It is probably appropriate to include this thread as it is related to this topic.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2696
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2696
Sealing the refill hole BCI-6 BCI-3
- Thread starter Nifty
- Start date
This involves removing the original ball plug, which I have tried and disliked it. It's a lot easier to drill a small hole right next to the original hole with the ball plug in it. The easiest method is to drill a very small hole right behind the black rectangular LED frame, which is behind the plastic tap of a CLI8 or PGI5 ink cartridge. The hole I drill is only slightly larger than the needle of my syringe. Before I start I plug in the power cord of a very small hot glue gun. The glue gun is the smallest I could find at Wal-Mart for only about $3 or $4 a piece. It is for craft projects for kids in fact. I use only a tiny bit of hot glue to seal the small hole I drilled. No plugs and no hassles. It works so well that it never leaked. Every household should already have a hot glue gun. I use it all the time for resealing HP, Canon and Epson ink cartridges. It's the best universal tool when you refill ink cartridges for your printer.
emerald
Getting Fingers Dirty
Canon BCI-3, BCI-6, BCI-3eBK, CLI-8 and PGBK ink cartridges - flushing, refilling and sealing the refill hole.
This post is my attempt to assemble some of the best ideas and considerations I've found on this forum PLUS some of my own. I update it often. I've tried ALL of the methods and materials described on this post. My thanks to the forum contributors.
I've been refilling Canon cartridges since October, 2008. Three family members and two neighbors now avail themselves of my services so I have refilled enough cartridges to go through three refill kits from Hobbicolors and a few more from Precision Colors. Both of these eBay suppliers have many kit assortments of high quality inks and will readily accommodate special requests. They are pleasant to do business with.
The Durchstich or German refill method for Canon OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) ink cartridges is simple, CLEAN and quick. See this YouTube video posted by InkJet Master ghwellsjr: German fill of virgin BCI 6
Early versions of this method entail making a hole near the bottom-rear of the sponge side of the ink cartridge, then inserting a 2" syringe needle along the bottom of the cartridge passing the needle between the bottom sponge and the outlet filter to reach the passage into the reservoir chamber. Because of the design dynamics, ink will not leak from this hole if left open. However, sealing the hole after refilling keeps the design purpose of the factory vent maze intact. A new product called "Gorilla Tape" serves the purpose well. Don't fold the edges of the Gorilla Tape around the sides of the cartridge because the tape thickness interferes with inserting the ink cartridge into the print head. Snip the edges off with scissors. It can be re-used several times.
The German method doesn't lend itself to flushing the cartridge easily AND the ink reservoir should be EMPTY before refilling. For these reasons, it's not my first choice of refill methods. However, for those who refill NEWLY-EMPTY cartridges at least every 30-60 days, flushing is NOT needed. Thus the German method is probably best for them. Making a hole higher up on the cartridge avoids disturbing the bond between the lower sponge and the output filter. A sharp 2" #22 gauge (or smaller) needle is best for the initial penetration of the sponge. The needle must be guided at an angle towards the passage between the sponge and reservoir. See posts #5 and #8 by Aussieinker. See the instructions and graphics at the end of this post.
See this post by InkJet Master Grandad35. He explains the significance of maintaining a continuous surface tension bond between the bottom sponge and the output filter - AND between the output filter at the cartridge outlet nozzle and the print head. He taps the cartridge on a solid surface before installing it to ensure the bottom sponge and outlet filter are in place.
On this same subject, see this post by InkJet Master on30trainman. To avoid dislodging the output filter of the BCI-3eBK pigment type cartridge he advises NOT TO BACK-FLUSH using a device fed by faucet pressure.
See this excellent post by paulcroft which illustrates the anatomy of a Canon BCI-6 ink cartridge. Read posts #4 and #6 on the same thread by InkJet Master mikling regarding the design and purpose of the sponge-side vent maze.
