IP4000 ink level never moves.

[stevedrink]

Does anybody know why the ink monitor shows the carts full and then suddenly shows them as empty ?

It did this with the original carts and I tried canon but got no help, the driver is latest etc.

Great printer but this seems really strange.

Steve

 

[pebe]

Does anybody know why the ink monitor shows the carts full and then suddenly shows them as empty ?

It did this with the original carts and I tried canon but got no help, the driver is latest etc.

Great printer but this seems really strange.

Steve

That's the norm.

There is a little prism at the bottom of the cart where an LED sensor shines through. As long as the prism is covered with ink the sensor reads that ink is present. When the ink level uncovers the prism, it will indicate that it's time to replace the cart.

 

[on30trainman]

Steve,
As stated by "pebe" the Canon ink cartridge level indicator is either FULL or EMPTY, there is no in between. Nothing wrong with the cartridges or the print driver - that is just the way it works in a Canon printer. My old Epson did give an indication of the ink cartridge level that seemed to be pretty correct. When I got my ip4000 and saw the picture of the five cartridges show up at each print job I initially assumed it worked the same way. I printed and printed and the level still showed FULL - I thought this printer is really efficient with ink. Then I got my first low level indication and I realized that the indicator wasn't linear at all. Don't know why Canon even bothers putting up that picture - should just give a warning whenever a cartridge is low.

Steve W.

 

[panos]

So, it wasn't just me. I thought this strange ink level indication behavior only occured in my case. And yet there are two things that complicate it further:

1) Take a look here: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/canon_ip4000_pg2.html Ink levels were working better for Steve!

2) What about this?

As you can see, the MP750 _is_ also capable of a more accurate depiction of the cartridges...

Anyone with a clue ?

 

[pebe]

Re. Link to Steve's-Digicams. I can only assume that Steve was given that onscreen shot from Canon in error - and it was from another printer. It's certainly not the way my 4000 shows levels.

With the MP750, perhaps the display is estimating ink usage, because it could not get that info from the sensor.

 

[fotofreek]

What further complicates the ink monitor issue for people who refill their carts is that if a cart is used until the reservoir is empty and the low ink warning is issued, replacing the used cart with a new one then shows a full cart on the monitor. Most of us who refill, however, watch the ink levels in the carts visually and refill them when the reservoir is about 80% empty or less. Since the ink monitor did not detect an empty cart before refilling, it does not reset to show the replacement as full. Refilling carts before they are empty appears to permit more refills as there is less opportunity for ink to dry up in the sponge and other critical areas of the cart.

 

[panos]

pebe, no the MP750 does get the info from the sensor; if one places an empty cartridge it will be detected as empty. (It has three levels as far as i know: full, half-full and almost empty - a thin line at the bottom of the bar).

 

[pebe]

pebe, no the MP750 does get the info from the sensor; if one places an empty cartridge it will be detected as empty. (It has three levels as far as i know: full, half-full and almost empty - a thin line at the bottom of the bar).

That is interesting. Have you ever tried taking out a half empty catridge and replacing it with a full one? I wonder if would fool the sensor?

 

[drc023]

Replacing a half empty cartridge with a full one will have no effect on the ink level since the sensor had not detected an out of ink condition, which is the only condition that can be detected. However, replacing an empty cartridge with one that is only half full will result in the ink level indicator being reset to full.

 

[pebe]

Replacing a half empty cartridge with a full one will have no effect on the ink level since the sensor had not detected an out of ink condition, which is the only condition that can be detected. However, replacing an empty cartridge with one that is only half full will result in the ink level indicator being reset to full.

That's what I've always assumed, and that's how my 4000 works. But how does Panos get the half-full message in his MP750?