Intake seal wear issues?

[mikling]

This also points out a potential reason why getting a CIS to operate properly on a Canon printer is so difficult;
a near-perfect seal must be formed between each cart's exit and the print head in order to generate the vacuum required to pull ink from the CIS bulk containers.

Good point, its for that very reason you have to use your CISS almost daily to prevent the ink
from migrating back into the container bottles and empting the cartridge of all ink.

Interesting thought. Now that happens even on Epson units as well, even when their seals are working properly. The surface tension on the outlet filter should be able to stop air migrating up into the sponge....Unless the air migrates AROUND the outlet filter. Whatever, if this is observed on some Canon CISS, then these seals are a long term issue which we need to keep an eye on. A couple days ago, I took a look at the seals on my MP500 ( many years vintage CLI-8) and they certainly looked "collapsed" a bit. They had formed an indentation where the cartridge sits. We need everybody to take a look see at their older printers and report back.

I will note that the newest printers from Canon has elongated large perimeter seals but the intake filter is still round and looks to be the same old size.

Take a close look at the pics here
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8591

These may well be more trouble over time I think.

 

[The Hat]

If you use one of the old printer models and suspect you may have a problem with your inlet seals looking a bit flat
and would like to recondition back to new again then try a bit of this stuff.

There are also silicone washers (With an e) available which I have been using since my CISS days.

 

[mikling]

Hat, in these days of austerity the name of this stuff made me wonder if it could also be used on something else!

 

[Tin Ho]

Why is it called a seal or a rubber seal? Why would Canon use a seal to seal off the ink inlet? For all these years of using all Canon printers It has always been a filter to me. It is a very fine mesh made of polyester (not sure if it is metal) that protects the inlet from getting any dusts or any impurity gunk from the ink cartridge into the print head. Have I been wrong all these years? HP ink cartridges also have it, 3 of them in the tri-color cartridges and one in the black cartridge. They are not for sealing anything since they are inside the ink cartridges. An ex-HP manager said it was a filter in a seminar by him that I attended years ago.

If it were a seal how could the printer work with the seal off? With or without a seal would make a significant difference in terms of ink flow. If it is a filter it would not be very wise to have it removed. I have never had an issue with the "seal" among all the Canon printers I have used, including some dated back to 2005 or 2006.

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

They are not for sealing anything since they are inside the ink cartridges.

They are talking about a rubber part that sits on the print head, around the outside of the inlet filter.

 

[InkQuisitive]

Hat, in these days of austerity the name of this stuff made me wonder if it could also be used on something else!

The perfect companion for this product if the local conditions are also degrading your skin maybe.

 

[Tin Ho]

They are not for sealing anything since they are inside the ink cartridges.

They are talking about a rubber part that sits on the print head, around the outside of the inlet filter.

My bad... That must be it. My head has had too much coffee this morning. Thanks.

 

[websnail]

No wonder you had problems if you used silicon seals. Silicone would probably work much better.

Darn... yes thou' hast caught me once more with poor labelling... I did of course mean Silicone


Regarding the ideas of permanently sealing a cartridge/tube to the inlets, you have to remember that there are potential stresses from air pressure/temperature expansion/contraction which is why the Epson CIS systems still favour some form of buffer between the printhead and feed system. Even in the Ink Republic systems they have a small buffer which ideally should contain a small amount of air in to help provide a dampening effect on pressure changes.

On the basis something that converted cartridges or recreated the damper solution in Epsons might be prudent.