Refilling The Pgi-9 Cartridges

[The Hat]

I have now refilled 10 PGI-9s using the new freedom refill method ll and it couldnt have being easier.
I did make a mess on two but that was my fault because I tried to put more in ink into the cartridge than it would hold,
so it dribbled out over the side of the cartridge when I removed my refiller.

I found its much better to underestimate the amount of ink by 1ml. and get a perfect refill
rather than trying to get the maximum amount of ink in.

When weighing the cartridge for refill its better to have the orange shoe clip attached to your cartridge because thats how I got my original 34 gm. from to start with.

A complete comprehensive filling method can be found here:- http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6999
If anyone gets a chance to buy a pro 9500 or two with discount then go for it, its a smashing printer.
Happy Printing..

 

[pharmacist]

The Hat,

I suggest you to write a comprehensive refill guide, just like my PGI-520/CLI-521 one with step by step pictures and also how to make that special refill adapter for the freedom refill method. What about resetting the chips ? I believe only 2 colours cannot be reset: how do you deal with it ? Can you actually deactivate ink levels ?

 

[jtoolman]

Yes please!!!
I now have my PRO 9500 running and it is indeed a great printer. I am now a total Canon convert after being a life long EPSON-holic!
I now have two brands to love!

I will probably try the drip and weigh method. Picked up a nice little 100 gram digital scale just for this job.
I can get a second PRO 9500 MKII for $330. I have not seen a better price at this time.

 

[mikling]

I forgot to weight the cartridges when absolutely new. What I have found is that there is between 0.5 and 1 ml of ink remaining when the chip says empty. This is over 2 sets or 20 cartridges. There is some variance amongst cartridges but it seems to hover within those limits. Based on that I have not determined yet whether under filling by 1 ml is safe enough if you go the absolute empty route before refilling. I imagine if you top up before chip empty is reached then under filling is safe. The user should know what they are undertaking if they decide to underfill. You'll also notice that the weight has a variation amongst different colors and they seem to be within 0.5 gms as well.

The ideal method might be a hybrid of pressure and drip towards the end. This is how I go about it. Weigh the cartridge before starting. Knowing what the finished weight should be, fill two syringes with ink. The first one is to be used for the pressure fill and the second will be used to the finish. Stop the pressure fill about 1 -1.5 ml or about 1 - 1.5 grams before the finished weight. Remove the pressure jig and then use the dribble method to finalize it. This then allows no spilling and you can finish up perfectly without any mess by using the flood and squeeze and remove method.

The final step I take is to dribble the last 1 ml onto the pad. When it begins to flood or build up I remove the ink with the syringe and 20 gauge blunt needle. Pick up the ink in the groove. Then I squeeze the sizes of the cartridge and this will do two things. It will force out any trapped air, if it bubbles a bit, reflood the pad , release the pressure on the sides and let the ink enter the cartridge. Squeeze the sides one more time until only ink comes out, then remove the excess ink that pressure on the sides of the cartridge will force out. This will now allow handling of the cartridge without the ink spilling out. If the cartridge is filled with no pressure on the sides, as soon as you handle the cartridge and put pressure on the sides, ink will drip out. This prevents that.

No matter the acquisition of a mini scale that can handle down to 0.1 grams will allow a window into the contents is a desirable item that will facilitate refills. Kitchen scales that can measure down to 1 gram is likely of insufficient accuracy.

 

[jtoolman]

I'd like to share my first experiences refilling my PGI-9 OEMs from the PRO 9500 MKII.
As I knew would happen, I've been printing quite a few 11 x17 ( not full sheet. about 1 inch borders ) many of which were B&W so sure enough, the Gray ink was almost used up, though not so low as to give the I"M EMPTY warning. I probably have enough for a couple more small prints.

I openned the lid and brought the ink carriage to the change position, removed the Gray cart, placed it upsidedown on my zeroed 100 gram scale and within half a minute I had refilled with the dribble method till the weight was 33 grams. I then squeezed the sides a bit and wicked off some of the ink that saturated the exit port with a paqper towel. It was probably a negligable amount of ink.

Yes, I cannot reset the Gray chip but maybe and hopefully that will be solved soon. I ran a perfect nozzle check and all is fine. All the other 9 colors read as full!

I have a second full set of inks coming from Amazon in about 4 days, so I just need to stop printing on this machine until my backup set of inks shows up.

I just wanted to say how EASY these carts fill up using the dribble method. Zero mess and super quick.

I do not really want to dissaable the ink monitor for the PK GY so I will just have to be patient and maybe a solution to the resetting of the 2 blacks will be made available in the not too distant future.

Yes, I am in love with this printer!!!

 

[stratman]

I just wanted to say how EASY these carts fill up using the dribble method.

I think uncle The Hat calls the dribble technique the Full Bladder Prostate Method - it gets the job done but he finds himself getting up 3-4 times a night to do it.

Well done, jtoolman. Congratulations on your success!

 

[jtoolman]

"Full Bladder Prostate Method" Now that's damn funny!

 

[The Hat]

I just wanted to say how EASY these carts fill up using the dribble method.

I think uncle The Hat calls the dribble technique the Full Bladder Prostate Method - it gets the job done but he finds himself getting up 3-4 times a night to do it.

Well done, jtoolman. Congratulations on your success!

jtoolman "Full Bladder Prostate Method" Now that's damn funny!

I wish you guys would stop talking about full bladders; youre making me want to go in my drawers..
Refill guide, coming soon for the PG-9s, Warts and all..

 

[jtoolman]

Hey guys, just letting you know that I received a set of mikling's empty PGI-9 reconditioned carts, and filled them via "Dribble Method" without a drop spilling. Swapped the two troublemaking black chips for single use chips.
I also shot an HD video that I am in the process of uploading to U-Tube.
It's a bit drawn out ( my long winded nature ) but thorough.
Once it is ready I'll post the link

 

[The Hat]

Hey guys, just letting you know that I received a set of mikling's empty PGI-9 reconditioned carts, and filled them via "Dribble Method" without a drop spilling. Swapped the two troublemaking black chips for single use chips.
I also shot an HD video that I am in the process of uploading to U-Tube.
It's a bit drawn out ( my long winded nature ) but thorough.
Once it is ready I'll post the link

It will be interesting to see how the professionals do it.
Me thinks your video would have been shorter if you had used the Freedom refiller instead..