Tips for setting up new pro9000 mkII for refilling?

[rodbam]

Thanks Fish, I won't listen to the Hat any more;-)

 

[stratman]

Prints with IS inks from Precision Colors are very close to OEM while Hobbicolors are quite different.

That's the obvious answer and I agree. Hobbicolors ink seems to fluoresce or pop off the paper. It doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't start as unmolested IS ink which is then altered by Hobbicolors.

The point is no one seems to know the origin of Hobbicolors inks, at least that has been confirmed. Maybe one of the technical wizards on the forum can perform a test of pedigree. I would but my spectrophotometer is on the fritz at the moment.

 

[pennyblue]

rodbam & the hat--

Thanks for the ideas. I'll definitely look at a resetter. My printer will be here tomorrow. I'm geeked. I almost feel like a traitor to my ip4000, I've had it so long.

Rodbam, I honestly don't remember exactly how I took the covers off & what I did about the pads. I think I looked at a service manual for a model that had a similar body design to mine. My bet was the mfg wasn't going to waste money redesigning the clips, covers & frames from scratch, and I was pretty much right. Do remember rinsing the pads in tap water until the water was mostly clear. I seem to remember handling them gently because if they were some sort of cellulose based spongey type stuff they might fall apart if handled too roughly. I didn't wring or twist them, just worked some water gently thru them at the kitchen sink, I think. I seem to remember them being like some sort of super thick felt. I had not been getting a waste tank error, but while I had the cover off I figured I might as well go a little further and rinse out the pads while I was already there.

The thread below seems pretty close to what I remember doing, altho I even took out the metal frame that holds the mechanical guts too. You'll prob need a couple screw drivers for pushing clips & maybe a non-serrated butter knife or thin bladed something to slide between and pry some panels apart a bit. I put a bit of duct tape over the ends of the screwdrivers so they wouldn't scratch the plastic. At the time I didn't have a digital camera, but if you have one it would come in handy. Ive found it useful for taking pics as I disassemble something, to refer back to later if I forgot how something came apart.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3415

 

[Grandexp]

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.

When did you try the ink? I just got some ink for my Pro9000 MKII from Hobbicolors a few weeks ago. All I can say is the ink is excellent. I also use their ink for my ip4700. Don't have any complaints. Canon printers have evolved from old i series to the latest Pro-1. There must have been many generations of 3rd party inks too. Are you talking about history or the latest ink from Hobbicolors?

 

[fish]

Grandexp,

I admit that it was a while ago but I switched from Hobbicolors to IS because of the color difference and I much preferred the pigment black from IS. There was no time gap in using the inks. I have been happy with IS and have been using their inks for my MX850, Pro9000 and Artisan 810. My problems at the time were the obvious color difference compared to OEM and poor performence of their pigment (although they may have changed since). No problems with clogging with either ink (or with Inktek, which I also used). If Hobbicolors were selling IS inks, why would they not have red and green for the 9000?

If you are happy with Hobbicolors, then stay with them. stratman seems to agree with my observations.

 

[Grandexp]

If you don't remember exactly how long ago you used Hobbicolors ink things must have changed. If you are happy with IS ink just stick to them. I used IS ink before but never liked their prices. I switched a year ago to Hobbicolors and found it equally good if not better. Their black pigment ink is fine. It prints dark and bold just like Canon OEM ink. I had a 1986 Honda Accord. I consider it the worst car. I believe Honda makes good cars today.

 

[The Hat]

Thanks Fish, I won't listen to the Hat any more;-)

I think youre talking through it sometimes..

 

[stratman]

Thanks Fish, I won't listen to the Hat any more;-)

I think youre talking through it sometimes..

No, rod's just listening to the little voices inside his head again.

Fortunately, the loudest ones say "beer" and "steak on the barbie".

 

[stratman]

I switched a year ago to Hobbicolors and found it equally good if not better.

Not trying to stir the pot, just want to understand your thoughts - what makes it better? Do you see no difference in output versus Canon OEM or the Image Specialist ink you used previously?

Because Hobbicolors was liked by plenty of people for its saturated colors, I wonder why they would change formulations to more closely match OEM? Just like in other forms of art, the media you work with brings different characterizations, emotions, to the viewer. The paper choice in printing, as well as ink and printer, can make for some subtle as well as significant changes in results. Photographers used different film, developing techniques and paper to promote a mood. I don't know why Hobbicolors would change unless they were losing business over the performance of their inks - or their supplier wouldn't manufacture the same formula anymore.

 

[Grandexp]

Let me clarify. I don't know if the ink has been changed or not before and after I got ink from Hobbicolors. I like it for several reasons. The IS ink was good but their price was among the highest in the market. I do a lot of printing. I didn't feel like to pay top prices so I looked for alternatives. I tried Hobbicolors ink. It worked great too. Never clogged and very few issues in refilling OEM cartridges. It's 10 - 20% cheaper. That's great for having a 2nd source of high quality ink around.

The colors were about equally saturated as IS inks were. I did not compare with scientific means. Just judged by my naked eyes. I don't think they are as Fish said "quite different". "Quite different" is a strong phrase. That's not what I saw. Unless Hobbicolors inks are identical to IS inks it is reasonable to expect some differences. Whatever they are I don't feel they are "quite different". I don't use IS inks now I can't compare again now.

Our free browser Firefox gets changed all the time. Netscape was once a most popular browser. I switched from Netscape to Firefox without hesitation. I will be surprised if Hobbicolors sticks to a same formulation forever. That's why I questioned when Fish tried Hobbicolors inks. If you use IS inks long enough they have changed quite a bit too. You will not get a same black pigment ink they sold 5 years ago.