In situ refills-Canon printers

[jackson]

Apart from possible spillage and the resultant tears, is there any technical reason why the IP series carts cannot be refilled without removing them from the printer?
Mine are the screw-and-washer variety.

 

[fotofreek]

I wouldn't risk the spills. Also, when you remove the screw for refilling, the exit port drips unless it is sealed. I don't know if that would also tend to flood the intake port in the printhead. It is so easy to remove the carts to refill them that I wouldn't even consider doing it in the printer. Neil Slade's info on refilling that I read two years ago gave a technique for refilling on the fly. I sometimes refill this way. Put on rubber gloves, remove the cart from the printer, press your index finger against the exit port to seal it, open the fill hole, refill, replace the fill hole seal (screw and o-ring), take you finger away from the exit port and let the cart drip til it stops, blot it on a paper towel flat on the table to avoid blotting the outlet port filter, replace the cart. This is even easier now that I use the Howard squeeze bottles as there is nothing to clean afterward.

 

[panos]

but at least one should pull the power cord from the printer while the printhead is parked outside to avoid a possible printhead movement while one is trying to fill (dangerous both to the user and the printer).

 

[ocular]

Filling the normal OEM canon BCI3/6 cartridges whilst still in the printer will cause a mess.

The cartridges in the link below are designed to be filled in the printer. The design is like a continuous ink system where the ink is sucked into the sponge reservoir. The existing reservoir is like the external bottle.

http://www.inkwell.com.au/canon/cfc.htm

I have purchased a set to try. Would be nice to be able to get some of the Howard squeeze bottles to fill them in situ.

 

[jackson]

How does the new tank work?Is the reservoir connected to the sponge by a route different from the original?

Filling the normal OEM canon BCI3/6 cartridges whilst still in the printer will cause a mess.

The cartridges in the link below are designed to be filled in the printer. The design is like a continuous ink system where the ink is sucked into the sponge reservoir. The existing reservoir is like the external bottle.

http://www.inkwell.com.au/canon/cfc.htm

I have purchased a set to try. Would be nice to be able to get some of the Howard squeeze bottles to fill them in situ.

 

[fotofreek]

Panos - The ink tanks in the web site you posted the link to have a plug in the fill hole that resembles the little blue plugs sold by Computer Friends. The plugs come in their reill kit and are also sold separately but not listed separately on their site. They fit the fill hole created when you punch the little plastic ball into the factory fill hole of an OEM bci-6 cart. I've used them, but for other companys' carts I use the screw/o-ring seal. You are correct that the Howard bottles would be ideal if you were to fill the carts in the printer. Good advice on pulling the plug.

 

[ocular]

How does the new tank work?Is the reservoir connected to the sponge by a route different from the original?

The partition in these cartridges completely separates the sponged and non sponged compartments. There is a conduit from above the sponge that goes to the outside of the top of the cartridge and across and into and then down into the non sponged chamber almost to the bottom. The non sponged chamber is vented to the outside and this hole also acts as the refilling hole . In use this refilling hole does need sealing. When ink leaves the exit port negative pressures draws ink across from the non sponged chamber via the conduit and ink drips onto the sponge. The conduit is a stainless steel tube going almost to the bottom of the ink reservoir. In a way this is like a mini continuous ink system ( with much smaller tanks)

In the initial filling instructions they say only fill the sponge chamber 60-70 full. This is to stop over saturation of the sponge and thus leaking.

 

[ocular]

Here's some photos

 

[jackson]

Looks like another (U.S.) version of ocular's cart

http://www.colorbat.com/canonclearcarts.htm