This cartridge appears to be a "re-chipped" HP 97. The unmodified HP 97 can be purchased for about $30 new and as little as about $8 remanufactured. I don't begrudge Microboards a reasonable profit for these things, but having them reprogrammed for the express purpose of gouging your customers is unconscionable. There is a dire warning in the owner's manual to the effect that your warranty will be voided if you use anything other than a genuine Microboards cartridge. I rest my case.
Unless they can demonstrate a valid technical reason for this anti-competitive behavior, I'm not certain what they're doing is even legal.
Oh... yes... I did try an HP 97 cartridge just for laughs. It looks identical and fits perfectly but, of course, would not work in the G3.
The "goes bad" part is head clogging that can occur when the printer isn't used for a month or two. No amount of running the unclogging utility helps... and you run through a lot of discs (and ink via the unclogged color heads) doing that. I did, however, discover a way to bust up clogs. Moisten a paper towel with Windex and let the print head portion of the cartridge (at the bottom) rest on it for a few minutes. Repeat if necessary. Don't make the mistake of letting it soak for a long time -the Windex will get drawn into the cartridge and dilute the ink. Then, you'll have a $50 piece of garbage.
I am researching refill kits. My concerns are ease of refilling, cartridge resetting issues, and, most important, print quality. Nothing conclusive as yet.
Will I buy another Microboards printer? I don't know. Unfortunately, this is the nature of the business. These are specialized devices, and the manufacturers know they have a captive user base. It sucks, but it seems they all do it.
Addendum 20 February 2013: I just had another cartridge -92% full according to the print driver utility -go belly up on me. Not even my Windex trick could bring this cartridge back to life. This is ridiculous. Cost per disc is absolutely through the roof. I am thoroughly disgusted with the printer and its totally unreliable cartridges. DO NOT BUY THIS PIECE OF CR*P.
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I have purchased three of these, and I find that the capacity varies. According to the manufacturer, I should be getting 200 discs printed from a single cartridge. We are currently getting about half that.Best Deals for Microboards TriColor Cartridge for GX2/G3
Unfortunate that Microboards chose to "proprietarily" sell a hp cartridge at exorbitant price. My next printer is an Epson.Sorry. Otherwise ink is fine although it could last longer. Buying on Amazon.com continues to be easy and painless.
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The product is over priced considering it's just a basic HP cartridge but the folks at Microboards have modified the chip to only work with their unit. If the price was similar that wouldn't be a problem. However someone should make a remanufactured unit that would work to force this company to have more reasonable prices.Functionally it works fine but is not a very long life cartridge.
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