The BEST Canon printers, the POOREST Canon printers for refilling.

[pixmania]

Canon printers use thermal printheads. Thermal printheads contain heaters that create steam bubbles which eject the ink through the nozzles. These heaters need a reliable supply of ink for cooling, else they risk burning out.

Third party cartridges may work well if used only once, but often give problems with inkflow if refilled. Properly refilled Canon OEM cartridges are much more reliable.

The cost of replacing a printhead with burnt out heaters may be close to the cost of a new printer.

Been examining the jet tec carts I've got and they seem well made, the snap on clip that seals the ink and air vent is very positive with rubber/neoprene seals and much more re-useable than the canon break off type.
They are also opaque enough to be able to see the ink level when refilling and seem more re-useable than the canon which is engineered to be used once. I've trawled "nifty" for comments on refilling jet tec carts and can't find anything, not even any mention of jet tec in any form good or bad.
The comments about only refilling canon oem's are not specific at all, no instances as what's wrong with jet tec or what's better with canon oem. Come on guys give me some definite instances of pros and cons. What failed and why, then it will be possible to make an informed decision on which to use.
I keep seeing mystical references like "trouble sooner than later" and "canon oem's only" with no meat on the bones to re-enforce these statements.

 

[Tudor]

There are a lot of topics where jettec is mentioned: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/search.php?search_id=1040256878

This is their home page: http://www.jettec.com/

It seems they only have compatibles, not refillables. Just like Canon... only different.

Maybe you can refill and use them. You should report any success or failure so others may learn from your experience.

 

[PeterBJ]

I don't say that all 3rd party cartridges will cause problems if refilled. I say that there is a risk. And here is proof that this risk is not just a myth.: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=59460#p59460 .

I recommend the use of the windowed PGI-520/CLI-521 Canon OEM cartridges as replacements for the opaque PGI-525/CLI-526. You just need to transfer the chips to the windowed cartridges to use them. The dimensions are the same.

You can buy empty PGI-520/CLI-521 cartridges from Octoinkjet UK. They also sell storage clips for the cartridges to use in stead of the original orange clips plus rubber bands, I think these storage clips are more convenient than the original clips, but both work.

Even if Canon cartridges are only intended for single use, there are some details that make them superior for refilling. The 3rd party cartridges use a one piece sponge made from a foam material, Canon cartridges use a two part sponge made from fibrous materials with different properties. The two part sponge is patented and gives a better regulation of ink flow.

 

[pixmania]

I don't say that all 3rd party cartridges will cause problems if refilled. I say that there is a risk. And here is proof that this risk is not just a myth.: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=59460#p59460 .

I recommend the use of the windowed PGI-520/CLI-521 Canon OEM cartridges as replacements for the opaque PGI-525/CLI-526. You just need to transfer the chips to the windowed cartridges to use them. The dimensions are the same.

You can buy empty PGI-520/CLI-521 cartridges from Octoinkjet UK. They also sell storage clips for the cartridges to use in stead of the original orange clips plus rubber bands, I think these storage clips are more convenient than the original clips, but both work.

Even if Canon cartridges are only intended for single use, there are some details that make them superior for refilling. The 3rd party cartridges use a one piece sponge made from a foam material, Canon cartridges use a two part sponge made from fibrous materials with different properties. The two part sponge is patented and gives a better regulation of ink flow.

The jet tec cart does use a small seperate piece of foam in the ink outlet boss on the bottom of the cartridge which can be prised out to reveal the main foam filling. Much the same as canon cli 526.
Incidentally what part does the small window on the bottom of the canon carts do and how does it work? Compatibles dont usually have this window.

 

[MarlinMan]

Canon printers use thermal printheads. Thermal printheads contain heaters that create steam bubbles which eject the ink through the nozzles. These heaters need a reliable supply of ink for cooling, else they risk burning out.

Third party cartridges may work well if used only once, but often give problems with inkflow if refilled. Properly refilled Canon OEM cartridges are much more reliable.

The cost of replacing a printhead with burnt out heaters may be close to the cost of a new printer.

Been examining the jet tec carts I've got and they seem well made, the snap on clip that seals the ink and air vent is very positive with rubber/neoprene seals and much more re-useable than the canon break off type.
They are also opaque enough to be able to see the ink level when refilling and seem more re-useable than the canon which is engineered to be used once. I've trawled "nifty" for comments on refilling jet tec carts and can't find anything, not even any mention of jet tec in any form good or bad.
The comments about only refilling canon oem's are not specific at all, no instances as what's wrong with jet tec or what's better with canon oem. Come on guys give me some definite instances of pros and cons. What failed and why, then it will be possible to make an informed decision on which to use.
I keep seeing mystical references like "trouble sooner than later" and "canon oem's only" with no meat on the bones to re-enforce these statements.

Those Jet Tec carts look well made. Can you reset the chips on them or have you swapped OEM chips. If the chips can be reset they might be a good source of chips for users who want to go to the 220/520 carts for easier refilling.
How many refills have you made on those carts? If you get good results after 10 or 20 refills you should start a new thread and share the results.

As for the "meat on the bones" there seems to be an OEM policy on this site and some posters seem to post opinions on products and carts that they have never used or attempted to refill, make your own path and report back.

