How long can a sealed cartridge last?

[chobo2]

Hi

I have bought a refill kit but before I bought that I bought a 3 pack of genuine ink since 2 colors where running out. However yellow has finally put a message up stating that it is almost out of ink(like a month or 2).

I still have not decided if I am going to try to clean my cartridges after every 7 refills or just buy genuine ink every 8th time. So like I stated I have a full cartridge of yellow that is still in the wrap and sealed. I am wondering how long can I keep it without it drying out because I was thinking use the yellow cartridge I have right now 7 times then on the 8th time use the new cartridge I still have and then just buy 2 new ones for the other colors.

Thanks

 

[fotofreek]

Chobo - Are you using a Canon printer? BCI-6 or CLI-8 carts? the number of refills varies. You will get more refills per cart if you do not let the cart run to empty. Try to refill when the reservoir still has about 10 to 20% ink remaining in it. You will have to check them visually. If you let it go until you get the empty cart message you can still refill it but you may have to purge the cart sooner. I've never kept track of how many refills I get. I just keep refilling until the cart starts to feed poorly. You can tell by refilling, unsealing the fill hole, and seeing if the ink outlet drips every 3 to 5 seconds. You can also tell by leaving the fill hole sealed, opening the ink outlet, and blowing gently on the air vent. The cart should drip easily with gentle blowing into the air vent. By purging carts when they start to get sluggish I've used some carts for three years and many refills. Eventually you need to replace them with either new ones or empties friends may give you that you can purge and refill many times. The shelf life of aftermarket inks is up to two years, officially. Certian of the colors last longer than others. The original sealed OEM carts will probably last at least than long.

 

[chobo2]

Chobo - Are you using a Canon printer? BCI-6 or CLI-8 carts? the number of refills varies. You will get more refills per cart if you do not let the cart run to empty. Try to refill when the reservoir still has about 10 to 20% ink remaining in it. You will have to check them visually. If you let it go until you get the empty cart message you can still refill it but you may have to purge the cart sooner. I've never kept track of how many refills I get. I just keep refilling until the cart starts to feed poorly. You can tell by refilling, unsealing the fill hole, and seeing if the ink outlet drips every 3 to 5 seconds. You can also tell by leaving the fill hole sealed, opening the ink outlet, and blowing gently on the air vent. The cart should drip easily with gentle blowing into the air vent. By purging carts when they start to get sluggish I've used some carts for three years and many refills. Eventually you need to replace them with either new ones or empties friends may give you that you can purge and refill many times. The shelf life of aftermarket inks is up to two years, officially. Certian of the colors last longer than others. The original sealed OEM carts will probably last at least than long.

Yes I am using the BCI-6 canon carts.

Is it hard to do purging?

When you say unsealing the fill hole are you talking about the area where you made the hold and then flipping it around and seeing if it drips?

 

[fotofreek]

Chobo - There is a thread on purging canon bci-6 carts. You will see pictures of the simple devices that people have made from about $5 worth of hardware store parts. It is extremely easy to do. You will be amazed at how quickly this can be done and how clean the sponge area is after purging. You do need to get them almost completely dry before refilling. No flipping the cart. If the ink outlet is unsealed and you open a fill hole over the reservoir area (the compartment without the sponge) holding the cart in the same upright position that it would be in the printer - ink will drip out constantly. When you seal the fill hole the dripping slows down and stops in a few seconds. You can then blot the ink outlet on toweling paper on a flat surface (so you don't dry out the ink outlet filter). When storing a refilled cart you can use the original orange colored cap that you break off when opening a new canon cart. Hold it on with a rubber band. Read through the information on refilling, creating and sealing the fill hole, and purging the carts. After you refill a few times it will become very easy.