pixma ip4300 ink

[pebe]

I've tried the Inkprocess site you mentioned and only found Mick Carlotta's statements knocking the opposition. I found nothing of the article on Sponges in Cartridges that you mention.

How do I access them?

Here you go:

http://users.adelphia.net/~inkprocessusa/inkprocess/foam.html

Thanks for the link.

The writer is trying to differentiate between sponge and foam. But a sponge is an animal so what he is really saying is there are different types of foam made from different materials and with different textures and properties some are hydrophilic and others are hydrophobic. What he is saying is pretty obvious when you look at a Canon OEM cartridge.

The later parts of the article dealing with variable backpressure behind the jets is understandable when dealing with an HP cartridge where all the ink is contained in the foam, but is not really relevant to a Canon cartridge with its top-up ink tank.

I see nothing in the article that makes me change my mind from my views posted to another topic (post #18) earlier in the year.

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=897&p=2

My last para mentioned static ink drying out and that may be a good reason for injecting into the space above the foam as mikling suggested, but using just a few drops of distilled water not ink and then filling the tank as before.

I do not understand how vacuum equipment operates or how it would aid the filling process. I would be grateful if someone could give me an explanation.

 

[Grandad35]

I'm curious: what do you do now?

Sorry, I should have mentioned that I have reverted to a version of the "tried and true" method used by most people:
1. Keep the carts in their storage clips to seal the exit holes.
2. Remove the screws from the top of their ink tanks.
3. While tipping each cart forward by about 30 degrees, inject ink into the tank until almost full. There is no need to inject slowly, other than a slow injection rate tends to be neater.
4. Set the cart on a flat surface and fill all of the other carts to be filled with that color in the same manner.
5. By now, more of the ink will have been absorbed into the sponge(s), so repeat step 3 and completely fill the ink. If the sponge becomes saturated during this time and ink appears on top of the sponge, level the cart to prevent ink from coming out of the vent port and continue to top off. Repeat for all carts of that color.
6. Install the screws to seal the ink tanks, remove the carts from their clips and set them on a non-staining flat surface (like a stainless steel sink) for about a minute where they can drip out any excess ink. Do not set them on an absorbent surface or in standing water, as any contact with the bottom of the filter can cause ink to be pulled from the sponge in the same way that it feeds the printer.
7. Run water over the carts and storage clips to clean off any ink. Install the refilled carts in their clips.
8. Store the carts in sealed food storage containers that have a paper towel in the bottom that has been dampened with a mix of water and rubbing alcohol to prevent the carts from drying out or starting any bacterial growth. As the carts are used, put the empties back into the same sealed containers to prevent them from drying out while they wait to be refilled.

I know that others will take issue with topping off the carts, but you asked what I do. This procedure has served me well over the past 16 months, but it may not be ideal for others.

 

[mikling]

I don't know if the top up tank is patented by Canon but IMO it provides greater capacity than a HP in a given volume. HP 56s will tend to "run out" leaving around 5ml in the cartridge when it runs dry in a total capacity of 20 ml. From what I observe and have not measure, Canon OEMs give up more of the ink before it runs dry. ( another interesting tidbit is that Epson was sued for leaving this amount of ink in their cartridge when it ran dry because people could hear the ink sloshing, with HP you won't hear a thing and physically they could offer no more. With Epson, with no sponges well... that's a revenue issue to a degree... much better cart design to compensate for some head weaknesses)

What no one has addressed or commented on is the aspect that with the new chipped cartridges users will be "topping up" more frequently than before or risk damaging their printheads. What is the impact of this? Well I think everyone will agree that less of the total original ink from the last top up in the sponge will be consumed overall per refill. This will translate into greater problems or magnify the issues in the older BCI series. So topping up via the sponge is the way to go IMO.
Adding distilled water over the sponge might intuitively seem like a good idea but that could give you some interesting color variances should the ink and water not mix well and within the sponge, it is likely not to. If you look at the pictures, it again shows it requires some coaxing to mix uniformly. So I am of the opinion that you are likely to get less variations in color by adding ink rather than water and shoulder the higher risk of not totally breaking down the upper layer.
Now here's another one for those more technically inclined and something Carlotta does not mention. In all the "foam" or "sponge" based cartridges that work well or the newer ones, the foam appears to be placed inside a wedged compartment. This wedge is obviously is there for a reason. I suspect it is the easiest way to consistently vary the properties of the foam along the height. Both Canon and HP has it but the older HP78 ( the problem refiller) does not. Yes, the Canon has a dual density sponge and guess what the newer HPs have it too but the older HPs do not.

