Thoughts on the Canon iP7250?

[The Hat]

Lumi
Regarding cleaning out my work area.... not quite onto that yet. The wife is planning some re-arrangement of the house furniture
so I'll be waiting until that's over before I do anything.

What, like add another printer to your collection ?

I would love to hear why you prefer the top fill method over the other one! Do not worry if my "preferred method" is the other method,
I have my reasons for that and I want to know what made you think that the top fill was the best one. I'm hoping to learn something I may have missed.

How did I know youd take up my answer the wrong way, I just prefer the top filling method its the one I like i.e. my choice,
that doesnt make it the only or best one, in fact the German method is probably the more popular one overall,
the choice is yours to make so long as you dont make a mess the carpet.

As I said no you shouldnt be worried about the waste ink, its way way down the road
and when it arrives the printer will give you a plenty of warning,
thats time enough to think about changing or cleaning them.

If you still want to check them out and get a printout then Email me I will send you the Service manual in PDF format.

 

[PeterBJ]

Lumi wrote:

...I do remember opening up one of my printers to see what the waste pad was like. Should I worry about my Pro 9000? How exactly do I enter Service Mode and check?...

This depends on if the printer is the mark one or mark two model. For the mark one model you find the procedure in the service manual, which you find a link to in this post. I just checked the link and it still works: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=59588#p59588 . But the manual has an error, so please read this post before attempting service mode operations. A very important step 5 is missing in the procedure. : http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=49752#p49752

If your printer is the mark two model you will have to search for a service manual, I think no free downloads can be found so you might have to buy a download. I have bought a manual from this seller and had the manual immediately downloaded after completing the Pay-pal transaction: http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/190074754-canon-pro9000-mark-ii-service-manual . The mark two model needs a special software tool for performing service mode operations. You might not need the service manual, maybe the info in this thread will suffice: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7416

For ink absorber pad replacement, see this thread: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8769

For refilling the transparent cartridges I prefer the German method with squeeze bottles instead of syringes, and The Hat prefers the topfill method. Who is using the best method? We are both! The best method is the one you are confident with and that gives good reliable results. You might want to try out different methods or if you have had good result with the German method, I recommend continuing using that method.

I have had some problems with the newer PGI-520/CLI-521 cartridges possibly caused by needle damage in these possibly more fragile cartridges. As the topfill method causes no needle damage, this makes top filling my preferred method for the newer cartridges.

 

[Lumi]

Yes, you like the top fill method --- obviously you have your reasons and I was hoping you'd share them.

For me, I have used the German method and the biggest problem is hitting the gap at the other end. I have access to 22ga long needles and even finer ones but even then I worry about eventually wrecking the sponge. I've not used the top fill method but I think it'll be easier to do that when I need to flush out these second-hand carts I've just purchased.

Let me be clear -- I am not trying to argue or to pit the two methods against each other. If you like one, fine. If you like the other, that's great! What I'd like to know are the reasons WHY you prefer what you prefer. Is it ease of use? Is it because you're more comfortable with it and don't want to try the other method? Just trying to get a bit of insight.

PeterBJ, my printer is the Mark 1 model. Thanks for the links, I'm sure I'll have more questions regarding the service manual once I hit that stage.

As I said, I cannot imagine being able to purge the carts effectively with the German method so I may try the top fill method. I'll be searching for "how to purge CLI-8 carts" after this; I'm sure there's tons of info by now!

Also, I placed my order for my printer supplies last Sunday evening and got the package on Tuesday, so I'd just like to publicly declare my satisfaction with Octoinkjet's prompt service. I've had a chat with the owner as well when I was starting to refill my tri-color carts and can say he is very helpful.

 

[MP640]

I've used both methods, German and topfill. My favorite is topfill for the following reasons:

- With the topfill method I can use Squeasyfill bottles and don't need syringes;
- I don't have to weigh opaque cartridges, I can use a toothpick as a dipstick;
- With the German method I find it hard to get the needle in the ink chamber;
- with the German method the ink can start bubbling out the ink hole, even when the ink chamber is not full yet.

 

[The Hat]

I use the top filling method because

I use this method most of the time because I am able to drill a small hole in the top of the cart easy
and just reseal the hole again afterwards with hot wax (Glue), no need to remove the label or ball.

The top fill method has given me almost 100 % reliability so I have stuck with it because of that,
I have never had a major disaster with this refill method yet, well not in the printer.

I have tried most of the other methods too just to see how good they are and to get a better understanding
on how they work and of course if it is worth changing over to them.

I cant say a bad word about some of the other refill methods; I didnt use them long enough to be any way critical
of something that may actually be better than the top fill way, everyone to his own.

