Canon Prograf 300 and wrong ink levels

[maneki]

I'm using non-canon inks and also left the stickers on initially (covering the hole at the top) if it's relevant, but not sure it is. I have recently installed red and magenta (yesterday) and it says they are half empty (they're not), and my colour optimizer and cyan which were installed a couple of months ago (correctly that time) are showing as empty - the ink is low but not empty. It may have been doing this with the canon official inks too, it's just impossible to tell with those (because the cartridges are not clear).

Is this deliberate to get you to buy more ink? Or is it a fault? I spend so much money on ink.

Thank you!

 

[The Hat]

Is this deliberate to get you to buy more ink? Or is it a fault? I spend so much money on ink.

Firstly the most likely reason for you inaccurate ink levels is, you’re probably printing using Wi-Fi, the only way to monitor your ink properly is to use USB connection.

Your printer can’t tell one way or other what type of ink your using, whether its OEM or compatible in the carts, and the ink monitoring would have to be disabled on any refilled cart that you are using.

The carts on your printer are the very best for refilling, and the way to know for sure how much ink is in them is to weight them, there are plenty of posts here on the best procedure for refilling, https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/an-update-on-refilling-my-pgi-9-cartridges.5844/post-43128

P.S. The PGl-9 carts are exactly the same as the ones used in the Pro 300

 

[maneki]

Hi, thanks for the reply. I didn't use wifi, I used USB cable. The Pro-300 takes 'PFI 300' ink cartridges which aren't refillable. I installed new yellow, red, magenta, and matte black yesterday evening and only printed a few pages since then (I was originally having an issue which was my own fault as I hadn't removed the plastic stickers on the top). The amount shown on the screen doesn't reflect reality. I wouldn't mind them being a bit inaccurate if it weren't for the fact that once this printer THINKS there's no ink left, it won't print.

 

[The Hat]

The Pro-300 takes 'PFI 300' ink cartridges which aren't refillable.

I can now see the issues your having, it’s does stupid compatible carts your using, and most likely the chips on these carts are not showing the proper ink levels either, I’d strongly suggest you dump those carts quickly and refill the carts that came with the printer..

The Canon PGl-9, PGl-72 and PGl-300 are all the same type of cartridge and can be refill with little trouble, they are the easiest Canon carts to fill ever..
P.S. suck out the ink from the compatible carts and refill the OEM ones..

 

[maneki]

Ah I see - so the old canon cartridges can be refilled? What tool do you need to do that? Won't the chips still think it's empty though? (my understanding was the chips log how many times it's been used and estimate ink levels based on that). Also - what ink do you buy to refill? I got this printer specifically for the fact it uses pigment ink as I wanted to print high quality art prints. It takes 10 different inks too.

 

[The Hat]

Ah I see - so the old canon cartridges can be refilled

Yes the old Canon carts can be refilled 100’s of times, there are links below to help you with that, when you empty your cart the chip will register the same on your computer screen, so you will have to disable the chip when you refill the cart, (Hold in the Resume button for 5 seconds), now you can continue to use that cart..

I can’t tell you where to buy new ink from because I don’t know your location, but once you get a good ink supplier then you can print for a whole lot less than when you were using Canon OEM inks..

http://www.printerknowledge.com/thr...-guide-to-the-pgi-9-cartridge-made-easy.6230/

http://www.octoink.co.uk/kb/questions/146/Refilling+the+PGI-9+cartridge#refill2

http://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/canon-chip-removal-made-easy.5629/

P.S. Never be tempted to refill any other cartridge other than Canon OEM carts..