Refill-friendly printer?

<p>I have a Canon i9900 that has done okay for my needs for a number of years, but I’m pretty much fed

up with it. It’s on its second head…and, as of the past few days, I simply can’t get cyan ink on

the page.</p>

<p>I suppose I could, once again, keep down the path of trying to get it working again…but swapping out the

cartridge didn’t fix it, and I really don’t feel like starting in on the Windex treatment again.</p>

<p>So: can anybody recommend a new printer that works well with bulk inks — and your preferred ink

source? I went with MediaStreet for the i9900, and, all things considered, I think somebody else would have done

me better.</p>

<p>Something that will do 13″ × 19″ would be nice, but not a necessity, as I’m saving

my pennies for a true large-format printer. I really need something that I can use for small prints, cards, and normal

non-photo stuff. I’m sure any modern photo inkjet will have all the quality I need, making the ease of bulk ink

refilling pretty much the only factor in the decision.</p>

<p>Oh — it’s not uncommon for me to not print anything for weeks at a time, so it’d have to

be something that won’t die if you forget to stroke its ego daily.</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>b&</p>

<p>I have a ep 1400 and use bulk from ink supply. Yes I use Ebony6 ink (6 col BW), but they sell colour as well. It has not had an issue in the year I have owned it and I do go a while between prints.</p>

<p>I would not recommend the 1400 if you used stock inks, as it would kill you financially... ;)</p>

<p>I've been using HP printers for a number of years. One of the big selling points for me initially is the fact that the print head is in the ink cartridge, and is not a permanent part of the machine. (This is also one thing I like about my HP laser printer -- the drum's in the cartridge.)</p>

<p>The last one I bought is the B8550 Pro, which is a rather low-cost 13x19 printer. The variation on the theme is that the print head is in the printer now, but can be easily replaced -- it's installed by the user before first-time ink cartridge installation.</p>

<p>I like the color it produces and the inks are very highly rated for permanence.</p>

<p>I didn't like the ink prices until I browsed them on Amazon and found severe discounts.</p>

<p>I think some of their higher-end models have bulk-ink capability and you might want to check that out.</p>

<p>In any event, sometimes I go a long time without printing but have never had a problem with three different HPs, whereas the Canon and Epson printers I had before those were terrible for clogging, which drove me away from their brands -- especially once I did the research (I read the Wilhelm reports) on the inks.</p>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>

<p>"recommend a new printer that works well with bulk inks...for me to not print anything for weeks at a time"</p>

<p>Well those 2 sentence just dont get together. If you want a problem free environement, stick with the manufacturer ink / printer..using refill ink system or bulk ink is never a good idea; even if you read somewhere or im sure someone will pop in here and claim good result..9 out of 10 user have worst problem doing so, and the 1 user that all look good have to get custom profile for is paper, meaning $$ to spend.</p>

<p>If you want a good printer that can print 13x19 AND give you the best result you can get during the time you wait for a bigger printer (dotn see why if you dont print much, it could be cheaper just to outsource it) get a epson 1400 to start (not sure for the 13x19) or a 2880, with the later you will have more than you ask.</p>

<p>Im sure that HP or Canon have something similar but i dont use those printer.</p>

<p>Try Epson R280 if you can get one from Frys or Amazon. If not, try epson 1400 or C88+.<br>

The most recommended bulk ink CIS is the one from Ink Republic.com. Check an R280 workflow here.<br>

http://www.pftq.com/pq/42/cd-dvd-burning.php<br>

A good refillable cartridge can be found in http://www.ufosystem.net<br>

looks very promising and solid. it's dye inks is excellent but cheaper :)</p>

<p>Thanks for the suggestions.</p>

<p>peter, I know full well how ink costs will eat you alive — thus the requirement that any

new printer works well with bulk ink refilling. Otherwise, you wind up spending about as much on a

complete set of replacement cartridges as you did on the printer itself — and those cartridges

hold all of a couple tablespoons of ink each!</p>

<p>Michael, I wasn’t aware that HP offered bulk ink on any of their printers; I’ll have

to do some research. I know the Z series ink tanks are pretty voluminous…but, being large

format printers, you use a lot more ink by definition. Still, HP is leading the pack for me for the

choice of large format printer, so I’ll have to go back to investigating the smaller printers,

too.</p>

<p>Patrick, just because I go for long stretches without printing doesn’t mean I don’t

make a lot of prints. And I build my own profiles with a spectrophotometer, so getting good results

from third-party inks and papers isn’t a problem. In fact, I’m theoretically supposed to

be making a giclée print of one of my mom’s watercolors this weekend, on watercolor

paper. I’ve gotten near-perfect results in the past…but I don’t think I will without

cyan ink….</p>

<p>cinlar, thanks for the links. I’ll check them out.</p>

<p>Cheers,</p>

<p>b&</p>

<p>Well, I just placed an order for an Epson 1400 and the Ink2image trio system with Lyson inks.

The epson.com store is selling the 1400 much cheaper than anywhere else: $200 for the grand total,

shipping included.</p>

<p>The trio is something I hadn’t come across before: cartridges that snap

into a sleeve, with the sleeve containing an auto-resetting chip. The kit includes three cartridges per

color so you don’t have downtime when one runs out. I don’t do enough printing to warrant getting a CFS, but I hate having to stop in the middle of a print run just to top off an ink tank…and then another couple inks a few prints later. It sounds like this thing should be a good middle ground.</p>

<p>The whole refill kit with 4 oz ink bottles

was another $200…which is about as much as two complete sets of Epson cartridges. Considering it’s as much ink as in almost a dozen sets of cartridges, and that additional 4 ounce bottles cost about as much as a single cartridge…well, the math is obvious.</p>

<p>Of course, if it don’t print, it’s money down the drain. I sure hope not….</p>

<p>Cheers,</p>

<p>b&</p>

<p>From what I've seen (actually seen) by others, the 1400 does beautifully with black pigment inksets (eg MIS, Cone) , only a little better than HP with color. However it does beat all HP if one likes semi-gloss baryta paper (eg Ilford Gold Fibre Silk).</p>

<p>Buying 3rd party inks for cheapness is risky. None are the same as Epson. They're more inclined to clog and the savings becomes less impressive when you realize how much ink you get with a 3800 or 3800 ($500 of the price is ink and the refills are cheaper per ml than smaller carts). </p>

<p>If you can muster $1000 or so for an Epson 3800 or 3800, (ideally as an Epson refurb) you may save a lot more money in the long run than by buying ANY cheaper printer with cheap inks (assuming you print a lot during a year).</p>