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Comment - 7 October 2007
Same frustration here....uses color to print black, what a waste, what an expense.
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Comment by: Gerald McAllister - 11 October 2007
Thank you for your courage in pointing out the problems with this printer. Canon may not like it; but Canon is the maufacture and they should have found this problem. Now that the problem is known; Canon should fix it!
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Comment by: Roland - 12 October 2007
I am in the market for a new AIO, I read the reviews for the MP830 and MP960, none comment on the excessive ink usage. Its people like you I have to thank for airing your views and taking on the big boys. For that I salute you. Ever thought of setting up a website and letting people vent their frustrations on similar items?
PS Love the Tewantin/Noosa area.
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Comment by: Peter - 24 October 2007
Here is something useful to explain why this canon uses so much ink. Found this on the HP site of all places, http://h50055.www5.hp.com/ipg/supplies/au/print_efficiency.asp I have to say, I am VERY happy with my HP C7180. I actually went out to buy the Canon MP830 and changed my mind.
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Comment by: Greg - 26 October 2007
I have a MP830 and totally agree with all your comments regarding ink usage. It's incredibly expensive to run. It's only recently that the tanks have become refillable but even then they are expensive. I am going for a rihac tank unit. Because of other problems with an MP780 purchased before the MP830 (canon replaced the 780 with the 830 free after months of stuffing about) I really don't think I'll ever buy Canon again... good on you for taking them on.
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Comment by: Peter - 21 November 2007
WOW! This is certainly and enlightening and, at the same time, very frustrating discovery.

So I'm shopping for an all-in-one. I look at the reviews on CNET and PC World. At first I was leaning toward the HP Officejet Pro L7780. Then I read all the negative customer reviews pertaining to software issues. Ixnay the HP. At that point it seemed obvious that the Canon MP830 would be the next best choice. Now I find out about all this rubbish!

These companies had better start getting their collective acts together, if they would like to continue to sell their products! I will be grilling Mr. Gonidellis for an update on these issues today, via email. I'm thinking a class action lawsuit may be appropriate.

I for one have about had it with shoddy products and poor customer service! These companies act as if they don't need your business!

Its like my Grand Pop used to say:
"Be the job big or small, DO IT RIGHT, or not at all". 
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Comment by : Tony - 7 December 2007
I stand with you and would like to help out as I have a cause of action against canon but in the United States. I'm having trouble with ink tank recognition and can't print. No big deal because I have a separate printer. However, the primary purpose for buying this piece of garbage was for its duplex scanning capabilities. Guess what, can't fax or scan unless cartidges are present and in working order. I called canon about this and the technician told me the engineers designed the printer that way and gave me some line about how the printer cartridges are checked and clean and yada yada yada. Didn't directly acknowledge my point that canon has sold a product having multifunction capability and if the printing function doesn't work, nothing else works. I can't believe a company would deliberately sell an inherently defective product. I am not the only consumer that bought the printer for its scanning capabilities. Rest assured, if the scanning feature doesn't work, certainly the printer will. Why? Because the money maker is the purchase of ink cartridges. This was a deliberate act to compel consumers to keep purchasing canon ink cartridges. I asked for my money back and they refused. I'm thinking about hiring an attorney to file a class action law suit against this piece of shit company. I'm so disappointed and angry at this company I can't even think straight.
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Comment - 10 December 2007
I'm really glad I found your website. I was just about to purchase the MP830 when I discovered your comments. Incredibly I was almost persuaded to buy this MFP via a choice report that puts the running costs at the time of the report as the 2nd cheapest (hard to believe!), only to be beaten by it's cheaper cousin the MP530. I've always been dubious about their test criteria. Their tests are based on a continuous test phase that runs the printer until it's basically out of ink. There's the gotcha! These tests don't allow for the 'real world' of a stop/start cycle every time you print (cleaning,priming etc), this apparently is a major contributor to chewing the ink up. Where have all the REAL reports gone?. In fact HP claim that their inkjet printers are still the cheapest to run & that this is one of the primary reasons as someone else has already referred to on your site. 
 
I hope this helps your cause, I'm a die hard HP printer fan & I will be buying another HP multi-function printer regardless. You've just confirmed my reason to stay put.
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Comment - 16 December 2007
This scares me off buying a Canon multifuntion. I was looking for information on the MX310 when I stumbled on your site. I know the site is about the MP830 but my confidence is not inspired. Good luck with your action.
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Comment by : Hanz Miller - 17 December 2007
" Why?  
Because the money maker is the purchase of ink cartridges." 
 
