How to save money printing with Canon Pixma Printers

Canon Pixma Printers, Smart chips, Resetters, ARCs & how to save money printing

Canon Printers are designed to keep you coming back to Canon for expensive ink cartridges. Let me explain how you can purchase a great Canon printer and save over 90% on printing costs. 

What most people do not know about Canon printers is that they use a 'Smart Chip' system to keep you buying their ink cartridges. Those cartridges for a 5 cartridge printer can cost you over $60 every time you have to replace them! In many cases that is about half the cost of the printer itself. If you have children, or are going to school, or do printing for your church or club, or have a small business, which depends on printing documents, this cost can quickly become a money eating monster. 

We learned this when we purchased our first Canon printer back in 2006. So why not, refill those ink cartridges, and just buy ink? Won’t that work? 

Well it sounds like a great idea until you discover, like many of our customers have, that Canon Pixma printers will recognize the ink cartridge but they will continue to tell you that it is empty despite the fact that you have filled it with ink!

Why this is, is because of the ‘Smart Chip’, which Canon installs on all their ink cartridges. 

That little chip on the bottom front of your ink cartridge has to be reset to its original specifications before it will let the printer print no matter how much in you have poured into it. 

So what to do about that? 

Well it is not such an issue anymore because RKS back in 2004 broke the way for people to decode those chips. Today we have resetters and chips, and even auto reset chips for all of the Canon printers that take: Cli-8, pgi-5, cli-221, pgi-220, cli-226 and pgi-225 chips. 

At this writing, there are 47 printers that take these ink cartridges.

But unless you know which ones to consider, you may purchase one of the other Canon Pixma printers which will never have a resetter. This is where doing your homework can save you hundreds of dollars. The original cost a printer is not high, but if you have to replace cartridges every month, at the rate of $60, that will add up very quickly. 

So now that you understand what you need to know, below I have listed all the Canon Pixm printers, at this writing, which have aftermarket resetting capabilities. We stock resetters for each of these printers, we also stock empty refillable ink cartridges which come with auto reset chips already installed. These auto reset chips, or ARCs as they are called in the business, will automatically reset themselves to the original specifications, every time you remove them from your printer and put them back in. So now you have more choices in the way you can save money. 

1.)You can keep your original ink cartridges and buy a resetter to reset the chips each time. Filling an original ink cartridge can be done either by drilling a little hole in the top and filling with a syringes, or peeling back the top front of the label and pulling out the little dipple plug that seals the hole that Canon used to fill the cartridge. Then once you have filled it with ink, you can either use and aftermarket plug or just a drop of silicon to seal it back. 

2.) You can buy a resetter and compatible ink cartridges without the chips. Then when your original carts are empty you reset the chip, peel it off the cartridge and slide into the harness on the new compatible ink cartridge. With our G&G compatibles, it take about 2 minutes to do this. Price for a set of G&G compatibles, which come with excellent Everbrite ink is $11.92 

3) You can buy a set of empty refillable ink cartridges without chips and then just glue your original chips in place, reset them and fill the cartridges each time. 

4) You can buy a set of empty refillable ink cartridges with auto reset chips and then that is that. Just refill them and put them back in your printer. 

I hope this helped you realize how you can save money printing with most Canon Pixma printers. If you are in the market for a new printer or when you are again, make sure to check the list below or email me with your question or for an update. I will do my best to help you get a printer that will suit all your needs, save you money on printing and hopefully keep this planet green. 

Thanks for visiting - 

Michele & The InkjetReset family 

Please check our store for resetters, empty refillable ink cartridges with auto reset chips, plugs and other helpful aftermarket Pixma printer products. 