 

[fotofreek]

Check out this post from several years ago. Please be warned that I was responding to a new participant who was very abraisive and accusitive in his manner. He was subsequently banned from the forum. As I'm sure you are aware, this is a moderated forum, and we pride ourselves in maintaining civil discourse and respect for eachother's views.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=57156#p57156
Aftermarket carts may look the same as OEM carts, but their functional characteristics can vary to the point where poor ink feeding can cook a canon printhead nozzle. This is especially a concern when refilling these carts as they may work quite well once or twice and then feed poorly. although this link identified a problem years ago with bci-6 carts, the cheap carts coming in currently can also be of variable quality functionally.

I have no experience with Canon carts from printers more recently marketed than the cli-8's. I've seen reports of people using aftermarket carts instead of the opaque Canon carts for refilling. I've also seen reports of people using OEM clear carts from previous printers with the chips taken from the opaque carts of the newer ones.

The OEM cart "bias" stems from experience with the variable performance with refilling aftermarket carts of Canon printers. This forum's participants are generally looking to minimize the variables that would cause damage to our printers or troublesome printing. If you prefer to experiment and find that some aftermarket carts. after several refills, are equal to or better than OEM carts for refilling you are welcome to report these successes for the benefit of all.

 

[The Hat]

As for the "meat on the bones" there seems to be an OEM policy on this site and some posters seem to post opinions on products and carts that they have never used or attempted to refill, make your own path and report back.

Funny how right you are about the policies on this forum favouring only OEM refilling, you obviously read up on some of them and dont think very highly of them.

There are so many third party cartridges out there for sale that it would be impossible to have tried all of them, saying that they all have one thing in common i.e. there are very poorly and cheaply made which cant be said of the OEMs.

The price of a complete set of 3rd party cartridges is usually the same price as just one single OEM cartridge so that in itself should be a dead giveaway and set the alarm bell ringing, i.e. quality versus quantity and in my book quality will always come out on top in the end as the clear winner.

One doesnt have to try every individual cartridge brand to test it for qualities, instead they just have to use the cartridges that came with their new printer and then follow all the good advice that is given on this very forum.

Thank you..

 

[Tudor]

I don't think that a high price is indicative of quality and a low price means it's of poor quality. You pay a big % of that high price just for the brand. Oh, and if it said on a product "Made in Germany" that doesn't mean it was actually made in Germany ( I know this for a fact). You may read on the cartridge "Canon" and "Made in Japan", but are you reaaallly sure it's not made in China? I'm not... There is a saying : "In the Beginning, God made the Heaven and Earth. The rest was Made in China."

When I had to choose what type of cartridges i will use for refilling I chose OEM's because a set of empty OEM's are cheaper than a set of compatibles and I knew (from the experience shared by others on this forum) that they WILL work. I had no such information about compatibles. In other words it was a safe bet. I was not dissapointed, btw. Thank you, guys!

 

[pixmania]

Jet tec are a well known reputable cartridge maker that have been around a number of years. Their products are advertised as made in the u.k and they have won numerous awards for their products. They recently defended and won a law suit against them from a major printer/cartridge manufacturer, which must indicate something in itself. I've looked at their cli 525/6 carts and in my opinion they seem very well made with in fact a superior type clip for sealing the ink/air vents.
As for the quality and durability of the foam filling I dont know and as it seems nor does anybody else. Negative opinions shouldn't be given on products without trials and justification. If we failed to experiment through fear of failure we would get nowhere. So if you have no personal knowlege of the quality of a product you should simply say so not just repeat what you've heard or read, which may have come from someone who hasn't tried or tested it either. Price is no guarantee of quality as when a company has a monopoly they can charge what they like. The recent court case against jet tec shows you how far big companies will go to maintain a strangle hold on the market. These are only my opinions...................................of course you may think differently.

 

[The Hat]

I think you have this fixation that anyone who has not tried refilling Jec Tec cartridges for themselves shouldnt have the right or be entitled to make any comments regarding their suitability or quality i.e. in a nutshell put them down.

Well I havent tried them and have no intention of doing so either, that said nor did I say anything derogatory about them or put them down.

What I did say was

So its like this, you can happily refill the Jec Tec cartridges and carry on regardless till strange things start to happen, but remember the choice as to which cartridge to refill will be down to you of course.

What I also said was

If you care for your new printer, then dont attempt to refill these compatible cartridges but instead switch to using and refilling genuine OEM cartridges.

And again..

Just a cautionary note for you, the Jet Tec prefilled cartridges are great to use
instead of expensive OEM cartridges and work pretty well too, BUT

They are designed to work just the once and when empty to be dumped in the bin and then purchase new ones, so if you intend to refill these cartridges be aware that they can and will cause you big problems sooner rather than later.

Now it is clear that what was previously written has fallen on deaf ears, and after all
youre entitled to refill whichever cartridge you choose and ignore the above advice.

However I would like to contradict you wholehearted regarding your comments regarding
the alleged negative opinions that are on this forum (Your words), there are none.

We follow a strict policy of refill only OEM cartridges here (And no apologies) thats not being negative or bios towards any other cartridge manufacturer, the plain truth is OEM's are the best.

If the Jet Tec cartridges refill that successfully for you then congratulations are in order in fact good on you, but if they do not... Will you come back and inform us all on just what went wrong ?