Refilling the mikling way

[jackson]

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=8542#p8542
I am going to fill some virgin Hobbicolor carts with their new CLI-8 inks to try in my IP5000 and I wanted to clear up a couple of queries about the refill technique that mikling has posted.
Does the 1cc of ink at "A" come from the syringe being pushed through the sponge from "C" and, does "The Balance" at "C" refer to that which is going to top up the reservoir?
Is the ink at "C" and "B" squirted onto the top of the sponge or injected a certain distance into the sponge?
The Hobbicolor carts have a plastic screw atop the reservoir, I assume an OEM cart would require an opening else the air could not escape as the ink was injected.

 

[mikling]

You should use a needle finer than normal. I use a 22 gauge sharp ( be careful) to minimize any potential large openings in the sponge and damaging it. The hole you make to allow the needle through must also be larger than the needle. I put about 1 cc deep into area A by using a long needle through the hole above C. I then put about 1 cc into area B into the sponge very slowly. Then I begin very slowly injecting into area C again.... very slowly. The volumes are approximate and you should place the ink where you think it is most stagnant. If the sponge is dry, you should inject more into area A first to resaturate the sponge. Similar to refilling cartridges that are purely sponge based.
You must have the tank area open and vented to have the ink seep into the tank. You will also need to be patient and not inject air into the sponge. As long as the needle is always pointed down and you don't forcefully push air into the sponge this is easily accomplished. Slowly is the key word.

Yes, it takes longer to refill a cartridge this way compared to the traditional way of releasing into into the tank and have the sponge absorb it. This technique is to delay the onset of required cartridge flushing and in so doing minimizing the potential for printhead problems due to ink flow.

If anyone has a better way of performing some kind of flush whereby the old ink is consumed or rid of I am all ears as I feel this is an overlooked aspect of the Canon BCI, PGI, CLI cartridges. Unfortunately too many get caught in this overlooked aspect and end up ruining printheads thinking that a clog has caused the problem.

This is especially important in the newer chipped carts as most people will be topping off these cartridges for safety's sake. However, this topping off causes the ink in the upper part of the sponge to stagnate and dry off and change properties. This will accelerate the time for flushing compared to the BCI-6 where once could safely run the cartridge until it showed the software warning.

The colored area was created by using a normally empty cartridge and then refilling it the traditional way with water and draining it off by wicking into a paper towel. This was done a few times. From this my conclusion was that the colored area was hardly affected or diluted by the water thus, when refilling through the tank side, the colored area ink is very stagnant..... not a good thing

I use countersunk machine screws that seal the hole positively just like the valve assembly on your car. The advantage we have here is that the seating area of the screw is pliable ( plastic) and conforms to the angle of the screw. I believe Grandad uses similar screws. If the seating area is damaged I have some harder than normal blue rubber tack that will positively seal as a conformal gasket if necessary.