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

[fortisi876]

Yes, that is the reason.

But it is also so much easier and cleaner because you don't have the problem of ink draining out of the cartridge before you have a chance to seal up the refill hole. If you refill from the top, you MUST seal the outlet hole while doing the refilling or all of the ink will immediately drain out. You don't have to do this with the German method. Many people don't bother to seal the refill hole either, but I highly recommend it because it prevents the possibility of providing a path for air to find its way down to the outlet port and causing ink flow problems. Also this seal is not like the seal that is required when refilling from the top of the cartridge because that one has to be absolutely air tight (as you pointed out) whereas this one will work even if it has a small leak in it.

TY for the clarification!

One more, if someone doesn't mind answering, is this method exclusively for the Canon carts or non chipped carts?

My i9900 is down at the moment but I do plan on repairing her shortly but I am now using an Epson 1400 and I'm curious if this method will work with that printer?

 

[ghwellsjr]

I'm not sure but I think the process for refilling Epson cartridges is much different than for Canon cartridges. I did a search on epson 1400 refill and found this link:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=24189#p24189

 

[equity44]

I'm sorry I was slow to respond to this thread after the help I received. Thanks Pharmacist and others. In September I tried my first Durchstich refill on my 220/221 carts. I am happy to report that everything went exceptionally well. Because I was using blunts that I had received when I was doing top filling on my old IP4200 I used a pushpin to start a hole but then switched to a drill bit to carefully complete the front end entry hole. Pushed gently and carefully, the blunt needle easily found its way into the ink chamber without the preliminary step of using a sewing needle to prepare the way through the sponge. The refill process was quick and easy compared to the top fill method I was used to -- and certainly cleaner by leaps and bounds. The only ink staining I suffered was in pulling the plastic seal caps from the bulk ink bottles. My tip for newbies of any refilling method is to remove those plastic caps s-l-o-w-l-y and gently taking care not let it release suddenly or you'll have ink everywhere.

Updating my own 18 October post about my first Durchstich refill, I just finished my second refill about 15 minutes ago. It was even quicker and easier than the first one (no learning curve to overcome this time) Absolutely no drips or spills. Refilled each tank in a fraction of the time the top method requires.

One thing I noticed. If you wait only a minute for the sponge to soak up the first dose, the bubbles in the reservoir make it a little difficult to accurately see how much more ink to add to finally fill the tank. However, if you let it settle for 2 minutes or even a little longer, the bubbles disappear in the tank and administering the final shot is a breeze.

 

[pharmacist]

Hi equity44,

Another method to get rid off the bubbles is to give several ticks on the cartridge wall with your finger and the bubbles will disappear almost immediately.

 

[JoePineapples]

This so much easier than filling from the top and no leaks ;-)

The only problem I had was getting a longer needle in japan

Joe

 

[Rock Slide]

Just picked up a canon pixma MP620...looking forward to trying this refill method when my ink gets low. This might be a stupid question, but is there a preferable choice of refillable ink over another?

 

[ruffin]

Rockslide: Try these two vendors:

Hobbicolors (U.S.) on EBAY here:
http://shop.ebay.com/kbay2002/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25

Precision Colors (Canada) on EBAY here:
http://shop.ebay.com/chubs380/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25

Both seem to be highly recommended this forum and I use them in my Canon printers as well.

For refill tools and equipment try OctoInkjet (UK) here:
http://www.octoink.co.uk/index.php

 

[Rock Slide]

Great! Thanks Ruffin!

 

[cmonkey]

Interesting method, but I've been using a top fill method for years. The trick is to put a screw in the existing nylon ball.
It makes it very easy to fill the tank while it's still in the printer.

Dave

 

[ghwellsjr]

How do you prevent ink from draining through the outlet port when the screw is removed from the top of the cartridge while you are refilling? What printer are you doing this with?