Does German Durchstich Method have extra longevity?

[canonfodder]

Someone said in a post or reply that this method had produced many refills without the cartridge blocking up or needing a purge. Can any members confirm this?

I think I remember something like "20 refills with no problem".

Anyone who has used this method a lot, please comment on your experience.

 

[pharmacist]

Hi Canonfodder: the information from up to 20 times and more I've got from druckerchannel.de. For the moment I refilled my Photomagenta now for the 6th time now without problems. I do not know after how much time you have to purge the cartridges using the traditional refill method.

 

[on30trainman]

Actually I can't see any reason why the time between purges wouldn't be the same. It is just a different method of getting the same ink into the cartridge. As long as the sponge doesn't get a chance to dry out, there shouldn't be a problem. I still use the top fill method using squeeze bottles and needles, then sealing with the screw and "O" ring. Works for me and I see no reason to change at this time. Mainly because the needles I have are too short for the German method and I really don't want to buy new longer ones. Have a lifetime supply of what I use now.

Steve W.

 

[pharmacist]

The only possible reason could be that he upper sponge must not be saturated with ink: As you can see in most new cartridges the upper sponge is allways lighter than the more saturated lower sponge. Using the traditional refill method causes both sponges to be drenched in ink. After refilling 5 to 10 drops of ink should be squeezed out of the sponge to eliminate this oversaturation to prevent banding and even ink drops on the paper. Most people forget this to do, but is necessary to get your cartridge to work flawlessly over a long time period. I think the upper sponge design is used as a air filter to double buffer the pressure changes during printing and actually the lower sponge is the ink delivery sponge. When the upper sponge is saturated with ink as well, it will overtime dry very fast when the pressure equilibrium is achieved after several pages of printing. But now the upper sponge contains a lot of dried out ink and overtime the dye molecules precipitates in the upper sponge (thus actually making it for the cartridge very difficult to "breath") and this -I think- causes the rapid flow decrease in ink flow overtime using the traditional method, which causes the entire sponge to be drenched in ink in no time.

Actually if using the traditional method of refilling after putting the ink halfway into the ink compartment you have to seal the air inlet hole completely (tape or finger for the experienced), then refill to full and close the ink refill hole firmly. This would create the same optimal ink/air balance as in the case of the german Durchstich method. Otherwise the upper sponge is drenched in ink, which is undesirable.

 

[billkunert]

Has anybody tried the German method on the G&C replacement cartridges? I understand the usual method of drilling into the tank won't work because of the vent design but wondered about attacking it through the sponge.

 

[mrelmo]

it might be obvious to some but why do you need to hold the cartridge on an angle when refilling via the german method, would it matter if you just turned the cartridge so the exit port is pointing straight up

 

[pharmacist]

No I won't suggest so, because otherwise the air bubble might force some ink into the sponge compartement, which can destabilise the optimal ink pressure inside the sponge compartment. It is very important to keep the small opening between sponge en ink compartment continously straight above the rising ink level up to the point till the cartridge has been completely refilled. Never overfill the cartridge as excess ink will flood the sponge and very likely will leak out of the cartridge (ink outlet/drilled refill hole). And we won't want this to happen. Most people using this method for the first time forget this and are forcing unintentionally ink into the sponge and are complaining that the ink is dripping out of the ink outlet or ink refill hole. Also very important: refilling must be done in a slow but constant speed to avoid the chance that ink in the sponge is migrating to much upwards (ink outlet/refill hole) and being replaced by air.

Allways let the cartridge rest for about 1 or 2 minutes for the sponge to get the time to saturate with the ink with the ink outlet facing down. The ink will automatically find his optimal pressure balance inside the cartridge. Refill absorbed ink again, as you wish.

As you can see om my topic with pictures, this method is very easy to use and with a minimum of spillage.

 

[canonfodder]

A Mild Complaint. With Billkunert's post we slipped off the thread.

Please, this thread is:
Does German Durchstich Method have extra longevity?

Thank you,
canonfodder