<p>so.. theoretically 3rd party inks have 3 possible shortfalls.. shorter print-life(fading). inacurate colors, clogging nozzles.</p>
<p>for pigment inks the shorter print life is actually not there or negligable as long as the 3rd party ink is made from pigments.<br>
almost all 3rd party inks I've bought have accurate colors and work almost identical to the oem inks.. I wouldn't expect to see a difference from any reputable ink vendor.</p>
<p>as far as clogging nozzles more often or shortening the printers life... I see it like this.. I have a 9890 that I use with genuine inks due to the cost of the nozzle, and a canon pixma pro 100(a dye printer). the pro100 I use with 3rd party inks because the head-replacement only costs 20 bucks... for the risk of damaging a $20 head I've printed thousands of dollars worth of ink cartridges for $70 using a bulk ink system and buying ink by the gallon. At this point even if I do have to replace that print-head my savings on ink would far outweigh the cost and inconvenience of home repair.</p>
<p>For my 9890/9900 the print-head is more expensive but the entire printer can be had used from ebay in working condition for under a grand, so if a bulk ink system can save me more on ink that the cost of buying a printer I'm happy. 3rd party ink will dry faster when the printer is in non-use and expire quicker, so 3rd party ink is only cost effective for bulk printing.</p><div></div>
