IP4000 Compatibles driving me crazy !!!

[stevedrink]

I bought some abacus compats and as I said, they are driving me crazy....

After a few prints, they seem to stop feeding ink, if I remove them and blow the vent, the ink comes out. If I put them back in the printer, it prints again for a few more pages and then starts to band again.

The print head is clear and the printer seems Ok as it works when I have give them a blow.

Does anybody know a way around this, I had 2 sets and the second set does exactly the same ?

Is there any way to test that the cart will supply ink at the proper rate ?

I have ordered a new set from a different suppliers but wonder if there's any way I can rescue these duff ones ?

Thanks

Steve

 

[Osage]

To Stevedrink,

I am not sure what you mean by "blow the vent". Do you mean the air inlet above the sponge section of the cartridge?-----if you are having to actually force air in---it means your cartridge--in the process of feeding ink---is fighting a vacume. That is the purpose of removing the tape from the air vent when you first use the cartridge----but I assume you have done that--removed the tape. But if the air vent is not allowing air in to replace the ink---you need to examine the air vent for any obstructions---but if its that prevasive--I might guess you got a batch of poorly manufactered cartridges with the air vents squeezing closed in the molding process.----and those cartridges are so cheap they are best thrown away
or sent back for a full refund.

Now if blowing the vent meant forcing ink or air in or out of the ink outlet hole, suspect the sponge.
It could be that you got excessively old stock and some ink has dried in the sponge. Or the sponge just
isn't passing ink right.---somewhere on this forum is a post by grandad35 regarding rejevenating old cartridges by flushing them out with water---but again I am guessing that if the sponge is no good to start with, its a waste of time trying.--but you should be able to give the sides of the cartridge a gentle squeeze over a sink or something to absord the mess, and see ink emerge from the ink outlet hole.

I have no experiences with abacus inks but did try one dirt cheap prefilled cartridge vendor reviewed on this forum. And had exactly no problems with feeding or usability--but I have seen some comments on this forum on abacus--and as I recall many complained about color casts--but I don't recall any complaining about feeding problems. But given the number of vendors of prefilled cartridges that have been tried by forum users, I would recommend you stick with vendors who both have excellent reviews and excellent customer service.

Just throw away those cartridges and chalk it up to experience is my best guess. Maybe others can offer better advice or more hope.

 

[pebe]

Could it be that the sponge of the cart is not in contact with the sponge of the print head? I seem to recall that Grandad suggested tapping the cart down on a flat surface after washing out the cart, for that reason.

 

[RC]

To STEVEDRINK:

You may be using cartridges manufactured by SkyHorse, they have a problem for many users.

Look at this thread, it has very good photos of what the problem is.

Refillable CanonBCI 3/6 series cartridge with lots of features

Good luck
Robert

 

[RC]

To STEVEDRINK:

Sorry, this is the web page.

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=842

Good luck
Robert

 

[stevedrink]

I have got them working by removing all the tape covering the vent. There is a narrow channel that winds back and forward until it comes to a hole. The hole doesn't seem blocked as when I blow it, ink comes out of the bottom.

I have stuck a scalpel in the hole and made it slightly bigger and they seem better now. I think the sponges / filter must be rubbish as this is the only thing limiting the flow now ?

I have to do a test print first using bir CMY boxes on word and once this looks OK, it seems to stay OK.

I think i'm going to bin these when there empty and try and refill some original ones, what is the best place to get good ink in the UK. I found proprint.co.uk which does 60ml of the colours for 6 and 250ml for 20, is this cheap ??

Are there much cheaper suppliers in the US that will ship to the UK ??

Cheers

Steve

 

[pebe]

You can get cheaper ink at BS Print. I use their ink and have no complaints.

http://www.bs-print.co.uk/canon-ink-refill.htm