Ink waste tank full, really really full

[Nifty]

Websnail, great idea to do this for the mp750!!!

If / when you get to creating tubes and a reservoir for your mp750 please take lots of pictures along the way and document as much as possible. I know I'd be interested if not a bunch of other people!

 

[websnail]

...but the kicker now is going to be the need to reset the counter for which I still don't have a code..

Well, surprisingly I have some good news for myself ... I worked out how to get the MP750 to do a reset using the keypad so half the battle is won..

Websnail, great idea to do this for the mp750!!!

If / when you get to creating tubes and a reservoir for your mp750 please take lots of pictures along the way and document as much as possible. I know I'd be interested if not a bunch of other people!

Don't worry... I've learned a lot having done the whole thing with the C84 I pulled apart and fitted a waste ink tank to..

Lots of batteries for the camera, plenty of space, newspaper all over and a few hours to spare should sort most of it out

 

[websnail]

Erm... Well... after my CIS kit started jamming up with the tube again I decided it was time to do a little disassembly to fix the clip positioning (to stop the jamming) AND to see if I could figure out the fitting of a waste ink system...

What can I say... I tried... but I was too chicken

At the bare minimum I need to know where the screws are that release the printer unit from the base unit and in all honesty because the MP750 is full of electronics which are bolted into the sides, it's a mite bit harder than the IP4000 which is the printer unit part. So, at this point, I'm going to let it alone until I can lay my hands on a service manual or a broken version of the same printer that can be taken apart without fear of killing it.

Shame really as I'd really hoped I'd work it out but for now... it's a no go...

If anyone has a service manual I would appreciate it though...

Cheers

Martin

 

[websnail]

If anyone has a service manual I would appreciate it though...

Thankfully a quick post to the comp.periphs.printers newsgroup helped turn up a copy via manuals4u.com so I've ordered that and hope to get a download link in the next couple of days (Thanksgiving probably means it'll be delayed)..

So, we'll see how this goes

 

[websnail]

Right... I got an emailed PDF of the manual today and had a look at what was involved in even getting close to the waste ink system, much less doing anything to redirect the actual waste ink and I'm now looking for some information from Pixma owners (Craig my friend, buddy, pal ) who've delved into their own waste ink system and worked out how it does its thing

What I'm particularly keen to understand is how much waste ink actually gets pulled through the head cleaning pump and how much is due to overspill.

From the comments I've read from Craig already this gives me some hope:

the pad was not uniform and was biased to the priming side

... This seems to indicate that the system at least tries to concentrate its absorbtion and waste ink system to the priming pump side of things but what I could really use is an indication of just how much of a bias that would be. Reason I ask is this...

1. If I were to concoct some kind of external waste ink tank, my initial idea would be to redirect any ink removed via the pump system. Common sense really, as this system has tubing that could be extended in much the same way as I've done with R200/300 and C84's, etc..

2. If such a system were to work I would need to be sure that at least 75% of the ink being directed to the waste tank was actually going through the pump. If the printer dumps ink to the whole sponge through the other holes Craig's image (earlier) indicated then it becomes pretty pointless as you'd still end up disassembling things every other time to clean out the sponges, so it's hardly worth it.


Soooo... I guess I'm hoping that Craig or someone similar might be willing to disassemble their 4000 a little earlier than normal just to see where the concentration of ink waste is coming from. It would help enormously, obviously, and if, as I suspect, the priming system does dump the bulk of waste then I can take the step of disassembling my MP750 and working out how to make a waste ink tank system work.

Needless to say, anything I come up with is likely to be of use to a Pixma 4000 owner so there's a quid pro quo involved here

Yes yes, I know... flattery will get you everywhere

 

[Grandad35]

Martin,

AFAIK, waste ink comes from 3 actions (the photos in this link may help - http://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/absorbent-sponges-in-canon-printers.151/
1. Priming the print head/carts - a vacuum is pulled in the priming station, as you stated.
2. Overspray from borderless printing. The leading and trailing overspray is distributed across the width of the print. The side overspray is deposited in the sponge at the edges of the print. The slot near the priming station always gets the ink from the "home" edge, with the ink from "away" edge being deposited at the corresponding slot.
3. At various times during printing, the head apparently clears itself by parking over the priming station or the far edge of travel and sprays ink from every nozzle into the sponge. The ink from priming station will later be pulled into the pump, but the ink at the far end stays in the sponge.

The answer to your question will obviously depend on how much borderless printing that you do and at which sizes.

Might I propose a simple, non-destructive test if someone wants to see how the ink is distributed across their sponge. What if you inserted a sharp needle on your refill syringe into various locations along the width of the sponge and slowly pull a vacuum on the syringe? You will be able to see where the sponge is the thickest and get an idea of how much ink is in the sponge at various locations.