In all of this, the "traditional" way of refilling from the tank side still works. However, I have pointed out with some experiments that the refilling from the sponge side point addresses and potentially fixes or negates some issues raised by multiple refills. Furthermore, once you gain insight as to what might cause the issues raised by multiple refills, you realize that multiple top-ups as would be required with the newer chipped cartridges with the lack of an ink level indicator after refill, will bring the issues of bad flow forward sooner. It then becomes vital to re-evaluate what has been done before and ask is there a better way because it will be needed for the less "enthusiastic" hobbyist who owns newer Canon printers and has no interest in purging but does not want to put out the funds for a new set of carts in order to obtain reliable refills.

 

[canonfodder]

dwolf wrote:

"I thought maybe I could search the web for canon carts at a good price... I imagine that's not to be ??
So what's my best option... certainly don't want to drop $12 to $14 a piece for these"

You can't do much better than that. The very best that I have seen is on eBay, sold by LEMEGO. He will sell you the four dye inks YMCK for about $47 total.

I am refilling with MIS ink.

 

[mikling]

Well, the 4300 needs four dye inks AND a pigment black and you could do better. Just see below plus all screws etc are included. With superior instructions to boot.
Is MIS = IS?

 

[canonfodder]

Yes Mikling, but if you are printing photos, you won't need the pigment black soon. The eBay seller LEMEGO, sells the full set of 5 genuine Canon carts for $59.

MIS ink is by MIS Associates, sold by InkSupply.com

 

[ghwellsjr]

I do not understand how vacuum equipment operates or how it would aid the filling process. I would be grateful if someone could give me an explanation.

Just like when you insert the end of a needle into a bottle of ink and pull on the plunger, the ink is drawn up into the syringe. You are creating a vacuum in the syringe and the atmospheric air pressure of 14.7 psi all around us pushes the ink into the syringe.

I think it was Grandad35 that compiled several methods for refilling cartridges including vacuum at:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/docs/inkrefill.php

You can also get to this article from the nifty-stuff home page by clicking on the "Refill Canon BCI-6" link along the left hand edge of the page.

Here is an over-simplified explanation of how to use a vacuum to fill a BCI-3 or -6 ink cartridge that is similar to Grandad35's "Vacuum technique 2":

Take an empty cartridge right out of the printer without unplugging the fill hole.
Submerge it in a container of ink.
Place the container (with the ink and cartridge) into a vacuum chamber.
Turn on the vacuum pump for a couple minutes. During this time you will see the air in the cartridge bubble out into the ink in which it is submerged.
When the bubbles stop coming out of the cartridge, turn off the vacuum pump and slowly allow the air back into the chamber. During this time you will see the ink flow into the sponge area and from there into the reservoir.
When the chamber has reached the normal air pressure, remove the submerged cartridge from the container of ink.
Allow the excess ink at the top of the sponge to drain out from the outlet port.
Wash and dry the cartridge.

I am not suggesting that you actually use this simplified method, it is just to help understand how it works.

 

[drc023]

I've got two points to make about the above discussions.
First point is the continual confusion about MIS inks. MIS is an ink distributor, not a manufacturer. They are one of two major suppliers of Image Specialist inks in the US. The other is WeInk, LLC.
Second point is about the top of the sponge (foam) drying out from repeated refillings. I've got BCI-3 (now 6) cartridges dating back to early 2000 and BCI-6 cartridges nearly that old which have been refilled repeatedly. None have clogged, plugged, or had ink drying problems. As long as there is any ink in the reservoir and the cartridge hasn't been run dry the foam will stay moist. Since I refill for personal use I don't see the need for more elaborate cartridge cleaning methods. If I had a business refilling ink and wanted to insure all steps were taken to prevent the slightest possibility of a problem, I'd definitely use one of the cleaning methods frequently discussed here - especially those of Grandad35. Even ink that could possibly cake on top isn't a problem since the feeding of ink is from the bottom and as long as ink from the reservoir is absorbed by the foam, ink flow will continue. An inadequate or plugged air opening over the foam causes more feeding problems than the possibility of caked ink. Ink that has caked will quickly be dissolved by a drop of either water or ink. Even if a solidified particle failed to dissolve, the risk of printhead damage is nil. The densely packed foam and the fibrous filter material at the ink outlet will trap any debris. During the refill process the foam can be completely saturated simply by turning the cartridge so the reservoir is on top. That completely saturates the foam and any caked ink is quickly dissolved.

 

[Kamikaze]

Try these instructions, I havn't worn out a cartridge yet.

http://www.atlascopy.com/knowledge/Canon_Refill.pdf

I recommend a couple of variations to these instructions. 1) Heat the pin when making the hole in the ball. 2) To use this method with the my Canon Pixma ip3000 I had to cut about half of the eye of the eye bolt off because of clearance problems. A pair of plier type cutters does the trick and I also use these cutters to remove and install the plastic ball.

 

[pebe]

ghwellsjr,

Thanks for your very good explanation.