Confused by Canon cartridge numbers

[cotswoldcs]

I am considering purchasing a new Canon all-in-one printer. I have narrowed my choices to:

MP560
MP640
MP970

Before I make a decision I want to know what cartridges each printer uses and how much capacity the cartridge has. My general belief is that the more you spend on a printer the cheaper it is to run (ink costs etc) and that spending an extra £40-100 is only 1-2.5 sets of cartridges - nothing in the lifespan of the printer.

However, I have no idea how to find what cartridges each model takes - can anyone help?

[mycarsavw]

http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Prod...ex.asp?specs=1

Ink Cartridge Configuration

Single Ink technology - 5 separate ink tanks (PGI-520BK, CLI-521BK, CLI-521C, CLI-521M, CLI-521Y)

Black Ink Tank Life

Black: 324 pages (PGI-520BK), 3425 pages* (CLI-521BK)¹
Black: 4080 photos* (PGI-520BK), 650 photos* (CLI-521BK)²
*Estimated Supplemental Yield

Colour Ink Tank Life

Cyan: 535 pages (CLI-521C), Magenta: 510 pages (CLI-521M), Yellow: 530 pages (CLI-521Y)¹
Cyan: 203 photos (CLI-521C), Magenta: 193 photos (CLI-521M), Yellow:206 photos (CLI-521Y)²

http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Prod...ex.asp?specs=1

Ink Cartridge Configuration

Single Ink technology - 5 separate ink tanks (PGI-520BK, CLI-521BK, CLI-521C, CLI-521M, CLI-521Y)

Black Ink Tank Life

Black: 350 pages (PGI-520BK), 1875 pages* (CLI-521BK)¹
Black: 5235 photos* (PGI-520BK), 670 photos* (CLI-521BK)²
*Estimated Supplemental Yield

Colour Ink Tank Life

Cyan: 505 pages (CLI-521C), Magenta: 471 pages (CLI-521M), Yellow: 505 pages (CLI-521Y)¹
Cyan: 209 photos (CLI-521C), Magenta: 204 photos (CLI-521M), Yellow: 205 photos (CLI-521Y)²

http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Prod...ex.asp?specs=1

Ink Cartridge Configuration

Single Ink technology - 7 separate ink tanks (PGI-5BK, CLI-8BK, CLI-8C, CLI-8M, CLI-8Y, CLI-8PC, CLI-8PM)
For yield information see www.canon-europe.com/ink/yield

Black Ink Tank Life

Black: 505 pages (PGI-5BK), 5075 pages* (CLI-8BK)
Black: 2715 photos* (PGI-5BK), 1470 photos* (CLI-8BK)

Colour Ink Tank Life

Cyan: 965 pages (CLI-8C), Magenta: 710 pages (CLI-8M), Yellow: 685 pages (CLI-8Y), Photo Cyan: 7485 pages (CLI-8PC), Photo Magenta: 7050 pages (CLI-8PM)¹
Cyan: 1000 photos (CLI-8C), Magenta: 630 photos (CLI-8M), Yellow: 328 photos (CLI-8Y), Photo Cyan: 253 photos (CLI-8PC), Photo Magenta: 156 photos (CLI-8PM)²

[cotswoldcs]

Thanks mycarsavw that was really helpful.

It looks like the MP970 is much more economical due to its larger capacity ink tanks. As a comparison an MP640 Cyan cart costs approx 1.5p per page whilst an MP970 cart costs 0.99p per page.

I'm therefore tempted to go for the MP970. I've read good reviews about the MP640 but heard very little about the MP970. Does anyone have one and would they recommend it?