Ink Cartridges Blog

At last the Canon PGI-520 and Canon CLI-521 compatible ink cartridges with microchips already fitted have arrived. Once again Ink Hub is the first online ink cartridge store in Australia to offer these compatible ink cartridges for $49.90 for the full set of 5 ink cartridges.

The new Canon PGI-520 compatible contains 2.5ml more ink than the genuine OEM Canon ink cartridge. The new Canon CLI-521 cartridges contain an extra 1.5ml of ink in each cartridge as compared to the genuine OEM Canon ink cartridges. So if you are looking to save around 45% on the cost of your next set of ink cartridges definitely dont buy Genuine Canon PGI-520/CLI-521 ink cartridges go for the cheaper alternative and start saving! These new cartridges operate EXACTLY the same as the genuine Canon ink cartridges.

YES they do read the correct ink levels.

YES the print quality is identical.

YES your printer warranty will still be valid.

Still skeptical ? At Ink Hub if youre not 100% happy with every aspect of your new canon ink cartridges tell us and well refund your money and shipping costs.

The NEW Canon PGI-520 and Canon CLI-521 series ink cartridges are an absolute bargain !

Available now at: Ink Hub - Ink Cartridge and Toners

To reset the ink Level (method 1)

1. Paste a thin strip of tape over the upper horizontal row of copper contacts on the back of the ink cartridge.
2. Insert the cartridge into the printer and close the lid.
3. The printer will now start to move. Wait untill a message appears on the screen indicating that the ink cartridge is installed incorrectly and click OK.
4. Open the lid of the printer and remove the cartridge.
5. Remove the strip of adhesive tape and this time paste it over the Second row of contacts (from top) horizontally.
6. Insert the cartridge back into the printer back again and closed the lid. The printer will again start to move untill another message appears. This time, the message will indicate that the cartridge cannot be recognized. Click on OK again.
7. Open the printer and remove  the cartridge once more.
8. Remove the tape and insert the cartridge back into the printer and close the Lid.
9. The printer should now indicate that the ink cartridge is full ! 

Resetting the ink Level (method 2)
Works only in some cases

1. Place a thin strip of tape over the bottom row of horizontal contacts.
2. Insert the cartridge into the printer and close the lid.
3. The printer will now begin to move. When the error message appears on the screen click OK.
4. Open the lid of the printer and remove the cartridge.
5. Remove the tape and place it over the very top horizontal row of contacts on the cartridge.
6. Insert the cartridge into the printer and close the lid. The printer will begin to move again. When the message appears stating that the cartridge cannot be recogmised Click OK again.
7. Open the printer and remove  the cartridge.
8. Remove the tape and insert the cartridge in the printer and close the lid.
9. The cartridge should now read Full again.

Compatible Brother LC-37 (Brother LC37 ink cartridges) and Brother LC-57 (Brother LC57 ink cartridges) ink cartridges are usually extremely reliable and trouble free however when installing them they can occassionally not register as being New of Full. The Brother printers sense the ink levels internally rather than via a chip on the cartridge itself so they are relatively easy to troubleshoot. The main problem is caused by ink not flowing correctly from the ink outlet hole on the ink cartridge itself. The following video runs through several procedures which help to solve any issues which may occur when installing a new set of brother cartridges.

A common problem with Ink Cartridges (especially Lexmark,HP and Epson) is that the printhead (the part where the ink actually contacts the paper) becomes blocked due to the ink clogging or drying up. This regularly occurs with HP and Lexmark ink cartridges as the printhead is built in to the ink cartridge. When a cartridge has been left sitting for sometime or a printer has not been used for a while the printhead becomes partially or fully blocked. The result of this is poor print reproduction,missing colours or at its worst no printing at all ! The following video is a good example of how to unblock the printhead using very hot water and or alchahol.

Have your Ink Cartridges ran out of ink? Maybe not. Try resetting the chip on your ink cartridge to get that extra amount of ink that always gets left in the bottom (this can often be a considerable amount). This will mainly work for Epson printers only  as the chip reset feature is not the same on most other ink cartridges!

The Latest Compatible Ink Cartridges to flood the market are the Canon PGI-520/CLI-521 non chipped series. As usual Canon have developed a very complex “Opto-electrical” chip which will take some time for the manufacturers of compatible ink cartridges to replicate. It’s interesting also to note that these new series of Canon ink cartridges have even less ink in them than the preceded Canon PGI-5/CLI-8 series. So nothings changed Printer manufacturers continue to exploit the end user by once again manufacturing printers which use Expensive, low volume ink cartridges. As with the old series of Canon PGI-5 and CLI-8 cartridges the new PGI-520/CLI-521 series (non chipped) are the ONLY alternative at this time to less than halve your printing costs! As with the older canon cartridges these require you to remove the Microchip from the Genuine Canon cartridge and attatch them to the compatible cartridge. Once this is done you simply install them and follow the instructions included with the cartridges. They work fine and the only drawback is that they will not show the ink levels. Most people are more than happy to use them due to the savings involved. If you wish to go back to using the Genuine cartridges again simply pop them in your machine and all the ink levels will appear again as normal. Let me point out several points that MUST be followed when changing to the non chipped cartridges.

