Refilling Canon Pixma ip4700 ?

[deewun]

Thanks Mowerman. I'll consider all the angles and take a good look at the German method. I am surprised that there is no need to seal the hole. I guess there is still a need to reset the cartridges.
Thanks, I am impressed with the helpfulness of members of the forum.

 

[Mowerman90]

Yes, you will need to reset. IF you're like me you'll cross your fingers and hope that nothing leaks out of the open hole in
the back of the cart after a German Refill. You'll take the cart out and check several times before you actually believe that
it won't leak.

 

[deewun]

You took the words right out of my mouth! Thanks, I'll let you know how I get on

 

[ghwellsjr]

Although you don't need to seal the German refill hole, I believe it is still a good idea to put a piece of plastic tape over it, just to be on the safe side. It can't hurt.

 

[deewun]

Gentlemen, I have to report complete success in filling my Canon cartridges for the iP4700 by the German method. I found it remarkable easy and not at all messy, following Pharmacist's illustrations right down the line. I appreciate all the help and advice I have received here and will be dropping in to keep abreast of developments. Many thanks.

 

[Trigger 37]

I've searched all of this web site and have only found two items that discuss the CISinks sold on the Web. It has been several months since anyone added anything so I hope I can get any information available from the masters on this forum. CISinks is have a "Major" discount on there DIY refillable ink carts and ink. deewun has already pointed out that he had problems not recognizing those ink carts,.. and I have see the same kind of thing on other vendor carts. It is to be expected that the cheap ink carts will have a few duds. The point I want to make to all who would listen is that the newer printers such as the MX860 and the MX870 have been designed such that there is "Virtually No clearance" from the top of the ink cart to the inside cover. As soon as I got my MX860 I modified the cart for top refill as I have done for 5 years and tested it in the printer. I moved it by hand rather than run the risk of power mode and it immediatley pull the plug right out of the top of the ink cart. I tried another plug type which is the green plug which has a very thin top and it just barely clears. It seems the VERY SAFE way would be to use the German method. I have avoided that method for years since I believe it affects the overall airflow and vacuum system required to refill each nozzle when each tiny bubble is ejected. Since it is always possible to seal the hole with thin tape,...and the fact that 100's of people have been using it for a very long time... I am going to try it out. Here is where the CISinks people come in. They have a DIY smart kit that comes with fixtures to make the "Perfeft hole in the perfect location" to refill the German way,...and their kit comes with refill ink, drills, and the correct needles.

So I'm asking if anyone else has experience with this company and any advice on what I have posted. Here is the link

http://www.cisinks.com/diy-ink-refi...-all-canon-pgi220cli221-cartridges-p-935.html

 

[The Hat]

Trigger 37
You have decided to go with the flow so to speak and try the German method well its a big congratulations to you.
Its easy to use this method even for us old timers, saying that dough I didnt managed it.

Be warned its easy with OEMs but most certainly not with compatibles
therere an absolute nightmare to fill, there is some sort of obstruction inside them and not easy to overcome.

So I'm asking if anyone else has experience with this company and any advice on what I have posted. Here is the link

http://www.cisinks.com/diy-ink-refill-s p-935.html

The only think I can say about this companys inks are that
they do not supply pigment inks for Canon printers despite climbing too.

 

[joseph1949]

To: Trigger 37

Like you I have a PIXMA MX870. I use the Top-fill method to fill my carts. I have tried a number of methods to plug the fill hole (the fill hole is just to the right of the factory fill hole). I used a soft rubber plug that I got from an InkTec refill kit. The soft rubber plug did not stay in the hole. It disappeared into the bowels of the printer. I tried another soft rubber plug, but this time I made sure the plug was a tight fit in the fill hole. Again, the plug disappeared into the bowels of the printer. Note: the printer was not damaged by the SOFT RUBBER plugs. If you are going to use a plug, be sure that it is made from a soft material (i.e. soft rubber, silicone, etc.).

I decided to use electricians tape. Not a good idea. The ink came in contact with the tape which dissolved the tapes adhesive. I had leakage big time. DO NOT USE TAPE IF YOU ARE USING THE TOP FILL METHOD.