The one thing I can say is whichever method takes your fancy then read as much about it as you can before attempting your first refill,
even if its not you first time it still wont do any harm to refresh your technique.

In the refilling business ignorance can be a very colourful and humbling experience.

Please follow all of the steps in the refill procedure dont be tempted to take shortcuts because there are usually none,
these methods are tried and tested and have coloured many a cool hand..

 

[Lumi]

Thanks for sharing, guys!

The Hat, I find it interesting that you do not refill through the hole and instead drill your own. Any chance of pics?

I guess for this round of refilling, I will try the top fill method because of two reasons:
1. I need to purge the OEM carts and it seems easier to do this with the top fill method than the German method
2. I've not used the top fill method before so I'll give it a fair try. Plus I didn't like the idea of damaging the sponge by introducing a needle through it.

I have found this page for the German refill method and this page for the top fill method. However, I can't seem to find a proper tutorial on the purging method, though I've seen some YT videos. There have been a few threads discussing purging, but none that had the "tutorial" approach.

 

[The Hat]

Here are two links to some purging posts..

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=59370#p59370
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=63019#p63019

 

[Lumi]

Thanks for the links, The Hat! I now realized I've seen those clip-ons on Octoinkjet's website but did not recognize them for what they are. I do now, and have placed an order for two of them. Sucks big time, I could've saved on postage, but nevermind. I'm very excited to have a "complete setup" of printer, OEM carts, resetter, purge kit, and refill kit.

Also, is websnail = owner of Octoinkjet? I think I've spoken with a gentleman named Martin, very helpful. I wonder if that's him?

Oh, and one more thing: I've ordered this ink set a while back for my tri-color cart but obviously did not use it very much. That is 100ml x 4 colors. The Pro9000 refill kit I ordered only has 50ml of each color. I wonder if I can use the first set of inks on my CLI-8 carts as the page does say Type: CLI-8 & PGI-5 (equivalent)", can anyone confirm?

EDIT: I've just read about the Freedom refill method and I'm greatly intrigued. If Octoinkjet is selling adapters that allow us to purge carts via the bottom port, can we use these same carts to inject ink using the Freedom method?

 

[PeterBJ]

Lumi wrote:

Oh, and one more thing: I've ordered this ink set a while back for my tri-color cart but obviously did not use it very much. That is 100ml x 4 colors. The Pro9000 refill kit I ordered only has 50ml of each color. I wonder if I can use the first set of inks on my CLI-8 carts as the page does say Type: CLI-8 & PGI-5 (equivalent)", can anyone confirm?

Click the "Tags" tab on the octoink site you linked to and note the inks are compatible with: cli8y, cli8m, cli8c, and pgi5bk. This means you can use the yellow. magenta, and cyan, but not the pigment black in your Pro 9000. The Pro 9000 is a dedicated photo printer and has no print head section for pigment black. Trying to use pigment black instead of photo black (dye black) will clog the print head and most likely also ruin it.

Lumi wrote:

EDIT: I've just read about the Freedom refill method and I'm greatly intrigued. If Octoinkjet is selling adapters that allow us to purge carts via the bottom port, can we use these same carts to inject ink using the Freedom method?

It might work, but I see a potential for overfilling the sponges and blocking the vent, as the flushers don't have the right angle bend present in ghwellsjr's adapter. I have done some testing with the freedom refill method and had varying results, often problems with foam in the cartridge. I have had my best results with KMP-U pigment black. Some think the foam problems are due to that IS inks are less suitable for this refill method. AFAIK ghwellsjr uses another brand of refill ink, so I think the explanation is plausible.

In my opinion the freedom refill method is very elegant, but still experimental and only recommendable for the experienced refiller, willing to do a lot of testing. I recommend you stick with the German or topfill method.

After having flushed a cartridge, it needs drying. I use and recommend this method by ghwellsjr: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5382

 

[Lumi]

Thanks for that, PeterBJ! Yeah, I'll make sure to set aside my pigment black ink.

Regarding the Freedom refill method, I was thinking one of these might work, or perhaps this one? From what I've seen on the video, you simply need to tilt the cart so that you draw the air out of the cart and into the syringe, then tilt the other way so that the ink that enters "spills" into the ink chamber instead of over-saturating the sponge. If the vent is kept on top the whole time, and the cart is refilled carefully, I don't think there'll be much of a problem refilling?

What exactly do you mean with "foam in the cartridge"? Do you mean the sponge? Or do you mean the ink foams/bubbles in the ink chamber?

Lastly, with regards to flushing the new OEMs, is it possible to flush the cart WITHOUT making a top-fill hole or a German refill hole? Therefore, the water will only go out via the top vent.... will that be a problem at all for the purging process?