You are absolutely right. I believe the big money maker is not selling a new printer, or giving one away for free, but selling the ink refills. Think about how competetive the automotive industry is in America. Think about how competetive all companies are now in the global economy. In order to sell more products, some companies underprice their products in the hope of making the profit back, and more, by selling replacement parts & providng service. I used to work for an aviation company that made no money on selling their products but made their profit by repairing their unreliable products. 
 
I noticed my MP780 was wasting ink when all my color was gone after only printing 1 or 2 color pictures. I think part of the issue may be the design, as listed on the HP site. However I believe the other issue is that ink is wasted on purpose to make their profit back on underpriced products. How else can you get a "free" printer with a new computer? After purchasing replacement ink cartriges 2 or 3 times, you pay for the cheap printer.  
 
I don't purchase Cannon ink cartridges but ones from Staples Office supply. I just bought a refill kit last week since that is even cheaper to inject the ink yourself. 
 
My hat is in the ring for a class action lawsuit.
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Comment by : Eric - 2 January 2008
This is certainly my experience. I purchased my MP-800 on 13 January 2006. I mostly print scientific articles which are B&W and yet within a month I was noticing going through the colour pots. I knew I wasn't printing colour then. I raised my complaint with the seller, but they made some lame excuse about needing to dribble ink through all the nozzles to keep them unclogged.  
 
I emailed CANON, who were good with their responses (even with an identifiable person) but the most important advice was (sic): 
"If you are just printing a black text page the printer will only use pigment black ink and for this you do not have to make any changes in printer driver properties. 
But if you have colour graphics in that document and you have selected greyscale printing, the printer driver will still use pigment black for text printing and for graphic, it will use dye based inks and will also use some colour inks to give better tonal printing. 
This is done because there are colour inks available and using them, the printer can give you a better printed document."  
 
In a later response I received, "I would say that seems about right for ink use based on other printers with the same size large black ink tank."  
 
The price of the cartridges is so high it makes the highest cost fluid purchase in the world (about 3460 times the cost of petrol and hundreds of times the cost of ink refills). In my last email to CANON (8/04/2006) (the same support person) in which I virtually exploded at the price of the ink, I received no response.  
 
In the intervening period I have cut down on my printing substantially and only print the most vital articles, which I suppose is good for saving the forests, but it seemed my only way of limiting the costs. It is certainly not how the printer was designed to be used. Today I just printed another bunch of B&W pdfs and again I'm rapidly going through the colors, even the black-8 which is supposedly only used for graphics.  
 
This is clearly a cash-cow for Canon and more than recompenses them for the relatively low purchase price of the printer. It would be tolerable if the equipment were completely reliable, but in the latter half of last year CANON release a series of DUD cartridges behaving as if with the wrong colour codes, which were fortunately replaced without cost. It may well be that the technology of the MP-800 series cannot be changed in retrospect, but certain the price of the ink cartridges can be dropped. 
 
Buyers beware !!
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Comment - 7 January 2008
Hi.
Like Gordon, I print mostly plain text and get disgraceful yield from my cartridges. I even intentionally choose "Grayscale" on the print properties before allowing those prints to start. 
 
Does anyone else get jams in the ADF (Auto Doc Feeder) when photocopying, or duplex printing, if 1 or more cartridges are low, and yet the same doc' goes through, no problems, if those cartridge(s) are replaced with new ones?.... very suspicious to me.... 
 
Also, when I got it, it would complain constantly about 2 of the **supplied** cartridges. I had to keep lifting the lid, taking a the offenders out, put them back in, and try print again! It took many phone calls, and several trips to authorised repairer to get Canon to admit the fault, and even then they only replaced one of the cartridges! 
 