I started out refilling by drilling a 1/8" hole in the dimple near the top front edge of the BCI-6 cartridge. I used a stainless steel self-tapping bugle-head screw to seal the hole. If it leaked I used a larger screw. A neighbor gave me twenty Canon cartridges that had been empty for months. Before refilling, I flushed out the old ink residue. I cut away the plastic label above the factory fill hole with a razor blade and dug out the plastic ball plug with a diaper pin.
My first attempt at flushing was to place the cartridge under a utility sink faucet and to direct a flow of warm water at the fill hole. This method is simple and effective but wastes time and water. A simpler and quicker method is to use a 16 oz. (1 pint) squeeze bottle used for dispensing ketchup and mustard. It has a cap with a tapered tip which provides a low pressure fit with the refill hole. Flushing and blowing dry the cartridge in the normal DIRECTION THAT THE INK FLOWS with LOW PRESSURE ensures that the bottom sponge and outlet filter are not dislodged and avoids messes due to faucet pressure and air pressure accidents.
The wide cartridges contain black PIGMENT type ink which STAINS the sponge. Flush until the water runs clear. Most Canon OEM DYE type cartridge sponges are flushed CLEAN after using one fill of warm tap water which is relatively free of high mineral content in this area. Others may benefit by using distilled water for a final flush. For the top-fill method, to remove the water from the ink reservoir and sponge, I simply place my mouth over the open fill hole and blow while holding the cartridge over the sink. Water escapes from the ink outlet and the sponge side vent hole. For the German method, extract water from the reservoir with a needle and syringe, then blow into the vent to expel excess water held by the sponge. At first I dried the cartridge sponges further by leaving them in the sun for a day or two but learned over time that a slightly damp sponge seems to absorb ink better. If a sponge dries out it will absorb more ink but it sometimes takes a few minutes for refill ink to permeate the bottom sponge.
See this recent post on the InkJet Refill Forum by InkJet Master ghwellsjr. It illustrates a very effective method (capillary action) for drying the ink cartridge sponge.
In some cases when flushed or empty "virgin" cartridges have become bone dry, the sponge (whole or part) has become ink repellent - a condition that contributes to ink starvation, evidenced by stripes or banding in the printed text or image. I found this to be true mostly with a few of the black pigment BCI-3eBK and PGBK cartridges and to a lesser degree with the dye type BCI-3, BCI-6 and CLI-8 cartridges. Purging and drying the sponge is occasionally necessary to keep the cartridge flowing properly. In those cases where the the sponge has become ink-repellant, a cartridge conditioner solution will restore sponge absorbency. If I suspect poor absorbency with a black pigment type cartridge or am confronted with this anomaly after a refill, I extract the ink with a syringe and save it. Then I flush with water, blow and dry the cartridge and then inject a cartridge conditioner solution developed by InkJet Master pharmacist. I let it permeate the cartridge sponge for a few hours and then blow and dry the cartridge before refilling.
Sealing a fill hole with a hot glue gun, hot wax or Elmer's glue leaves a residue which must be scraped off or drilled out for subsequent refills or flushings. Self-tapping bugle-head metal screws are satisfactory as an alternative method to seal the factory fill hole. Non-stainless steel screws are subject to corrosion and all screws sometimes leak or strip out the plastic hole after repeated use. Plastic (nylon) screws are OK but the correct size is difficult to find locally and cost more than metal screws. The shortest I found were 3/8" in length - 1/4" would be better. Also, a thread must be tapped in the cartridge. In most cases 'O' rings used with either flat-head metal or plastic screws are simply not needed. 'O' rings cause the screw heads to protrude to the extent that they may interfere with the print head carriage path on some Canon models capable of printing labels on CDs. I've tried all the methods listed above. I prefer a pan-head SILICONE RUBBER PLUG with straight sides.
