Is there a better ink monitor for pro 100

[Drjim]

Just got my pro 100 yesterday. Prints beautifully. Nit picking, but the ink monitor (Windows) is so small it seems less than useful. Is there a way to get numerical values?

 

[stratman]

Practically speaking, other than taking the cartridges out of the printer and weighing them, no.

Ink level monitoring provides ample information on when you should reset the chips and refill the cartridges. The current forum consensus is to refill when a cartridge is marked as Low, meaning the ink in the spongeless side is gone and you are now using up ink solely from the sponge.

The idea is to refill before the ink in the sponge is used up or else ink begins to dry in the sponge ultimately causing ink flow issues that may appear as ink starvation - lack of ink. If not resolved ASAP the ink starvation may irreparably burnout nozzles on your print head. Keeping the sponge luxuriating in ink should prevent this issue.

People will refill all cartridges when the first one goes to Low. Some will not refill cartridges in the set that have barely used any ink up. Others will keep a second set of cartridges filled and ready to go and swap out when it is time.

 

[Drjim]

Got it. I printed a bunch of photos and the ink levels have barely moved.
A couple of carts show some depletion and foam on the sponge side and negligible lowering on the reservoir side. These are new oems.

 

[stratman]

When you refill, you can fill the sponge up with ink so that it is fully saturated. This is faster done using the top fill method then the Durchstich method. The idea is that a fully saturated sponge may give you a slight cushion to prevent ink depletion in the sponge before the ink level monitoring signals a Low reading. It also would help ensure you do not run out of ink if you print until the cartridge is marked Empty. Also, a fully saturated sponge takes the guess work on whether you have refilled enough ink to make sure there is no drying parts of the sponge, which might lead to ink flow issues down the road.

Remember to NOT refill the Canon OEM Yellow cartridge unless you have thoroughly flushed it first or you may suffer the dreaded Yello Gello issue that can destroy a print head. An alternative to flushing is to use a CLI-8 flushed cartridge and swap the CLI-42 chip onto it.

 

[PalaDolphin]

If you click on the inks, it opens a bigger dialog box, not much bigger.

 

[Drjim]

Accidentally answered my own question. Just set my phone browser to the pro100 url. Get this:

 

[Tin Ho]

Remember to NOT refill the Canon OEM Yellow cartridge unless you have thoroughly flushed it first or you may suffer the dreaded Yello Gello issue that can destroy a print head. An alternative to flushing is to use a CLI-8 flushed cartridge and swap the CLI-42 chip onto it.

I have heard about this. I have refilled my Original set (including the yellow) and an empty set I bought from ebay. I have not had any problems so far. I never liked the idea of flushing the cartridges. I simply refill all carts without flushing. How much risk am I taking? I know I am betting against myself.

 

[stratman]

How much risk am I taking?

The Yello Gello is a known issue when using Precision Colors ink. The ink from Octoink was reported to not cause this issue, though websnail, the owner/operator of the site, now has posted a warning. I do not know of other inksets that cause the Yello Gello issue. AFAIK, no one has reported the issue with Hobbicolors ink - your ink, right?

Mikling, the owner/operator of Precision Colors says he has found the issue with other manufacturer's inks, though he hasn't said which ones. His claim is it is a matter of time and the right testing method that no one else seems to do properly in order to give the dreaded result. At this time I see no reason to doubt him, though he won't name names of his findings. It may be wise to treat this with Universal Precautions and either flush the Yellow CLI-42 with Windex first and then copious amounts of water till the sponge is white or near so, or, to get a CLI-8 cartridge, simple water flush it, and transfer the CLI-42 chip onto it.

So, your risk? Do not know. It takes several refills for adequate dilution of residual OEM Canon Yellow ink before the Yello Gello to show up. If the issue happens then use Windex or ammonia first, not water, on the print head to dissolve the Gello.

 

[Tin Ho]

Thanks for the info and suggestion. I do use Hobbicolors. I guess it is not long enough to conclude. I do watch every print coming out of my Pro-100. It is easy to look for the yellow on the print. Will keep watching. It's been 10 months though.