How does the Pro9000 Mark II prime new carts?

[ghwellsjr]

The question is: why do the PGI-5 and CLI-8 cartridges have a prism in them and why do the printers they go in have an optical emitter/sensor? Did Canon start a design that would have permitted BCI chipless cartridges and then decide to put in the chipped cartridges and so they just left the optical emitter/sensor in place even though it does absolutely nothing? OR is the emitter/sensor/prism part of an intentional design but we haven't figured out what? It would have made sense for Canon to take advantage of the optical emitter/sensor/prism in the way that you recall it being conjectured but when I tested for that feature, it didn't appear to react to the optical signal. Of course, maybe a valid test would require that the printer not know that the cartridge had been removed. Maybe I should test again but this time put in a low cartridge with the optical sensor taped over and then let the printer sit overnight but remove the tape before starting to print the next morning.

 

[stratman]

The question is:

Yes, there are many.

 

[The Hat]

Maybe what happened with the CL-8s is they didnt bother change the design of the cartridge because they were only using it as test bed for their new chip design.
The newer CL-521 is all most opaque but it too has the optical sensor in it.
The PGi-9 cartridge is completely opaque and has no optical sensor and totally relays on the chip for ink usage.
Now we have the CLI-526 again completely blacked out and get its ink usage only from the chip that cant be cracked.
The sooner we start using this new cartridge the better understanding we may have of how this dam chip really works.
To be continued...

 

[Tin Ho]

I do not cover my optical sensors and sometimes there is no cleaning cycle after swapping out cartridges. There must be more to the new cartridge replacement cleaning algorithm than let on in the Service Manual.

Are you certain about this? The cleaning cycle should be done right before the next print job is executed. It is not done right after the cartridge is reinstalled. This has been the case for all Canon printers that I know of. It makes perfect sense. You don't need to prime the print head until begins to print for the next job. This is the same reason the printer does not co an automatic cleaning after powering up.

 

[Tin Ho]

Am I the only one who do not know the terminology of "Prime New Carts"? Can anyone explain what it is?

 

[stratman]

I do not cover my optical sensors and sometimes there is no cleaning cycle after swapping out cartridges. There must be more to the new cartridge replacement cleaning algorithm than let on in the Service Manual.

Are you certain about this? The cleaning cycle should be done right before the next print job is executed. It is not done right after the cartridge is reinstalled. This has been the case for all Canon printers that I know of. It makes perfect sense. You don't need to prime the print head until begins to print for the next job. This is the same reason the printer does not co an automatic cleaning after powering up.

You very well may be correct. It certainly makes sense. Maybe the exceptions I recall occurred when I've replaced a cartridge, have no printjob to do, but the scheduled cleaning occurs in the meantime. Will keep an eye open.

 

[tony22]

Am I the only one who do not know the terminology of "Prime New Carts"? Can anyone explain what it is?

It may have been a bad choice of words on my part, but the intent was to refer to the process by which inserting of a new cart would be followed by the printer going through whatever cycle it uses to feed ink from the new cart into the print head. Some printers will do that for all print carts even if only one gets replaced (wasting a lot of ink in the process). Some will do it only for the new cart. The method seems to vary across printers.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Am I the only one who do not know the terminology of "Prime New Carts"? Can anyone explain what it is?

It may have been a bad choice of words on my part, but the intent was to refer to the process by which inserting of a new cart would be followed by the printer going through whatever cycle it uses to feed ink from the new cart into the print head. Some printers will do that for all print carts even if only one gets replaced (wasting a lot of ink in the process). Some will do it only for the new cart. The method seems to vary across printers.

Prime, purge, and clean mean the same thing, it's just when it is done. It's when the printer sucks on the bottom of the print head while firing the nozzles to get the ink flowing. We use the term "prime" when it is done the first time after a new (or refilled) cartridge is installed. We use the term "purge" when air gets in the ink flow path and we want to get rid of it. We use the term "clean" when a nozzle gets clogged and we want to unclog it.

 

[Tin Ho]

I did understand what prime means. But prime the print head and prime the cartridges are not the same. I have never heard of prime the cartridges. Isn't it that this forum uses purge word in purging cartridges? Priming the print head and purging the cartridges are more consistent with what this forum have been talking about. Priming the cartridge is something I never heard of. Thanks for the clarification.