Canon BCI-6 BK Black Bubble Jet Ink Tank

Rating:
Summary: Good price for Canon product - but watch shipping charges!
Review: Although lower cost substitute ink cartridges are sold all over the web, and on this site as well, the few bucks you might save aren't worth the all-too genuine risks of replacing with generic "no-name" ink tanks. I've heard (but wouldn't wish to try it, frankly) that generic inks fade faster when exposed to daylight, could clog the print-head spray nozzles, don't spread properly on top-quality paper, and simply can't compare with the uniquely formulated dyes that have been specially researched for your printer and its matching photo papers. The one exception might be if you use a black-ink-only inkjet [hard to imagine anyone could screw up black ink]. Even so, considering the low cost and remarkable longevity, I'd still stick with the Canon product, if only to match the other colors. I concur that printer manufacturers use that old hoary "razor trick" (give away the razor, profit on the blades), but with Canon's individual ink tanks -- where you replace only those tanks that run dry, you aren't out a lot. My Canon photo printer uses an array of six ink tank colors. Of these six tanks (all available on this site), 'photo cyan' and 'photo magenta' seem to be used up 2 to 3 times faster than 'black'. In other words, rather than replacing an entire set of six ink tanks, you can replace just those tanks that run empty the soonest -- thus not having to toss out a 3-ink tank [as used by HP] where 2 of the 3 remaining inks still are far from used up. Just a word of caution here - make certain that every cartridge you order from Amazon clearly states its eligibility for SuperSaver shipping. If you have to add shipping charges to this low-cost item, you could end up paying more than you would have at the local office supply store.

Rating:
Summary: Good price for Canon product - but watch shipping charges!
Review: Although lower cost substitute ink cartridges are sold all over the web, and on this site as well, the few bucks you might save aren't worth the all-too genuine risks of replacing with generic "no-name" ink tanks. I've heard (but wouldn't wish to try it, frankly) that generic inks fade faster when exposed to daylight, could clog the print-head spray nozzles, don't spread properly on top-quality paper, and simply can't compare with the uniquely formulated dyes that have been specially researched for your printer and its matching photo papers. The one exception might be if you use a black-ink-only inkjet [hard to imagine anyone could screw up black ink]. Even so, considering the low cost and remarkable longevity, I'd still stick with the Canon product, if only to match the other colors. I concur that printer manufacturers use that old hoary "razor trick" (give away the razor, profit on the blades), but with Canon's individual ink tanks -- where you replace only those tanks that run dry, you aren't out a lot. My Canon photo printer uses an array of six ink tank colors. Of these six tanks (all available on this site), 'photo cyan' and 'photo magenta' seem to be used up 2 to 3 times faster than 'black'. In other words, rather than replacing an entire set of six ink tanks, you can replace just those tanks that run empty the soonest -- thus not having to toss out a 3-ink tank [as used by HP] where 2 of the 3 remaining inks still are far from used up. Just a word of caution here - make certain that every cartridge you order from Amazon clearly states its eligibility for SuperSaver shipping. If you have to add shipping charges to this low-cost item, you could end up paying more than you would have at the local office supply store.