Refill 3rd Party Ink Cartridges? (Pro 100S)

[stratman]

Yes, the Yello Gello was pretty well due to refilling, but mainly because I simply investigated "nothing" until I actually had the problem. It was ink to ink incombatibiity. But I can't claim incompatibility, because if I had studied the sources I would have seen all the correct warnings. I can however attest that the warning are correct.

This is not a "blame game" but a fact finding mission to continually improve the knowledge base of the forum.

Fluid, presumably even plain water, is the cause of a dilution that triggers the Yello Gello. This is @mikling 's working theory. He believes any third party refill ink will eventually cause the issue given the proper circumstances.

I asked you twice what refill ink you were using and you did not answer. I am left to presume you are avoiding this question. Unfortunately, this does not help the forum since empirical information is the only way the forum can advance its knowledge base. This empirical knowledge, sometimes hard earned, is also the way the forum learned how to identify and then resolve the Yello Gello issue. Mikling played a tremendous part in investigating and determining the problem - much thanks!

Your feedback is important even if only as corroboration, reinforcement or warning to others. Then again, your third party ink may be a relative unknown in the Yello Gello saga and will add to the knowledge base.

Honestly, I am glad to hear you have resolved your printing issue and wish you happy printing.

 

[kdsdata]

Back in February I definitively had Yello Gello in my Pro-100. All due to my fault. After reading/watching a large number of advice articles/videos, I decided to chance my skills on a print head flush. All channels, because I had a clean set of carts to fill with new ink. For the head flush I started with a purchased bottle of the special mix for print head flushing, but quickly ran out. On a search, I found a home recipe for mixing up a batch of the print head flush liquid. I used "only" that liquid, and flushed a few times, but allowed say 15 minutes between flushes. I did NOT flush with water, nor did I allow the channels to dry.

I installed the freshly flushed print head, installed carts with refilled inks. I immediatelly ran the maintenance check patterns. I have no data to compare, but for me the 4th check pattern was already perfect, and has been every second day after that. I now print a fair amount on that printer (because it is now inexpensive), but in addition I never miss the maintenance cycle every second day. My Sticky Notes reminds me, and I stop everything to run the maintenance check pattern. I should add one warning here: DON'T flush hard, to prevent damage to the unbelievably minute parts of the print head. Mild pressure is sufficient. Let the mentioned soak cycles do the work.

All in all the hardest part was to find various size tubes to string together to fit between the flush syringe (small) and the print head (large). My most useful place for finding tubes became the local Home Care store, because they supply all sorts of medical equipment. I might advise that I had a case of sticker price shock for some of those tubes, but luckily nedded only short lengths. There is an optimum length to make the total patched length "handy". My experimenting resulted in about 4 inches. Shorter kept popping off due to my movements, longer had a tendency to curl away. But way not experiment with your setup. .

 

[kdsdata]

This is not a "blame game" but a fact finding mission to continually improve the knowledge base of the forum.

Fluid, presumably even plain water, is the cause of a dilution that triggers the Yello Gello. This is @mikling 's working theory. He believes any third party refill ink will eventually cause the issue given the proper circumstances.

I asked you twice what refill ink you were using and you did not answer. I am left to presume you are avoiding this question. Unfortunately, this does not help the forum since empirical information is the only way the forum can advance its knowledge base.

I suppose I was trying to avoid the naming of my materials, because I did not want to offend anyone. I am glad it's not about finger pointing, although I have clearly identified that the finger points at me..

As you asked, in order to help the forum let me then give some details.

For a short number of years I had been using 3rd party G&G carts that were available to me fairly cost effective at my ink supplier at the local flea market. I had started with him when he still refilled the OEM carts. But, as they say, all things must pass, and the fellow moved on. The new supplier however doubled the price, and I started to look for alternatives.

Without ANY research, I simply bought Precicion inks off eBay, drlled the hole and refilled. Enter result Yello Gello, plus other things about the G&G carts that simply does not make those carts candidates for refilling. Perhaps you can now appreciate why I was/am hessitant to name names. It can, with perfect reason, be seen as totally unfair, and for that reason I make no claim of having been sold incompatible products.

At that point I started the research, and settled of buying the full kits, and other supplies, but this time from Octo. I do want to qualify that one major reason for purchacing from Octo was postage.

Unfortunately postage from the US to Canada is fairly high, and border crossing hassles are often. The postage is of course set by the postal service. The border hassles on the other hand are introducdd by Canada Border Services. I am sure they consider the reasons valid, but it helps little when a border inspection delays my package by a week or two, or if not everything is perfect with the documentation, and the package is handed to a broker, which then adds a minumum of $25, even if the package is worth only $10. It has happened to me, although not with deliveries relevant to this issue. However when I make a purchase I consider the risks.

On the other hand postage from tbe UK is considerably lower, the delivery is alway fast (in comparable classes), and there is never (has never been) a border hassle. I suppose that has to do with being in the British Commonwealth.

