Problems with Magenta... and Yellow... (and a little with Cyan) and now Black

[Lestrad]

-- Later -- I found an empty Photo Black cartridge and filled it with Octoinkjet ink, switched the chip over and reset it. This is a cartridge that had been cleaned thoroughly until all the sponges were white and then dried using the wick method.

I'm very sad to report that the BK bar in the nozzle check is still looking the same as in the earlier tests, and even a little worse:

 

[stratman]

free floating clogg

What is a shoe doing in his print head?

Kidding aside, could you explain what you mean by a free floating clog?

 

[The Hat]

@Lestead, You really do have the perfect setup and there should be no reason why it shouldn’t work for you, the German refill method can work without a hitch for ages but then it can stop working all of a sudden, it does work much better however with the CLI-8 carts.

The top fill method has it’s share of refill problems too but it tend to develop problems more slowly, the freedom method is more exact and needs a bit more careful taught to keep that working.

I wouldn’t entirely blame the inks for your problems so much so long as you’re not mixing them together, I use the top fill method because it’s just simpler for me and when a problem crops up it’s only a matter of a good purge and conditioning and I’m back printing in no time..

 

[stratman]

-- Later -- I found an empty Photo Black cartridge and filled it with Octoinkjet ink, switched the chip over and reset it. This is a cartridge that had been cleaned thoroughly until all the sponges were white and then dried using the wick method.

Was thge cartridge just flushed before refilling or had it been flushed long enough ago that the sponges had completely dried out before refilling?

A completely dried out sponge may need time to redistribute the ink throughout the sponge and if used too soon may show signs of ink starvation, just as the image you posted.

My recommendation is to consider a new OEM Canon cartridge in order to remove lingering questions on the performance of used cartridges.

 

[martin0reg]

.. The black and cyan now in the cartridges are the Eversmeyer ink, and the yellow and magenta are Octoinkjet. ...

Avoid mixing different brands in one set as this may increase problems with ink flow...
And for refilling make sure that the lower half of the sponge will be saturated with ink while the upper half should not be completely saturated. The upper is for air flow, the lower is for ink flow..

What is a shoe doing in his print head?

Kidding aside, could you explain what you mean by a free floating clog?

I mean a sort of thrombosis ... just an idea to explain a blockage which comes and goes..

 

[The Hat]

I'm very sad to report that the BK bar in the nozzle check is still looking the same as in the earlier tests, and even a little worse:

You have a cartridge refilling problem and that’s all there is to it, you are repeating all the usual steps and making the same mistake each time you refill, resulting in each of these black cartridges performing in exactly the same way, end result, Ink starvation.

Tip: When you have refilled the reservoir and as you withdraw the needle keep on injecting ink slow till the needle is almost out of the cartridge.

P.S. if nothing is working and your still having the same problems then source another set of cartridges and change your refill method..

 

[stratman]

I mean a sort of thrombosis ... just an idea to explain a blockage which comes and goes..

I hate printer gremlins!

 

[Lestrad]

Thanks to all. I did notice that that baby sucked up a lot of ink... I'll wait a while and try another time. Hat, I'm using the same approach I've always used. But I'm willing to try top fill again. Is there a good link to how to avoid spills with top filling? One thing I like about Durchstich is that I seldom get leaks through the outlet port.

Meanwhile I hope to have fresh ink and the fittings I need to try the Freedom method shortly. So eventually I will have tried just about everything. Stay tuned.

 

[The Hat]

@Lestead, this should give you a bit of light reading, enjoy..

http://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/cli-526-topfill.7696/

http://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/top-filling-method-for-canon-cartridges.5534/

 

[websnail]

One thing that can happen with the German method is seperation between or shifting of the sponges within the cartridge in a way that reduces ink flow through and/or between the sponge and the outlet.

I'd definitely be thinking about an OEM cartridge as a start point to stop the printhead being burned out at this point, then start over on the refilling maybe?

Appreciate I'm starting the whole Top Fill vs' German discusson again but the issue above is one that hasn't been touched on but seems like a possible culprit..