second and third times will be much easier. Use latex exam glove and work over an area that won't be harmed by a few drops of ink. For the first half year I was very cautious and worked with everything in a shallow, large plastic storage container - like the ones people buy to store things under a bed. I now just put a few sheets of newspaper on my desk or in the bottom of the kitchen sink and refill.

All of the vendors have instructions on how to refill the bci-6 and bci-3ebk carts and the newer ones work just the same way. Look for Lilla's post from today on the various ways to create and seal the fill hole. Mine is one that she listed so I won't repeat it here. Remember to temporarily seal the ink outlet before opening a fill hole or you will definitely make a mess! If you don't have the caps that were removed from the outlet hole when you installed the carts in the printer you can use electrician's tape. You should definitely have two sets of carts so you can replace one that is nearly empty and not leave the ink intake port of the printhead open to the air as it can dry and cause a clog. After refilling a cart you should have a positive seal for the fill hole and also seal the outlet and the air vent for storage. Use a little Clorox to clean any spots of ink off you hands or the sink if you see any stains.

I have a friend, age 72, who has parkinson's and has lost a good amount of manual dexterity. I ordered him a set of 2 oz squeeze bottles from Howard electronics ($15 with needles and shipping included), a set of inks from Hobbicolors, and he manages refilling quite well. Of course he made a mess the first time as he forgot about sealing the outlet hole before opening the fill hole! He won't make that mistake again!

I don't have a printer with the chipped carts so I don't know first hand which inks are best. I understand that hobbicolors and MIS have inks for the new printers. Someone on the forum can give you advice regarding the inks they use for them. I don't know if Alotofthings has these inks yet, but their web site has good info on dealing with the chipped carts. Of special importance is the fact that refilled carts will still signal the printer that they are empty. There will be a "nag" screen that you will damage your printer by continuing. You have to do some button presses to turn that screen off so you can continue to print. There is information on the Alotofthings site that tells you about this problem. Canon then turns off the ink level monitor and you will have to monitor ink levels yourself by eye. Easy and quick to do as the carts are clear. Refill them before the reservoir section is 80% empty, as printing until the cart is totally empty will damage the printhead. To save money, you can rejuvinate these carts after several refills by purging them with hot water and they will last you a very long time. Grandad35 has instructions on how to purge them, and there was recenly a post on using a syringe if you can't hook up grandad35's device to your sink.

Glad to see that you have decided to give it a try. You have a good printer and I'm sure you will enjoy using it.