Issues with refilling my PIXMA MX492 cartridges (PG-245)

[Jeremie]

So do I. I have had similar problems with the black combi cartridges, both Canon and HP. A pigment black refill ink that works perfectly in a single ink tank cartridges like PGI-5, PGI-x2, PGI-x25 and PGI-x50 seems not to work well in the combined sponge/printhead black cartridges. Refill inks for the dye ink cartridges CLI-8, CLI-x21 and CLI-x26 work well in the tri-colour combi cartridges.

A dye BK refill ink can be used in the black combi cartridges. It is not perfect, but has fewer flow problems.

Here is an example of the same KMP-U pigment black used in a combined sponge/printhead cartridge and a single ink tank cartridge:

View attachment 5569

Please report your results with the other inks. Other people refilling the combined cartridges might have the same problems.

I just realized the ink I got isn't listed for the cartridge, wow what a total fail. That might be it. I don't know why I bought the wrong one? I bought this one yesterday and I'll let know if it fixes my issue.

Do you know if I can clean on the ink sponge under water or I can't really clean it at all. I don't want to mix the 2 inks and try to avoid buying a new cartridge for now.

 

[PeterBJ]

You can flush the sponge under running water till no more ink colours the water. The sponge might or might not become white depending on the ink used. Soaking the sponge in a window cleaner with ammonia or in "pharmacists cleaning solution" might remove more ink. Using rubber gloves you can squeeze the sponge. After no more ink comes off the sponge flush it with water to remove the cleaning solution. remove as much water as possible by squeezing the sponge in a sheet of kitchen paper/paper towel. You might improve the ink holding capacity of the by soaking it in "pharmacists cleaning solution" and removing as much as possible by squeezing the sponge in a paper towel.

Here is how I clean these cartridges. After having removed the top and sponge of the cartridge I clean it much like I would clean a Canon print head for separate ink tanks, like this, the cartridge is partly filled with cleaning fluid.:

After no more ink stains the paper handkerchief the cartridge is emptied and flushed with water, I then fill in enough ink to cover the ink intake and press the print head against a new paper handkerchief until it looks like all nozzles are primed in ink. Then I fill in as much ink as half the height of the sponge and gently push the sponge down into the cartridge. I verify that the cartridge can still deliver ink by pressing it against a paper handkerchief and reapply the lid. I think it is important the lid is sealed properly, so the only air entrance is through the vent maze under the top label.

I have just cleaned a PG-510 cartridge and refilled it with Canon OEM ink for the G-series of CISS printers. The print heads in the G series printers are modified combi cartridges, so I would think this ink would be ideal for this purpose, but here is a crop of the pigment ink test stripe, it looks even worse than it did before the cleaning. BTW by cropping the image to show only the essential you can upload high resolution images without uploading huge files:

This nozzle check is similar to the one you uploaded. As most nozzles fire, but not properly I think they are not clogged. Instead they could be damaged by wear or by cleaning attempts. Another possibility is that the ink is unsuitable for this cartridge, maybe too high viscosity or surface tension?

Normally ink starvation caused by an ink cartridge or sponge looks more like this: notice the wedges pointing both to the left and right as the printer uses bi-directional printing:

Please report your results, maybe we can solve this problem.

 

[Jeremie]

You can flush the sponge under running water till no more ink colours the water. The sponge might or might not become white depending on the ink used. Soaking the sponge in a window cleaner with ammonia or in "pharmacists cleaning solution" might remove more ink. Using rubber gloves you can squeeze the sponge. After no more ink comes off the sponge flush it with water to remove the cleaning solution. remove as much water as possible by squeezing the sponge in a sheet of kitchen paper/paper towel. You might improve the ink holding capacity of the by soaking it in "pharmacists cleaning solution" and removing as much as possible by squeezing the sponge in a paper towel.

Here is how I clean these cartridges. After having removed the top and sponge of the cartridge I clean it much like I would clean a Canon print head for separate ink tanks, like this, the cartridge is partly filled with cleaning fluid.:

After no more ink stains the paper handkerchief the cartridge is emptied and flushed with water, I then fill in enough ink to cover the ink intake and press the print head against a new paper handkerchief until it looks like all nozzles are primed in ink. Then I fill in as much ink as half the height of the sponge and gently push the sponge down into the cartridge. I verify that the cartridge can still deliver ink by pressing it against a paper handkerchief and reapply the lid. I think it is important the lid is sealed properly, so the only air entrance is through the vent maze under the top label.

I have just cleaned a PG-510 cartridge and refilled it with Canon OEM ink for the G-series of CISS printers. The print heads in the G series printers are modified combi cartridges, so I would think this ink would be ideal for this purpose, but here is a crop of the pigment ink test stripe, it looks even worse than it did before the cleaning. BTW by cropping the image to show only the essential you can upload high resolution images without uploading huge files:


This nozzle check is similar to the one you uploaded. As most nozzles fire, but not properly I think they are not clogged. Instead they could be damaged by wear or by cleaning attempts. Another possibility is that the ink is unsuitable for this cartridge, maybe too high viscosity or surface tension?

Normally ink starvation caused by an ink cartridge or sponge looks more like this: notice the wedges pointing both to the left and right as the printer uses bi-directional printing:

Please report your results, maybe we can solve this problem.

Thanks for the detailed information and technique.

As for the cartridge, I think it the ink because I never refilled it before and the cartridge is new, did not sit long in the printer either. Used it until it said it was low ink and a week or 2 after refilled it.

It must be the ink.

My ink got shipped so should get it in a week or 2. I'll report the results.

