Ink Cartridges Blog

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 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.

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

With such a huge choice of Printers available today deciding which one to buy can be a real headache.

There are so many printers available to choose from that it can be quite confusing as to which choice you eventually make. First decision is to decide the main purpose that the printer will be used for. Most printers nowadays are known as MFP’s (Multi Function Printers) or MFD’s (Multi Function Devices). This basically means that they will do more than simply print. Most MFP’s will print, scan, copy(same as a photocopier) and also have card readers for printing directly from your camera’s memory card. First of all let’s go through some of the basic specifications of a printer and what they all mean.

Printer speed

The speed at which the printer prints to a page will be listed under the term “pages per minute“, or ppm. The top of the range Inkjet Printers will be rated at around 20ppm in black and white (draft quality), and 12ppm in colour, but if you’re looking at a mid-range Inkjet Printer, expect to see figures from 8ppm to 16ppm in black and white, and 1.2ppm to 12ppm in colour (depending on print quality mode settings). Note: (for the average home user most modern printers print at an acceptable speed so ppm ratings are only relevant where large quantities of printing or high speed printing is a concern)

Resolution and print quality

The quality of the print from a printer is known as its resolution. Resolution is the number of “dots per square inch” or dpi. The higher the dpi means the better or finer the print quality will be. Inkjet Printers generally have a maximum colour resolution of 2400×1200dpi, with some of the more expensive printers quoting up to 4800×1200dpi. For the average full-colour 8×10in photograph, you’re unlikely to see any significant improvement once you get above 1200×1200dpi.
Why does a Photo Printer produce better pictures than a standard Inkjet Printer ?

Generally the main difference with a photo printer is that many of them use additional ink cartridges to provide better “in between colours” . They usually employ the standard Black, Yellow, Cyan and Magenta ink cartridges but they also throw in a Light Magenta and a Light Cyan ink cartridge to provide a better overall photo quality. Epson commonly employ these extra cartridges in many of their printers.

What other factors should I consider when purchasing a printer ?

One of the FIRST considerations before purchasing a printer should be the cost of replacing the ink cartridges. Many of the HP, Canon and Lexmark printers have the “Printer Head” (the part that actually prints the ink onto the paper) built into the ink cartridge. This makes replacing the cartridges very costly. Make sure that you price the ink cartridges before purchasing the printer. Often manufacturers will sell quality printers for very low prices knowing quite well that the first time the customer replaces the ink cartridges that they will redeem their money.

Conclusion: what to buy ?

If you are simply after a basic “MFD” Printer that will print, scan, photocopy and has a card reader(for digital cameras etc) it is very hard to beat the Brother Printers. They are inexpensive, reliable, produce a good quality print and the ink cartridges are reasonably priced. (in fact our Brother LC47 and LC57’s are one of our biggest sellers). For photographic printing you may like to look at the Epson or even some of the Canon printers. Remember the basic specifications wev’e looked at above and chose your printer according to the purpose you will most be using it for. As a final comment let me say that I strongly advise people against purchasing a Lexmark printer. Although they are very good printers the price and availability of ink cartridges is a large deterrent. Happy hunting !

Inkjet Printer Manufacturers sites:

The following websites may be of a help to you in finding out more about which printer will suite your needs:

Epson Inkjet Printers >> Canon Inkjet Printers >> Brother MFC Printers >> HP Printers

Are compatible ink cartridges better value than Genuine cartridges ?

If you had asked me this question 5 years ago the answer I would have given would have been NO!

However with the fierce competition nowadays and the huge advances in technology my opinion has changed 100%.

In the early days of refill kits and compatible ink cartridges there were only a handful of companies that produced generic cartridges. One of the better known ones (which still exists today) is a company called “Calidad”.

I guess that many of us were introduced to the generic alternative ink cartridges and refill kits through Calidad as they dominated the industry years ago.

Times have changed however and Calidad have been left at the post. The modern compatible ink cartridges coming out of China nowadays are far superior in EVERY aspect.

At Ink Hub we have spent much time testing a huge range of compatible ink cartridges and we have narrowed it down to two main suppliers. We can honestly say that our compatibles are equal in print quality, most contain more ink (some up to almost 3 times the ink capacity of a genuine) and represent a HUGE cost saving.

We still get emails from people asking if compatible ink cartridges will damage their printers. Well we have NEVER had a report in all the time weve been selling ink cartridges and toners (100,000’s of ink cartridges) of a printer being damaged. Also remember that Printer Warranties are still valid if you use a compatible ink cartridge and printer manufacturers cannot (by law) void your printer warranty because you have used  compatible ink cartridges !

Finally let me say that at Ink Hub weve done the hard work, we know what works and we only sell the highest quality compatible ink cartridges available. Have a read of the customers “Reviews” on our website and STOP wasting big dollars on genuine ink cartridges.

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

The NEW Canon CLI-8 Canon PGI-5 Canon PGI5, Canon CLI8 ink cartridges represent FANTASTIC value. Ink Hub was one of the first companies in Australia to import the Canon PGI-5 and CLI-8 cartridges and they have become a huge seller in fact our BIGGEST seller of any ink cartridge. We have had nothing but positive comments from our customers. They contain more ink than the genuine OEM cartridges and the ink is the highest grade American ink available. As with all of our compatible ink cartridges they are put through rigorous testing to check print quality, printer compatibility and overall durability. At Ink Hub we initially sold thousands of the non-chipped Canon CLI-8 and PGI-5 cartridges which required the origional microchip to be removed and attatched to the non-chipped compatible cartridge. This was due to the complex nature of the Canon “Opto-electric” Microchip which took many years to duplicate. Fortunately after many years of research the microchip was duplicated and the New breed of compatible CLI8 and PGI5’s flooded the market.

Why pay around $125 for a set of Genuine cartridges when you can get the same quality for $49.90 (full set of 5 ink cartridges).

The Canon CLI-8/PGI-5 suite the following printers:

Canon PIXMA: iP3300, iP4200, iP4300, iP4500, iP5200, iP5200r, iP5300, iP6600D, iP6700D, iX4000, iX5000, MX700, MX850

Canon MP: MP500, MP510, MP530, MP600, MP600r, MP610, MP800, MP800R, MP810, MP830, MP950, MP960, MP970, Pro9000

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

Canon PGI-5BK Black Ink Cartridge