Anyone found some generic / "compatible" HP 02 inkjet cartridges that work correctly in the Photosmart C-5100 (C-5180) or similar printers? I tried a couple different compatible carts a few mo ago. Sellers assured me they'd work fine in MY printer. They didn't... at all. If answer to 1st question is "NO", are there any current printer models (any brand) that generic carts work correctly with? Tired of being gouged. Thanks!

Generic cartridges or ink tanks work fine, as long as they haven't been sitting somewhere for more than a year or so - ink tanks may be fine if they sit longer. HP 02 "cartridge" is a misnomer - it's actually just an ink tank/container, not a cartridge with a printhead built in - it won't work if the built in printhead on the printer is clogged. Commonly the printhead gets clogged when someone takes out the ink tank and lets the printer sit with no ink tank for too long - the ink in the ink channel from that in the printhead dries out - it doesn't take long (as little as a day, or less, in some cases). If you're SURE the printhead was not exposed to the air for too long, there might be an air bubble in the printhead ink passage. See the printer web site for t-shooting instructions in that case, or look on the web on sites that supply generic ink for that.

Thanks T & W, The issue isn't if generic ink is satisfactory. My issue w/ the Photosmart C-5180 is the 02 cartridges (tanks) are "chipped" & communicate w/ the printer. Most generic carts don't communicate properly w/ these late model printers (so far). These printers won't even recognize the generic carts or report as damaged, empty, etc., & won't use them.

In that case, there must be a procedure of transferring the chip from the empty HP "cartridge" to the generic one, or some other workaround, otherwise there would be no point in them selling "cartridges" no one can use. Sometimes there is a procedure or device to re-set the chip as well (e.g. for some Epson ones). Plus there may be a procedure for re-setting the detection of the ink tank in the HP software so that it is no longer seen as empty, or you may just have to ignore error messages and monitor whether the tank has ink manually. Look on the web on sites that supply generic ink for that e.g. of the ones you tried. It's a matter of how much you're prepared to deal with in order to be able to use the cheaper generic ink tanks or actual cartridges with printheads. For some, a method has been found or an inexpensive device can be bought for re-setting the OEM chip so you can use the same tank or cartridge again, or you can transfer the chip to the generic cartridge and reset it, but for others you have to put up with some hassle. E.g. A friend has a Canon IP4200 - it uses ink tanks with chips. You can get generic tanks, but Canon has not allowed anyone to sell them with their chips or clone chips that violate their patent on that chip, and no one has figured out how to re-set the Canon chips (at least the last time I checked -that may come eventually). The tanks work, but any tank positions that ran out of ink as a Canon ink tank are still seen as empty, and a light or led blinks at that position in the printer itself. You get error messages, but can still print. If you follow a certain procedure after getting them, you can get the software to turn off most of the warning error messages and you can print no problem. You have to monitor the ink levels in the cartrdiges that are still seen as empty manually. If you buy a genuine Canon ink tank, everything is reset for that particular cartridge position. This particular chip has a counter, so you can't even get away with topping up the cartridge with bulk ink so the ink level that triggers the low ink messages never happens - eventually the max count is reached, and you can no longer use the ink tank anyway, at least not without putting up with the same situation. The only workaround that works for this particular ink tank problem is expensive but cost effective if you use a lot of ink - a bulk ink system that has a set of tanks that have a different chip that doesn't violate Canon's patent on it's chip, fed by tubing to much larger bulk ink tanks - that's $90 or more for the empty custom ink tanks that fit in the printer and the larger tanks, 5 of each in the case of her printer; the bulk ink is sold in addition to that, but it's relatively cheap. No error messages at all, unless you completely run out of ink, in which case I believe the custom chips can be reset. There may be such as system for the HP 02 tanks. E.g. Look here at the choices for HP printers - currently $90 plus the cost of the bulk ink: http://www.echostore.com/continuous... Canon and other manufacturers (Epson was the first one) added the chips because many of their older cartriges with no chips were well enough made that they can be refilled with bulk ink many times before they no longer give you good or at least reasonable printing results - e.g. I have some old printers that use the BJ-02 or BJ-20 black cartridge (has a printhead in it) and if you're careful and refill it immediately after it first runs out of ink, or better still don't let it run completely run out of ink before you refill it, the only limit is the deterioration in print quality you're prepared to put up with - and even then you can fiddle with them oif you're so inclined and clean the printheads such as with isoprpyl alcohol and get them usable for more refills. e.g. I have refilled them up according to the first method, and cleaned the printheads to extend their usability, so that I was able to use the same cartridge up to 13 times (over 6 years), costing me maybe the cost of three OEM cartridges in total, not including my labour. Inkjet printer manufacturers make their money through the ink tanks and true cartridges with printheads they sell - the printers are often sold near cost or below cost - so if they can make it more difficult to use generic cartridges or bulk ink, they are doing so.

Thanks for the useful info. Quote: "otherwise there would be no point in them selling "cartridges" no one can use." Well, that's exactly what many ink sellers were doing for a while. Just today, one seller (Carrot Ink) emailed me, saying they NOW have generic HP 02 carts that have been tested in HP C-5100 & similar series. According to Carrot, the "improved" generic carts work correctly & completely in these printers. I can't confirm that yet. My guess is if Carrot Ink has found a way to make the generics work, other ink cartridge mfgs have also (probably most are in China).

Hi (T&w 'arc' autoreset chips are used in the ciss / continuous flow systems )seemingly originate in China ;) Canon now available im told. Peg if you really need to find generic compatibles (or pay the price Hp demands) check ebay its a case of trial and error & getting gouged lol, but once you have found a supplier of working compatibles your happy with stick with them eg half the problem ive found is not wether they work just the quality varies. Bizzarely ive just checked on ebay.uk ebay and lots of hp compatibles turn up but non on ebay.com yet most are imported from USA. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12-HP-363-ink... very strange :/

"(T&w 'arc' autoreset chips are used in the ciss / continuous flow systems )seemingly originate in China ;) Canon now available im told." Yes, the same site as above has them, but I didn't go for that option and got bulk ink and refilled the original cartridges instead for her. Actually, I discovered that option after I got the bulk ink and realized the hassle of putting up with the error messages and blinking lights/leds. The ideal thing would be for the chips to be available separately, but Canon would probably fight any attempt to do that. ...... Stay away from generic inks that are supposed to be compatible with any printer -you likely to have problems with those. The composition of the ink should be specific to the type of "cartridges" the printer uses, though several different cartridge types for the same printer manufacturer may use the same ink composition. There are lots of US made inks that are fine. Some OEM brand name "cartridges" are actually made by another manufacturer - e.g. Dell ones by Lexmark - the ink is the same, the printhead is often the same if it has one, but one brand's "cartridge" may not physically fit in the other brand's printer - e.g. different notches or bumps on the top.