been a big fan of canon printers and this one seems a good deal, if you have one of these already please leave some feedback below on its performance
the reviews are certainly positive….
http://www.trustedreviews.com/canon-pixma-mx420_Printer_revi…
http://www.canon.com.au/For-You/Printers/PIXMA-InkJet-Printe…
u know that the cartridge doesnt know what ink is in it? i have the 340 and have refilled it a number of time. but after 3 refils the head just blocks up. it really depends on the ink u use
Not sure about MX-340, but with MX850 / MP830, you can get "compatible" ink catridges with the chip. If you are into refill, then you need chip resetter.
Main issue with most consumer grade ink jet printers is the regular head cleaning (done by printers automatically). Once cleaned, the ink used to clean the head gets stored inside a special sponge/waste ink pad within the printer. After a while, the printer will not let you print anymore (because it thinks the waste ink pad is full of ink). Another issue is compatible ink generally don't offer the same quality (when printing photos) - and the original ink catridges cost a fair bit - often more than the printer itself for low end models.
With ink jet, you should print regularly. Otherwise, the regular auto head cleans will drain the ink.
I did a little more reading and stumbled on this, which sort of half-confirms my suspicions that the ink cartridges are non refillable:
http://ask.metafilter.com/180873/need-help-resetting-ink-car…
Apparently, you should refill them before they are completely empty, otherwise the printer will simply recognize the refilled cartridges as empty.
If you look carefully at most of them, as well as a chip they also have a little reflective / prismatic "no ink" detector in them. As far as I can tell, the "low ink" warning comes from a counter on the chip (i.e. it's a guess), while the "empty" comes from that detector. Once that's been tripped it's written to the chip, and refilling won't work.
Canon Pixma MX-340 DOES accept refillable ink. I am using it now. In fact it has some of the easiest cartridges to refill. Search ebay for refill kit for PG510 (or PG512) and CL511 (or CL5113). Comes with instructions on how to disable Canon "cartridge Empty" message. No need to replace chip, just follow the secret button sequence. I am up to my 8th refill on the original cartridges and all still good.
There are also continuous refill kits available for this and most Canon printers. Eg check out rihac or similar.
Cheers mate
Here's the ebay link for MX340 ink that I use http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5-x-100ml-Bulk-Refill-ink-CaNon-P… Link now fixed. or http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5-x-100ml-Bulk-Refill-ink-CaNon-P…
Also note there's also a $20 EFTPOS gift card available from Canon at the moment. https://www.canon.com.au/PIXMA/Gift-Card-Promotion
The MX870 @ $148 is an option if you need Individual Ink tanks. I believe auto-reseting cartridges are available for it.
http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Technology/Pri…
Just a little warning — Canon Pixma's with fax functions do not accept refillable inks. I own the MX-340 which is it's little brother (great wireless printer) which won't work with refilled cartridges.