The Death of the Cartridge: Why the Canon PIXMA G3570 is a Financial Time Machine

For decades, the printer industry operated on the “razor and blades” model: sell the printer for cheap, and sell the ink for the price of vintage champagne. Consumers were trapped in a cycle of buying $15 cartridges that ran dry after printing a single term paper.

The Canon PIXMA G3570 (part of the MegaTank G-series) represents the collapse of this predatory model. It is a printer that costs more upfront but effectively “deletes” the cost of ink from your daily life.

The Math of Abundance

To understand the G3570, you have to look at the numbers. * Standard Cartridge: A typical black cartridge holds about 5-8ml of ink and prints ~200 pages. * MegaTank Bottle: The GI-51 ink bottle used by the G3570 holds 135ml (Black) or 70ml (Color).

The Yield: A single set of bottles included in the box can print up to 6,000 black pages or 7,700 color pages. To match this output with traditional cartridges, you would need to buy approximately 30 sets of XL cartridges, costing upwards of $1,000.
The G3570 pays for itself before you even finish the first round of ink.

The Engineering of Refilling: No Mess, No Stress

Early continuous ink systems (CISS) were messy DIY hacks involving silicone tubes and syringes. Canon has industrialized this into a clean, foolproof science. * Keyed Nozzles: Each ink bottle has a specific physical shape at the tip (like a key). The Blue bottle physically will not fit into the Red tank. This mechanical lockout prevents the catastrophic error of mixing colors. * Gravity-Fed: You don’t squeeze the bottle. You simply dock it onto the tank mouth. Air replaces the ink automatically, and flow stops the moment the tank is full. Not a single drop is spilled.

Hybrid Ink Chemistry: The Best of Both Worlds

Cheap bulk ink often means poor quality. Canon avoids this by using a Hybrid Ink System.
1. Pigment Black (GI-51 PGBK): The black ink is pigment-based. Pigments sit on top of the paper fibers rather than soaking in. This results in laser-sharp text that resists highlighter smearing and water splashes. Crucial for contracts and homework.
2. Dye Colors (C/M/Y): The color inks are dye-based. Dyes blend seamlessly, creating vibrant photos with smooth gradients.
This duality means the G3570 isn’t just a document printer; it’s a capable photo lab that happens to be incredibly cheap to run.

Visibility as a Feature

The design of the G3570 puts the ink tanks front and center. Windows cut into the chassis allow you to see the actual liquid level at a glance.
There is a psychological relief in seeing a tank half-full of liquid, knowing you have 3,000 pages left, versus the anxiety of a software popup warning you that your opaque cartridge is “Low.”

Conclusion: Printing Without Guilt

The ultimate feature of the Canon PIXMA G3570 is psychological: Guilt-Free Printing. You no longer hesitate to print a full-color recipe, a 50-page manual, or a high-res photo. The marginal cost of hitting “Print” drops from 15 cents to 0.2 cents. It transforms the printer from a luxury item to be rationed into a utility tool to be used.