Canon InkTanks and the Notorious Air in tube issue

[rounakr94]

Why is it that the Canon InkTank models for home use like Pixma G1xxx, 2xxx, 3xxx always suffer from Air in the Ink delivery tubes?
Is there any particular reason for this to happen and why Canon doesn't do anything for this.
In the case of my 1week old Pixma G2010 which had a minor pressure leak and black ink went back around 1-2inch from the cartridge carriage assembly but that may have been my negligence and opening of the reservoir stopper. But I still have a minute air bubble that came into the system even after refilling the tubes.



But take the case of my brother who has a G3010(2019 purchase) which supposedly is similar if not same as mine (for the printer part). His printer suffered from near empty ink lines and he only came to know when printer suddenly stopped giving out colours.


Image credit: fraivyu @Reddit. Issue was same as his.

The newer G2020, 2021, 3020 seems to have much lesser complaint about air issue but they have frequent paper jam up because of the maintenance cartridge taking up space below and the feeder path has to curve at a steeper angle compared to the G2010 and also their ink maintenance sponges fill up quicker.



Epson Ecotank on the otherhand has similar ink delivery system but still manages to have much lesser reports of air in the delivery tubes.

Can anyone throw some light on why this happens so often for Canon and not for Epson?
And also as users what one can do to prevent such headaches.

 

[websnail]

You might want to check @Ink stained Fingers post about ecotanks here:
https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/air-in-the-ink-supply-of-ecotank-printers.15105/post-132114
for the first printers problem.

As for the other one I'm guessing you have something creating a substantial air leak between the printhead(s) and the printhead closures (the ones that cover and connect the printhead to the tubing). Look for dust, crud or any issues that aren't seating the printheads and/or cover properly and see if that helps resolve things.

It could also be that someone has snuck in and lifted the covers thinking they are normal cartridges, realised their mistake and left it as is because it seems that disconnecting does empty the tubing quite quick.... and I may have done something similar once...

 

[rounakr94]

You might want to check @Ink stained Fingers post about ecotanks here:
https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/air-in-the-ink-supply-of-ecotank-printers.15105/post-132114
for the first printers problem.

As for the other one I'm guessing you have something creating a substantial air leak between the printhead(s) and the printhead closures (the ones that cover and connect the printhead to the tubing). Look for dust, crud or any issues that aren't seating the printheads and/or cover properly and see if that helps resolve things.

It could also be that someone has snuck in and lifted the covers thinking they are normal cartridges, realised their mistake and left it as is because it seems that disconnecting does empty the tubing quite quick.... and I may have done something similar once...

Thanks for link. Cleared most things up. Also saw a very old post saying that the flap flap motion of the tubes can create bubbles.

The 3010 just suddenly lost all its ink. The last thing he did was just elevate the printer a littlebit on a stand so that he can keep the papers underneath.

For the small air bubble in my G2010 I think the bubble from the reservoir made its way to the tubes.

 

[websnail]

The 3010 just suddenly lost all its ink. The last thing he did was just elevate the printer a littlebit on a stand so that he can keep the papers underneath.

Hmm... I'll see if I can recreate that issue on the G2500 when I get a chance... As a general rule, moving any CIS equipped printer can result in pressure changes to/from the printhead so care to keep everything level is needed.

I'll report back as/when I get a chance to play... chances are it'll just behave because I'm trying to get it to "work"...

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I must admit that I never had seen any report about air leaks in G series printers in the German druckerchannel forum, and it is quite difficult/impossible to reconstruct the case - with your brother's printer when it comes to operational details. The image shows that there is not much ink left in the upper part of the black tube - as if the black ink tank ran empty. This is different to the tiny bubble which stays at place at this time as you report it. The mechanical/constructional details of the printhead assembly are different on Canon and Epson printers, I have not seen an equivalent of a buffer a my G1500 printhead which is common at Epson printheads. Small amounts of outgassing may occur as well with Canon inks in the printheads but by far not as much as shown in the image above.
So I only would monitor the situation at this time and see if the bubble grows or moves or bubbles show up in the other color tubes as well.

 

[The Hat]

The 3010 just suddenly lost all its ink. The last thing he did was just elevate the printer a littlebit on a stand so that he can keep the papers underneath.

Try and keep the printer and the ink Reservoir tanks at the same level, that’s most likely why the ink ran back into the Reservoir tanks, you can have the ink tanks 4 or 5 mm higher but that’s all..

 

[rounakr94]

Try and keep the printer and the ink Reservoir tanks at the same level, that’s most likely why the ink ran back into the Reservoir tanks, you can have the ink tanks 4 or 5 mm higher but that’s all..

I checked with a spirit level and it was center I think when I placed the level on the scanner glass bed as it was the flattest surface. The top plastic lid was not flat and the control panel was also sloping down so the levels didn't work properly there and showed non level readings.

And the Inktanks are built into the printer so I think they are always at same level as the printer.

 

[The Hat]

so I think they are always at same level as the printer.

Just raise the side with the Tanks just a little bit then..

 

[rounakr94]

I must admit that I never had seen any report about air leaks in G series printers in the German druckerchannel forum, and it is quite difficult/impossible to reconstruct the case - with your brother's printer when it comes to operational details. The image shows that there is not much ink left in the upper part of the black tube - as if the black ink tank ran empty. This is different to the tiny bubble which stays at place at this time as you report it. The mechanical/constructional details of the printhead assembly are different on Canon and Epson printers, I have not seen an equivalent of a buffer a my G1500 printhead which is common at Epson printheads. Small amounts of outgassing may occur as well with Canon inks in the printheads but by far not as much as shown in the image above.
So I only would monitor the situation at this time and see if the bubble grows or moves or bubbles show up in the other color tubes as well.

The black ink tube again has air in it.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

The black ink tube again has air in it.

- Does the bubble move ? Where are you living - at an elevated height ? Are you using the original Canon inks ?