Blink Rate on close-to-out iP8720 carts

[Paul W.]

I'm a newbie, just got an iP8720. I did some searching the forum for an answer, but I may have missed it

1) About how long does a slow blinking cart take before it switches to fast?

2) and how long does the cart's fast blink take?

3) Say my computer's cyan cart is on the slow blink phase. And I decide not to wait for it to enter the fast blink phase. I'll be swapping the almost out cyan cart for a fresh one. Apparently I am supposed to swap out the remaining five carts for fresh ones? Can someone tell me why I should swap the remaining five for new ones?

Thanks all! I'm basically pleased with my new Canon... been using an Epson for many years, and while it has had some good features, I'm ready for a change - been mixing my own Eboni ink in various dilutions, got a little tired of that.

 

[PeterBJ]

To protect the printhead there is still a small amount of ink left in the cartridge when it is declared empty by the printer. I don't know how much ink is left when the cartridge is declared empty, probably one ml. Attempting to print with a completely empty cartridge could damage the printhead.

re 1) I don't know. The manual only says the cartridge will soon be empty and to prepare a new ink tank.

re 2) I don't know. The manual doesn't tell anything about how much ink is left.

re 3) The answer depends on if you refill the cartridges or replace them with new cartridges. A cartridge change triggers a printhead priming action that uses ink from all cartridges. This ink is dumped in the ink absorbers. To minimize this ink dumping and prolong the life of the ink absorbers it is recommended to change all cartridges when one cartridge is low on ink. This should only be done if you refill, as the ink in the changed cartridges is not wasted. If you replace the cartridges with new the ink in the not empty cartridges will be lost, so you should only change the cartridge running low on ink or getting empty.

 

[Paul W.]

Thank you. A further question:

This was in the instructions: "Remove the ink tank with the lamp flashing fast."

Do I need to change the procedure if the lamp is flashing slow?

Paul

 

[Paul W.]

All is well.

I went ahead with my cartridge swapping, slow blink and all. So the Magenta now has a new cart and the other five went ahead with a swapping even though they had some ink in them. The Magenta cart was totally empty and so that cart had a total refill. I'm using EZink carts, this was the brand the computer with so I figured they must be ok. What was strange is that these EZink cartridges did not have the protective strips of orange tape for the top of the cart, and protective sides.

Thanks all!

 

[PeterBJ]

........ I'm using EZink carts, this was the brand the computer with so I figured they must be ok. What was strange is that these EZink cartridges did not have the protective strips of orange tape for the top of the cart, and protective sides.

Sorry to say, but the reason the EZink cartridges don't have the protective tape as shown in the manual is that they are not genuine Canon. Notice the price difference. Hopefully the EZink cartridges work well and don't damage the printhead. Even if they work well they don't have the same fade resistance as genuine Canon carts.

I don't understand, did the printer come with EZink carts instead of Canon carts? Was it bought second hand or from Ebay? Did an Ebay seller keep the expensive Canon cartridges and replace them with cheap compatibles?