Ink usage and text printing.

[Music Image]

Hey guys, I just bought my IP4000 yesterday, and my Hubby is going to install the printhead and carts for me tonight, and then I'll do the driver installation and the various setup tests to get the ball rolling. Can hardly wait !!!! Wish us the best. Remember this is our very 1st printer.

Now, in the shop yesterday, as I understood it, the salesperson told me that the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (BCI-6bk) carts always use a very tiny amount, along side the BCI-3ebk, if youre printing text with the normal paper. This is apparently to keep the jets from clogging up. Can anybody verify this as I find this interesting. In my recent excursions around this forum and others, I dont recall seeing anybody mention this. Thats not to say it hasnt been mentioned, but I just dont remember seeing it anywhere.

Any ideas/explanations are welcome,
Cheers, Music Image.

 

[Nifty]

Canon support is excellent about answering these types of questions via email, so I'd suggest asking them and posting their reply.

The only other way I know of getting an answer is to do something crazy like I did at the bottom of this page here: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/difference-canon-bci-3-bci-6.php.

I wonder if someone put in a BCI-3ebk with yellow ink, or just a BCI-3ebk with cleaning solution and then ran test prints they'd find the answer. Any takers?

 

[BlasterQ]

The way I understand Music Image's statement:
"as I understood it, the salesperson told me that the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (BCI-6bk) carts always use a very tiny amount, along side the BCI-3ebk, if youre printing text with the normal paper."
She(?) is actually talking about how small the ink dots are?
Anyway, spraying tiny amounts of ink has no relation in keeping the jets from clogging up, as eventually, your printer will clog up sooner or later. But that can usually be resolved by running a head cleaning cycle.

The Pixma IP4000, a 4 color (plus an additional pigment black) printer, uses a 2 picoleter ink droplet, which is indeed small compared to most inkjets, whose average picoleter is usally around 3 to 5. This results in very fine color tones that could be achieved by some printers using six colors.

I myself have purchased the Pixma IP4000 after weeks of research and am very happy with it. In fact, like most canons, this printer is very easy to refill and I'm having much fun refilling as I am printing.

Like Rob who has been 'liberated' by the constraints of using OEM cartridge by switching to refilling, I am actually running out of things to print!!!

Now I am taking out all my CD collections I have written on CD-Rs and I stick a blank CD Label on them and then using the IP4000's direct CD printing, use my printer to print on them.

I know, I should be using a printable CD-R to print directly to the CD, but since I don't have those, (they're not available yet in my area), I resorted to sticking the labels first on the CD, and then print on them directly.

Have fun with your printer Music Image, and remember, you can only have fun if you refill! You won't get the freedom to print if you don't release yourself from the shackles of OEM cartridges!

 

[panos]

Hi Music Image,

Last days I've printed some 2000 pages. My photo black was not used at all, at least not discernibly.

BlasterQ, I wholeheartedly agree with your statement "you can only have fun if you refill!" Thats the way to go!!! My 2000 pages have costed less than a dollar (for the ink) and around 4 dollars for the paper!!! Total 5 dolars. If I would print with Canon originals, I would have to pay 25!

 

[Music Image]

Guys, thanks for the responses.

BlasterQ, she?, nope, t'was a he. The salesperson I gather you meant. No, he wasnt talking about the size of the ink dots, I had asked what his opinion was in how long you should leave the printer unused, and thats when he mentioned about the very small amount of ink from the colour carts are always mixed in.
When I get time I will see what Canon has to say.

I will also say, though I know what you mean, I hope to be having fun, way before the 1st inktank runs out. Already I have. Being our 1st printer My Hubby and I had NO practical experience AT ALL. Well, we had it up and running and spat out the 1st colour print in 1 1/2 hours. Not bad for complete newbies. It does help to read the manuals, and the only complaint I have is Canon should have put a diagram with all the parts named in hard copy, where you need to see it B4 installation. But so far Im really excited about it all and no doubt I'll have more questions in time to come.

Cheers Music Image.

 

[Music Image]

OK, I dug around my system and found a review I knew Id saved, but without the url etc... and I googled a pertinent sentence, which brought it up for me in a doddle. This review as the person states, is in the IP5000 section but hes posted his review of the IP4000 as he was comparing the 2 printers. He did some solid research for a week , he says, and finally settled on the IP4000.

Heres an excerpt some way down in the review which gives you more of an idea of what Im talking about.

BLACK INK: Canon's advised me that unless in Draft Quality mode (the only mode in which the black text ink cartridge is solely used), a small percentage of cyan and magenta ink will be used (for high-density/high-quality black text or photo-realistic quality images).

Heres a link to the full review...

http://www.americanpoems.com/Reviews/ItemId/B0002F9Y0A#review_3

Music Image.

 

[panos]

I've noticed this comment on the link Music Image posted:

"Finally, the office. This thing automatically duplexes, and does a fine job of office documents. If you buy slightly better ink jet paper, you'll get superb text quality... but for 95% of my in-office use, any old plain paper does just fine. And... here's what really impresses me. I've run over a 1,000 sheets and evelopes and who knows what else through this thing and have not had ONE paper jam. My HP was horrible for jams (1120cxi). This Canon is incredilbe. On the odd occasion it misfeeds, it slowly backs the paper out and tries again until it gets it right. Wow! I can literally set it to print 200 copies duplexed, and walk away. An hour later, they're waiting for me (although a few fall on the floor!)."

Wow! An alter ego of mine