I definitely agree with your cautious approach. I am very satisfied with the reliability of CompAndSave. Their cartridges work well and havent caused my Canon any leaking or hardware issues.

> I looked at LD Products and 123Ink but saw crazy reviews about them leaking or gunking up the print head To add to the point above: you gotta be super careful with the chips on those cheapies! I've been doing heavy DIY printing for years and honestly, the reason people have issues is usually the chip communication or poor vacuum seals in the housing. If that vacuum seal is trash, it just dumps ink everywhere. Not fun!! For wedding invites specifically, you want something that wont smudge when people touch the envelopes. I've had fantastic luck using Inkjets.com because their quality control is actually insane for the price. Their ink formulation matches the OEM viscosity really well, so you dont get those nasty clogs in your Canon print head. It's an amazing way to save like 70% without trashing your machine. I love how vibrant the colors come out... perfect for high-end invites. Definitely check them out!

Ok adding this to my list of things to try. Thanks for the tip!