dinky said:
1. I will try the German method using 20 cc 18 gauge 2" syringes using the OEM carts and perhaps also try refilling the dozen or more compatible carts I have since bought and used up as back-up to the OEM refills. I will seal the hole made by a push pin for the syringe with electrical tape, making sure it only covers the hole area rather than interfere with the sides of the cart and its fit into the printer. I will try to insert the syringe to minimize poking the sponge if at all possible and still get to the opening.
QUESTION 1: What's the ideal gauge of the needle if I want to both get ink into the cart easily and want to minimize any damage/poking of the sponge and the body of the cart with multiple refillings?
Welcome to the world of refilling. I hope you find it as satisfying as I, and many, do.
Higher the number = higher the gauge = smaller the diameter of the needle = more force needed to move ink through the needle bore = faster the speed of the ink per unit volume expelled.
People with musculoskeletal issues of the arm/hand may find 18 gauge easier. It seems that any gauge you are comfortable is OK, but the higher the gauge the more effort it takes refilling and possibly a little longer in time needed. Either 18 or 20 gauge will suit most people's needs and not present problems with either person or cartridge. I use 18 gauge blunt needles connected to squeeze bottles.
2. I will purchase 8x16 oz. OCP fro R-JetTek:
1 x OCP Yellow Ink IJY122
1 x OCP Red Ink IJR122
1 x OCP Photo Magenta Ink IJML125
1 x OCP Photo Cyan Ink IJCL125
1 x OCP Magenta Ink IJM122
1 x OCP Green Ink IJG122
1 x OCP Cyan Ink IJC122
1 x OCP Photo Black Ink IJBK97
Totalling roughly $130 incl. shipping.
QUESTION 2: How can calculate the cost-effectiveness of this purchase versus buying say Hobbicolors UW-8 in 2 oz. containers (about $45 incl. ship)? I don't know how much ink a Cli-8 cart holds to calculate. I understand Hobbi is about as good as OCP for high resolution photo printing, so the quality is not really an issue.
One ounce of ink equals ~29.6 milliliters. Let's call it 29 ml's. Your printer , the Canon Pixma Pro 9000 MkII, uses Canon CLI-8 cartridges. Cli-8 cartridges come factory new with 13 ml's of ink total. Therefore, may get ~2.5 or more refills per ounce of ink (depending on how "empty" the cartridges are when you refill them).
Trivia: IIRC, for a completely empty, purged and dry cartridge, the spongeless side holds ~8-9 ml's and the sponged side ~4-5 ml's. Someone on the forum posted the weight of the CLI-8 cartridge: One full Canon CLI-8 cart = 0.95 ounce, and, one empty Canon CLI-8 cart = 0.51 ounce.
Concerning which ink to purchase and what quantity: If you know you like one ink over the other then get that ink. If you are unsure which ink you like, or are just beginning to refill, and especially if you are unsure of how much ink you will use over 1 -2 years time, then buy small quantities to try 2 -4 refills. This way, you can decide if you like the ink.
I don't know much about OCP except for what others have written on the forum, but it is highly regarded and a reasonable match to OEM without printer profiling. Hobbicolors is a more vivid ink without profiling, and is pleasing to to many on the forum, it's slightly more popping colors a little more intense and fluorescent than OEM Canon. Printer profiling with ink, paper and printer may bring these inks to more of a parity and probably improve accuracy overall. Both inks are respected on the forum, neither will be as fade resistant as OEM Canon ink, so it's up to personal preference on the raw color output and your wallet.
Mathematically, based on your usage pattern, the OCP ink appears the better value dollar-wise, possibly even if you were to dispose of remaining ink after a 2 year use-by date.
QUESTION 3: If I were to use the same ink to refill my son's HP 61XL carts for basic homework printing, would I destroy his printer/prints, or would I just get less than ideal colors (acceptable to me, if I can avoid buying another set of inks for the HP).
Haven't the foggiest idea. I would look for inks designed for that HP printer. If the HP uses dye-based ink then, theoretically, you can use ink designed for Canon, but don't expect output to be close to an ink designed for that printer. One other important consideration is that the Canon ink depends on being heated before spit out. Don't know how this would affect quality or printer reliability if the HP uses a different mechanism for laying down ink. Also, know that certain paper preform better with certain ink. What looks good with the HP inks may look bad with the ink designed as refill for Canons. If you and your son are happy with the output, and there is no downside for the function of the printer, then go for it.
QUESTION 4: If I were to buy the OCP 16 oz containers, any risk of regretting it in 2 years because of ink/container deterioration? I know I should keep ink cool, dark, sealed and protected from serious temp. variations and but in practice, given I empty the carts from printing photos no more than once a month (15-20 8x10 high resolution photos/month) at most, am I overinvesting in that much ink and will end up with a lot of unusable ink in a year or two because of the difficulty of keeping the ink protected?
You do run the risk of deterioration and contamination of any ink you purchase based on storage and handling. If you purchase 16 oz bottles, it might be a good idea to buy squeeze bottles - 2 or 4 oz sized - and transfer ink from the 16 oz bottles to the squeeze bottles (which will have Luer Lock needles and covers/caps/scabbards). In this way, you decrease the opportunity for contamination and air entering the 16 oz bottles over time. Also, squeeze bottles are a measurably better system for refilling. Squeeze bottles, needles and covers can be purchased from Howard Electronics or Octoink over the internet.
Since refilling, I print more from my inkjet. It's inexpensive with aftermarket ink (I use Precision Colors Image Specialists ink). You may print more as well, and therefore will need to refill more often than once per month. Even if you print the same amount, OCP ink may still represent the better dollar value overall. You may be fine if the ink is older than 2 years - some posters report much older ink with no issues. Personally, I like to rotate the ink out if it's opened and 2 years old. A few here refrigerate their ink, even microwaving it before use to warm it if using it immediately before ambient temperature can warm it up over time. I'm not at that point, but it is something others are doing who have bought large quantities at one time.
