Official PK Poll - Is there any future in refilling?

[Aniruddh Gaikwad]

To date its earning for me, can't say about future

 

[jddriver]

While ever the multinational rip off companies carry on the way they are allowed to making printer ink the most expensive liquid on the planet, we will refill.

 

[James Barry]

The question says it all… Is there a future for refilling, or is it going to be a thing of the past soon? What do you guys think?

Please take a second to answer "Yes" or "No" and reply with your reason (optional).

The only issue is the printer Manufacturing hookups with chips and other refill issues.

 

[James Barry]

• As long as the "proper" ink are made available, chip resetters, (for Canon and Epson) are inexpensive and proper chips for Hp models are exchanged (and work) the cost becomes minimal. All that's left is only a labour issue and a shipping cost for your initial setup and continued toner or inks.

 

[Methodical]

I will continue to refill as long as supplies are there.

 

[jgperry]

I am following closely the work Jtoolman is doing with precision colours.

 

[Ponny]

I thing, refilling is good. Because then you can use all 100% of ink. With changing ink tank you lose a little bit of ink, because you can newer use all ink in tank - right to the bottom.
And with refillnig you willl never again stay out of ink with middle of very big picture. Because, you can refil the tanks even if there is stil 20% of ink, or 30% or even 50% of ink. You can refil before big print job.

 

[J.Emmett Turner]

Some manufacturer will realize that they could carve out a bigger slice of the pie and, thus, a lot more business by catering to the pros who can only profit by keeping costs down. That manufacturer will attract other buyers from that quality tier and up which will let this manufacturer run away with that market and enable them to charge more for most everything else... as long as there is a comfortable price difference from the next tier (industrial printers?). This will send price signals into the market and eventually attract another manufacturer who will be prompted to adapt and service the same market. That means having the same attractive "feature:" cheap refills.

Heck, the Pro-100 is still around and I believe that this is precisely why, though I'd expect the rebates to dry up. Hmm...

If they try to cut off service/parts and users resort to gutting ink delivery systems and print heads from new SureColor P800s to salvage used Pro 3880s, they are also sending price signals: people are willing to pay that much in cost and effort for a 3880 with easily refillable ink (I think I read that those two models had compatible parts). Manufactures would only ignore this if they collude together, RICO-style.

The free market is why this will never truly go away. My biggest worry is that so many of the big names are all Japanese where there are nearly no anti-monopoly laws or laws against anti-competitive practices. I'd actually be fine with that if the rest of the world were on the same playing field but this puts the Japanese makers in a good position for price fixing. That said, they can really only get away with it at home. Heck, Sharp and Hitachi were price-fixing LCDs for early Nintendo DS systems and some Game Boy Advance handhelds until international trade regulators caught on (Sharp/Hitachi forced Nintendo to pay too much). That was two Japanese suppliers working against another Japanese purchaser but, because the product was then sold internationally, it was still an issue.

Ain't the free market grand?

 

[bhill]

If manufacturers continue to charge what they do...yup. Look at the cost of a set for the Canon Pro-1000!! Damn near as much as the cost of the printer!

 

[The Hat]

@bhill, Most of the Canon printers are much the same, unless you’re in the US..