Drying flushed ink carts.

[martop]

Or should I say ' how to keep fit and flushed '

I'm kinda new to refilling canon carts but decided after reading posts in the forum to reuse my originals that are nearly 9 months old, even though I stored them with the outlet sealed and in a bag, I never knew they had a vent hole :-( so they dried out a lot.

I read about flushing the carts, following advice I read on the forum. So I removed the ball and took them outside, fitted a hose to the tap, coupled the hose to the cart and let it wash out over the drain out doors.

So now I have 5 clean carts, tried blowing the rest of the water out, either the fill holes too small or my lungs are not what they used to be. Next tried blowing the water out of the sponges with a boat inflator, it worked till the 4th cart and then cut out, well it was a cheapo pump ! Stuck for an idea and not wanting to wait till the next warm day here in the UK to dry the carts in the sun, I decided to improvise my own pump.

Us brits can at times be very inventive. I had a bike pump, some self amalgamating tape and a 10ml syringe. The syringe fits the filling hole in the carts very tight, the tape is fitted around the adapter of the bike pump to make it air tight and shoved in the open end of the syringe, all thats left to do is pump it like hell

I was quite surprised as to how much water I got out, the compressed air gets warm so helping it dry. Now its not a joke, I tried it and it works and took a picture to show off my lunacy !!

I removed the balls with a pair of modded needle nose pliers, I had cause for a fine nosed plier some time ago and had to grind the nose to a point with a demil then bend the tip inwards to make a tiny beak, its ideal for pulling out the ball stopper without damaging it too much.

martop

 

[Smile]

Nice Improvisation, Mc Gyver could not have done it better

Well I came to conclusion that you need to dry using vacuum or your lungs. This is because slightly wet cartridge will accept ink better. And ordinary pumps use oil as lubricant sealant, micro particles will get injected into the sponge of the cartridge.

Test this by trying to smell air that gets out of a bike pump or car pump, you will notice oil type smell.

Besides perfectly dry cartridges are harder to refill.

 

[jflan]

Well, all that pumping is good exercise.
Over here, some of us Yanks use a newfangled thing called compressed air.
I like the 12 oz. can size

Still working on harnessing all the hot air that those blowhards in DC expel.

 

[martop]

Nice Improvisation, Mc Gyver could not have done it better

Well I came to conclusion that you need to dry using vacuum or your lungs. This is because slightly wet cartridge will accept ink better. And ordinary pumps use oil as lubricant sealant, micro particles will get injected into the sponge of the cartridge.

Test this by trying to smell air that gets out of a bike pump or car pump, you will notice oil type smell.

Besides perfectly dry cartridges are harder to refill.

I was looking at an oil free compressor a few weeks ago for spray painting and general use but never got around to buying it, oil free for the same reason you mention.

I've left the carts to dry over night and capped them off ( inc the air vent ! ) will fill them once the chip reset arrives. Not drilled out any holes for the German method of filling as the needles I have are 3 mm dia.

martop

 

[martop]

Well, all that pumping is good exercise.
Over here, some of us Yanks use a newfangled thing called compressed air.
I like the 12 oz. can size

Still working on harnessing all the hot air that those blowhards in DC expel.

Well I have recovered from pumping 5 carts they reasonably dry. I knew my post about the bike pump would raise a few chuckles but if you got nothing else you have to improvise ! I had thought about harnessing the hot air from our lot over here but cant get thme to stay still long enough. I have heard of this new fangled compressed air thing but living in the uk I would need to build a steam driven generator to use it as fuel costs so much !!

Strange thing though, may be a warning to anyone else who is a newbie to refilling, it does have health risks as I found out yesterday while blowing some water out of a PG5bk cart. I seemed to have not only blown the water out but also blown part of my ear out too, yep I blew so hard I inflated a gland near my ear lol..... head came up like a balloon so off I went to one of those walk in clinics we have here, one doc said it was a muscle strain but wasnt sure, another doc said it was my ear but wasnt sure so passed me to another doc who said it may be a gland thats full of air and it will go on its own :/ This usualy effects trumpet and glass blowers, now its listed over here as ink recyclers ear !!

Oh well it makes a change to have an exciting new hobby

martop the unlucky.

 

[Smile]

You can place a filter to use ordinary oil pump. The filter must be very fine quality, preferably dry and wet type. You can built some yourself by using water, automotive air filter, some rubber or PVC piping.

 

[martop]

I may buy a oil free compressor, just a small one, enough to spray and inflate car tires. I did have a heath roblinson contraption made from a freezer compressor or bottle and an air filter as freezer compressors can be used to create a near vacuum and enough of them going as scrap.

I intend to use the original carts now I have washed them, I now have a new set of originals I got cheap today. I do remember the set that came with the printer had a problem with one of the carts saying it was empty, not sure if it was the yellow or a black but as I used the amor system that problem went away, I then bagged the canon carts and they not been used since, I just hope it was a problem with the chip and resetting it with the redsetter will sort it.

Now the ink I have is off fleabay and not in branded labels, 4 colurs and the pigment ink, I have read on here about hobycolors ink but its only available from the usa but it appears its cheaper to import from the usa than it is to buy here :/

martop

 

[pharmacist]

martop,

Even you have to pay custom duties for importing hobbicolors from the USA, it is considerable cheaper than any refill ink here in Europe. I tested several inks before like Inktec, but the hobbicolors UW-8 is superior to any refill ink I have tested and has a very good light fastness (fading by sunlight and gas fading) for a aftermarket ink.

Use swellable paper like Illford pearl paper or the latest technology Kodak paper to have prints which will last several decades. Or keep the prints behind glass to filter the UV and oxidative gas.

 

[martop]

pharmacist,

Thanks for confirming how good that ink is, I never thought about factoring in custom duty. If you are saying with duty added its cheaper then its the one I will go for, though quality and fastness are important, some of the refurbed ink carts I had for an old HP printer never lasted more than a year, this was more so with black prints turning a faded greenish black. These hobbicolors seem perfect, thanks also about the tips on the paper, I have spent so much time working the refilling out I had not considered the paper quality !

I am rather pleased with my washed out canon carts, I thought one was faulty as it always flashed even though it was new, I have removed the amor cradle and fitted 5 clean carts and they all stay lit, well they where not empty when I stored them, so resetting these should be a doddle and refilling is going to save a fortune here as my wife and daughter both make greeting cards and other works of art. So far I have spent about 70 uk pounds ordering the ink and resetter, but from looking what I already spent on ink last year I am heading towards saving a furtune !

The only downside is all the best ink and ideas seem to be in the usa and I hate waiting for deliveries !

martop

 

[pebe]

pharmacist,

Just a point, but I purchased Hobbicolors ink. It was sent quickly by airmail.

There were no import duties!