Refer to this post by InkJet Master Lin for details of various silicone inkjet refill plugs. I prefer plug "C", a 5/32" pan-head silicone rubber plug included with the ink refill kit available from Precision Colors or in lots of 100 from Zhuhai Winrun Technology. (Enter keyword "plug" in the search box)
Preparing the factory fill hole is a tedious procedure but it presents the most SECURE AND DURABLE point to repeatedly access the ink reservoir. The sponge side vent maze and factory fill hole is covered with an adhesive plastic label which is part of the overall scheme to seal the fill hole. Removing that part of the label from the factory fill hole to the front of the cartridge is discouraged because the adhesive beneath the label is hard to remove. Instead, use an X-acto knife or a sharp pen knife to cut out a circle around the inside edge of the factory fill hole. Exposed is a hard plastic ball wedged in a tapered hole. To remove the ball, heat the tip of a sharp awl in the flame of a candle or cigarette lighter. Carefully insert the hot tip into the center of the plastic ball to melt a "starter" hole about one half the depth of the ball. Remove the hot tip. Let the ball cool and then extract it using a hook type awl or a tapered-thread eye screw. After extracting the ball, run a 5/32" drill bit through the factory fill hole to ensure a consistent fit for the Precision Colors 5/32" pan-head silicone rubber plug. Push the rubber plug into the tapered factory fill hole until the pan-head is flush with the surface of the cartridge. Sealing occurs at the BOTTOM edge of the refill hole. It's a firm, secure fit but is easily removed and re-inserted using only your fingers.
Some feel preparing the factory fill hole is too much trouble and merely drill a new hole in the dimple near the front of the cartridge. This is the procedure recommended by Hobbicolors. The Hobbicolors kit furnishes a set of 1/8" pan-head silicone rubber plugs. The 1/8" plug fits too loose in the factory fill hole but if a new 1/8" hole is drilled the plug fits slightly loose, seals OK and looks neat. A 7/64" hole is too tight. A new 5/32" hole can be drilled for the Precision Colors silicone rubber plug. Both ink suppliers, Hobbicolors and Precision Colors, sell extra silicone rubber plugs apart from their refill kits. Once a hole is prepared for the rubber plug, repeated refilling or flushing is easy and trouble-free.
For top-fillers using either a syringe or a squeeze bottle, InkJet Master mikling passes along a helpful tip to avoid over-saturating the sponge and to reduce or eliminate drips after removing the cartridge from the filling clip. For the German refill method, it's best to wait until the ink reservoir is EMPTY before refilling. Here's why: If the sponge is still saturated prior to refilling, the air displaced from the reservoir side while refilling may expel ink remaining in the saturated sponge out of the cartridge through the path of least resistance creating a mess. Position the cartridge NOZZLE UP, confirm the needle end is INSIDE the reservoir and then slowly inject ink until the reservoir is full. For a dry sponge, retract the needle slowly while injecting ink along the length of the bottom sponge. See these illustrations by InkJet Master pharmacist.
For either refill method, before inserting the cartridge into a printer, position yourself over a sink and gently blow into the vent to EXPEL A DROP or two of ink. This ensures the vent is open and that ink is present at the outlet. It also lessens the chance of further drips and washes away impurities that may be on the outlet nozzle. An alternative to expelling ink by blowing into the vent is to blot or wick ink from the outlet nozzle using a folded paper towel.
The above information and procedures may or may not apply to third-party ink cartridges. I'm among many on this forum who think Canon OEM ink cartridges are best for refilling. My advice to those who have empty Canon OEM cartridges on hand is to prepare the factory fill hole and flush them ahead of time as described above. Store them for drying with the fill hole open. When the need is eminent, refill them with FRESH ink. Storing refilled cartridges months ahead of time invites unforeseen trouble relating to leakage, dry outlet nozzles, evaporation losses and stale ink. To seal the outlet nozzle for temporary storage, shipment or refilling, the orange clips available from Precision Colors ($1.00 ea.) are the best. A cheap and effective alternative is a food sealing wrap, a Glad product called "Press'n Seal." It's sticky on one side and seals better than electrician's vinyl tape.
