Canon I560 Refill questions

[LOTL]

Im looking at going the refillable route for both my Canon I560 and my new Epson Artisan 800.
The Epson will be primarily used for printing CD/DVD's

Both printers dont see much use, so im not considering CISS at this point.
The Epson may sit for months without use if i only use it for CD/DVD's.

How many times can you refill a factory or non OEM cartridge?

Should the syringes used for refilling be flushed out after use? If so what would you suggest using?

Do the sponges ever get worn or dried out?

Is it better to try and reuse the factory cartridges over using a non OEM replacement one?

I read on Inksupply.com, that they dont recommend Deep Cleaning. I have been using the deep cleaning method for quite a while and even with new replacement factory cartridges, i find that if the printer sits for more than a day or two that i have to run a cleaning cycle in order for it to print properly.

Do you think the print head may have seen better days and would there be something i can do to fix this?

Im looking at Refill kits from HobbiColors, InkSupply.com and Inktec cartridges from inkjetcartridge.com. Any comments on these 3 suppliers are welcomed.

Im waiting to hear back from Hobbicolors as i dont see a refill kit on their Ebay store for the Canon BCI cartridges.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ghwellsjr]

I cannot say much about the Epson printer except that it is never a good idea to let a printer sit idle for more than a week without printing at least a nozzle check. The rest of my answers will apply only to your Canon i560:

The i560 comes with a wide BCI-3eBk cartridge that contains pigment black ink for use on plain paper and three color BCI-6 cartridges that contain dye ink for printing on all types of paper.

I do not recommend the use of non-OEM cartridges because none of them meet the standard of Canon. You can refill these cartridges forever but you may have to flush them clean with water if they fail to deliver ink.

I recommend the Inktec ink supplied in syringes for doing refilling but not their refill kits. I do not recommend the cartridges from inkjetcartridge.com because they are not OEM (and they are not necessarily made by Inktec) but I do recommend their ink. Please see this link for my recommended refilling process:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=28110#p28110

If your printer does a good nozzle check, then the print head is performing correctly and you don't have to worry about fixing or replacing it no matter how old it is.

I also don't recommend doing a deep cleaning as this uses up a lot of ink. Just do a regular cleaning if the printer is not printing correctly.

The main question is: does your printer do a correct nozzle check?

 

[LOTL]

OK i ran a nozzle check without running a cleaning cycle and one with.
The Black, Magenta and Yellow cartridges are all running low as shown by the printer status window.

Nozzle check before normal cleaning cycle shows faded vertical and horizontal bars for 3EBK, A, F, and H.
The grid is missing certain lines. The other colors and bars all seem well formed.

Nozzle check after normal cleaning cycle.
Bars and grid for 3EBK, A, F, and H all look good and the grid lines are all well defined.

So i guess this means that the print head is OK and most likely the culprit is the long length of time between print jobs. I see MIS has a utility to print a jpeg image at predefined intervals. If i cant discipline myself to run a print job or do a normal cleaning on a more regular basis, would you recommend using the MIS Autoprint utility?

The inktec ink seems a lot more expensive than the MIS Image Specialists ink im considering and im not sure its worth the premium for my needs. Im not doing any photo printing with the Canon, so accurate color reproduction isnt a hugh concern. Clogging and ease of refilling are though.

I have swapped a few emails with Hobbicolors on his refill kit for the I560 and may give his offering a shot.

I have also heard back from Precision Colors and he just got in some new chips for the Artisan 800 and im considering his kit for my Epson printer. Im a little concerned about being an early adopter of the new chip he just got in, so if anyone has more info on this subject please let me know.

 

[leo8088]

How many times can you refill a factory or non OEM cartridge?

Indefinitely for your i560 if you refill Canon OEM carts.

Should the syringes used for refilling be flushed out after use? If so what would you suggest using?

Only if it is to refill another color of ink. Water is all you need to wash them.

Do the sponges ever get worn or dried out?

Sponges don't wear out but probably not forever. They will last long enough (many years). They can dry out if you don't store cartridges in sealed bags.

Is it better to try and reuse the factory cartridges over using a non OEM replacement one?

Factory cartridges are absolutely the best. Forget about compatible carts. They are almost all problematic.

Do you think the print head may have seen better days and would there be something i can do to fix this?

You can soak it to clean it up and see if it fixes it. You will never know unless you try it. You should purge your carts per ghwellsjr's suggestion. AT least it takes one variabl out of the way. There is always a good chance some soaking will fix it. Sometimes the purging will prove to be the problem.
I am a long time customer of Hobbicolors. I am completely satisfied with their products and services. But consider all your options. Choose whichever fits your need.