Best/cheapest refill sollution? Best ink? Best printer? IP5000 ?

[ghwellsjr]

The one big factor in a cartridge design as far as I'm concerned is whether or not the sponge is divided into two parts. See this link:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=9993#p9993

I have purchased hundreds of so-called virgin empty Canon BCI-3e and BCI-6 cartridges on eBay for less than a dollar each. The term "virgin" means that they have been used until empty and never refilled. If you keep watching, you will see auctions with small quantities (which usually cost more) and very large quantities. Sometimes you have to also buy other cartridges that you don't want, but it's usually still a good buy.

HINT: Sometimes you will see some BCI-3e color cartridges (yellow, cyan, and magenta) mixed in with their BCI-6 counterparts. You can use these BCI-3e cartridges just like BCI-6 cartridges, they are equivalent. This is not true for the black cartridges--the BCI-3eBK is a wider pigment black whereas the BCI-6BK is the narrower dye photo black. If you read the last link that I just added that is pointed to by the above link, you will see why the color BCI-3e and BCI-6 are equivalent.

 

[Tin Ho]

One of the major reasons why cartridges fail is they get air in the sponge material.

Sorry, I have to beg for diffent opinions.

The sponge always has air in it. I am afraid this statement is not exactly correct. The true problem of an ink/cartridge combination is not resulting correct ink flow, expecially if the viscosity of ink is too high or the capillarity of the sponge is too great that cause difficulty for the ink to flow. Air always enters the sponge when ink is consumed out of the sponge. When a cartridge fails it is not because air enters the sponge.

Usually there is a clog in the print head when people associate that with a failed cartridge. The problem almost always begins with a poor ink/cartridge combination with insufficient ink flow wich eventually results in a clog. If ink viscosity and sponge capillarity match with each other very well air entering the sponge is just a normal part of how the cartridge works.

When buying bulk ink and virgin ink cartridges you really have no idea if the combination is a good one. If it is a bad combination you will have print head cloggings sooner or later. Fortunately it won't take long to find out if the combination works or not. Refilling OEM cartridges has an advantage in that you only need to worry about the ink. If you buy both ink and virgin cartridges you will need to be on the look out for a while. Once you know the combination is good you do want to tick to the combination so that you won't need to worry about it all the time.

There is really no need of a fancy refilling method. The ultimate goal is to fill up the reserve tank and fill partially the sponge. If this is correctly achieved the only remaining question is if the ink viscosity and sponge capillarity is right for the printer. There are only a handful different inks in the market. Believe me there are no more than 3 different sponge materials used in all 3rd party virgin cartridges. So there aren't that many combinations to worry about.

You do want to test a new combination when you buy an ink and cartridge you have not used before. If the combination is good then stick with it.
Price is not an indication if a combination will work or not.

 

[mikling]

Both reasons have validity.
So far I have not found conclusive evidence of EXACTLY what causes the ink to not want to flow after multiple refills. Suffice to say it happens and simply flushing the sponge will remedy the problem.
Filling with the vacuum has a side benefit which is that the new ink flushes the sponge each time it is refilled. The traditional way of refilling via the reservoir allows old ink residues to build up. In realizing this I simply perform a hybrid method whereby new ink is introduced into the reservoir via carefully injecting through the sponge. This is not as good as the vacuum method BUT it is easily performed without resorting to pumps etc, which the average user will not have. Given that no extra equipment is required over that of just injecting the reservoir, I think it is good to do it this way for the sake of the printhead.
Tin Ho, the reason the printhead does not work after operation with insufficient ink supply is that the heaters are either thoroughly coated with baked and scorched ink and possibly burnt out. Thus it is unable to heat the ink sufficiently to eject it. It is not necessarily a physical clog. If it were a physical clog, it would be dis solvable given time and chemicals and all heads would be retrievable. However burnt out heaters are literally toast and a new print head would be called for.
There are good reasons for OEM cartridges and the key one is that the design is proper and if refilled properly with inks matching the original characteristics, good performance is assured. So you need only worry about the ink. If you use unknown sponge characteristics, there is another unknown variable which makes diagnosing a problem difficult.
Beyond the sponge, the fit is also an issue. Some don't have the correct relative dimensions aound the ink ports. For example some compatibles have molten plastic seals around the exit ports. Upon removing the seal, you find uneven plastic flashing that interferferes with the fitment and air tightness. Additionally some are molten sufficiently to make the port height a little too short and you notice that the fitment is not tight.

All said, refilling the original by converting it to a refillable is undeniably the best way and ends up being the most economical. Once you consider how little refilling costs, it follows that using the best aftermarket ink only makes sense in that you get better longevity, color fidelity and reliability.