Refillable Cartridges for Select Canon Printers

We selected refillable Canon printer ink cartridges (rather than the tube and tank system we use for Epson printers) for three main reasons:

• The selected Canon printers would require physical modification for a tube and tank system to work properly. This would void the printer warranty. Not good!

• Some mobile retailers would like the advantage of having everything self-contained, because they moved their printer around a lot.

• Depending upon their needs and desires, it gave our friends and clients a clear choice of which type (carts or tanks) of system they wanted to operate.

Alpha Supply Co's   << MagiCart! Kit for the Canon Pro9000 Mark II   MagiCart! Kit for the >> Canon iP4700 Full list of supported Canon printers

Developing the Canon MagiCart! cartridge ink refill system was fairly simple (compared to the beginnings of the Epson bulk unit). This was because our current manufacturer had already proved capable of making a first-rate system with the MagicFlow! Bulk unit, for Epson printers.

We just simply got their existing Canon cartridges, tested them, found one little thing that we didn’t like and sent them back with a change request.

We got the modified Canon ink refill cartridges back a few weeks later, tested them and, “Voilà!” They worked perfectly and we were good to go!

About the two Cannon inkjet printers

We chose ink refill cartridges for the Canon printers that we suggest, for two reasons. First, both are current printers and easy to find (copy the names of either into a Google or Yahoo search window). Second, the cartridges fit a goodly number of older PIXMA series Canon printers, which you may already own. See List of other printers

Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II – This 8-color (cyan, magenta, yellow, black, photo cyan, photo magenta, green and red) printer, prints 8.5x11 and 11x17 heat transfer paper and up to giant 13x19 regular paper sheets. The speed is very good for an inkjet printer and is a bit faster than the comparable Epson 1400 (although the 1400 is much lighter).

As you might expect from an eight color printer, color replication is truly excellent! Our TransMagic! Ink colors on heat transfer paper are even slightly better than with the Epson 1400 and colors on a first-rate photo paper like Epson’s Ultra Premium Photo Glossy Paper is outstanding. That last fact could be very important to professional photographers.

Canon PIXMA iP4700 – is quite a mouthful for basically a 4-color printer. However, objectively, it is a very good four color printer. Technically, you could call it a 5-color printer. The standard Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black is used when printing color graphics and photographs. Pigment Black (the fifth color) is only used when printing text documents on regular paper. To answer a possible question; pigment black is never used on heat transfers because it is quite dull.

The printer is a bit more robust that the Epson C88+ and it is a bit faster. You might think that 4-color printing (as compared to a 6 or 8-color printer) would not be very pretty. You would be wrong. While perhaps not as subtle in tone as a multi-colored print, either 4-color printer (Cannon or Epson) produces quite pleasing prints, using our TransMagic! Inks.

Buying either printer – While we obviously sell the correct inks and refillable cartridges for the printers, we have elected to not sell either printer.

The reason is simple: because it will save you money!

Both printers cost more than the Epson printers discussed on the previous page and there seems to be a constant flux in price. For example, we have seen the Cannon Pro9000 for as little as $385 and as much as $499.

Your best bet is to enter either printer name into your favorite search engine and do some price checking. They all sell the same printer. Go reputable, with the best price.

Forewarned Is Forearmed

You might be tempted to think, with all the glowing verbiage, that the Cannon system is the only way to go. Not really. One person’s pleasure is another person’s pain. The best system (Epson or Cannon) is the one that fits your needs, budget and maybe even your temperament.

Even roses have thorns. See if you think any of these items have “stick”-

• If you’re not careful, the cartridges are a bit messy to fill and refill. Don’t throw the gloves away that come with the MagiCart! Kit and don’t fill carts on the dining room table.

• Plan on “topping-off” your cartridges before starting a big print job and also maybe on refilling several cartridges before the job is finished

• Refillable cartridges require more interaction with the printer and cartridges. Even two or three medium jobs in one day may necessitate refilling a couple of your cartridges.

Even our staff is split. Three love the Cannon cartridge system and three love the Epson bulk system. In the long run, “best” is what floats your boat.

O.K., enough about our “Magic” systems. With a little thought, you should have enough information to make an informed decision for yourself.

Next is pricing information on the MagiCart! Kits and under that is a study guide to continue your T-shirt Business education.

4 oz (125 ml) TransMagic C1 Inks™ (C, M, Y, K, PK) $32.95 each (for the Canon iP4700)
4 oz (125 ml) TransMagic C2 Inks™ (C, M, Y, K, Lt. M, Lt. C, G, R) $32.95 each (for the Canon Pro9000 Mark II)

Select your next subject from this Study Guide
They are in the order that we suggest

If your budget won’t allow you to get a dedicated T-shirt Printing System, go to this Next Page, to learn the in’s and out’s of printing with regular ink.

If you are done learning about printing methods, you need to go learn about vinyl cutter plotters next and T-shirt vinyl. Custom vinyl cut decoration offers advantages that printed heat transfers do not have (just as inkjet printed transfers have advantages that vinyl doesn’t offer).

Heat transfer t-shirt decorating AND vinyl T-shirt decorating offer great transfer business opportunities. Learning about both will help you decide if one or the other (or both) is your best starting point.

If you are not interested in learning about vinyl cutters or T-shirt vinyl, then click one of the below options, to continue your study tutorial and keep the information flow in order-

1. Flock Transfers: heat transfers are not great for just letters and numbers. Individual sheets of letters and numbers is the way to go. Learn about them

2. Uniform Numbers: uniforms require very durable, large numbers and are frequently asked for. 90% of all work is 6” & 8” Black and White numbers. Learn about them

3. Heat Press: A good heat press AND heat transfer paper is vital, in building a successful T-shirt business. Start below or pick option 4.

Heat Press Basics teaches you what you must know, to select the right heat press for what you want to do.

Top Ten Heat Presses explains everything you need to know about these great presses

If you already know about heat press machines, then click, HIX, Stahls', or Knight heat presses, to learn about your choices.

4. Don’t need a heat press? Then click Starting Your Business for vital insights that help you successfully hit the ground running. “Well begun is half done” Aristotle

Updated: Wednesday September 8, 2010