Printers using the CLI-8 & PGI-5 chips series include:  (30 printer choices)  See the resetter here: Cli-8 Resetter

iP3500, iP4200,  iP4300, iP4500, iP5000, iP5200, iP5200R, iP5300, iP6600, iP6600 D, iP6700, 

iP6700D, iX4000, iX5000, Pro9000

MP500,MP510, MP520, MP530, MP600, MP600R, MP610, MP800, MP800R, MP810, MP830, MP950, MP 970*, MX700, MX850

Printers using the CLI-221 & PGI-220 chips series include:   (11 printer choices) See this resetter here: Cli-221 Resetter

IP3600, IP4600, IP4700, MP560, MP620, MP620B, MP640, MP980, MP990, MX860, MX870

Printers using the CLI-226 & PGI-225 chips series include:  (6 printer choices) See this resetter here: Cli-226 Resetter 

IP4820, MG 5120, MG 6120, MG 8120, MG 5220, MX882

Please visit InkjetReset.com for all your Canon Pixma reseters, refillables & other money saving items. 

QE226 Chip Resetter Canon is HERE!

The new QE226 resetters came today! So I'm posting a buy button here, in case you need one while I work on setting up our new website page.

These resetters will reset the original chips for Canon MX882,  MG6120,  MG8120,  MG5120, IP4820


How do you know which cartridge your printer takes?  Just open your printer and look at the cartridges. On the top there's a number. All cartridges that say CLI-226 or PGI-225 can be reset with this resetter.


All our resetters come with a 6 month warranty, and we are right here in the USA, shipping from Oregon within 24 hours of receipt of funds.


QE226: $36.50 + shipping - goes by weight.
But just to let you know sometimes Paypal seems to charge too much and when it does we do refund money back to you. 

  
  

NEW CLI-226 RESETTERS IN STOCK NEXT WEEK!

This resetter will reset chips on all of these Canon Pixma models:

IP4820, MX882, MG5220, MG5120, MG6120, MG8120

The new resetters are on the way, there was a delay due to being told they were ready when only a very high priced version was ready. But finally they created the battery operated one and we received notice yesterday that they are on their way to us. We should have them in stock next week.

So please email if you need one, it is looking like they will retail for about $30 with shipping. Email us at inkjetreset @ gmail.com

NEW Resetters for Canon Pixma CLI-226 & PGI-225

We have been waiting since September 2010 for manufacturers to make a breakthrough in the Canon cli-226, pgi-225 chip series.

Got the note yesterday, that the code has been broken, and the new Canon Cli-226 , Pgi-225 chip resetters will be available by the first week of June 2011, but they are expensive and they are a little different than the resetters of the past.

First we are not totally sure on price yet but from the quotes we have received they will sell for $67 in the first batch, usually these prices drop after 6 months, but we were shocked to see prices like the first cli-8 resetters.

The good news is these new resetters will not have batteries, they come with a usb cord and will attach to any usb port, so you never have to worry about changing out a battery or having one fail.

There new resetters will work with this chip series on these Canon Printers:

Cli-226 / Pgi-225

IP4820 
MG5120,
MG5220,
MG6120,
MG8120, 
IX6520, 
MX882

iP4820, MG5120, MG5220, MG6120, MG8120 - Newest Canon Printers

Customers keep asking if a resetter is available for the newest Canon Pixma printers: iP4820, MG5120, MG5220, MG6120, MG8120, which use a cli-226 and pgi-225 ink cartridge.

So I will keep you informed here.

Manufacturers are working to break the code to produce a resetter for the new cli-226, pgi-220 chip series printers.

The only Canon chips that have resetters available today are: cli-8, pgi-5 and cli-221, pgi-220.

My experience over the years with manufacturers saying a resetter will be available at a certain time has never manifested in the months they project. So I have learned not to release this information till I have a tracking number for my shipment.

If you want to make sure there is a resetter available for a printer, I have listed all compatible Canon models below.

When you're considering purchasing a printer, always check under the hood (lol) to see what chip series it uses. When you look at the cartridges inside the printer, you will see a number on top of each cartridge. That number refers to the chip series. If it says 8, 5, 221, or 220, there is a resetter currently available for it.

Here's a picture of what you will see

If you are buying online and cannot look under the hood. look at the specifications details, or what's in the box, or additional supplies for the ink it will take and there should be a listing of the cartridge types and thus the chip series becomes obvious.

