"I came across Compubiz Inkjet when my regular source for Epson-compatible inkjet cartridges was back ordered and not even allowing me to place an order to be filled later. The same applied at all the other vendors I was then aware of...no ink, not even a waiting list. That situation hasn't changed and when it does, it'll be too late...I'm sticking with Compubiz. I've ordered twice and both times had questions that were very promptly answered by Eileen Kay, the president, or by Michael Kay. And this kind of service was given even though I'm just a hobbyist spending less than $100 an order. I last ordered on 2/2, that shipped 2/4, arrived 2/7. They apologized for a slight delay due to back order...huh?

I noticed the very disatisfied review that preceeds me by some 3 months. I noticed that the the negative review was posted 17 months after the order date! I noticed that the reviewer had never posted another review before or since. I notice that the review sounds like a CMA job. Judge for yourself..."

"I use a lot of ink. To get around paying $10-$12 for OEM cartridges I’ve been using third-party inks from Compubiz Inkjet/Inkjetsaver.com On the surface I was saving a lot of money with replacement cartridges and refilling of cartridges with bulk ink. In the long run the wasted time and materials, not to mention the aggravation, cost me much much much more money than I was saving.

For everyday business use, printing was coming out OK, not quite right but acceptable. When I started doing serious photography color matching became a serious issue. When printing with OEM inks, the color balance was off slightly to blue, but could be easily corrected using Photoshop.

Colors started changing when I started using the replacement cartridges and bulk ink. There was an overall brown hue. Although I could sometimes get a decent print by wilding changing the image in Photoshop, I usually had to print the same image over and over again to get the color right, as the colors on my monitor did not in any way resemble what was printed. This was the first waste of time and materials. I ended up purchasing Colorvsion’s Printfix Pro Suite ($500 spent here), and calibrating my monitors and printer (more time and materials spent here.) I was then able to get decent prints.

One day I had to print 10 13” X 19” posters with embedded pictures for my employer. As some of the ink tanks were running low I replaced them so that the printing would not be interrupted and I could leave without worrying about the ink running out.

Imagine my surprise when I returned to find 10 sheets of Canon Photo Rag paper with totally distorted colors, ranging from brown to a really strong magenta cast (A LOT of money wasted here on paper at $4 a sheet as well as ink.).

Here’s where the problems really started. I recalibrated the printer. I ran solvent through all of the printheads. I reinstalled the printer drivers. I reinstalled Photoshop 7. I installed Photoshop CS3 trial version. I contacted Corel and Nikon customer support. I reinstalled Corel Paint Shop Pro and updated Capture NX. I installed Windows Power Tools Color Management. I completely reinstalled Windows and the software from scratch on a spare hard drive (a whole day wasted on this alone.)

I just couldn't figure it out. Any program that used color management would not print right but other programs would. I spent about a week trying all of this in different variations.

One day just by chance, I noticed that on a printed nozzle check that the Magenta and Photo Magenta inks were the same color. I checked and sure enough, it was the same color ink in all of the 4oz and 8oz Magenta and Photo Magenta bottles.

This is why I thought it was a color management problem, only the programs that printed photographs used the Photo Magenta ink, while ‘normal’ programs use only the Magenta ink.

So, did I save any money? I think not. I wasted weeks of my time. I spent a ton on wasted ink and materials. I spent $500 on Printfix Pro. I can now throw away the rest of my $350 cartridge and ink purchase. Previously I threw away a barely used $200 printer due to clogged printheads that could not be cleared.

Adding it up, I estimate I netted about 200 cartridges using third-party replacement and bulk inks. My costs were $350 for ink, $500 for PrintFix Pro, $200 for throwing away a printer, $200 for wasted paper, and a conservative $1,000 for time in calibration, refilling cartridges, and troubleshooting for a total of $2,250 or $11.25 per cartridge. Canon OEM cartridges would have cost me on average $11 or $2,200. So, it actually COST me $50 extra to use third-party and bulk ink!

The really frustrating part is that I contacted Compubiz Inkjet/Inkjetsavers.com and informed them of their problem and some of the costs involved. The only response I received was that the problem was being referred to their ‘Purchasing Department’. I emailed them a week later to remind them of the problem, no response. Today makes over 2 weeks and still no response.


This aggravation at being ignored alone is ‘priceless’ as the TV ads like to say.



Update: Today I received a response. They basically said tough luck as they could not lookup the batch number for the ink on this order due to the timeframe involved and the ‘hundreds of gallons’ of ink they’ve purchased since then.
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"Excellent prices and service. All emails were answered promptly. A small piece in their cleaning kit arrived slightly damaged and they sent me a replacement. They have the best prices and quality for inkjet cartridges I have seen on the Internet. Over a year ago I purchased 4 color and 4 black cartridges plus their cleaning kit. I still have 2 color and 1 black cartridges in reserve. I waited this long to review INKJETSAVER.COM because I wanted to report any effects non-Epson cartridges would have on my Epson 980. I can report that my 980 still works fine. When I finally run out of ink, and I suspect that will be another year, I will buy another 4+4 cartridges from this vendor. I bought their cleaning kit because of any problems I might have using non-Epson cartridges. Because there were none, I still have not used the cleaning kit.
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"I recently ordered a Canon S750 printer and at the same time wanted to order cartridge refilling equipment/bulk ink so I'd have everything I needed for a good while.

Researching online vendors for inkjet cartridge refill kits/bulk inks, I found Compubiz Inkjet and saw that they not only had great prices for bulk ink but lots of tools/refilling devices for various brand printers. The problem was that they were not listed at Resellerratings so I was hesitant to try them out.

But I did -- after writing them that I always do reviews, good or bad, after each online shopping experience -- and found that I needn't have worried: Compubiz Inkjet processed my order quickly, shipped it promplty and it arrived in 3 days. They also packed it well, too, unlike one inkjet refill company I patronized before.

The only thing negative I could say -- and this may be my fault -- is that I couldn't find the invoice so they may not have sent one...so I couldn't supply the invoice # for this review/rating (put the USPS tracking # instead). I looked in my e-mail inbox for e-mail from Compubiz Inkjet but the shipping notice -- while it gave me the USPS tracking number -- didn't state the invoice # or even the order #. But again, maybe there was an invioce in the box but I misplaced it.

But other than that minor point, Compubiz Inkjet handled everything well and at good prices...I already plan to order some more things from them -- Canon cartridges/ink tanks -- soon and will stay with them for my inkjet refill needs.

John Dechon
El Paso, TX
79912
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