Durchstich - Beginner's Luck Reversed

[sneezer2]

In an earlier post I mentioned that I had tried the Durchstich method and was very satisfied. I mentioned
that I thought it was "dead easy". That opinion was based on an experience sample of one or two cartridges.

More recently, I've tried a couple of Canon CLI-8 cartridges and have made a godawful mess. Ink
everywhere, dripping off the cartridge onto the floor, table my hands, etc. I've gone back and looked
at the descriptions and photos of the method and really see no difference between what I am doing
and the descriptions. Evidently, though, there must be some difference and I would like to know what it is.

The first problem I had is that once I start injecting the ink into the cartridge chamber there is an escape of
air through the hole in which the needle penetrates and because of that, some ink bubbles out around the
needle shaft. The bubbles break and spatter ink around.

A worse problem is that once there is a fair amount of ink in the chamber, there is a lot of leakage from
the top rear corner (as seen once the cartridge is put back in the printer). This is the area that exposes a
small area of "air channel" when the tape is torn from a new Canon cartridge. So this channel should be
exposed but why does so much ink want to come out of it?

Any suggestions?

 

[yupkime]

Slow and steady is important especially when the sponge is already quite saturated with ink.
I find that sucking air out when the needle is fully inserted helps combat the backflow.
I am assuming your needle goes all the way in up to the prism.
If your needle is "short" and doesn't go all the way into the ink chamber then you will have alot of backflow as ink goes into both chambers.

As for ink coming out the top air vents, this hasn't happened to me even though I hold the cartridge upside down when refilling with this method.
Again slow and steady is key. Very slow if need be.

Good luck!

 

[ghwellsjr]

I have only started using this method on BCI-6 cartridges and did not have the problems you describe. You didn't mention which cartridges you first filled so maybe the BCI-6's are easier to fill than the CLI-8's.

However, I'm surprised that you have anywhere near enough ink injected to have it coming out of the air vent. I purposely did not put in so much ink that the white part of the foam received any ink. I wanted the cartridge to look like it was filled by Canon.

When I refill, I point the needle down at an angle so that the place where the needle enters the reservoir is at the highest point. If I fill very slowly, the ink wicks up the blunt needle and gets forced back into the sponge area which is what I don't want. So I force it in more rapidly so that it squirts out of the needle and into the reservoir.

I do have some CLI-8 cartridges (even though I don't have a printer for them). Maybe I should try to refill them to see if there is any difference from the BCI-6's.

 

[Defcon2k]

I'm refilling my first set of PGI-5 / CLI-8 Cartridges (which came with the printer) since 2006 using this method without problems. I've only had ink coming out both holes you describe when I put too much ink in there (the reservoir was already full). Maybe it can also happen when your needle is too short so it does not reach the reservoir chamber or if you inject the ink too fast.
When this happened too me, I cleaned the exterior of the cart an blew gently into the ventilation shaft at the top of the cart to get rid of the ink there (beware: ink will drop out of the bottom then). You can also squeeze the sides of the cart a little bit, put an airtight cap at the big hole at the bottom an then release your grip, so a small vacuum (hopefully) sucks free the ventilation tunnel.

But generally this is a very clean method: I'm not using gloves or other precautions, since there is hardly ever any ink coming out.
If I overfilled the cartridge, I put a finger on the ventilation hole and squeeze the sides of the cart a little bit, so 1-2 drops are coming out at the bottom.

 

[pharmacist]

This problem happens to me sometimes, when the sponge is a bit oversaturated. How can someone solve this problem ? First remove the ink from the cartridge using the same durchstich refill method, but now with exit hole facing down, so all the ink can be sucked into the syinge. Then put the cartridge over the ink bottle (exit hole facing bottle opening), then close the durchstich refill hole with your finger (use gloves if you want, because it will be stained) and then blow carefully through the breathing hole (make sure any rests of inks are removed or you will end up with stained teeth) and blow until the sponge is almost completely dry. But watch out: at the end the last drops of inks tend to form foam bubbles..... Remove these foam bubbles with a piece of paper towel and now refill again with the durchstich method. This time the ink will not escape from the breathing hole.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Since I used to refill using a vacuum, I'm well aware of what happens when the serpentine air passage gets full of ink. It is very difficult to clear out all the ink because there are two little wells along the path that trap ink. You need to cap the ink outlet hole and tape the refill hole and then turn the cartridge upside down and tap it on a flat surface (that can tolerate messy ink) while squeezing the sides many times. Keep repeating until no more ink comes out and you can no longer hear a gurgling sound.

It is important to get all the residual ink out because the cartridge needs that clear volume along the serpentine path to assure that ambient air pressure changes do not allow external dry air to mix with the internal moist air which would dry out the ink in the cartridge.

 

[sneezer2]

Thanks for all the help. One person questioned which cartridge I had tried first - that was a PGI-5 and the result
was so slick I thought I would never again have any problems! Ha Ha!. All of you have emphasised "slow and steady",
not overfilling, etc., etc.. I've paid attention to that and usually the sponge is not oversaturated because I don't refill
until the cartridge is really empty.

There is one point I just noticed against the pictures though and that is that the orange "clip" is not on the cartridge.
In these two instances I had replaced the orange "clip" and secured it with a rubber band, a legacy of my previous
method where you need that in place. I suspect that may be the problem but I don't know why. Right now I don't need any
refilling to be done but when I do, I will try it with the orange "clip" removed and see if that helps.

By the way, I'm using a sharp needle, though not very small. It's long enough and I don't have a lot of trouble getting it
in all the way. My refill hole is pretty small too.

Thanks again.

 

[pharmacist]

Forget that orange cap, which is a legacy of the old refill method to prevent the ink leaking out from the cartridge.

Note: stop pushing ink into the cartridge when you see it is almost full, then turn around with the exit hole or Durchstich refill hole facing down and wait until the cartridge is taking as much ink as it needs. DO NOT FORCE, as the sponge automatically will ensure pressure equilibrium, then refill again to compensate for the ink drained into the cartridge.

 

[sneezer2]

Thanks, pharmacist. I think that's right. Don't know why I forgot it. ghwellsjr, too. And thanks to all.
Glad I've got a forum available to bring junk like this to.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Glad I've got a forum available to bring junk like this to.

It's not junk--it's nifty-stuff!