Well done, & thanks to Gordon for taking up this fight! 
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Comment by : Sebastian - 10 January 2008
Thanx for this warning. I nearly bought this printer! But I will not go for it. I do not think about any Canon product. If you don't mind I would like reference this web on UK and Polish forums. We all should be aware of rubbish. If it is not a problem, please confirm shortly on my email that you agree for that. Would you recommend other printers?
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Comment by : Paul - 11 January 2008
My Canon MP810 multifunction printer packed up with the U150 cartridge fault, even though all inks are well above half full. I too purchased this expensive dead duck for it's film scanning, but it doesn't even do that, once this error shows up. 
I phoned canon support, as it's less than 2 months old,but they just fobbed me off, with parrot fashion excuses. I now have to purchase another cyan cartridge, as they said it's this that is at fault. (Canon make them) but you will soon discover that they are not covered by the warranty. I wondered how they knew it was the cartridge? 
I have ordered one now, as it needs to be working, for me to sell the thing out of the way. 
If it turns out to be a fault with the printer, I'll be posting that on your site too. 
In the meantime, I'm going to look for a printer from a better company. I will try HP first, as I have never had any problems with my old photosmarts. 
I'm sure this site will prove very useful to future would be canon buyers,and prove to canon that customers are the ones that really do matter in the end. 
Thanks again for making a stand, and rest assured, that we are a growing band, who are gathering strength behind you.
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PUBLISHER'S FOOTNOTE - 11 January 2008
I too have experience this U150 cartridge fault 2 weeks after purchasing the machine. In my instance the Canon service centre replaced the Cyan cartridge free of charge.

My point is that there is reference in this feedback section to a Canon statement that, Canon ink cartridges are not covered by warranty, and in fact I have personally received this statement in writing from Canon.

WRONG AGAIN CANON, in Australia there is an implied warranty imported into all consumer contracts by federal and state legislations which runs independently of any manufacture's warranty that may or may not exist. The federal legislation regarding goods is section 71 of the Trade Practices Act (and for services section 74), and each of the states legislation virtually mirrors this. This warranty imposed by legislation is not excludable (see section 68), and by Canon stating that it's ink cartridges are not covered by warranty, Canon (Australia) may well be in further contravention of section 52 of the Act which states; "A corporation shall not, in trade or commerce, engage in conduct that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive."

I believe that most other countries also have similar consumer protection legislation.
Comment by : Paul - 14 January 2008
Just learned that my unfavourable truthfull comments,in the customer reviews concerning my own canon MP810, have not been published on the ebuyeruk site, so these reviews are worthless to any potential buyers, as they only print the favourable ones. Could this be something to do with canon, as it seems questionable, to say the least? 
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Comment by : Buckshot - 15 January 2008
Canon is not the only one. I just priced an inkjet cartridge for a Lexmark. Cartridge #16. Measures about 1.75 inches by 1.75 inches and about 1 inch high. Prints about 500 copies. Price!! $32 at WalMart. I am going to throw the printer out.
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Comment by : SL - 15 January 2008
I have the MP600R which exhibits similar overuse of ink, particularly coloured ink when printing only b&w documents ... have also had issues with the driver software which fails to install correctly (scanner does not scan & transfer images wirelessly over the router) for which i tried to get customer "support" for several months and then finally gave up ...  last issue I have with the wonderful service this company provides its customers is how the user manuals are not available online for download, whereas the colourful advertisement brochures are ... manuals can be purchased from third parties, the "support" area of canon's uk website helpfully advises ... 
In short, poor software, poor service, poor product ... well done on your website & action, keep up the good work & wish you all the best!!!
PS. also recently replaced the multi-function printers in the office ... thankfully had purchased the canon for home use first ... as a result of our experiences with this company, we had no hesitation in going with other manufacturers ... also recommend the same to anyone considering buying a canon product ...
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Comment by : Konrad - 19 January 2008
One aspect that I am missing in the discussion so far is the impact of the double-sided printing mode on ink usage. I purchased an MP830 about one month ago and am gerally pleased with the performance of the printer. However, I found that it will use black ink for printing in greyscale mode allright if I print single sided. As soon as doubled-sided print is selected, the same document is printed using the colour ink cartridges (both text and graphics). The difference is easily visible because the text is less sharp and the black is less crisp as compared to a print with black ink. This quality aspect is quite annoying on top of the extra cost for the CMYK ink. So far I found no way around this glitch.
Anyway, it might to a certain extent explain why colour ink cartridges are consumed even while you believe you have printed only b&w content.
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Comment by : Stan - 22 January 2008
Have read all your information on this website and gasped in horror! Whilst I am overall quite happy with my MP830, I too must acknowledge the high ink consumption levels are disturbing. I only occasionally purchase genuine Canon cartridges - about the time my 100mL bulk ink bottles run out. The refilling of these cartridges has not created any issues to date. 
 