Finally, I decided to use hot glue as the plug material. This worked!!!!!! You must keep the hot glues cap at 1/16 of an inch or less. The trick is that the glue comes out as a glob. You need to press down on the glob to achieve a cap that is 1/16 or less. You have only a few seconds to do this. If you press down too soon on the glob the glue will stick to your finger. Wait too long the glue becomes a solid mass and cannot be pressed down. Timing is everything.

Be sure to cover the indent space around the hole. If you do not cover the indent the plug will leak. After the glue has had time to set turn the cart upside down for a few seconds. After you have turned the cart upside down place the cart in the upright position and touch the plug with a tissue. If you see no ink you are good to go. If you see ink, add more glue to the plug. Or you can remove the plug (using isopropyl alcohol) and make a new plug.

Note: When you are filling the cart with ink and creating the plug keep the cart in the same orientation as the cart is in the print head (i.e. horizontal position).

Using hot glue works, but it can be a real pain to use. A double pain if you have a clearance problem. In your post you said that you were thinking of using the German method. This is a good idea!!!!! One caveatif you use tape to cover the fill hole be sure to check on the tape every so often. If ink touches the tape, the tape will not seal. If ink does not touch the tape, the tape will loosen over time. I suggest you remove the tape after seven days and remove the residue with isopropyl alcohol. After this you can cover the hole with new tape. I do not think it is a good idea to reuse the tape. There is good possibility that the old tape will come loose and fall into the bowels of the printernot good.

Let me know how you like using the German method!!!!!

Thank you.

 

[PeterBJ]

The Hat Wrote:
Be warned its easy with OEMs but most certainly not with compatibles
therere an absolute nightmare to fill, there is some sort of obstruction inside them and not easy to overcome.

I guess this is the obstruction?. The ink outlet filter certainly blocks insertion of a needle for the German refill method. The cartridge is a NON OEM CLI-8BK.

One more reason, only OEM cartridges should be refilled.

 

[Trigger 37]

I want to thank all of you for the great information. I used to be a VERY regular poster on this site,..that is how I got my "inkjet Master" back in 2006. I jumped from this forum over to "Fixyourownprinter" because that site had 10 times more activity. It has kept me very busy for the last 5+ years. However,..there are very few people on that site that know anything about printers,... it is mostly for people looking for help. That is what I do. I forgot that I had to subscribe to this post to get any notification so I've been waiting a few days and got nothing. Now I know why.

Years ago I had some iP4200's and refill all the ink carts on them. At first I used 8mm stainless steel screws but immediatley the screw would hit or drag on the top cover. Not enough to stop the carriage or create an error but enough such that I worked on a different solution. I tried them all including hot glue (which was a mess) until I got flat head screws and even those were close. So I modified the top cover with a file and a hack saw to make sure there was plenty of room. After that I never had another problem with any of the 50+ printers that I have fixed and sold. This all changed once I got the MX860,... but since I own it and plan to keep it I have no problem getting out the hack saw.

Top Hat,.. thanks for the info about their inks. I can't believe there are people out there still passing off "Dye" ink for pigmented printers. They are part of the crowd that sell "Magic ink" --one ink for every brand of printers. What junk. I liked the CISinks web site for the DIY kit they sell and the tools in it. As far as the German method of refilling,... I have never liked it and I still don't. I have always felt that drilling a hole in the bottom rear would "Alter" the basic airflow design. The size of the air ven on the top and the balance of the two sponges, along with the exit port "Felt" are designed to supply the correct amount of airflow as each tiny bubblejet is expelled from a nozzle. The force of the bubble ejection creates a "Tiny" vacuum starting at the nozzle, through the ink well in the head, through the filter screen and back up into the ink cartridge. I feel adding a 2nd air path lower in the chamber completely changes where the ink is drawn from. Yes I know it works since 100's of people swear by it, but I would not use it unless I have no other choice. I also don't like that damage a needle does as it passes through the exit port "Felt". This has really got to change all of the "Vacumm" dynamics. Their answer is to use a "Blunt" needle,..since at least those are not sharp enough to cut the Felt in to pieces. The MX860 nozzle test print now show three test bands for each ink color,...5 pl, 3pl, and 1pl. Can any one imagine just now tiny the vacuum for is created by the ejection of a 1 picoliter ink jet bubble? Honey,...have you seen my hacksaw?????