ip5000 Printhead

[ghwellsjr]

First off, are you using Canon original cartridges? If not, I cannot say what you're up against.

It's hard to know when us say up or low whether you are assuming the cartridge is right side up or upside down. You want the needle to slide right along the bottom of the cartridge (when it's right side up) between the sponge and the bottom of the cartridge. If you made the hole too close to the bottom of the cartridge so that you need to angle the needle up as if it would be going into the sponge, just make the hole larger so that the needle will go straight into the cartridge between the sponge and the bottom of the cartridge. It should offer no resistance until the tip of the needle gets to the wall of the reservoir. At that point, you should be able to see that the needle is in the center of the cartridge width. If you cannot get it to go into the hole in the reservoir by rotating the needle, then what I do is angle the needle going into the cartridge up and down to try to overcome the lip. I've never had it not go in. I use blunt needles. If you are using a sharp needle, it could be snagging on the lip.

If you do this angling business, there is a chance that you have displaced the sponge up from the bottom of the cartridge leaving an undesireable gap and you should whack the cartridge down on a hard surface to relocate it. Also, cover the refill hole with tape when done.

Let us know how it works out.

 

[rodbam]

I had the same problem as you because I made the hole as low as possible so the needle didn't bore through the sponge it went through under the sponge & hit that stop. I noticed when I looked that even though the needle had hit the stop it was just very slightly into the ink chamber so I started injecting ink, the ink went into the ink chamber but it also backed up into the sponge so I tried to wiggle the needle to get it fully into the ink chamber with no luck. This seemed to mean that I would have to bore through some of the sponge to get the needle properly into the ink chamber but instead of doing this I just used the forces of gravity to do the job by holding the cartridge on it's side so the ink chamber is closet to the table with the needle looking straight down to the table. I then slowly injected the ink & it all went down into the chamber without backing up into the sponge.
This means now I can go in with my needle as low as possible until I hit the stop & turn the cartridge so the needle is looking vertically straight down & no further problems for me.

 

[mccoady]

Well I feel so dumb while I made the hole as close to the bottom as possible I also made it as close as I could to the edge instead of centering the hole, I was trying to avoid the outlet filter (or sponge or whatever it's called). Apparently there must be a gap between the outlet filter and main sponge because after centering the hole (closest to bottom as possible) the needle easily goes straight through to the reservoir.

Just for the record I bought a 24oz refill kit for my ip4300 from Precision Colors along with a set of his 2" 20 gauge syringes and chip resetter. I also bought a set of SquEasyFill bottles at Octoinkjet from Martin although I believe I'll use the syringes when refilling for the first time. And yes I am using Canon original virgin empties.

Now since I ended up butchering two cartridges (made two holes in each) before I realized my mistake can I still use them or should I toss them?

At any time is the air vent ever taped over whether it be during filling or after?

 

[stratman]

Well I feel so dumb while I made the hole as close to the bottom as possible I also made it as close as I could to the edge instead of centering the hole, I was trying to avoid the outlet filter (or sponge or whatever it's called). Apparently there must be a gap between the outlet filter and main sponge because after centering the hole (closest to bottom as possible) the needle easily goes straight through to the reservoir.

Where to make the hole in a CLI-8 or PGI-5 cartridge: Look for the ">PP<" on the bottom of the side of the cartridge. Make hole between the carrots (> and <). The "o" of the "P's" are a natural target, especially using the indentation of the character as a guide.

Now since I ended up butchering two cartridges (made two holes in each) before I realized my mistake can I still use them or should I toss them?

Don't know what this means, but hot wax or tape may help.

At any time is the air vent ever taped over whether it be during filling or after?

NO! The air vent on top of the cartridge, AKA the serpentine air vent, is not to be obstructed.

 

[mccoady]

Where to make the hole in a CLI-8 or PGI-5 cartridge: Look for the ">PP<" on the bottom of the side of the cartridge. Make hole between the carrots (> and <). The "o" of the "P's" are a natural target, especially using the indentation of the character as a guide.

My mistake was making the hole on the > instead of on the PP I know dumb!

Don't know what this means, but hot wax or tape may help.

What I mean is after punching a hole in the wrong spot (>) I then turned around and punched a second hole in the correct location (PP) on the same cartridge. The end result is I have 2 syringe holes in the cartridge so I was wondering if I could still use it realizing I would have to tape off both holes instead of the normal one hole. Or should I toss it?

 

[The Hat]

mccoady
The end result is I have 2 syringe holes in the cartridge so I was wondering if I could still use it realizing I would have to tape off both holes instead of the normal one hole. Or should I toss it?

No most certainly not, just seal up the unwanted hole with hot wax or good adhesive and the cartridge will be fine..

 

[mccoady]

I started filling my carts via German method but I have some questions. After filling and then letting the sponge soak up the ink I'm finding the sponge only gets saturated about halfway no matter how I have the cartridge setting is this normal

Also is it normal to have some bubbles left in the reservoir after topping off the cartridge?

 

[The Hat]

mccoady I'm finding the sponge only gets saturated about halfway no matter how I have the cartridge setting is this normal

Also is it normal to have some bubbles left in the reservoir after topping off the cartridge?

The answer to your questions is yes, its all right to have the sponge saturated only way and
the bubbles are no problem at all, good an you for getting it right..

 

[mccoady]

Much appreciated wasn't too bad I think it will go much faster the next time!

I used SquEasyFill bottles and it was pretty easy the only issue I had was after filling the CLI-8 Black cartridge reservoir to 75% and then going back to top it off to the same amount I couldn't tell how full it was. I ended up squirting a little more in and left it at that hoping it was full enough.

 

[stratman]

There is no reason to stop at 75% filled in the spongeless side. This is a convention that is most likely promoted in order to cut down on nuisance emails/calls for problems that may or may not be related at all to this step.

I refill to within 2 mm of the top of the spongeless compartment of my CLI-8 cartridges after the initial rest period in the Durchstich method (before the topping-off step). IIRC, ghwells posted he has filled all the way to the top. I do not recall any consensus, or even a demonstrable issue, that the more recent model cartridges behave any differently with respect to this fill amount.

Most important - you do not want ink above the sponge or blocking the air vent. This may cause leaking or blocked ink flow.