German "Durchstich" refill method for the PGI-520/CLI-521 cartridges

[Palatino]

From my point of view, the main difficulty with this method could be to fill the cartridge with the correct amount of ink, compared to a brand new cartridge.
The 2nd difficulty can be when you want to flush and clean the cartridge, from time to time, to restore the sponges absortion capacity.

 

[palombian]

Weigh the cartridge and prepare a syringe with the necessary amount of ink.
When the ink comes out before you can inject all the ink (after a sufficient wait to let the sponge absorb) your cartridge needs a flush.

 

[Mervinlee1235]

Thanks for the thread. It's extremely knowledgeable and useful.

 

[Picard]

I have 14 gauge needles on hand, do you think these will work or will the hole required be too large and allow spillage? (I guess I also need to be concerned with compressing the sponge.) I could always just tape up the hole I suppose. This same method will work with CLI-42s also right?

EDIT: I found 21 gauge blunt needles on Amazon that are two inches long so those will work, I am going to sharpen them before using.

 

[The Hat]

There is no more to be said about the “Durchstich” filling method than what was demonstrated by @pharmacist in the very first post in this thread..

Just follow his guidance and you won’t go wrong, and if you’re unsure on any of the steps, then read through his post until you know it by heart..
P.S. small sharp needles are best... Don't use the 21 gauge..

 

[jimbo123]

i have used the “Durchstich” filling method for 10+ years. my blunt needles are 18g so your 21g needles should be fine.

no need to sharpen, what i do first is to use a sharp 1" or longer needle to poke through most of the sponge, sorta like drilling a pilot hole, then carefully insert/push the blunt needle to get to the right spot.

sometimes i have to widen the pilot hole a second/third time so to get/aim the blunt needle through into the reservoir chamber.

try one first before you do them all

J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Active Printers: MX700, MX870, MP980, PRO-100
• Stored Printers: IP4500, MX700, MX860, MX870
• Past Printers: MP830
• Method: German Durchstich Method
• Ink: first Hobbicolors, then OCP, now ASPEN
• Misc: Squeeze bottles - so much easier than syringes