Dye-ing to start refilling...

[alexandereci]

Back when I was working with my 1200, I was used to low-capacity ink tanks which would be low after 40-60 pages, so I can refill almost within the week. Also, I would tend to use the OEM ink for "worthwhile" projects such as printing pictures. With my 3300, well, I've been out of ideas how to use up the OEM ink "wisely." No more pics to print!

I've been thinking, can I do the German refill method backwards? Instead of injecting ink, I'm thinking of WITHDRAWING ink, saving the OEM ink in some glass vials, then start some serious print work using 3rd-party inks. Anybody got any ideas pro or against this?

Can I even do it? Will OEM inks last storage?

Thanks!

 

[IGExpandingPanda]

Back when I was working with my 1200, I was used to low-capacity ink tanks which would be low after 40-60 pages, so I can refill almost within the week. Also, I would tend to use the OEM ink for "worthwhile" projects such as printing pictures. With my 3300, well, I've been out of ideas how to use up the OEM ink "wisely." No more pics to print!

I've been thinking, can I do the German refill method backwards? Instead of injecting ink, I'm thinking of WITHDRAWING ink, saving the OEM ink in some glass vials, then start some serious print work using 3rd-party inks. Anybody got any ideas pro or against this?

Can I even do it? Will OEM inks last storage?

Thanks!

IIRC the sponge it self holds only 20% of the ink (2.6ml). The final countdown is likely in the 5% range or so at best (.65ml). You would have to buy more than 20 cartridges to get a full cartridge based on my estimates, or 5 cartridges that hit their low ink warning.

I'm not trying to discourage you, only illustrating how practical what you propose is. Personally I would say it's more practical to just buy an OEM set for your print projects, declare victory.

I "imagine" you can extract the ink by just blowing air in the cartridge There is a vent hole above the sponge.

For epson it's another matter since there seems to be more ink left in the cartridge, where 5 or less would equal a full one in many cases. Extraction was a simple matter of using an syringe and puncturing the membrane.

 

[alexandereci]

IIRC the sponge it self holds only 20% of the ink (2.6ml). The final countdown is likely in the 5% range or so at best (.65ml). You would have to buy more than 20 cartridges to get a full cartridge based on my estimates, or 5 cartridges that hit their low ink warning.

You lost me there. What part of my post were you replying to?

In case I haven't been clear, I usually use my OEM ink for projects I feel "deserve" the OEM ink --- namely family pictures, etc. When I use up the OEM ink and begin to do refill, then I go crazy with whatever project strikes my fancy --- usually printing out books, comics, misc pictures, and other such projects.

This was easy with the 1200. The new cart (I buy new carts when the printhead on the old carts give up) usually lasts for just a week, then I refill and the fun begins. With the 3300, it seems that I'm running out of projects and the tanks are still full!

So, to "hasten" the process, I've been thinking of sucking out the OEM ink via the German refill method, store the OEM ink in some glass vial for "future" use, then start refilling the carts and start printing books, comics, etc.

So, anybody got any ideas on this?

BTW, I found me some awesome 3 1/4" Ga 30 spinal needles... really fine needles used by anesthesiologists when inducting spinal anesthesia! And Ga 30 means these are fine needles so my hole's gonna be really small, near insignificant, and the "sponge damage" is gonna be... none!

 

[panos]

You could withdraw the Canon ink and refill them with yours, but the problem is that when you have those special projects at hand, your sponge will already be saturated with your ink and the Canon ink will just add to the mixture.

So, don't waste your time. Just refill when they are empty.

 

[IGExpandingPanda]

IIRC the sponge it self holds only 20% of the ink (2.6ml). The final countdown is likely in the 5% range or so at best (.65ml). You would have to buy more than 20 cartridges to get a full cartridge based on my estimates, or 5 cartridges that hit their low ink warning.

You lost me there. What part of my post were you replying to?

You want to collect your OEM ink after a cartridge has been used. Great. I'm telling you how much you can expect to get, as much as 2.6ml or as little as .5ml. You'll need 5-20 to make a full cartridge.

I wouldn't bother with a syringe, unless you are using one in order to force the ink out, let's say from the inlet hole with the vent holes blocked.

But really, you want OEM ink for important projects. Great! You can either monkey around with with this, or just buy a set of OEM cartridges, and set them aside for these projects.

If we were talking Epson, where you can extract 2-3ml of ink, where 5 or less cartridges = 1 full one, well, that's another matter.

 

[alexandereci]

You want to collect your OEM ink after a cartridge has been used. Great. I'm telling you how much you can expect to get, as much as 2.6ml or as little as .5ml. You'll need 5-20 to make a full cartridge.

That's where the confusion came in. I want to save my OEM ink BEFORE it runs out. I want to save it for "future" use, when I have more "worthy" projects (note that my printing of books and comics isn't what I really consider "worthy").

Still, I think panos is right... when I put it back in the cart, it's gonna mix with the 3rd party ink, so it'll be useless anyway....... but not if I flush the cart out! Is it possible to flush a cart with the German method? Or is flushing only possible with the hot-glue-plus-screw method?

 

[avolanche]

I'd forget about saving the OEM.The good 3rd party inks like Hobbicolors are really close to OEM(maybe as good as or better).I'd just find a good ink and stick with it.