Tips for setting up new pro9000 mkII for refilling?

[pennyblue]

I've ordered a new pro9000 MkII. Wondering what tips you kind folks may have for beginning its life as a refilled printer from the get-go, if any.

I plan to continue using Hobbicolors ink & top-fill. Hobbicolors lists the 9000 as using the same dye ink as my current ip4000, which is one reason I went with it instead of the 9500. Keeps things simpler. I'm very comfortable refilling my ip4000, thanks to all of you here. I first came across this forum several years ago (2006 maybe?). I learned which brands of ink were good and which weren't, which lead me to try the Hobbicolors. I also learned how to take the printer apart to get to the waste tank pads, and to troubleshoot a few other problems thru the years. The ip4000 has always been good to me, and I've been good to it, thanks to this forum. It seems to have developed a color problem which I suspect is the logic board, but that's for another post.

In order to refill the chipped tanks, it sounds like I will have to shut off ink monitoring once the first warnings come up, and then just pull the tanks out to visually check after that? If I do that, will it void the 1 yr warranty? If I can reset the eeprom, would that reset the ink monitoring in case it needs warranty service?

Also, I already have a gram scale to fill by weight in case replacement Canon carts are opaque. I already pull the tanks to check them, as I like to refill before they get too low, so having the ink monitor turned off is no problem.

Most of my printing is for personal use only. I probably average about 2000 printed pages a year, going by the eeprom prints I've done thru the years. I generally go in streaks. I won't print anything at all for weeks or even months at a time, then do a lot of printing for a couple weeks when Im working on particular projects. I will probably print more often with the larger format 9000. I'm an artist and use the printer for patterns, templates, rough drafts of color projects and occasional finished projects. For patterns & templates I could piece together standard letter size sheets, but for any larger finished projects I would have to paint by hand or take to a shop. Now with the larger sheet size I'll probably be doing more color printing. I also plan on printing on fabric & canvas much more often, since the pro9000 can accept thicker media.

Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to experiment and post results on this forum over the last few years. Even posts for other printer models & brands have been extremely helpful. It takes time to document the steps & post photos for things, and I appreciate all of you who have done that.

 

[The Hat]

pennyblue
OK your new printer will take CLI-8 cartridges and can be filled the way you have always filled.
If you are happy with Hobbicolors ink then why change but youll have to get an extra red and green colour for this 9000.

Now while youre on getting your inks why dont you get a resetter as well and
then you wont have to disable your ink monitoring at all and protect your warranty.

You wont need a scales because the cartridges on the 9000 are the very same as your 4000 except they have chips,
they will be hard to tell the difference if you cant see the chip.

Good luck with your new purchase and I hope it last as long as the 4000 did for you.
Happy printing...

 

[rodbam]

Ditto what the Hat said & it's so easy with the chip resetter at a cost of about $20. I use the German method of bottom filling but seeing as though you're experienced with the top fill you may as well stay with that.
I believe Hobbicolors use Image Specialist inks & they seem to give great prints in the pro9000.
If you find the waste ink pads to clean can you post how you did it for some of us less inclined to go deeper into the printer, Thanks & good luck.

 

[stratman]

I believe Hobbicolors use Image Specialist inks

First I've heard that, rod.

 

[rodbam]

I've read here that they don't disclose what inks they use but I thought some here said it was or used to be IS inks. That will teach me not to act knowledgeable a

 

[stratman]

Hobbicolors has been tight lipped on the origins of their inks. Could be IS but don't recall confirmation of any particular source. It is, however, a popular aftermarket ink.

You Aussies have Rihac in your neck of the woods. That is said to be a fine ink as well. From Rihac's web site:

How do your inks compare to Epson & Canon?

We use high grade UV dye inks manufactured from USA, United Kingdom and Japan. These inks are manufactured under contract for us according to our requirements and specifications. These ARE NOT GENERIC INKS. The print quality of our CISS are just as good as using inkjet cartridges. Our ink is micro filtered to 0.2 um to ensure stable and fluent printing and prevent head blockages (print heads in Epson approximately 9um). Our premium inks have high end UV absorber components which prolong ink life and durability. This means that printed pictures do not fade at the same rate as standard generic inks. Cheap inks tend to use chemical carrier fluids which damage your printer and use excessive alcohol carrier fluids. Generally these inks are not filtered correctly which causes physical blockages to your print heads which can lead to overheating and permanent print head damage. Using top grade raw materials Cabots in the USA and Diaomon in the United Kingdom ensures a wide colour gamut and vivid output. We have invested a great deal of development and money to ensure our quality of InkLink CISS units and Inks is as high as possible. This is our sole business and we not only specialize in CISS units we invented them. Since our inception then we have had our products copied and cloned particularly out of Asia. We do not supply or build inferior CISS units or inks. We have trialled them and we have found that these poor quality copies and clones tend to contain very poor quality ink that ultimately leads to damaged print heads.

Anyone know who or what Cabots and Diaomon are?

Have you tried Rihac inks, rod?

 

[rodbam]

Yes I had a look at them when I first bought my pro9000 & started to think about after market refilling but I thought Rihac only sells Ciss systems so I didn't investigate them any further. I couldn't see anywhere on their web page where I could buy 8 colour bottles of ink for my pro9000, I imagine they are more supplying refills for their CISS units. Anyhow I've just sent them an email to ask about inks for the pro9000 & told them I currently use Image Specialists inks so we will see what they say.
Do you get the impression they mix their own inks from their suppliers or just sell on inks they get from the countries they mention?

 

[stratman]

Do you get the impression they mix their own inks from their suppliers or just sell on inks they get from the countries they mention?

Don't know. Mikling has. Don't think Websnail does.

Look forward to hearing what Rihac says in response to your questions.

 

[rodbam]

Great service they replied already. They have 6 of the inks for the pro9000 but don't stock the red & green because of the low demand. The 6 x 100ml bottles of premium inks cost $58au & they want $14au for shipping. They say these inks are from the US so I wonder what brand.
The Rihac inks costs more than I pay now for 8 inks including postage from Mike so I don't think I will try it, The Rihac inks may even be Image Specialist inks a.
Here's the Email.
Hi Rod,
We can only supply 6 out of the 8 colours for this printer. We discontinued selling red and green ink about 2 years ago due to very low demand for it. We do sell the rest of the colours (B, C, M, Y , PC, PM) but unfortunately these are the only ones we could supply you.
Please note that we do not make a InkLInk for this printer model and we cannot give any advice on refilling cartridges as this is not what we do. Also please note that our inks are all dye based and we do not do a pigment black ink in this series. If you have any more questions please feel free to ask.

 

[fish]

I believe Hobbicolors use Image Specialist inks

First I've heard that, rod.

I tried Hobbicolors - it is not the same ink as Image Specialists. Prints with IS inks from Precision Colors are very close to OEM while Hobbicolors are quite different.