Just reporting back re my Canon CISS IP3000/MP730
yes rihac supply dye ink for their CISS as large volumes of pigment ink tend to make blockages in the purge system and printhead and leaves deposits under the carriage system. I have had a number of purge sytem blockages on the black system and as I use mainly for documents I have just gone to a dye black ink for ease of maintenance.
Have stuck with sponge cartridges. Have found the best seal I get is by putting O rings under the printhead grommets with a little bit of rubber grease. (I believe Rihac ( Sam Cahir) toyed with this idea at some stage)
Have adjusted height of ink reservoir precisely. Have learnt how to pull my MP730's to pieces and put it back together. Collect old IP3000 and MP730 for a few dollars and repair them or keep for parts.
Have 4 xMP730 systems and 3 xIP3000 systems on the go. Canon printheads can be so finnicky. Banding can be due to much ink, too little ink, a dirty carriage unit, blocked purge mechanism or a blocked or failing printhead. Inserting the printhead into another machine can help determine if the problem is print head or non print head related. If it is the printhead I soak it in a shallow solution of diluted windex overnight and if the blockage is not dissolved I replace it ( Can get new printheads from US for $50 whereas Canon in Australia charge close to $150! )
I source my ink from
http://www.ausjetinks.com.au ( Formulabs) , but have just bought a litre of dye ink from Rihac ( $20 more expensive than the pigment ink from ausinkjets)
My CISS units came from
http://www.selectiveimage.com.au ( website very out of date) but CISS unit is very similar to
www.rihac.com.au. I have bought one CISS from rihac to install. I like the marriot bottle systems they have and also the ability to clamp of the tubing at the reservoir and also the replaceable covers on the exit ports of the cartridges. All this makes it easy to reprime the CISS if necessary.
Sad to see websnail has left the Canon CISS flock and is into HP CISS. Might have to look at HP multifunction machines when get bored of keeping these Canon machines alive.
How's your spongeless CISS in your MP780 going?