Is there a need to inject ink into the sponge outlet (CLI-221 cart)?

[joseph1949]

Question: Is there ever a need or a smart time to inject ink into the sponge outlet of a CLI-221/PGI-220BK cart.? And, of course, I am using the Top-Fill method.

If you go to youtube you will see a number of videos telling you to inject ink into the sponge outlet. I believe that this is not necessary most of the time. Please read my rationale below.

I believe based on my reading of the posts on this forum there are three carts that one has to deal with. They are:

Note: We are assuming all of the carts below are injected in their ink tanks. No ink is injected in their sponge outles. When handling the cart the sponge outlet is position so that it is always higher than the ink tank.

Cart #1. This is the cart that you take from the print head and inject ink into the ink tank. You remove the cart from the print head when the ink tank shows no ink or when you get a Low Ink Warning warning message or when you get an Out of Ink warning message.

Cart #2. This is a cart that when you see an Out of Ink warning message you remove the cart from the print head and replace it with a new cart or a refilled cart. There are two types of Cart #2. They are:

Note: When it comes time to fill Type 1 and Type 2 with ink the carts will be five months old to one year old. The carts are placed in their individual plastic freezer bags and stored in a cool storage area during this five months/one year time period.

Type 1. When you remove the cart from the print head you cover the sponge outlet with two layers of aluminum foil and then you cover the foil with the orange cap. With this done you wrap the orange cap with rubber bands so as to insure a tight fit. You cover the vent opening with electricians tape.

Type 2. When you remove the cart from the print head you do not cover the sponge outlet with the orange cap and you do not cover the vent area with tape.

Cart #3. After you see an Out of Ink warning message you remove this cart from the print head and you flush the cart until there is no ink coming from the cart. After this you dry out the cart and then treat it like Cart #2, Type 1.

Because I have had experience with Cart #1 I do not believe you need to inject ink into the sponge outlet. You must keep the sponge outlet higher than the ink tank when you are filling the ink tank. In fact, you should keep the sponge outlet higher than the ink from the time you remove the cart from the print head and until you place the cart back into the print head.

Question: Do I need to inject ink in the sponge outlet in Cart #2 and Cart #3?

Thank you.

 

[pgobkac]

Question: Is there ever a need or a smart time to inject ink into the sponge outlet of a CLI-221/PGI-220BK cart.? And, of course, I am using the Top-Fill method.

I only have CLI-8 experience, but off the top of my head, I can only think of one situation where you would do this. That would be for a quick attempt to clear a clog by putting about 10 drops or so of cleaning solution into the filter of the outlet port. Many times, this can be a much simpler alternative to "cleaning tanks".

BTW, I'm not sure I'm answering your question as I had some difficulty following it.

 

[stratman]

Question:

Thank you.

That was a bit confusing, but the answer to your initial question is all you need to know for general practices.

--- If you want to, do it. If you find it helps you, do it. There is no Bible on this matter.---

One of the only times you may ever need to inject ink into (German Method of refilling) or onto (Traditional Method Top Hole refilling) any of the sponges inside your cartridge is if the sponge was flushed and dried completely (or had dried up completely after becoming empty and not flushed). In this instance, the bone dry sponge may not wick ink into it from the spongeless side well enough or fast enough for your needs/timetable and you may inject or squirt some ink onto or into the sponge to "PRIME" it. If this doesn't work, you may have a problem with the sponge, ink, or cartridge issue that might require a flush.

Some people run a nozzle check after inserting a newly refilled cartridge to make sure all cartridges are working properly. If not, then do a cleaning or pull the problem cartridge(s), inspect for issues, and maybe then try to prime it as well fix whatever else you think is wrong. The same procedure should work with stored cartridges.

I would not use Aluminum Foil as this might react with the ink. A well secured orange cap should do the job.

I also wouldn't store refilled carts for a year. I'd rather rotate cartridges in use much sooner to avoid issues of leaking, evaporation, contamination, etc. But, it's your choice.

 

[joseph1949]

From: joseph1949
To: stratman

Thank you for your reply.

Since my initial (and confusing) post I have made some changes on how I do a top-refill.

The biggest change is that when I do a refill I place a small amount (25% of the ink tank) of ink in the ink tank and at the same time lower the sponge outlet so that it is lower than the ink tank. I do this so I can get the maximum amount of ink into the cart. If need be I add more ink into the cart until no more ink is moving to the sponge outlet side. When I see that no more ink is moving to the sponge side I add ink into ink tank to the 75% mark.

After I fill the ink tank I position the cart so the sponge outlet is higher than the ink tank. When I do this procedure half the time I have no leakage form the sponge outlet (with the orange cap on the sponge outlet) when I am adding ink to the ink tank. The other half I do get some leakage from the sponge outlet. I believe this is the price that I pay when I try to get as much ink into the cart as possible. In the future I will be using a c-clamp on the orange cap and eliminate the foil. The c-clamp will give me a better seal on the sponge outlet. Also, I will be trying other materials to replace the orange cap.

Any suggestions for a material to replace the orange cap?

Note: I do NOT have any leakage when I remove the orange cap. I do sometimes have a drop or two of ink from the large black cart (PGI-220BK) when I remove the orange cap. Holding the sponge outlet in the up position for a sufficient amount of time (no more than 5 minutes) makes it possible to have no leakage from the sponge outlet when the orange cap is removed. As I have said above I do have leakage (50% of the time) from the sponge outlet while I am filling the cart with ink. I believe a tighter seal will fix this problem.

An aside: I do not believe that the foil will harm the ink. I believe this because the foil is only on the sponge outlet for no more than 10 minutes and this is not long enough time to do harm to the ink. In any case, I will not be using the foil in the future. Using the c-clamp will make this possible.

As for spare carts, my spare carts have no ink in them other then the ink that is left when you get the Out of ink message. I may want to flush the carts sometime in the future. I think you are tempting fate to fill the spare carts with ink. There is too much of a chance of leakage.

I will at no time be injecting ink into the sponge. Given enough time the ink will fill the sponge. Patience, grasshopper, patience!!!!

Sorry for the confusing post. Sometimes I get carried away. In the future I will try to be more to the point!!!!!

Thank you.

 

[stratman]

I think I understand your terminology for describing parts of the cartridge. While there is no explicit terms used by all, many refer to major portions of the cartridge as:

- Sponged side/compartment

- Spongeless side/compartment

- Ink exit port (the cylindrical plastic portion on the bottom of the sponged side of the cartridge that has a cigarette filter-like sponge in it)

- Air vent - AKA atmospheric vent, serpentine air vent. (on the top of the cartridge, partially hidden under the label, which allows equilibration of air/pressure inside the cartridge with air/pressure outside of the cartridge)


The orange cap fixed with a rubber band works for me. Others have found cartridge "clips" (such as http://stores.ebay.ca/PrecisionColo...187878011&_sid=98545621&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322), various types of tape, and even a sleeve-like section of bicycle tire inner tubing as ways of sealing the ink exit port. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

I do not top hole refill. I use the German method. Someone else will need to answer your questions concerning your technique.