Canon MX410 printer - 'washed out' colors

[jeanluckpiccard]

We have a pretty old printer, a Canon MX 410 from around 2010 or so. This printer is rarely used and the other day, my wife needed it to actually print something. Well, we looked at prices for ink cartridges and they were around $50. We couldn't justify spending that much so we went with 'refurbished' cartridges from Amazon for around $30. It seems to print text documents just fine, but when I print photos, the blacks look gray and the remaining colors just look faded and terrible. I went through the self-diagnostic tests, cleaned the rollers and cleaned and aligned the nozzles to no avail. Is this printer just shot or do refurbished cartridges just use crappy ink? We are not sure if we should invest in another set of cartridges (especially when they're $50 a shot) or pick up a new printer...

[Applefreak]

5 minutes ago, jeanluckpiccard said:

We have a pretty old printer, a Canon MX 410 from around 2010 or so. This printer is rarely used and the other day, my wife needed it to actually print something. Well, we looked at prices for ink cartridges and they were around $50. We couldn't justify spending that much so we went with 'refurbished' cartridges from Amazon for around $30. It seems to print text documents just fine, but when I print photos, the blacks look gray and the remaining colors just look faded and terrible. I went through the self-diagnostic tests, cleaned the rollers and cleaned and aligned the nozzles to no avail. Is this printer just shot or do refurbished cartridges just use crappy ink? We are not sure if we should invest in another set of cartridges (especially when they're $50 a shot) or pick up a new printer...

Crappy ink or a bad refill job in general. I'd suggest getting a laser printer, I've bought a used one, replaced the drums and got a new toner set (Brother MFC printer) for about 120.- $

With a laser printer, toner cartridges are good even when printing very little. The upfront cost easily makes up for the long term convenience. I would look for a used color laser printer. Make sure to check availability of drum units and toner sets and their cost as well as the estimated page count.

Some office stores may offer a refurbished device for half the price. Those are usually great as well but may need more desk space.

[jeanluckpiccard]

22 minutes ago, Applefreak said:

Crappy ink or a bad refill job in general. I'd suggest getting a laser printer, I've bought a used one, replaced the drums and got a new toner set (Brother MFC printer) for about 120.- $

With a laser printer, toner cartridges are good even when printing very little. The upfront cost easily makes up for the long term convenience. I would look for a used color laser printer. Make sure to check availability of drum units and toner sets and their cost as well as the estimated page count.

Some office stores may offer a refurbished device for half the price. Those are usually great as well but may need more desk space.

To be honest, I've hated this printer from day 1. The menus are clunky and difficult to use, the printer is slow and the plastics have an overall 'cheap' feel. For the most part, I don't feel it was very well built and this was a fairly expensive printer at the time.

 

 For the time being, we'll probably use it just to print text documents. Once the ink expires, we'll invest in a laser printer. Thanks for your help!