I, too, have had the CYAN cartridge saga unfold about 6 months ago (the usual "can't use more than one of the same colour tank", etc...), and it turns out to be the CYAN each time - faulty batch of chips, from what I have been told. My faulty CYAN tank was replaced free of charge, even though it was half empty at the time. 
 
I have recently been getting the Error 5700 message every so often and am doing some research into that - hope it's not a major issue - I just shudder at the thought. It could be something to do with the printer heads cradle. 
 
Keep us all informed of your progress.
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Comment by : Alex Murray - 30 January 2008
G'day all, i just started suffering this problem, canon told me to take the cartridge to an authorised repairer, the closest one is over an hour away by car, so i took the ink tank over there for the company to tell me that they need the whole printer plus proof of purchase, so in affect i wasted a full days work driving the dam ink tank to the shop for it not to get replaced.
 
I'm starting to think that i should send canon a bill for my wasted time, and also include in the bill the time the printer has been out of order (being an office printer that doesnt work its basicly a door stop) 
 
Canon really needs to pull its finger out on this one, i'm behind you all the way guys, had i read this page before i bought the printer, i would not have bought it, i thought they had testing stages to pick up problems like this. 
 
Oh i was also told that the problem is NOT with the ink tanks that it is with the printer head or some cable that attatches the print head to the printer... 
 
Thanks for your time guys any advance on this subject i would like to keep in the loop, you will see me back here =)
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Comment by : Dan - 11 February 2008
Sadly I came across your website after I blew my money on this printer. Won't repeat what has already been said. It is just crazy that composite black is used for copying and printing black text using greyscale.
 
Keep clear of this printer. I will never buy another Canon printer again because of their lies!
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Comment by : Kevin - 4 March 2008
Good luck Gordon. Thanks for going to task over this. I am satisfied with my MP380 in every regard except for the absolutely horrendous waste of color ink to print b&w. I have not contacted Canon yet, but I will now knowing that I'm not alone in my concern.
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Comment by : Deb - 4 March 2008
Hi Gordon 
 
Congratulations on the website & on your very intelligent and amusing letter to Canon. Good for you! 
 
I was all set to buy this printer -It was highly, HIGHLY recommended buy the young guy in the tech department at Officeworks. His exact words were "this is the dog's ba**'s of inkjets). so, I had him hold a machine for me as they were on special and I can home to do some research - thankfully! 
 
Like many People here, I came across many positive reviews & i was getting excited about having all these new functions (I currently only have a small B/W laser printer that gets around 15000 pages for $100 - so the issue of ink consumption had never crossed my mind as being a potential issue). 
 
Luckily, I decided to do one last search and came across quite a few angry consumers who, like yourself were disgusted with the cost of running the machine. It was just a small hop from there to your site & I must say I was stunned by your experience. 
 
I have decided to forego colour until I can afford a decent color laser and I am going to keep my trusty B/W laser and buy a dedicated scanner (which is the main reason I was looking at multi's in the first place).  
 
I am so glad that people such as yourself have come forward and spoken out - it has saved people like me a ton of money and frustration & for that i thank you 
 
Good Luck with you suit. I hope you get suitable redress and that maybe CANON and other companies will be forced to provide a product that works for the consumer instead of being designed as a 'cash cow' for the manufacturer. 
 
Maybe, years from now people will look back and laugh at these issues .. but i'm not hopeful. not while people such as this poor guy are lining the manufacturer's pockets: 
 
mysonsthree (12-08-07) 
I run a small business and type mostly letters. I run out of ink in as little as 1 week with just me printing. It is costing me $300.00 a month for ink, YES $300.00 
http://www.pcworld.com/shopping/reviews/id,28389/reviews.html
 
