- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
- Messages
- 8,712
- Reaction score
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- 393
- Location
- USA
- Printer Model
- Canon MB5120, Pencil
Concerning purging cartridges: The link I gave you had forum member ghwellsjr's ingenious method of wicking moisture from a cartridge quickly. Forum member The Hat repeated that link. It is not necessary for the cartridge to be bone dry before you refill it. It is up to you on how moist the foam it when you refill, but a little water isn't going to hurt unless you are very exacting in the quality of the output caused by dilute ink.
You do not need to purge cartridges every time you refill. I would only purge CLI Dye-based cartridges if the were having a printing problem, if they were empty for months at a time and I was concerned about biologic growth, or if I received them from an unknown source or it was unknown how long they were empty or how stored. For the PGI Pigment Black cartridge, you can wait to purge when there is a problem or purge on a schedule after X number of refills.
Considering all these issues you've had, if any of the CLI Dye-based cartridges have had a problem printing, then I would flush them as well as the problematic PGI Pigment Black cartridges. I haven't flushed a cartridge for three years and may never flush again unless there is a problem. The key is frequent, regular printing using all the ink cartridges. Printing a nozzle check once a week may satisfy this goal. At least a nozzle check will let you see problems early on before lack of ink flowing through nozzles causes nozzle burn-out and permanent damage to the print head.
There is no reason to flush the new 521 cartridge before its first refill.
If your tap water is hard then do a final rinse with distilled water.
The 525/526 cartridges are a hassle to refill because they are completely opaque. This is why it is recommended to swap chips from the 525/526 cartridges onto 520/521 cartridges that have the transparent window that allows you to see ink fill levels. You've obviously already done some chip swapping, but for completeness, instructions for chip swapping provided by The Hat found here .
Purging an all opaque 525/526 cartridge would necessitate flushing until water exiting the cartridge was clear since you cannot see the sponge.
I still don't understand what you mean by these deposits. This is not a come or even infrequent complaint. Post some images of this/these deposits so we can understand better. I wonder if you have been mistaking these deposits as the problem when it has been a cartridge issue all along. Washing the print head allows time for the cartridge to resolve its ink starvation issue, at least temporarily.
It is up to you if you want to change from Rihac inks. If you do, I recommend Image Specialists inks from http://www.octoink.co.uk/. You can also purchase empty 520/521 cartridges there.
Post a nozzle check.
You do not need to purge cartridges every time you refill. I would only purge CLI Dye-based cartridges if the were having a printing problem, if they were empty for months at a time and I was concerned about biologic growth, or if I received them from an unknown source or it was unknown how long they were empty or how stored. For the PGI Pigment Black cartridge, you can wait to purge when there is a problem or purge on a schedule after X number of refills.
Considering all these issues you've had, if any of the CLI Dye-based cartridges have had a problem printing, then I would flush them as well as the problematic PGI Pigment Black cartridges. I haven't flushed a cartridge for three years and may never flush again unless there is a problem. The key is frequent, regular printing using all the ink cartridges. Printing a nozzle check once a week may satisfy this goal. At least a nozzle check will let you see problems early on before lack of ink flowing through nozzles causes nozzle burn-out and permanent damage to the print head.
There is no reason to flush the new 521 cartridge before its first refill.
If your tap water is hard then do a final rinse with distilled water.
The 525/526 cartridges are a hassle to refill because they are completely opaque. This is why it is recommended to swap chips from the 525/526 cartridges onto 520/521 cartridges that have the transparent window that allows you to see ink fill levels. You've obviously already done some chip swapping, but for completeness, instructions for chip swapping provided by The Hat found here .
Purging an all opaque 525/526 cartridge would necessitate flushing until water exiting the cartridge was clear since you cannot see the sponge.
I still don't understand what you mean by these deposits. This is not a come or even infrequent complaint. Post some images of this/these deposits so we can understand better. I wonder if you have been mistaking these deposits as the problem when it has been a cartridge issue all along. Washing the print head allows time for the cartridge to resolve its ink starvation issue, at least temporarily.
It is up to you if you want to change from Rihac inks. If you do, I recommend Image Specialists inks from http://www.octoink.co.uk/. You can also purchase empty 520/521 cartridges there.
Post a nozzle check.
