Which cartriges are best?

[Mowerman90]

I've got several sets of Canon OEM carts that I refill and rotate but I'm getting tired of having to squint to see through the small clear strip on the 221 carts. So I've decided to get a few 3rd party carts that are the see-thru variety. I'd like to have the opinion of the experts on this forum as to which 3rd party carts would be my best choice. I'm thinking of getting these: http://store.inkjetcarts.us/canon-cli-221--pgi-220bk-refillable-cartridges-p4589.aspx or just buying some carts from Abacus private store with ink already in them and flushing them and refilling with my IS ink. Both carts come with a chip, the inkjetcart carts have auto reset chips and the Abacus carts come with a chip but I do not know if it can be reset or not. What say you?

 

[jtoolman]

OEM is always best but I have a couple of CLI-8 sets for the PRO 9000 MKII from inkjetcarts and the worked fine. However since I now have three full sets of OEM carts converted for top filling I am sticking to those. But the refillable carts did work fine on that printer.

 

[stratman]

Two other possible solutions that will allow you to continue using the best cartridges for refilling - your Canon cartridges:

1) Attach a magnifying glass to your work table/sink (+/- an additional light source).

2) Get a digital scale and weigh the carts to know how much ink to refill (based on weight of a ml of ink).

 

[Mowerman90]

Thanks for the suggestions but I'm really set on trying some 3rd party carts. To be truthful, I'm almost ready to switch to Epson and get a CIS system.

 

[stratman]

OK. Good luck. Let the forum know how it works out.

 

[jtoolman]

Thanks for the suggestions but I'm really set on trying some 3rd party carts. To be truthful, I'm almost ready to switch to Epson and get a CIS system.

Are you ready to print - print and do even more printing? That's when a CISS makes sense. Even I who own a photography business and tend to print daily on all my printers you see listed below, I still don't have a current need for a CISS. I did have one on my R1900 but have since gone with refillable carts. A CISS is great if you are doing events and are printing for hours daily. Even then you still have to go through the "Mock" cartridges changes as each color runs out. You'd also better have an external waste ink system to catch and collect all the waste you will be developing.

 

[Mowerman90]

I just ordered some refillable carts from inkjetcarts. I realize OEM are the best but you never know till you try.

 

[panos]

If it's not a bother, could you please report back your experiences and a few photos ? This information would be valuable to other users facing the same issue...

 

[emerald]

Mowerman90: You might want to review this link and the many posts that follow. Be sure to view the "support" video found on the supplier's web site. I echo panos' sentiment. Please report back and let us know your assessment of quality.

 

[Mowerman90]

Emerald & Pano,

Rest assured I will report back on how the carts do. I refilled for years using the top-fill method, until this current printer, which is when I switched to the German method. Since these new carts will already have the top holes and plugs I'll probably top-fill them. I doubt I'll be filling from the sponge side though, no matter what the video says.