 

[websnail]

AFAIK, waste ink comes from 3 actions:
1. Priming (snip)

2. Overspray from borderless printing. The leading and trailing overspray is distributed across the width of the print. The side overspray is deposited in the sponge at the edges of the print. The slot near the priming station always gets the ink from the "home" edge, with the ink from "away" edge being deposited at the corresponding slot.

3. At various times during printing, the head apparently clears itself by parking over the priming station or the far edge of travel and sprays ink from every nozzle into the sponge. The ink from priming station will later be pulled into the pump, but the ink at the far end stays in the sponge.

The answer to your question will obviously depend on how much borderless printing that you do and at which sizes.

Hmm... that's a good point.. As things go, I'm not actually expecting to do much borderless printing using this particular unit as the role I have in mind for this unit was more as a booklet and general photocopying type printer rather than photo's and similar borderless applications.

Might I propose a simple, non-destructive test if someone wants to see how the ink is distributed across their sponge. What if you inserted a sharp needle on your refill syringe into various locations along the width of the sponge and slowly pull a vacuum on the syringe? You will be able to see where the sponge is the thickest and get an idea of how much ink is in the sponge at various locations.

That sounds like rather a good idea



Overall I'm starting to wonder if perhaps the smartest approach to this problem is to build a custom base that lifts the unit about 4 inches off the surface then build a waste ink tray into the base. From what I can see of the schematics of the actual printer base the ink should pool primarily in 2 end areas that have multiple levels of padding. These end "pools" could be drilled from underneath and allowed to drip or wick excess ink down into collection tanks.

Obviously such an idea means you end up with the pads retaining some of the ink but gravity would most likely result in excess ink migrating into the lower "pool" areas and drain through the holes into the trays. The only problem then is that you would need to ready to stopper these drains if ever you wanted to move the printer... If you didn't the words "Aahhhhh what's this black mess?!" would precede your untimely demise

I think Craig mentioned trying something like this himself and given that the whole unit would need to be raised anyway to facilitate access for a tube, it does start to sound like the smarter move....

Hmmm... Something else for me to ponder... Thanks for that Grandad...

 

[websnail]

Having just directed someone here from a newsgroup I've belatedly realized that you did this with a printer that wasn't the iP4000 but not to worry, I took a look at a spare one I have here and just fixed up an external waste ink tank.

It's not easy and you do actually need the service manual to be able to figure out where anything that might ping off (eg: a spring from the paper feed) should be put back..

Getting the iP4000 apart to manage it involves:

- taking off the 2 side panels by looking for a few release tabs that are marked by small triangle arrows at various points on the frame..
- Looking for yet more arrows on the back center and to the sides, just above, the paper out tray

From there you then remove the power pack by unclipping it from beneath and sliding it out (remember to detach the small connector from the top - and you did unplug your printer didn't you!)

There are then 4 screws that attach the printer frame to the base and I'd highly recommend a very long thing stemmed screwdriver, preferably with a magnetized head to remove these.

Before you remove the frame you'll need to detach the CD input tray from the base and for that you need to look carefully at how two plastic sliders slot into it and into the printer itself. If you break these you are not going to be happy. I also have no idea what effect this might have on misaligning the CD print unit so if in doubt go no further.

If you've carried on and got the CD Tray off and removed the 2 slim plastic "pins" you can then lift the printer unit off the base..


From there you should then be able to see the waste ink pads and go ahead and clean them as normal.

I'll post the information on how to fit a waste ink tank when I adapt my other printer and have the camera ready to record each stage now that I know what I'm doing.. So watch this space... Works well though

 

[DIY]

Craig,

I have followed with interest your photographic details of the waste tank servicing, but don't know where to find the clips to reveal the innards of my ip8500. Would you or anyone else be able to help me with this info, please? Best to ask before wrecking anything !!


thanks

 

[chippedoff]

Hi.

Speaking from experience with Epson printers:

The waste pad is in its own plastic basin away from the circuitry.

I drilled a hole into the basin (let it drain) > Just be sure to be ready with a collecting bin to save you from the mess.

I attached a hose to the basin and put a hole in the printer stand. The hose (through the hole in the stand) then slips into a small mason jar and lid (fixed to the stand of course).

With another hose I stick it into the top holes just under the print head path and blow into the hose. Remember to block the other platen holes first.

I did once try *slowly* adding distilled water to the same platen holes to flush out the pads a little. Worked great. But I had to put a 2 litre bottle in place of the mason jar, after which I replaced the mason jar.

I did add a small stainless steel bolt to the right side of the pads basin to lift the pads a little so that the ink from the print head cleanings would flow easier to the exit hole.

Results so far are excellent. The mason jar lid and seal (with hose hole) is stapled to the underside of the stand top. All you do is unscrew it like you would a car's oil filter.

The Epson waste pads are compressed knitted cotton.

I can't speak for models after the R200. However this trick works well.

Enjoy.