For cartridges with an electronic chip such as the Canon CLI-8 and PGBK, it's best to re-set the chip while the cartridge is EMPTY to avoid the possible mess of ink dripping all over the re-setter from the outlet nozzle of a newly-filled cartridge. Chip re-setters are available from many companies who serve ink re-fillers including eBay ink suppliers.
See this earlier post on Ink Jet Refill Forum to sample comments, pro and con, about the evolving methods, materials, tools and supplies discussed above.
My bare-bones refilling tools and requirements are:
A utility sink with hot water and a well-lit adjacent work surface. Newspapers. A roll of paper kitchen towels.
A clamp to hold the cartridge and ink bottle while preparing the fill hole and filling. Mine is a Pittsburgh 2" aluminum spring clamp, Item 94922 purchased at Harbor Freight Tools, made in China.
An X-acto knife or equivalent, a cigarette lighter, a candle, a straight awl, a hook-type awl and a tapered-thread eye screw for preparing a Canon ink cartridge factory fill hole. Ace Hardware.
Fiskers hand drill. Ace Hardware, $13.00. 1/8" and a 5/32" drill bits - use electrical twist-on connectors for handles.
Two cartridge clips to keep the cartridge from leaking while filling - one for dye cartridges and one for the wider pigment cartridges. They simply snap around the cartridge. The best are the orange clips available from Precision Colors ($1.00 ea.) Some third party refillers use a different type of orange clip, G&G, for example. Canon OEM caps can be used with rubber band retainers. See this site for storage/re-filling clips that will remain upright on a flat base.
A 16 oz. (1 pint) squeeze bottle with a cap that has a tapered tip to use for flushing ink cartridges. Sold as condiment (ketchup) dispensers. Available at restaurant supply stores and some retail stores.
A 12 ML syringe with a 1 1/2" needle supplied with the refill kit. Some might prefer squeeze bottles for each ink color: Howard Electronics OctoInkjet (UK) Test new squeeze bottles with water and moderate pressure before filling them with ink to ensure the caps and needles don't leak.
A supply of 1/8" or 5/32" pan-head silicone rubber plugs which come with the refill kits.
Bulk ink - I prefer the 4 oz. bottles. The 12 ML syringe cylinder exactly fits the 11/16" bottle neck allowing ink to be drawn from the bottom of the bottle.
Click on the thumbnail images below to enlarge for viewing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Requirements to flush, dry and refill Canon OEM ink cartridges using the Durchstich or German method:
A sink with hot water and a well-lit adjacent work surface - newspapers, roll of paper kitchen towels, rubber bands, awl or ice pick, pen knife, 12ML syringe, #22, 2" sharp needle, bulk ink and a strip of Gorilla tape or "Press'n Seal" food wrap. A 60 ML syringe makes flushing easier.
Use the awl to make a hole larger than needle-size at the rear of the cartridge centered slightly below the junction of the two sponges and angled slightly downward. Use the pen knife to trim off the raised plastic ridge around the circumference of the newly-made hole. Insert the 2" SHARP needle and carefully guide it at an angle through the CENTER OF THE SPONGE towards the hole located at the bottom of the wall that separates the sponge side from the ink reservoir. If the needle encounters an obstruction, simply retract it about a half inch, twist within a half-turn left or right and redirect it to a different direction until the needle passes freely through the hole. Confirm visually that the end of the needle is INSIDE the ink reservoir. Once a path through the sponge is made, subsequent insertions (with a sharp or blunt needle) are easy. For more details, click on the thumbnail images below.
This post is my attempt to assemble some of the best ideas and considerations I've found on this forum PLUS some of my own. I update it often. I've tried ALL of the methods and materials described on this post. My thanks to the forum contributors.
I've been refilling Canon cartridges since October, 2008. Three family members and two neighbors now avail themselves of my services so I have refilled enough cartridges to go through three refill kits from Hobbicolors and a few more from Precision Colors. Both of these eBay suppliers have many kit assortments of high quality inks and will readily accommodate special requests. They are pleasant to do business with.
