Optimizing ink costs for Canon Pixima Pro 100

[alesk]

My Canon s9000 printer has started to act up after almost 12 good years, and after seeing the great price and rebate for the much newer Pixima Pro-100 I decided to get the new and bigger model.
I have not used Canon ink for many years, and I have been happy with the results that I got using third party ink cartridges that I got from Meritline and places like that. However, for starters I will get OEM versions of the two gray cartridges, since I don't think I will need much of that. As far as the rest is concerned, I see from a posting on this cite that the CLI-8 cartridges used with the Pixima Pro 9000 are the same as the new CLI-42 cartridge used for the Pixima Pro-100 (except for the chip). So I would like to try to use those for Black, Magenta, Photo Magenta, Cyan, Photo Cyan, and Yellow.

Now, of course, I would like to learn how to make the CLI-8 cartridges work in the Pixima Pro 100!
An answer to that, or any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
alesk

 

[jtoolman]

Your Option is to use the OEM CLI-42. but refill them with Imager Specialists ink. The gray is not available. You will have to turn off ink monitoring on each color as each initial cartridge is declared empty as there are no resetters yet for any of the new Pro line.

 

[alesk]

Thanks.
Since, as you may have gathered from my post, I am far from an expert on this issue, how would I turn off ink monitoring?
AE

 

[jtoolman]

I believe that you have to wait until one color is EMPTY, not the low ink warning, then you press the resume for about 5-10 seconds, then it will warn you about the ink being empty and if you want to continue.
THE HAT is our resident expert here, as I have never had the need to disable ink monitoring.
What most of us do around here is to wit till we have accumulated a full two sets of OEM carts ( Empty ) then we begin to refill. This way wia always have a full set of carts ready.
When we get a low ink warning ( you would not if you disable ink warning so you have to weigh your carts with a gram scale ) we then replace the complete set. If you replace individual carts, you will create a never ending domino effect where you are always replacing a cart, purging ink after said replacement, over and over and over and...... well you get the idea.
You will decrease the amount of ink being purged onto the waste ink pads and so they will last a LOT longer.

Joe

 

[alesk]

Thanks Joe.
I have been busy the last couple of days with, yuk, jury duty.
Your response is helpful, but if you would, can you clarify a couple of points.

1- Are the cartridges for the starter ink set that comes with the printer capable of being fully refilled as regular OEM cartridges?

2- Will my plan to use OEM CLI-42 cartridges for the Black and greys, and third party CLI-8 carts for the colors work?

3- How do I get around the problem of resetting the chip on the CLI-42 or CLI-8 carts?

4- Who is the best priced reliable source for Image Specialist ink in the US?

I'm sure I'll have more questions, and I hope I'm not being too much of a bother.
The last time I went through the new printer routine was more than 10 years ago, when I got the s9000 (a printer that did quite well for me until it's recent demise).
Thanks again,
AE

 

[The Hat]

1- Are the cartridges for the starter ink set that comes with the printer capable of being fully refilled as regular OEM cartridges?

2- Will my plan to use OEM CLI-42 cartridges for the Black and greys, and third party CLI-8 carts for the colors work?

3- How do I get around the problem of resetting the chip on the CLI-42 or CLI-8 carts?

4- Who is the best priced reliable source for Image Specialist ink in the US?


AE

Hi AE,

(1) The printer comes with proper cartridges not starter sets and can be filled as normal.

(2) Theres no reason why it shouldnt, but dont use third party CLI-8 cartridges ONLY OEMs.

(3) Theres no work round as yet but you will be able to disable the ink monitoring
which will allow you to print normally, you cant use CLI-8 chips only CLI-42s.

(4) Precision Colors are about the cheapest that I know of even when you include the P&P.

 

[alesk]

Thank you once again
AE

 

[Smile]

Ink costs are related to where you live, for me the cheapest is OCP, Inktec. I can get them from Germany.
Even cheaper would be something like inkrite from Poland, but I do not want to risk it.

 

[alesk]

Thanks "Smile," but Germany or Poland might be a bit too far from here in Northern California!
AE

 

[Tin Ho]

Why would you want to buy a Canon Pro-100 while you can get much common Epsons, such as R3000, R3880? There are a couple of reasons to avoid Canon Pro-100. First there aren't that many sources of ink available. They tend to be more expensive. 2ndly the print head is still a thermo print head which is subject to damage by ink flow irregularity. 3rdly there is not going to be resetters available any time soon. The rebate is simply a bait to get people on the hook to spend a fortune down the road.

I never liked Epson printers before. Some people probably remember how I criticize how slow Epson was. That was based on my limited experience with low end Epson R200/300 dye based printers and one C series durabright ink printer. However, once I had a full year of printing with an Epson R2880 in a photography club I changed my perception about Epson completely. I regret that I did not get one while it was still available and cheap. I still can use the R2880 but there are a lot of people sharing it at the same time. I amy eventually take a plunge and get a R3880.

First of all it is an Epson with a piezo print head. The piezo print head can not be damaged by ink flow issues. This is ideal for refilling because refilling could upset the ink flow from time to time especially if you use a CIS system. The print head is always safe from abuses of ink flow issues. 2ndly you can use CIS to minimize the time spent in refilling and resetting the cartridges. 3rdly there are a number of sources of k3 inks for the Epson k3 printers. Availability of multiple sources means cheaper prices because of competition in the market place.

In addition, I am so impressed by the accurate colors of the Epson R2880. I sold a few prints (although more were given away free) and I never had to tweak any colors. The colors simply came out great and accurate. Unlike Canon dye based printers that always tend to have slight color shift here there. I printed a 13x17 portrait for a deceased woman for a fee for a memorial service. They actually had the portrait printed on a Pro9000 and compared with the one I printed. It took them almost no time to pick the one from me. I instantly experienced the reason why there are so many professionals using Epson wide format printers for their photography business.

Of course this is just my opinion. I know some people probably will have different views.