 

[The Hat]

It’s said that Google is your friend, but not always for good quality inks...
Next time you order ink try here:- http://www.precisioncolors.com/C4PGCL.html

 

[PeterBJ]

For European refillers of Canon combined cartridges, the Image Specialists refill inks suggested by Precisioncolors are also available from Octoinkjet. They are part of the refill ink set for PGI-525/CLI-526 cartridges.

After less than half an hour the black cartridge that I had refilled yesterday with the Canon OEM ink for "G-series" printers was almost totally clogged. I tried to unclog the nozzles, but neither pharmacist's cleaning solution or a window cleaner with ammonia had any effect. As I could either throw away the cartridge or try more drastic cleaning I decided to use pharmacists cleaning fluid very hot. I heated the bottle in a microwave oven till it was almost boiling. This removed some ink but the nozzles were still clogged. I then put the plastic tray with the cartridge into a frying pan with a few centimetres or one inch of water and kept it almost boiling for an hour. I finally managed to unclog the cartridge. This hot cleaning is very risky and shouldn't be used on Canon print heads for single ink cartridges, unless you are willing to risk the loss of the printer. You risk damaging the print head and a damaged print head can damage the printer's logic board making the printer a total loss.

I have a suspicion that the Canon OEM refill ink reacted with a cleaning fluid or even water causing a total clogging of the black nozzles in the refilled cartridge. Canon might have used some chemical tricks to prevent the use of their ink in other much less expensive printers. Some yellow Canon OEM inks behave in just this way.

After the cartridge had cooled down I filled it with demineralized water and pulled some of it through the nozzles by pushing the nozzles against a paper handkerchief. I then filled a mixture of 3 ml pharmacist's conditioning fluid and 6 ml of Image Specialists dye black WJ1109. The reason I used a diluted dye ink is that I wanted to see if this would also cause problems with large black areas. After having got the ink through the nozzles with a paper handkerchief I gently pushed the cleaned and dried sponge down into the cartridge to absorb the ink. I then sealed the cartridge using aluminium tape and installed the cartridge in the printer.

The diluted dye ink works well in the cartridge. It is not deep black but a very dark grey, but I think this is acceptable. The regular nozzle check for pigment black is much better now:

and so is the black rectangle test:

This is rather good, a faint striping is caused by a few missing or misdirected nozzles, seen in the extended nozzle check for black from service mode:

I have a bottle of the Image Specialists 1128 pigment ink and more of these cartridges and printers using them, so I will try this ink undiluted and and if necessary diluted. This post by @mikling suggests this ink might be better than other pigment refill inks for refilling certain cartridges, due to a smaller pigment particle size. I might have a test result tomorrow. but maybe the best refill ink for the black combined print head/sponge cartridges is the 1109 dye ink undiluted? Tests might show.

 

[stratman]

I tried to unclog the nozzles, but neither pharmacist's cleaning solution or a window cleaner with ammonia had any effect. As I could either throw away the cartridge or try more drastic cleaning I decided to use pharmacists cleaning fluid very hot.

Congratulations on clearing the clogging! You boldly go where no one has gone before.

Did you try liquid dish washing soap such as Fairy or Dawn? I think it superior to Pharmacist's solution for clearing Canon dye-based ink print head clogs in my limited experience. Maybe it is due to enzymes in the soap. No doubt pan frying takes less time till final result.

 

[PeterBJ]

I think pharmacist's cleaning solution and a window cleaner with ammonia works better, but I don't know for sure. I have tried the Fairy dish washing liquid without luck, but I don't remember if the other cleaning fluids did any better. It is difficult to compare print head cleaning fluids as there is no such thing as a standardized clog.

 

[PeterBJ]

I have now tested the Image Specialists dye black 1109 in pure undiluted form in another PG-510 cartridge in another printer. It works well, and gives a better black than the diluted ink. Here is a crop from the BK nozzle check:

And here is the black stripe. Notice it is very dark and without banding:

If no suitable pigment black refill ink can be found for the black combined cartridges, then I can recommend the 1109 dye ink. The benefits of a special pigment black ink for plain paper documents is that text is more waterproof and highlighter proof and a bit sharper. But text is also clear and sharp with the 1109 ink:

I guess that I can get a set of cartridges working with the 1128 pigment ink and the dye inks recommended for the tricolour cartridges tomorrow so I can post the results of that test.

 

[PeterBJ]

Here is a test of the Image Specialists 1128 pigment black refill ink in the PG-510 cartridge.

Here is a crop of the black nozzle check, notice notice one light stripe due to one misdirected/damaged nozzle:

The misdirected nozzle:

Here is the black rectangle test. No noticeable banding:

Here is some text from the Windows test page, compare the one made with dye black:

I also tested the Image Specialists Cyan 2032, Magenta 6121 and Yellow 797 dye inks for the tri-colour cartridge CL-511. The test image is printed using a Canon MP280, the photo paper is Canon glossy paper GP501, setting quality = normal, and colour/intensity = automatic, meaning no corrections are applied to the test image. Considering the printer uses only three colours for photo printing I think the result is very good.:

There are many models of Canon combined sponge/print head cartridges, but they are all very similar. I am sure the ink set from Precision Colors will perform equally well in your PG-245/CL-246 cartridges, so I recommend these inks for the Canon two cartridge printers. The inks are also available from Octoinkjet UK.

 

[stratman]

The inks are also available from Octoinkjet UK.

Are they the same inks? Mikling of Precision Colors has in the past used different suppliers and has modified with formulations.

Where did you get your Image Specialists ink?