The Durchstich or German refill method for Canon OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) ink cartridges is simple, CLEAN and quick. See this YouTube video posted by InkJet Master ghwellsjr: German fill of virgin BCI 6
Early versions of this method entail making a hole near the bottom-rear of the sponge side of the ink cartridge, then inserting a 2" syringe needle along the bottom of the cartridge passing the needle between the bottom sponge and the outlet filter to reach the passage into the reservoir chamber. Because of the design dynamics, ink will not leak from this hole if left open. However, sealing the hole after refilling keeps the design purpose of the factory vent maze intact. A new product called "Gorilla Tape" serves the purpose well. Don't fold the edges of the Gorilla Tape around the sides of the cartridge because the tape thickness interferes with inserting the ink cartridge into the print head. Snip the edges off with scissors. It can be re-used several times.
The German method doesn't lend itself to flushing the cartridge easily AND the ink reservoir should be EMPTY before refilling. For these reasons, it's not my first choice of refill methods. However, for those who refill NEWLY-EMPTY cartridges at least every 30-60 days, flushing is NOT needed. Thus the German method is probably best for them. Making a hole higher up on the cartridge avoids disturbing the bond between the lower sponge and the output filter. A sharp 2" #22 gauge (or smaller) needle is best for the initial penetration of the sponge. The needle must be guided at an angle towards the passage between the sponge and reservoir. See posts #5 and #8 by Aussieinker. See the instructions and graphics at the end of this post.
See this post by InkJet Master Grandad35. He explains the significance of maintaining a continuous surface tension bond between the bottom sponge and the output filter - AND between the output filter at the cartridge outlet nozzle and the print head. He taps the cartridge on a solid surface before installing it to ensure the bottom sponge and outlet filter are in place.
On this same subject, see this post by InkJet Master on30trainman. To avoid dislodging the output filter of the BCI-3eBK pigment type cartridge he advises NOT TO BACK-FLUSH using a device fed by faucet pressure.
See this excellent post by paulcroft which illustrates the anatomy of a Canon BCI-6 ink cartridge. Read posts #4 and #6 on the same thread by InkJet Master mikling regarding the design and purpose of the sponge-side vent maze.
I started out refilling by drilling a 1/8" hole in the dimple near the top front edge of the BCI-6 cartridge. I used a stainless steel self-tapping bugle-head screw to seal the hole. If it leaked I used a larger screw. A neighbor gave me twenty Canon cartridges that had been empty for months. Before refilling, I flushed out the old ink residue. I cut away the plastic label above the factory fill hole with a razor blade and dug out the plastic ball plug with a diaper pin.
My first attempt at flushing was to place the cartridge under a utility sink faucet and to direct a flow of warm water at the fill hole. This method is simple and effective but wastes time and water. A simpler and quicker method is to use a 16 oz. (1 pint) squeeze bottle used for dispensing ketchup and mustard. It has a cap with a tapered tip which provides a low pressure fit with the refill hole. Flushing and blowing dry the cartridge in the normal DIRECTION THAT THE INK FLOWS with LOW PRESSURE ensures that the bottom sponge and outlet filter are not dislodged and avoids messes due to faucet pressure and air pressure accidents.
The wide cartridges contain black PIGMENT type ink which STAINS the sponge. Flush until the water runs clear. Most Canon OEM DYE type cartridge sponges are flushed CLEAN after using one fill of warm tap water which is relatively free of high mineral content in this area. Others may benefit by using distilled water for a final flush. For the top-fill method, to remove the water from the ink reservoir and sponge, I simply place my mouth over the open fill hole and blow while holding the cartridge over the sink. Water escapes from the ink outlet and the sponge side vent hole. For the German method, extract water from the reservoir with a needle and syringe, then blow into the vent to expel excess water held by the sponge. At first I dried the cartridge sponges further by leaving them in the sun for a day or two but learned over time that a slightly damp sponge seems to absorb ink better. If a sponge dries out it will absorb more ink but it sometimes takes a few minutes for refill ink to permeate the bottom sponge.
