CISS ink system - Montana Owners Club

WorkerB · 12-27-2009, 01:50 AM

Awhile back I bought a wireless printer from Costco for the Monty. It wasn't long and the cartridge got close to empty. Quick trip to the store for cartridges and SHEEZ! Another hundred dollar bill down the drain. I remembered something I ran across on EBAY and started looking. It's called CISS (Continuous Ink Supply System) Cost was about the same for a set of cartridges. 80 bucks or so. Looks like this.

Came with enough ink to last at least a year and all you have to do is refill the bulk bottles. Each container holds about 4 ounces. Much easier than refilling individual cartridges. So far I have gotten a couple of Nasty-Gram messages telling me that using non OEM ink can void my warranty. So far I'm pleased. If you use a lot of ink you might want to check it out. As always, if you get ink on the carpet you didn't hear about this from me. (This message will self destruct in five seconds)
John

Tom S. · 12-28-2009, 12:19 AM

I have no way of proving this, but I have suspected for years that companies either make almost no money or may even lose money on printer sales and make it up on ink cartridge sales. In the stick house, I have two printers, an ink jet and a laser. The laser gets used by default for everything that doesn't have to have color, and it has saved me a lot on ink cartridges. So far, the laser is 6 years old and only had it's cartridge replaced once. The ink jet lasts about a year before needing new cartridges.

simonsrf · 12-28-2009, 02:23 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Tom S.

I have no way of proving this, but I have suspected for years that companies either make almost no money or may even lose money on printer sales and make it up on ink cartridge sales. In the stick house, I have two printers, an ink jet and a laser. The laser gets used by default for everything that doesn't have to have color, and it has saved me a lot on ink cartridges. So far, the laser is 6 years old and only had it's cartridge replaced once. The ink jet lasts about a year before needing new cartridges.

Tom,
I think you are right. Our printer cost $125 brand new.
The two XL (high yield) cartridges cost about $60....and we use two or more sets a year.

Trailer Trash 2 · 12-28-2009, 05:05 AM

After I purchased my Brother 9420CN printer and found out how expensive there ink cartreges are a total of 4 @ 165.00 to 180.00 each, I nearly had a baby when I found out how much 4 cost, I could buy 3 more printers brand new for the price of the cartreges.
I have found if you read the reviews that people put on there web sites of Costco, how much ink they use, and if costco sells the cartreges, is inportant infirmation to have. so far the HP MFP is in my sights to replace this monster I now own.

WorkerB · 12-28-2009, 05:28 AM

I'm with you Don. We quit using a perfectly good Epson printer. I used to buy a years supply of cartridges for about $30.00 from vendor on EBAY. We only changed to have wireless capability. The new HP works fine but the capacity of each factory cartridge is small and expensive. DW does a lot of printing and emptied the black cartridge in a little over a month. The CISS system comes with 5 full cartridges and 5 full tanks. With this configuration the cartridges will never go dry as the tanks keep the cartridges full. Just fill the tank when you see it getting low.

brooksider · 12-29-2009, 08:53 AM

I have an HP at home and a Epson in the FW. I have found that printing in draft is threee times quicker and seems to go twice as far on a cartiage.

VanMan · 01-01-2010, 03:54 AM

I read that the cartridges that come with the printers are NOT full cartridges. They are only partially filled, so what you get the first time will not be the same as your next refill.

WorkerB · 01-01-2010, 05:20 AM

VanMan,
You are correct. You can also buy extra large capacity cartridges if you like. My particular HP has 4 cartridges for color printing. They are Black, Magenta, Cyan, and Yellow. There is also a black cartridge used for Black printing and gray scale printing. The Black color is $22.00 The 3 color cartridges are $18.50 each and the Black text cartridge is $33.00. A total of $110.50. That is from EBAY. Costco is more. I would guestimate the ink that came with the CISS system is equal to at least five complete sets of cartridges. $80.00 isn't bad. The jury is still out on color printing. The first few pictures had poor color rendition. Then everything settled in and we were printing Christmas with Santa pictures perfectly. For the month of December the CISS system paid for itself. If anything fails I'll let you know. I also have a Brother All-In-One Laser Jet. New Drum is $65.00 and toner comes to around $100.00 I replace the drum about every 3rd. toner. Each has its purpose. I find it interesting to see how we are paying closer attention to the cost of this stuff now that we are retired. No matter how you play it, Retired Life is Good!
John
Edit: I almost forgot, Happy New Year Everyone!

MuddyPaws · 01-21-2010, 03:36 PM

InkJet cartirges are more expensive ounce for ounce than gold!

With regards to the endless supply thing chances are that the microscopic nozzles in the print head, the business end of the cartrige, will eventually go bad and regardless of how much ink you have left. You'll have no choice but replace it.

I've had several carts go bad with lots of ink left in them.

Costco refills cartriges, but I had one of theirs fail and they POURED THE INK BACK INTO THEIR TANK. So any chunks of whatever was in my cart is now in their tank. I won't be doing that again.

I found a place via eBay that remanufactures carts. I've bought several and have yet to have one fail. If you search on 'remanufactured ink cartriges' you'll find them. They were about 1/4 the cost of new.

footloose · 01-22-2010, 02:19 AM

For years we have been buying printers (that had full cartridges) on sale rather than buying replacement cartridges. It was cheaper! We didn't have the heart to throw them away, so gave them to Salvation Army. They probably didn't want them either. Unfortunately, the manufacturers have gotten wise and are no longer providing full cartridges. We bought a Kodak on sale for $89. Their ink is WAY cheaper. We'll see how that works out . . .
Dick and Sharon

ARJ · 01-22-2010, 03:12 AM

I agree with the thought that printers are sold cheaply so the profit comes from ink sales. However, I found that Office Max will give a $3 store credit for empty cartridges. One has to open an account and then take the cartridges to the store. The credit appears at the end of the billing cycle.

Talk to any Office Max employee to get the details.

Parrothead · 01-22-2010, 03:58 AM

Dick and Sharon
I've been thinking about the Kodak printer so I am interested in how it works for you. I have a HP 3 in 1 and the print head keeps sticking and will not move until you turn in off and on. This is the 2nd HP I have had that does this. But as everyone says the ink is expensive. Kodak advertises theirs is not.
Happy trails.....................

footloose · 01-22-2010, 07:13 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Parrothead

Dick and Sharon
I've been thinking about the Kodak printer so I am interested in how it works for you.

So far we are happy with it. It is a 3 in one and was on sale at WalMart. I think we were lucky at that price. I do a lot of picture printing and I'm happy on that score. The copy function and scanner also work well. We're not used to using a printer over a long period of time -- so time will tell. I think they're going to get us one way or another.
Sharon

Parrothead · 01-22-2010, 11:31 AM

I was just at WalMart getting ink for my HP. Paid $35 for the black/color combo. Looked at the Kodak 10 and they were $10-15. The printer was $99. I paid $89 for the HP on sale several years ago. Sure seems like savings to me. I do a lot of scanning so if the Kodak scanner is as good as HP, then I think that is my next printer.
Happy trails.............

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