Refill needle type?

I'm thinking of refilling my newly bought but 2ndhand Canon Pixma and have a set of original cartridges to use, but unsure what kind of needles to get for the job - I've read the instructions given elsewhere on here about how to do it which are superb, but I'm still a bit unsure about what the actual name of the needles is to go & search on Ebay etc.

I know ordinary needles are 18G,21G etc, but they're short things that push on - from what I've seen the needles for this job seem to be long, blunt & screw-on?

Anyone help with clarifying for me.

Thanks
D99

Hi @Delta99 and welcome, where in heaven did you get the 4700 from, they are as scarce as hen’s teeth, and I even know someone in Belfast who’s looking for one.

You need to tell us which way you’re intending to refill first because that does make a big difference.

For the German method you’ll need 18 or 20 gauge 5 cm sharp needles and for the top fill method you need the 14 to 16 gauge blunt needles any length will do, and your best option is to use SquEasy bottles instead of syringes with both methods.

You can get all the refilling advice, supplies and inks from the UK they have just about everything including empty OEM carts. http://www.octoink.co.uk/categories/Spares,-Parts-&-Tools/Syringes,-needles,-luer-fittings/

Hiya - thanks for speedy reply. Yeh - it's the German method - I've managed to get the channels made in each of the cartridges - just need to get needles/syringes etc now & hopefully get started on it. Wasn't aware the needles were sharp as one pic I saw they looked blunt at the end (no point at any rate). But that's grand - I'll check out your link & hopefully get the right ones. Least they're not expensive

I use CLI-8, PGI-5 cartridges. I have only used 18 gauge blunt needles. These are Luer Lock needles, meaning they have a threaded plastic end that screws onto the end of a Luer Lock syringe. Different brands of needles and syringes utilize the Luer Lock system.

Everyone has an opinion on gauge and blunt vs sharp tip needles. Either will work. In my opinion, as someone who has used blunt tipped needles for years of refilling the same cartridges over and over again, technique is more important than the needle tip. Another consideration for some is that it is more difficult to obtain sharp tip needles in the USA due to Post Office guidelines on residential mailing items that could injure employees handling the package.

The Durchstich or German method of refilling does require the length of the needle to be at least 2 inches or 5 cm as The Hat said. I also agree with him that using plastic squeeze bottle like Octoinkjet's Squeazy bottles make refilling faster, potentially cleaner. and more enjoyable. Make sure to get caps/scabbards to seal the needle tips and prevent needle sticks and ink drying out or mold getting in the ink if you store ink in the Squeasy type bottles in between refills.

If you are in North America then check out Precision Colors in Canada for your refilling needs:

http://www.precisioncolors.com/C5C.html

http://www.precisioncolors.com/squezy.html

For tricolor carts I still like syringes better than SquEasy bottles instead because I can inject say 2ml into each color, with SquEasy bottles you can't do that. For single color carts a cart and scale and a SquEasy bottle of ink is all you need.