Canon MP160.. colour cartridge

[somebodyhere]

Hi
I've got a Canon MP160. I very rarely use the colour cartridge and I usually select Grayscale in Printing Preferences, so technically it shouldn't use the colour ink. However the colour leaks anyway and now from the ink level indicator, it's very low.
Should I refill it if I don't want to damage the printhead, or just leave it as it is?
If I refill, how much should I refill to minimise the tendency to leak and become wasted?

Is it also possible to print without the colour cartridge inside the printer?

Thank you/

 

[pharmacist]

There is no separate printhead in your MP160, since the printhead is integrated into your cartridge. If you change the cart, then you will have a new printhead as well.

Even if you are printing only b/w the colour cart will be consumed, because the lighter hues of gray are very difficult to print with black ink only without a lot of noise. And the colour ink is also used during cleaning cycles even if you don't use colours.

 

[somebodyhere]

Yeah when I said "damage the printhead" I actually meant "damage the cartridge". I sometimes print colour (although very rarely) so I don't want to have to buy a new one.

So do you think I should refill it, and how much?
Should I make it full?

 

[headphonesman]

Yeah when I said "damage the printhead" I actually meant "damage the cartridge". I sometimes print colour (although very rarely) so I don't want to have to buy a new one.

So do you think I should refill it, and how much?
Should I make it full?

Please note:- The ink level monitor is "automatic" it counts down firings/cleaning cycles . It will eventually say "empty " even (soon) after re-fill, you then elect to override the ink monitor to resume printing.

Regarding amount to fill , using the "top off" method , inject enough ink to observe ink just starting to reach below the white top of the sponge, avoid increasing the ink "spot" area that was there when you started.


I have just tested my 150 by selecting " use black only" in Preferences and then removing the Color cart from the machine. It does not like it, the color cart must be in place. This I find odd , recently I was looking at a real basic Canon model that was real cheap.....I looked closer and saw that it was only being sold with one cart (the black I think) the other cart was "optional" i.e an extra purchase , thats why it was so cheap, so it can be done perhaps?

 

[somebodyhere]

does the amount of ink inside the cartridge affect the amount of ink that gets used up during cleaning cycles?
i was thinking that maybe if it's full, the ink is "heavier" and more of it drops down and gets wasted during cleaning cycles.

 

[Tin Ho]

CL-41 and CL-51 used by your printer can be easily refilled. Ink inside is held by a sponge (one for each color) inside the cartridge. The amount of ink in the cartriage does not really affect how much ink is consumed by cleaning cycles. The ink is sucked out from the cartridge by the purge unit of the printer. PG-40 and CL-41 are easiest to refill.