Are Canon MegaTank printers worth it?
I bought a Canon MegaTank printer a few years ago, and have it used it a lot, so I’m in a good position to discuss the pros and cons.
What is a MegaTank printer?
A MegaTank printer doesn’t need expensive ink cartridges. Instead, it uses several ink reservoirs which are filled using a bottle.
Other than the method of filling the ink, it works in a similar way to other inkjet printers.
The main advantage is you can produce insane numbers of coloured prints without running out of ink.
Are they expensive?
The initial cost of purchasing a MegaTank printer is higher than a budget inkjet printer which takes cartridges. There are a few reasons for this:
- Inkject printer manufacturers often make most of their profits from ink cartridges, so would price the printer itself aggressively low.
- The MegaTank printers come with a LOT of ink, so even though you’re paying more upfront, you’ll get months, or even years, of usage without having to purchase more ink.
- MegaTank printers are more complex, which contributes to the cost.
You can typically pick one up for around £200 / $200 if you shop around. Sometimes even less.
What is so exciting about them?
In the past, inkjet printers could be annoying for printing out games. You could run out of ink half way through a print job unexpectedly.
But MegaTank printers enable printing on a much larger scale. Even printing out 30 pages of full colour, double sided pages is unlikely to dent your ink supply much.
It removes the anxiety of running out of ink, and as the ink is comparatively cheaper than in ink cartridges, it means you can print without guilt and can try out all your creative ideas.
Are there any downsides?
If you print your game out, and then leave it in direct sunlight for an extended period of time, then the colours will start to fade.
This is the nature of dye based inks. Most other inkjet printers use similar ink - except very high end ones, designed for printing out archival art work.
You can mitigate this problem by:
- Keeping the cards in a box when not in use.
- Sleevin or laminating the cards.
Do the printers clog?
Over the years, I’ve had a couple of clogs. Typically one colour will stop working.
MegaTank printers have several levels of print head cleaning - the quick clean usually works, but sometimes a deep clean is needed. This flushes quite a lot of ink through the nozel to unclog it. Not ideal, but you have so much ink anyway that it’s not the end of the world. These deep cleans are rare - I’ve only needed to do it once.
What about other manufacturers?
Epson also make similar printers, but they call them EcoTank printers. They work in a similar way, and offer the same advantages.
Should I get one?
Personally, I’ve had great value out of mine. If you expect to print a lot of stuff, and use it at least semi-regularly, then it makes sense.
I can attest to the longevity of them. Several years in, and many print projects later, it’s still a workhorse!