1. Remove the Micrchips carefully. They come off easily if you use a sharp scalpel to cut the 2 little plastic lugs.(do not use excessive force or pry at them)

2. Do not MIX the Microchips !  You MUST keep the black with the corresponding black and the cyan with the corresponding cyan etc. ( mixing them up will cause them to NOT work).

It all sounds daunting however it really is quite easy to do and the savings are HUGE. Well there you have it only 2 choices - Pay big dollars for the Genuines or more than halve your printing costs and by using the compatibles. The video below is for the Canon CLI-8 however the procedure is exactly the same for the 520 and 521 series.

NOTE: Ink Hub now has the Canon PGI-520/CLI-521 compatibles (with chips ALREADY fitted !)
Canon PGI-520BK

Toner Cartridges are certainly not getting any cheaper. Many businesses are now turning to both Remanufactured and Compatible Toner Cartridges. Talking to our wholesalers they indicated that during the last recession their business boomed as companies turned to compatible toners to save money. Many people cringe at the thought of using a compatible product however nowadays the quality of compatible and remanufactured toner is extremely high. A word of warning however be careful where you buy your toners from. Yes sure there are many companies that sell super cheap toner and ink cartridges but before you make the purchase do your homework. I recommend that if you are shopping online first look at the “Reviews” that have been left on the site. This will give you some indication of the level of customer satisfaction. Does the company offer a Money Back Guarantee or Exchange ?  Does the company have contact details such as phone numbers and not just a contact form. What does the site say about the products eg. are they simply a picture with a price or do they give a full overview of the product and its manufacturing process etc. Compatible Toner are a HUGE money saver. Make sure you buy from a reputable company so if there is ever an issue it can be resolved quickly and to your satisfaction. Happy shopping.

Cartridge World have been in the ink cartridge refill and supply business for many years but they now face HUGE amounts of competition from the large number of online suppliers. Cartridge World specialises in refilling ink and toner cartridges, and it all began from one store in  Adelaide and has now grown to 1,000 stores worldwide in 9 years. Unlike Cartridge World most online retailers sell only NEW (not refilled) ink cartridges and the quality nowadays is extremely high. One problem that is often encountered with refilling is trying to get the full amount of ink back into the empty cartridge. This is not a problem with compatibles as they are usually filled with a higher capacity of ink than the genuine OEM ink cartridge.Printer manufacturers are becoming more devious in their printer designs by producing smaller capacity ink cartridges and complex opto-electric chips which are extremely difficult to replicate. This is done in a desperate attempt to slow down the flood of high quality compatible ink cartridges which are flooding the market at bargain prices causing Printer manufacturers to lose piles of money ! Fortunately our friends in China are quick to replicate the cartridges and eventually copy the microchips and in most cases they are on the market  several months after the Genuine product is released. Canon seem to lead in this field as they produce microchips on their ink cartridges that may take several years to duplicate. A classic example of this is the Canon CLI-8 and PGI-5 cartridges which took many years to crack. Canon sell these for around $125 per set and the new compatibles are available for as low as $49.90 a set at online stores such as  Ink Hub-ink cartridges. With so many rapid changes in ink cartridge and printer technology, the flood of high quality, low priced compatible ink cartridges and the slowing economy Cartridge World like so many other businesses must be feeling the pinch. So shop around, do the homework and dont be afraid to try a compatible ink cartridge over a genuine product as there are HUGE savings to be made. Also remember that your printer warranty is NOT affected by using a compatible cartridge. Ink Hub has been selling quality ink cartridges Australia Wide for many years and have NEVER had a report of a printer being damaged by using a compatible product. So keep your eyes on Cartridge World over the next 12 months and I think that you will find as with many other businesses that they will struggle and that the online competitors will steal a large slice of Cartridge World’s business !

Toner Cartridges

Many small business owners are now turning to “Compatible” or “Remanufactured” Toner Cartridges in an effort to save money. The modern compatible toners are guaranteed to be equal or to exceed the quality of the Genuine OEM Toners. At Ink Hub we supply only the Highest quality toners supplied by Print-Rite.  Print-Rite laser toners are the best available on the market today. This is largely due to the quality control processes used during production. If you are concerned about the environment and you want to save a signifigant amount on your next toner cartridge purchase then make sure you purchase a quality toner with a full money back / replacement guarantee ! With Ink Hub’s range of quality toners you are not just getting a cartridge which has been drilled and refilled with new toner. Our toners have ALL of the internals replaced including wiper blades to ensure that you print quality is the same as the genuine OEM toner cartridge. Also every toner sold has the same page yield as the Genuine toners and most of them have a signifigantly higher page yield.

The Brother LC-37 ( Brother LC37 ) and Brother LC-57 ( Brother LC-57 )compatible ink cartridges are our Biggest sellers! The ink cartridges each contain 36ml of ink - DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF GENUINE BROTHER INK CARTRIDGES. We have done extensive tests on our Brother LC-37/47/57 ink cartridges and although Brother boast about their “Innobella” inks we cant pick the difference in print quality between our compatibles and their Genuine cartridges. Even on high gloss photgraphic paper we can notice NO difference in print quality. Dont pay top price for a genuine product when you can buy the same thing for a fraction of the cost. We sell thousands of these cartridges and have NEVER had anything but good reports about them.

All of our Brother ink cartridges are manufactured to ISO9001 and ISO14001 standards.

FULL 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE !              Visit our website: Ink Cartridges