2

I have a Canon MG7120 (All in one/Basic Photo Printer) which I've recently just started using to print assignments for my design classes. I tried some offbrand inks for the first time and found that the quality of the prints was seriously degraded. We use this printer a lot for just basic document printing, mostly B&W but sometimes color.

Would it be possible for me to use the cheap ink for the document printing, and then when I need to print higher quality stuff on photo paper swap in the expensive Canon inks? Is this a bad idea? Is there some sort of cleaning cycle I should run when I swap out the sets of ink to make sure the shitty ink is out of the print heads? What do you guys think. Trying to be a frugal student, can't really afford to be dropping $100 on ink every month. Thank you!

Improve this question
2
  • I would try different off brand ink first. I buy stuff from China and it works great in a similar Canon all in one. – dpollitt Mar 6 '15 at 2:46
  • Also, see if you can calebrate it (or fiddle with the adjustments manually) to improve the appearance of "other" ink. – JDługosz Aug 20 '15 at 9:48
5

Just swap out the ink cartridges as needed. Note that there will always be some remaining ink in the pipes, there is no way around it other than getting a second print head, and if you do that you may as well get a second printer.

If most of your print work is documents I suggest getting a laser printer. You can get a monochrome laser printer for well under $200 - the per-page cost is much less than inkjet. Yes, it's another cash outlay but look at the cost per term for the next couple of years.

Improve this answer
4
  • 3
    Yup, I highly recommend the purchase of a B&W laser for students. Well worth it even if you use low priced ink in an inkjet. – dpollitt Mar 6 '15 at 2:50
  • 1
    @dpollitt As a grad student, the cost benefit of pages per toner vs pages per ink pays off in less then a year. It's amazing how useful those bad boys are. My inkjet mostly sits as a backup\quick print. – SailorCire Mar 6 '15 at 3:11
  • 3
    I second the second printer option. Swapping out ink means wasting ink as the printer will almost certainly go through a cleaning cycle each time you close the lid. That will probably use more ink than the photo you print. – Michael C Mar 6 '15 at 5:53
  • I found a Pantum laser printer for $35 delivered. It includes a low-filled toner cartridge as a "starter" that is good for 700 pages of text. – JDługosz Aug 20 '15 at 9:50

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.