How to use Refillables with Auto Reset Chips

[RWL]

We all know that it's a bad idea to let the ink completely run out before refilling, but at least in the set of ARC 250/251 cartridges I had, you had to let the printer tell you the cartridge was empty before they would reset. I didn't like them for this reason. My impression is that as a result of filling the cartridges when they're this low and the sponges have dried out that the refilled cartridges eventually don't supply sufficient ink over time leading to clogs in the print head and potentially burning out the print head. I don't know if I've stated this well. The main question is whether there's a refilling strategy / maintenance procedure to follow with ARC refillables to keep the cartridges healthy and prevent problems. I note that the person selling the ARC chips on eBay has a procedure for first use that appears to fool the printer into thinking the cartridges are empty when they're about 30% full.

 

[RWL]

In a post here: https://www.printerknowledge.com/th...ng-and-resetting-cli-271-pgi-270.12714/page-2
@mikling from Precision colors gave this information about his autoreset cartridges:

The 270/271 chips reset when the indicator is LOW. The initial 250/251 did not.

Since the new cartridges from PC reset earlier now, I assume that best practice would be to refill as soon as the Low indicator appears. I don't recall exactly what happens to ink delivery and the sponge when the cartridge is allowed to go the the actual empty warning. I'm trying to collect that knowledge in one place in this thread since it's scattered in posts on different topics over many years.

 

[Harvey]

As far as I understand you have to wait until the printer marks the carts empty and then you remove then and then insert them, and the carts will be shown as full. This is the way the ARC chip is designed.

If you had a resettter for that chip refilling them as soon as you they are shown low is the best practice, but now you are limited to do so, because you have to play by the rules of the ARC chip.
ARC chips might have a different behavior due to its version I guess you should try with yours to remove them at a different low state to see what happens.

Hope this helps you.

 

[RWL]

What you describe is the way my old 250/251 ARC cartridges worked. You had to wait until the empty sign came from the printer. The reset chips have been updated per @mikling. At least with the ones he sells you no longer have to wait until they're completely empty. When the printer indicates the cartridge is low, they'll reset.

One of the things I've wondered about is what to watch for to know that you need to "rejuvenate" the sponge in the ARC cartridges and after how many refillings that's likely to occur.

 

[Harvey]

Perhaps as soon as you see a non acceptable print. If you don´t see any problem then it might be best not to do anything to that inferior quality sponge.

 

[stratman]

Perhaps as soon as you see a non acceptable print.

Exactly. Anytime you see something "off" in the print, such as missing ink which is typically due to ink starvation caused by poor ink flow within the cartridge, then you need to stop printing other than nozzle checks and figure out the cause of the issue.

If you don´t see any problem then it might be best not to do anything to that inferior quality sponge.

Yes!

 

[stratman]

after how many refillings that's likely to occur.

If anyone knows then they haven't told us yet. Let us know once you've used the cartridges.

 

[stratman]

I'm trying to collect that knowledge in one place in this thread since it's scattered in posts on different topics over many years.

I think that is a great idea. The forum's search feature can help you find and then copy and paste the info and link to the thread or posts in that thread that you glean.

 

[RWL]

@mikling has a good video explaining why it's important to refill the cartridge when it's low (when the ink reservoir is first emptied) and not to let the cartridge go to the point that the computer says it's empty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0hsiUlgoKY

In theory, if you refill as soon as you get the low ink warning, that is, when the reservoir is first empty but the ink in the sponge hasn't been depleted, the sponge won't develop the "foam" that prevents ink from saturating it. When the sponge is filled with foam and barely accepts ink, flushing the cartridge gets rid of the foam and "resets" the sponge to "new".

Somewhere else in this forum someone mentioned that the new opaque Canon cartridges without the ink detection prism, (such as the 270-271 series) withdraw ink from the sponge before giving the low indicator. Thus, we'll probably experience the need to flush the cartridges sooner.

Another suggestion of @mikling's was to fill the reservoir slowly and give the ink a chance to wick in at a slower pace. Apparently rapid filling causes a small amount of air to be permanently trapped in the sponge:
https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/flushing-why.9217/page-3
" If you refill the reservoir too quickly, there is possibility of ink spreading over the air voids and trapping them. Most top fillers will not have the same patience to refill a cart in minutes or even one minute. Many just instantly fill the reservoir and then this pressure from the ink head forces ink into the sponge faster than it would naturally wick and this covers the air voids...traps them and compromises sponge capacity."

 

[wilko]

Been using refillable carts on my ip7250 for 3 years (June 2015) with no problems at all . It's just like the old IP4000 days. These printers are cheap as chips as are the refillable carts. No need to spend ages on refilling. However, to spare the environment, slow filling and refilling before the tanks show completely empty is a good idea.

Bought my IP7250 printer in June 2015 and it's still going strong. Just bought another one from Canon store with 2 year warranty £49.95 in UK. Nothing else can touch these printers for value. Fill your boots while you can.

Wifi, great prints. What's not to like. If you PH goes just buy another printer. Duplex printing, great photos. It's just like the old days.

Will probably get another couple of these if Canon pulls the plug.

Buy one. Flog your OEM carts on EBAY and buy some refillable carts. If you can live without a scanner or are not into PRO models, then the IP7250 cannot be beaten, IMO