****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
The original Canon inks are expensive enough to make me cringe whenever the thought of replacing them comes up ("check ink level -- ink level is low"). But I have to say that I've been using these Canon cartridges for about four years now, and they have all worked flawlessly on a whole series of paper types: plain, plain coated, heavy stock, semi gloss photographic, and high gloss premium photographic. The results are simply stunning. When printed on the right paper with an image that has been properly prepared, my Canon injet printer (I use an older model, the Canon i6600) knocks out images that far exceed what you would normally find on reproduction prints. When I see what this ink (and printer) can do, it makes me hold back my anger at the cost of replacing the ink when necessary.My printer uses six ink colors (Black, Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, Photo Cyan, and Photo Magenta). One can sometimes find a slight reduction in price by buying in sets or in multiple packs, so do your homework before you purchase. Some of the packs that offer discounts are for the larger, eight-ink printers, so if you have one of those, again, look carefully for these sets before you make a purchase so that you don't mistakenly end up with two extra colors that are not used by your printer. I have found that it pays to strategize with these purchases, rather than just purchasing the one ink that is running low at the moment. Take advantage of price reduction sets, and then build a little pile of ink cartridges at home while you wait for other inks to run out. It's a bit more "up front" cost, but can pay off over the long run. If you buy original ink like this from the manufacturer, you aren't likely to get "cheap" costs, but you can reduce the costs a little from off list.So, again, other than the high cost, I rate these Canon inks as simply excellent. They work very well, have excellent color (and generally long durability), don't seem to ever clog or cause other problems in the printer, and can really help you make the most out of your inkjet printer (particularly if you are printing photos). If all you ever do is print out color handouts for documents, you MIGHT consider an OEM or "off brand" as these distinctions won't matter as much to you. But for photo printing, I recommend these Canon inks.
