Why not to buy Canon printers

In the past I have been a big fan of Canon printers. That was until I started getting a message from my 18-month old IP3000 that the ink absorber was almost full and that I should contact a service representative. The cost of service would be at least as much as a new printer, so I was happy to deal with this myself; all I needed were the service instructions. Canon refused to provide these, insisting that I would have to go to one of their approved agents.
So effectively Canon have a built in "self-destruct" mechanism for their printers. Either they have deliberately made the ink absorber unserviceable or there is a design fault which has the same effect. As I sure I am not alone in coming across this problem that there must be tonnes of otherwise decent kit being consigned to land-fill

I think this is all part of the printer companies' plan to destroy the earth. You can buy a new colour printer now for about 50p which you do because a set of ink cartridges cost more than a new car and you think that there will be a fresh set of cartridges supplied with the printer. The bad news is that the cartridges that come in the box don't have quite enough ink in them to print a letter of complaint to the manufacturer. 8^(

I had a similar problem with a Canon, an S400. What had happened was that when the head was cleaned, a lot of waste ink accumulated inside the machine, and I ended up not being able to use the printer!

Canon told me it would cost £80 for them to service it, then I would have to pack it and send it to them at my own cost - I would estimate another £10. Needless to say, I looked for a more modern machine, and ended up with a Canon PIXMA iP3300, it cost £50, effectively saving around £40!

By the way, I've had a few bad experiences with compatible cartridges - some are OK, but others are not really suitable, so the only advice i can give here is "Caveat Emptor" - "let the buyer beware"