Canon MP270 question..

[scar]

Hello guys,

Newbie here....and really need some help.

Please bear with me as this is a loooong post. :/ I really need to ask 5 questions. To keep intro short here's the situation:

- Brand new Canon Pixma Mp270, OEM PG510 and CL511 - excellent results but LED lit up on Black, so it's due for repalcement. No compatibles on Ebay (or elsewhere) [why is that?] - and OEM still expensive. Just bought Inktec refill kit for black - it's on the way....but here's the problems:

1) Over the internet, I've read somewhere that it's not possible to reset Pixma cartridges. Somewhere else, they say it is possible but not for all pixma models. So (being direct) Is it possible to reset Mp270 cartridges? The cartridges available for me are: PG510, PG512, CL511 and CL513.

2) If not possible, then will my mp270 print after I refill? Or will I have to disable permanently the ink monitoring to make it print? - If so, then how do I do that?

3) The Canon Software on cd it came with doesn't show ink levels at all. Is it something I failed to install? Do other mp270 owners have graphic ink levels?

4) If I disable permanently the ink monitoring, I was thinking of installing inkmon program..but how do I insert the actual capacity left in my cartridges? I know black is empty now - but colour LED warning is still off. How on Earth would I know what's in it? Could be 3/4 full or maybe 1/2 full!! Dunno! Best thing would have been to start inkmon when both cartridges were absolutely full...but that's in the past now! Too Late!

5) This may sound stupid ..but I gotta ask...does inkmon calculate used ink when a photocopy has been done or is it just printing that's counted? (My answer here is... uhm..NO) Right?

Thanks for the time and cooperation guys..

Best Regards

Scar

 

[lindarw]

1) Yes, that's true. It's not possible to reset these cartridges. However they are refillable and will print, but your ink level indicator will still show as empty even after refilling because of this lack of being able to reset.

2) Yes, your MP270 should print after you refill these cartridges. The only thing that may annoy you is the alarm light or red light or whichever one pertains to your printer, will still flash or glow and the LED display (on multifunction printers) will show the message that the cartridges are empty and need replacing.

3) So when you print, no pop up window showing ink levels appears on your monitor? Not sure why that might be.

4) I tell my customers to keep printing until they get fading. That usually indicates ink running low and then they choose to get them refilled again or not. A way to double check this too is if you have a set of digital kitchen scales, you can weigh the cartridge before and after filling. Make a note of both of the weights so you get an idea of how your ink capacity is going.

5) I have no knowledge of this program, so I can't help you with this.

 

[scar]

Hi and thanks for the info mate. You answered all I needed to know but I must admit I am slightly confused about question 2. Please check if I'm right here:

-So all I have to do is fill up the cartridge (as per refilling instructions) and install it again in the printer and try to print after performing head cleaning.
-But is that just it?
-I mean - do I have to press the stop button - (the red triangle in the red circle button for 5 secs) to disable the ink monitoring or will it just print without disabling anything? And I don't understand this either: If it prints without disabling, then why do people disable in the first place? Is it just to stop getting annoyed by the warning signs?

BTW, I like the idea of weighing the cartridge and I read it too someplace else..but i thought (since we're dealing with milligrams here) that a digital kitchen scales won't really be sensitive enough to mark any difference between full or empty! I thought you professional people had the right equipment - like say, - a jeweller's scales - which I don't have! Anyway, I'll try that out for sure!

Thanks for all the advise man.

One more thing: I've been on http://tricks-collections.com and ran a search for Canon in there. (unfortunately nothing SPECIFIC for MP270) but a lot of other interesting stuff turned up - but beware cos not all people commented that the hacks really work. Some tricks may be good for a particular series or family of printers and doesn't really mean they'll work for another. I don't know if you're experienced enough to understand the origins of the hacks, I certainly am not but if you fully understand what's going on in there then there's a lot of "nice to know" info. DON'T MESS UNLESS YOU'RE SURE OF WHAT YOU'RE DOING THOUGH...One thing I can tell you is that resetting the waste ink counter isn't the same as resetting the ink levels...from what i read ...though there is a way for sure....and it's probably in the service manual which I also tried to find. I did succeed (different site) but haven't downloaded it yet cos it comes at a "not-so-reasonable" price tag. One would probably be better off buying another printer!!

 

[lindarw]

Yep, that's it. It's up to you if you want to disable or not. Also, I would imagine that people disable the ink monitoring to stop the annoyances, yes. This is okay for printers that take ink carts with heads as the worst thing you could do is burn the head out on the cart and you just replace it. I don't usually tell my customers to disable ink levels on printers that have the heads as a separate entity, because generally, a lot of customers don't heed the advice about checking their ink levels manually and then will blame anyone else but themselves when their heads are damaged.

I have found that a small set of digital kitchen scales I purchased do the weighing job just fine! You don't have to measure to .00 whatever ml, close enough is good enough. Just remember the golden rule and don't OVER fill.

 

[scar]

Hi & Thanks again for setting the record straight in my head. Now it's clear enough for me.
Anyway, just to let you know...(I know you must have done this hundreds of times - more than enough to get the fun out of it) but since it's my first ... you know...YOU HAVE TO TELL SOMEONE ABOUT IT!!

Received package from ebay and proceeded to do my first black only refill....I weighed it, enlarged the hole, filled it - (less than the required amount - to stay in line with the golden rule), weighed it again - (and yes the difference is detected from my digi scales.) Sucked out the air from the nozzle, then straight onto some soft tissue paper & gently dabbed excess ink. Stuck a teeny bit of duct tape over the hole. Then into printer, performed head cleaning and tried a test print. WHOAA!! IT PRINTED EXCELLENTLY!!!. As good as new! Got so excited!! I half expected to see ink leaking out but (fingers crossed)...so far so good. Nothing leaked and it works perfectly. Now I just ordered the colour refill pack cos although it hasn't given a low level yet, comparing weight by weight it appears to be less than half.

So here's a HUGE THANK YOU to all you guys out there (a special thanks to lindarw) who spend part of their precious time sharing info on a forum like this for others to learn. What you do is great and highly commended cos apparently it's the perfect place for a complete newby like me to learn something I never thought I'd need to turn my attention onto...Congratulations!!