Scary!
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Comment by : Mark Vadgama - 14 March 2008
Just bought a MP960 printer and within a couple of hours we have been getting a persistent error message - colour 150 cartridge (Blue C8) not recognised! Won't let us do anything. Keep removing / replacing the cartridge so the light goes back on; then the same fault. Absolutely disgraceful.
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Comment by : Benjamin - 17 April 2008
I agree completely. I bought this unit (Pixma MP830) for its abilities as a scanner, and I admit to very rarely printing, yet I am constantly running out of ink. It seems this unit uses the most ink just sitting idle. That's how I found this site. I was wondering if anybody else noticed this. Also, for you USA customers, did you know that the Pixma MP830 is fully capable of printing on printable CDs and DVDs? I found this out when doing some research on the small door in the paper output area. I found NOTHING of this information from any Canon USA site, and the feature is not supported by the US firmware setting. Can anyone think of a single reason why a company would build a product with this capability and then not make it available to US customers?? Anyway, I like the features provided to a good extent, found the disc printing to be an A+ bonus, but I am at the same time disappointed (Raving mad, actually) Canon never provided the functionality to me themselves, but I definitely wish that I did not have to replace cartriges I hardly use. Remember, all that ink is sitting in a sponge in the bottom of your printer. While canon says there is nothing to be done about the excessive ink usage, I do believe there is something that could be done about the excessive ink pricing.
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Comment by : Phillip Trella - 9 May 2008
THANK YOU!!! I do like my Canon machine, but I have been extremely frustrated with its usage of color ink for black and white printing. I HAVE NEVER PRINTED A PICTURE WITH MY CANON MULTIFUNCTION DEVICE, and I have very rarely printed any color documents. So, why does my printer continue to eat up color ink? This was certainly not one of the advertised features of the machine.  
 
I have changed every setting that I can possibly change and the thing still seems to use the color for no reason whatsoever. Canon, why does your machine have not one, but TWO types of black ink if it still needs to use color to print simply black and white text?  
 
This is absolutely fraud, misrepresentation and false advertising. Canon should AT LEAST release some sort of updated print driver that solves this problem. Their continued denials simply make it less and less likely that I'll ever purchase a product made by Canon again. So much for that Digital Rebel I was going to buy. . . I'll go with Nikon, thanks!
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Comment by : Marc - 9 May 2008
I too purchased the MP830 in mid 2007 here in the US. Within two months and very little color printing did the machine indicate low ink levels. Soon thereafter, I suffered the U150 code where one of the ink tanks was unrecognized. For over seven months my printer has been nothing but a large desk paperweight since nothing will work (print, scan, fax) as a result of this fault. So much for multi-function. I too should have bought an HP.
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Comment by : Guy Anderson - 25 May 2008
I too bought the MP830 on a retailer's high recommendation and the confirmation that it would print black & white without using the colour inks. I was astonished at how fast the inks were consumed simply printing black and white documents. In a matter of months I had outspent the cost of the machine on inks. I resorted to an old (and reliable - see below) HP Laserjet and mainly used the MP830 for scanning and faxing. 
 
But inks have not been my only gripe. The machine packed up twice during the warranty period. If one function goes, the whole machine is useless. It has now packed up again (out of warranty) with an Error 5200 or alternatively "The type of printhead is incorrect..." - depending on some digital mood swing when it is turned on. The problem may relate to only one function, but all functionality has been lost. 
 
I called Canon Australia for an address to complain to. (I had not seen this website at the time). The representative was courteous and helpful in talking me through trying to clean the print head contacts. But to no avail. It was then quite clear that because the machine is out of warranty it is my problem.  
 
It will cost $90 just to be looked at by the service agent (an hour's drive away) and despite a recent set of replacement inks in at a cost of around $130, I'm not going to even try and resuscitate the machine. 
 
I'll need to get another multi funtion device but it is most unlikely to be a CANON.
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Comment by : raj - 22 June 2008
Simply Excellent, Gordon! 
Glad to have found your site. Already aware of this problem with MP830 [wanted to buy it (CCD Scanner); did not] and some other wasteful ink practices from reading reviews. Good to see someone make a stand and do something about it! Kudos to You, sir!!! 
-Gordon [or anyone], are you aware of any issues with the MX700, or the HP C7280, J6480? 
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Comment - 29 June 2008
I have added your site to Digg.
http://digg.com/hardware/Canon_MP830_Ink_Usage_Dispute
Thanks for the website
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•
 CANON'S RESPONSE TO THIS WEBSITE - THREATENS TO SUE
•
 PUBLISHER'S REPLY TO THE CANON RESPONSE
SEE PC World Reviews :
*
 "In the two months that I have owned this unit I have consumed only two black ink cartridges and 10 each of all the colors" (11 April 07)
*
 "This is a blood-sucking vampire!!! Stay away!!!!" (5 June 07)
This website is published by Gordon Craven
PO Box 125, TEWANTIN 4565 QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA