Is it Possible to Refill PG (x45) Cartridge with Megatank Ink?

[keruchan]

I’m wondering if there are Pigment ink right there that is compatible with PG-745. it’s the same cartridge with PG 445, 245, 145, 545, 645

I have done refilling it with Locally available (Third party) Universal Dye ink and was not happy with it. and flush it.
me being confident that I can Redo things If I made a mistake also tried Locally available (Third party) Universal pigment ink.
and it was a mistake there are lots of misalignment and smudges specially on text so I flush it immediately. and put 2ml Dye ink to test if the print head obtains some permanent damage.
luckily it didn’t


So I found myself here searching for an answer if I can use the OEM Pigment from Canon. (coz unlike third party inks OEM inks are a bit pricey)
I got confused as there are two conflicting answers both have their own personal experience.
Yes it does, Click here
No, It won’t. Click here

There are Several Black OEM Ink that I’m looking at.
GI-749 BK (Pigment)
GI-71 PGBK
GI-73 BK (Dye)

Ink stained Fingers points me to GI-73 from this post. and found myself on the rabbit hole of Chromalife100+ and how it is par or even better than Pigment base ink from this website


This is why despite looking for pigment ink, I’m considering using GI-73 Black dye ink. (This I knew for sure has highest chance of success but if it doesn’t, that would be the most expensive mistake I would be making here compare to the 2 universal ink above that is dirt cheap).

NOTE :
my use case is for barcode and Tiny QR code printing for a small business. I bought TS207 coz its the cheapest printer and the most economically wise for my use case. the cost of original sponge cartridge and GI-73 is the same, but GI-73 can cover 4 refills so I still see it as good choice.

 

[keruchan]

I finally found a third post but it was from Reddit

saying it works and he replied back to confidently that it works.
This gave me confident to proceed with GI-790.

 

[keruchan]

so I Finally visit an Office warehouse branch near me to get an original canon GI-790 coz I do not want to risk getting a fake one online. not to mention if I walk in on an actual store I go home with the item instead of waiting for 2 day shipping

Here is the Result

I flush the dye ink. and put in just 2ml of GI-790 to test if it will work. before I put in 7ml more.
top <BK> is universal dye ink (which I'm not happy with). bottom <BK> is the GI-790 BK (pigment)

I test it if its really Pigment by dropping some water on it (smudge test)
and it didn't smudge at all
(this is crucial on printing Tiny QR codes.. just a tiny smudge would make them unreadable by scanner. )

My journey ends here.
GI-790 bk is around $7.5 with 135ml
that's half the price of PG-745 cartridge.
and it can cover between 8 to 11 refills that's already a big savings.

I'm happy with the result.
my goal on finding the cheapest printer for barcode and QR code printing is a success.

This website is a big help finding critical information.
Thank you guys!