Canon i860, i960, etc. that use extra Dye Based Black (BCI-6blk)

[Nifty]

Hey All,

I just looked inside my i860 printer to see how I'm doing on my ink levels (I like to top off my ink in my cartridges when the ink is about down at the bottom of the reservoir). I noticed that even though I've replaced / refilled they CMY cartridges a few times that the BCI-6Bk (dye based black cartride) hasn't been used at all.

So, I'm wondering why? I print lots of photos and other images that I would think would take advantage of this cartridge, but it seems that most of my prints are using the BCI-3ebk cartridge to print the black in my documents.

Any ideas? Is there a setting or anything else on the i860 that will allow me to take more advantage of this extra cartridge?

 

[neilslade]

No comment as the i960 has only one black.
And I don't have an 860 sitting around.

Refill ink carts-- then ink is dirt cheap anyway, $1 a cart with MIS bulk ink in 4oz bottles.

 

[InsproJen]

alot of the info I've read indicates that when you print pictures, the colors are mixed to make the black, most generally. The black cartridge is mainly used for text printing. if you're not printing much text, maybe that's why your not using as much from the black cartridge. I know from my own experience, at work I have a canon S600 which has cartridges, and because i print so many letters etc, I go through much more black ink, than I do the colored cartridges. On the other hand, at home it's just the opposite. I have an i850, and do alot of photo printing, and generally have to fill the colored ones twice as often as the black one. hope that helps

 

[Nifty]

I think I figured it out...

I've been refilling all 5 of the tanks in my Canon i860 with
excellent results...

Well, all of them except for the BCI-6bk which always has ink to the
very top of the cartridge. I was actually getting bothered that I
upgraded to the i860 from the i560 for the sole reason of this extra
cartridge that didn't even seem to be used at all.

Every day or so I run a print head nozzle check pattern to see how
all my little soldiers on the front line are doing and to give them
a little excessive. To my dismay tonight the line that was suppose
to be next to the BCI-6bk mark was non-existent. I was worried that
my little BCI-6bk soldiers were sick, hurt, or maybe even worse...
dead!

First step was to run a print head cleaning cycle. No dice, er...
um... ink. I took the cart out and blew into the air intake maze /
hole above the sponge (which usually works well to force ink out of
the bottom outlet hole). No matter how much pressure I blew in,
nothing came out.

This seemed very odd because the tank had been printing fine during
nozzle checks for months. The air intake above the sponge couldn't
be blocked because I would have had problems sooner.

I decided to pull the plug from the ink refill hole and just as I
did the ink level dropped... fell... actually plummeted to the
bottom of the tank. The thirsty little sponge sucked it dry before
my very eyes!

I refilled the cart, sealed it up, blew on the air intake and little
drops of ink came out the outlet whole. I put the tank back in, ran
a cleaning cycle, and voiala... perfect nozzle check patters. All
my little soldiers were back in action ready for my every
command. "GO FORTH AND PRIIIIIIINT!"

So, now I'm more confused than I was before... actually I'm baffled!

BTW, all the cartridges in my printer are from alotofthings.com and
are really easy to refill.