Office Depot cartridges - CLI-8

[sneezer2]

The set of CLI-8 that I bought the other day turn out to be OEM Canons refilled.
I've seen that mentioned and as far as this set goes, that is confirmed. When you
take off the sloppily applied Office Depot label you see the original Canon label.
The refill is pretty hamfisted too. It looks like somebody used a drill press to
drill out the original fill ball with about a 1/4" (6mm) drill bit. It has a large conical hole,
not sealed at all except by the tape.
The chip looks like OEM too, except that it apparently has no contact scratches when
you get it, so it may be a clone. I guess it's just as cheap to make and apply a clone
as it would be to reset.

Seeing as they are OEM, excepting the chip, I will go ahead and continue using them
but I believe I will seal that awful hole with hot melt and go over to the Durchstich
method.

Unfortunately, you would not know this for sure if you buy another set because
Office Depot tapes th box shut and adds one of those little ant-theft strips. I
suppose for a total of $70 to buy all five, one might be justified in asking store
personnel for a look inside first.

 

[billkunert]

You can get a set of 5 CLI-8,PGI-5 compatibles from Swift Ink for $30. When I bought mine they were 2 for 1. They are compatibles and work well but are not using OEM carts or chips.

 

[sneezer2]

I had to do a lot of printing for an upcoming court appearance so a couple of these cartridges have gone empry already.
So I refilled the CLI-8Y and the PGI-5Bk using the Durchstich method, which turns out to be really easy.
The upper fill holes (the drill pressed one (?)) was actually sealed shut though it looked on first inspection that it was not.
They used some kind of water clear material, epoxy or polyester or some such that is really hard. I tried to pick
it out just to see what it is but it is too hard. So, it looks as if even Office Depot doesn't want you to refill "their"
refilled Canon OEMs. Also, the chips reset just fine.

This situation is not guaranteed as there is no certainty over where or when OD gets their stock but it was
OK for this lot.

 

[stratman]

"Also, the chips reset just fine."

I take it that means your chip resetter does work on yellow cartridge chips.

A portion of my detailed post to you at http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=26331#p26331 stated -

"The old cartridges you have may have damaged chip."

"3) Try flashing a different Yellow and Magenta cartridge, preferrably an OEM Canon as some aftermarket chipped cartridges are not resettable with ANY resetter."

Your response was -

"I was around the electronics industry for over fifty years and can't count the
number of times I have repaired equipment that no-one else could or that no-one else would even
touch. Don't need to brag, everyone has a life and that was mine. But the point is that my experience
leads me to doubt that so many chips would be defective."

"I don't see the logic of trying different Yellow and Magenta cartridges in
particular as I see no reason why those two colors would be different with respect to the chip."

Good thing you didn't take your own advice.

I'd wager that Office Depot's primary reason for sealing their refill hole as you described is to maintain a seal, not to prevent refilling by a relatively small number of enthusiasts. Leaking cartridges lead to liability and attendant expenses for the company.

I am glad to hear your resetter worked. Everyone wins when a fellow member succeeds.

 

[sneezer2]

Well no, stratman. I appreciate your comment and your concern but that is not exactly the case.
The chips that have reset OK are on different cartridges. They are the Office Depot cartridges that I
am talking about in this thread, the purpose of which is just to help folks be aware of what they "might"
be getting if they buy some.

I do agree that OD's reason for sealing the holes would be the same as everyone else's. The post is related
to the fact that I didn't see that at first. On first look, it appeared that the holes
were not sealed, except by tape and that seemed very odd and careless. The reason the seal could not be seen
by visual inspection is that the material they used is virtually invisible. Only upon trying to refill cartridges
through that "open" hole did I see that it is not really open and then discover that their material is also so
hard that you can't get it out with any tool that would not also destroy the cartridge. I suppose one could go to
the drill press, which seems extreme even if it appears that is what they did (or whoever did the refilling for
them). Well, I guess they can use any material they want if it works and my comment on OD wanting to prevent
anyone else from refilling is just a minor conjecture.

By the way, on a price comparison, these Office Depot cartridges don't seem such a good deal. They were about
$70 for the set but at a local Best Buy the set of new Canon OEM cartridges is $75. Price comparison is
tough work, especially when you don't have time to run around to a bunch of different stores. It's clearly
worth it though if you have the time.

With respect to your statements, stratman, about the resetter, I do have a response but think it better
for that purpose to move back to the thread where that discussion originally occurred. I will have a
comment there a bit later.

Though not relevant to this forum, I am pleased to say that in the court case I was preparing I have
won and was able to beat the crap out of the snotty little witch of a lawyer that the school district
sent around. My property assessment was reduced from $369,500 to $180,000, largely because I was able to
print out a six inch stack of evidence using these little printers. Aren't they a wonder?

 

[stratman]

Well no, stratman. I appreciate your comment and your concern but that is not exactly the case.
The chips that have reset OK are on different cartridges. They are the Office Depot cartridges that I
am talking about in this thread, the purpose of which is just to help folks be aware of what they "might"
be getting if they buy some.

No, it was exactly the case as I wrote - try the resetter on different cartridges, which you did, and the resetter worked.

Though not relevant to this forum, I am pleased to say that in the court case I was preparing I have
won and was able to beat the crap out of the snotty little witch of a lawyer that the school district
sent around. My property assessment was reduced from $369,500 to $180,000, largely because I was able to
print out a six inch stack of evidence using these little printers. Aren't they a wonder?

Congratulations.

 

[jflan]

By the way, on a price comparison, these Office Depot cartridges don't seem such a good deal. They were about
$70 for the set but at a local Best Buy the set of new Canon OEM cartridges is $75. Price comparison is
tough work, especially when you don't have time to run around to a bunch of different stores. It's clearly
worth it though if you have the time.

Doesn't take much time if you ask here, first.
A refilled, OEM cart set for iP4500 should cost no more than $30 - $35