Arfa Daily wrote:

My Photosmart C5180 uses 363 cartridges, and they are chipped. As far as I
know, they do not measure ink directly. It's a case of them estimating when
they should be empty, based on what the printer knows it has done since the
cartridge was replaced. This is why the low ink message always says
"estimated ink levels", and why you can usually carry on printing for at
least a year (well, a bit longer, anyway ...) before the cartridge *really*
runs out.


I wasn't saying that they didn't exist, just that I han't run into
them so far.


As it happens, I recently got fed up of shelling out about six quid or so
($9) for each of the five colour cartridges, and twice that for a high
capacity black. They are not even an HP type that has the print head built
in. I've always been a bit wary of 'generic' inks, but based on the fact
that the price to re-ink it with 'genuines' was getting silly, I cast around
the 'net to see what I could find. I came up with a company here in the UK
that was selling not one but two complete sets of six high capacity
cartridges, for the grand total of 8 quid ($12) post free !!

I ordered a couple of sets, and they arrived in less than 24 hours. Yes,
they are Chinese, but they are all individually sealed in their own bags,
and the printer accepts them without squawking that they are not 'real', and
correctly reads them as high capacity types. So far, I have not had the
slightest problem with them, and nor have a number of friends that I have
recommended them to. One is a pro photographer. He is currently trying a set
in a spare printer that he has. He showed me a print that had been done with
them, and the same print done with genuine HP Vivera photo inks. You could
not tell the difference in terms of colour rendition. He is now leaving some
prints out in daylight, to see how stable these Chinese inks are, as he
reckons that a few years back, he bought some refilled cartridges from one
of these high street shops that you see selling them, and that the pictures
just faded away over a period of about 3 months.


I have used old stock & refilled cartridges for years. I have about
100 old, sealed carts on hand, and look through the old printers to see
if they fit anything. I've only bought one new cartridge in 12 years.



--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.