Pixma Pro 9500 Mark II ink empty sensor ?

[Pavel]

Does anybody know if 9500 II has any sensor or internal logic to stop printing when the cart is totally empty like the Pro-1 has ?
If not then probably the only safe approach would be to replace the cart once the red X appears for that cart.

Thanks for your replies in advance.
Pavel

 

[palombian]

IMO there is no sensor based on light or other in the PGI-9 cartridge.
Ink level seems to be monitored only by the chip.

At the red X the printer refuses to continue printing, unless you switch off ink monitoring at your own risk as clearly is indicated.

Since there is no sponge, you can print over the yellow warning until the red before refilling.
It is a safe and rather accurate system (on average an empty carts weighs about 18g, meaning less than 1ml ink is not used).

When you refill it is advised to change all carts (at least the 5 in the left or right channel) together to avoid ink loss in the cleaning cycle after each cartridge change.

 

[Pavel]

OK, I just wanted to use everything from last few OEM carts I still have before I switch to refilling as this step will require new profiling. Once I am on re-filled carts, I will folow this group-change approach to avoid unnecessary cleaning cycles.

What looks strange to me is the fact, that it is very easy to continue printing when the cart is marked with red X. You just get a message which says that you can confirm further printing by shortly pressing blinking Resume button - the same action as you do in other warning situations - no need to disable monitoring by pressing the button for 5+ seconds. Of course Canon also says in this message, that there might be a damage to the printer.

Pavel

 

[palombian]

Maybe your refilling set contains a small digital scale.
You will see a "red X" cart is nearly empty.
If you are concerned about mixing OEM ink with 3th party, don't worry, it is harmless and the colour (at least Precision Colors) is almost the same.
I even would discourage flushing the carts since you can't remove all flushing fluid from the bag in the cart and your colours will be much more off because of the dilution than with the small quantity of OEM.
You always can suck the remainder out with a modified clip.

FYI I refill to 31.50 g, the average weight of OEM carts, -14 g is 17,50 g for an empty one.