Little questions about canon mx printheads

[user5800]

1) Was wondering about these print heads, how much they are supposed to last in terms of pages ? (talking of mx870 printheads)

2) Amzn seem to sell some compatible ones probably chinese brand at 20 € each, are they good at least a bit? (I don't think Canon sell original ones anymore...)

 

[Artur5]

AFAIK printheads for the MX870 are still widely available from reliable vendors.
If you’re in North America, Canon USA is the best source
As you mention €20, I gather that you’re in Europe ?. then Eparts.fr in France or www.ceins.de ( C1 supplies ) in Germany.
You probably know that new genuine printheads are expensive. Let’s say €65 + shipping in Europe. I wouldn’t know the cost in USA or other areas.
As an alternative option, there’s the ‘Chinese lottery’ on Amazon/Ebay/Ali-Express.
€20 gives you a ticket number with dubious chances of winning. Even if that refurbished unit worked OK in the beginning, the probabilities of failing within a short time are high.
I played myself two or three times without luck. Other forum members here had similar experiences.
As for the total number of pages to expect, this is more a question of luck than anything, provided you don‘t mistreat the printer. Using only OEM ink can make a significant difference as well, because some third party inks, specially pigment black, fail to cool down properly the thermal printhead and the nozzles can be damaged irreversibly after a period of time. On the other part, some well cared printheads used always with OEM inks fail very soon for no apparent reason.
If I mentioned before the ‘Chinese lottery’ now that would be the ‘Canon lottery’.
It seems that Canon users, are bound to end up being compulsive gamblers, willingly or not..


Edit:

 

[Callistemon]

If I mentioned before the ‘Chinese lottery’ now that would be the ‘Canon lottery’.
It seems that Canon users, are bound to end up being compulsive gamblers, willingly or not..

That's because Canon doesn't care about their customers, or they would be decent. It's that simple.

 

[palombian]

... I gather that you’re in Europe ?. then Eparts.fr in France or www.ceins.de ( C1 supplies ) in Germany.
....
Edit:

I already bought from both suppliers, printheads are genuine Canon and prices reasonable.

 

[user5800]

Haha, thanks for the explanation. I can understand that you can't give an exact number but a range? a max value? for the 9500 it was said in another topic that is rated for 21.000 prints. (please write a whatever estimate)

Probably if this is the case I would go for Amzn with the chinese lottery, getting the top rated 20 € ones and send it back if fails like a boss because in Europe you know things must last at least 2 years (warranty exactly in order to prevent junk electronics). Would do the same with the Canon ones but they aren't available on Amzn.

 

[Artur5]

That's because Canon doesn't care about their customers, or they would be decent. It's that simple.

You seem to be in a rampant anti-Canon crussade ..
I'm afraid that all manufacturers tend to priorize their bussiness and not customers interests. Epson is way worse than Canon in this aspect,. They stop to nothing in order to ban the use of third party products with their printers.

 

[user5800]

Found a MX870 service manual

https://www.scribd.com/document/317782087/Canon-Pixma-MX870-Service-Manual

where to check the estimate of the printhead last?

 

[Callistemon]

You seem to be in a rampant anti-Canon crussade ..
I'm afraid that all manufacturers tend to priorize their bussiness and not customers interests. Epson is way worse than Canon in this aspect,. They stop to nothing in order to ban the use of third party products with their printers.

I actually always recommend Canon every single time and will never buy anything else, because of how the other brands are worse and have DRM. However, it does suck having to recommend Canon models with calculator screens, no replacement parts after 5 years, flimsy trays that break off, and non-XXL cartridges that are opaque to obscure how they are mostly empty.

 

[user5800]

Could someone reply me instead going off topic and jumping my posts? thanks

want to know an estimate of pages a printhead of an mx870 can do before die, just to understand and maybe compare it to a laser model

 

[Artur5]

I don’t know about your printer but I have service manuals for some of my older Pixmas and Canon estimation for lifespan of their products seem inconsistent to me.

For instance, the IP4000 is rated for 6 years or 18000 pages (whatever comes first). These figures applies to the printer and the printhead.
Instead, the IP3000 is rated for 3 years or 6000 pages, printer or printhead.
Both machines are of the same generation and practically the same in terms of mechanics and electronics. The only difference being that the IP3000 hasn’t a photo black channel and yet Canon rates the IP4000 as three times more durable.

In real life, I owned a IP3000 that lasted around 12 years and printed almost 50.000 pages. In fact, it was the printhead that failed because the machine was still working fine.
Long story short : Canon lifespan ratings are not to be taken very seriously.

What is true is that in the majority of cases the printer will outlive the printhead by a long stretch.