Canon Pixma Models using CLI-8 & PGI-5 chips include:
iP3500, iP4200, iP4300, iP4500, iP5000, iP5200, iP5200R, iP5300, iP6600, iP6600D, iP6700, iP6700D, iX4000, iX5000, Pro 9000,
MP500, MP510, MP520, MP530, MP600, MP600 R, MP610, MP800, MP800R, MP810, MP830, MP950, MP970, MX700, MX850

Canon Pixma Models using the CLI-221 & PGI-220 chips include:
iP3600, iP4600, iP4700,
MP560, MP620, MP620B, MP640, MP980, MP990,
MX860, MX870

Best & Cheapest Canon Inkjet Printing

We have been in this market for over 3.5 years. We started saving money by buying a cli-8 resetter and then peeling off our original ink chips and double sticking them to compatible ink cartridges. To say this is a savings is truly an understatement.

Buying a set of Canon cartridges, even at Costco is about $55 for five. That is the case whether you get the cli-8 carts or the new cli-221 carts, which hold about 1/3 as much ink as the earlier ones.

So since we started using a resetter and buying compatibles, we began to stock these. We now carry top of the line compatibles for both the 8 and 221 series. We stock brand new G&G Ninestar ink cartridges without chips. Buying a set of 5 of cartridges is an incredible savings.

5 Pack Compatible Cartridges without chips for CLI-8 / PGI-5
1 each Cli-8 yellow, cyan, magenta, black & Pgbk
For Canon Pixma Models:IP4200, IP4300, IP4500, IP5200, IP5200R, MP530, MP600, MP610, MP800, MP800R, MP810, MP830, MX850
Regular Price: $22.35  Introductory Price: $14.90 

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5 Pack Compatible Cartridges without chips for CLI-221 / PGI-220
1 each Cli-221 cyan, black, magenta, yellow & Pgi-220 For Canon Pixma Models: IP3600, IP4600, IP4700, MP560, MP620, MP620B, MP640, MX860, MX870 
Regular Price: $21.86  Introductory Price: $14.57 

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So we began our business with Canon resetters. Today we still carry the best resetters in the world for both the 8 and 221 chip series. The prices, as with anything in technology have dropped significantly.

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When we started we sold resetters for over $67 each. Today here are the prices:

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QE358 for cli-8 / pgi-5 with six month full replacement warranty is only $17.96  

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QE221 for cli-221 / pgi-220 with six month full replacement warranty is only $26.00  

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But we have gone into a much greater savings realm and a greener one too by refilling cartridges.

Canon CLI-221 Resetter - Go Green & Save 90% on ink!

If you have recently purchased one of these Canon Pixma Printers:

IP3600   IP4600   IP4700   MP560   MP610  MP620  MP630   MP640  MP980   MP990   MP988  MX860

You will find that Canon has reduced the size of the ink cartridges by about 1/3 compared to the cli-8 /pgi-5 cartridges, and they're still charging between $12.83 (Costco) and $14.69 (Staples) That means for a set of five cartridges, which contain approximately 63ml of ink all together, you are paying between $64.15 and $73.45!

You can buy a complete refill kit from us which includes: A chip resetter, a set of trays that will steady and seal your ink cartridges plus 550 ml of award winning premium wide gamut ink in clean-hands bottles for $95 including priority mail shipping, that gives you just under 5 refills for your pgi-220, and over 10 refills for each of your cli-221 cartridges, that is equal to 5 full sets of cartridges (averaged value $344) PLUS an additional 5 Color 4-packs (value $275.20) for a total savings of $550.40.

Then when you are ready to purchase more ink, you can buy the 5 pack (cli-221 cyan, black, magenta, yellow & pgi-220) for $55.50 including priority mail shipping. Or buy a bottle at a time for  $9.05 (cli-221 inks) or $10.79 (pgi-220 ink)

This is a  savings of $563.70 over the Canon cartridges, and the ink quality is superb. We have many happy photographers using our ink.

Finally we have a way to reset Canon CLI-221 & PGI-220 chips. The resetters are now in stock and they work exactly like our cli-8 and pgi-5 resetters. They have the same look, same removable base and CR2032 Lithium battery and are dependable.

And the price is great. We've listed them for $32 on Ebay and Ecrater with first class shipping to any US address.