I submit this lengthy response respectfully, kdsdata

 

[stratman]

Yello Gello is NOT your fault. Drilling a hole is not a cause. The cartridge is not the fault as this would happen with an OEM Canon cartridge, too, given your story. It is Canon's Yellow ink left over in the cartridge/sponge that is the issue when diluted with refill ink or just plain water from a flush. Yes, if you had known about the issue and how to avoid it beforehand it may not affected you, but that is all in the rear view mirror at this point. You shouldn't have had to deal with this in the first place. Thank you, Canon. (sarcasm)

Yello Gello may occur with some but not all refill inks. Or, it might occur with all refill inks. Confusing, right?.

Mikling of Precision Colors, the person responsible for figuring out the issue as he received complaints of the mysterious issue and then thankfully had the presence of mind to investigate, thinks all refill inks probably will cause the issue since it is a dilutional issue. However, Octoink's Websnail is not entirely convinced his inks have caused Yello Gello, but he errs on the side of caution and warns his buyers of the potential and provides a CLI-8 cartridge to be used for refilling instead of the CLI-42 Yellow cartridge. A chip swap must be performed.

It should be noted that Precision Colors and Octoink do not sell identical inks for the CLI-42 cartridges. This may explain the differences in Yello Gello reporting.

It has already been said that OEM Canon cartridges are preferred for refilling for reliability and durability. This is not to say that aftermarkets cannot do the job.

I simply bought Precicion inks off eBay

I do not know Precicion inks. Do you have a link so we can see? Or, do you mean Precision Colors? That is owned by forum member mikling and is based in Canada, not the US.

Octoink is owned by forum member Websnail and is based out of the UK as you stated.

Neither of these two gentleman are shrinking giants unable to learn their product may cause Yello Gello. In fact, they both have been up front about it and their web sites discuss the issue. Of course, it took time to discover the issue and figure out a resolution, during which some refillers had exposed themselves to potential Yello Gello or been hit by it. Cannot prevent a problem or fix it until you know what it is. Unfortunately, that is life. We live, we err, we learn, we move on. No doubt that both men are doing the best expected given the hand Canon has dealt us.

Concerning the US Postal Service... it has always amazed my that for a small amount (currently 49 cents) I can mail a letter 2600 miles and it's delivered in 2-3 days in perfect condition!

 

[kdsdata]

Hi stratman. When I say it's my fault I mean it in the sense that I did no research, so I instantiated the Yellow Gell, hence "my fault". I just want to express that I place no blame neither on Precision Color nor OctoInkjet. Actually the opposite, both have been a great help in resolving my issues.

And yes, I meant Precision Color. Thanks for pointing out that Precision Color is located in Canada. Unfortunately even then there is an issue. It is with Canadian postage prices (of course not the fault of PC or Octo). DHL, FedEx, etc. not included, but then they are likely for fast delivery.

To explain what Canada Post really is, and how it operates, takes a degree in political science. It is, however, the result of privatization back a couple or three decades. When all is said and done, Postal Mail in Canada is a monopoly, because only they, by Government Decree, can handle what is normally called "postal mail" in Canada, and therefore can set what price they want. No competition for letter and/or small parcel mail. That is also why the ridiculous situation exists with letter or parcel mail form the US, delivery times are painful. I have explained it elsewhere in the forum, but that's why it is more economical to have packages sent from the UK. In a simple example, I have just bought a (used) paperback ($1) from the UK , including shipment $3.60. No way I could get it for that cost from the US or from here in Canada, nor for that cost have it delivered in 4 days. Unfortunately it's also on their plans to privatize the Royal Mail (timing unknown). Sorry, this is a bit of topic, but shows partly the reasons for our supply choices.

 

[Inkboy]

Hi there, this is my first post. I have just recently bought a new Canon Pro 100S. Before that I used the Pixma ix6550 (And before that Epson R1700 I think it was)
For the past 4 years on the Pixma I have been using 3rd party ink from RefreshCartridges co uk. They have worked well, but now I am researching Refillable Ink. I have studied Precision Inks and Octoink.
All seems a little complicated until I actually put in to practice and get over the initial learning curve hopefully. Well after contemplating and trying to digest existing information/advice/tutorials, a thought popped into my head which is what prompted me to sign up to this forum and ask the question…
Is it possible to use these 3rd Party Cartridges instead of OEM's? Has anyone done this before? What is the procedure? If allowed I can post the link to the Cartridges, they are on the Refresh Cartridges co uk website.
Thank you.!

For what it's worth, I ordered a set of refillable cartridges from Precisioncolors for my Epson WF 3640. They work perfectly and I've already refilled the colors twice... so much better than the HP printer I was using prior. Highly recommend... also no firmware bombs from HP to worry about. Good luck with your Canon printer!

 

[stratman]

it is more economical to have packages sent from the UK

That is a bit stunning and sad. I can understand why mail delivery may be difficult in Canada given the terrain and weather, but for mail from the UK delivered quicker and less expensive is crazy.

About the blame thing, my desire was for you to not blame yourself. As they say in New York City, fuggedaboutit!