See this recent post on the InkJet Refill Forum by InkJet Master ghwellsjr. It illustrates a very effective method (capillary action) for drying the ink cartridge sponge.
In some cases when flushed or empty "virgin" cartridges have become bone dry, the sponge (whole or part) has become ink repellent - a condition that contributes to ink starvation, evidenced by stripes or banding in the printed text or image. I found this to be true mostly with a few of the black pigment BCI-3eBK and PGBK cartridges and to a lesser degree with the dye type BCI-3, BCI-6 and CLI-8 cartridges. Purging and drying the sponge is occasionally necessary to keep the cartridge flowing properly. In those cases where the the sponge has become ink-repellant, a cartridge conditioner solution will restore sponge absorbency. If I suspect poor absorbency with a black pigment type cartridge or am confronted with this anomaly after a refill, I extract the ink with a syringe and save it. Then I flush with water, blow and dry the cartridge and then inject a cartridge conditioner solution developed by InkJet Master pharmacist. I let it permeate the cartridge sponge for a few hours and then blow and dry the cartridge before refilling.
Sealing a fill hole with a hot glue gun, hot wax or Elmer's glue leaves a residue which must be scraped off or drilled out for subsequent refills or flushings. Self-tapping bugle-head metal screws are satisfactory as an alternative method to seal the factory fill hole. Non-stainless steel screws are subject to corrosion and all screws sometimes leak or strip out the plastic hole after repeated use. Plastic (nylon) screws are OK but the correct size is difficult to find locally and cost more than metal screws. The shortest I found were 3/8" in length - 1/4" would be better. Also, a thread must be tapped in the cartridge. In most cases 'O' rings used with either flat-head metal or plastic screws are simply not needed. 'O' rings cause the screw heads to protrude to the extent that they may interfere with the print head carriage path on some Canon models capable of printing labels on CDs. I've tried all the methods listed above. I prefer a pan-head SILICONE RUBBER PLUG with straight sides.
Refer to this post by InkJet Master Lin for details of various silicone inkjet refill plugs. I prefer plug "C", a 5/32" pan-head silicone rubber plug included with the ink refill kit available from Precision Colors or in lots of 100 from Zhuhai Winrun Technology. (Enter keyword "plug" in the search box)
Preparing the factory fill hole is a tedious procedure but it presents the most SECURE AND DURABLE point to repeatedly access the ink reservoir. The sponge side vent maze and factory fill hole is covered with an adhesive plastic label which is part of the overall scheme to seal the fill hole. Removing that part of the label from the factory fill hole to the front of the cartridge is discouraged because the adhesive beneath the label is hard to remove. Instead, use an X-acto knife or a sharp pen knife to cut out a circle around the inside edge of the factory fill hole. Exposed is a hard plastic ball wedged in a tapered hole. To remove the ball, heat the tip of a sharp awl in the flame of a candle or cigarette lighter. Carefully insert the hot tip into the center of the plastic ball to melt a "starter" hole about one half the depth of the ball. Remove the hot tip. Let the ball cool and then extract it using a hook type awl or a tapered-thread eye screw. After extracting the ball, run a 5/32" drill bit through the factory fill hole to ensure a consistent fit for the Precision Colors 5/32" pan-head silicone rubber plug. Push the rubber plug into the tapered factory fill hole until the pan-head is flush with the surface of the cartridge. Sealing occurs at the BOTTOM edge of the refill hole. It's a firm, secure fit but is easily removed and re-inserted using only your fingers.
Some feel preparing the factory fill hole is too much trouble and merely drill a new hole in the dimple near the front of the cartridge. This is the procedure recommended by Hobbicolors. The Hobbicolors kit furnishes a set of 1/8" pan-head silicone rubber plugs. The 1/8" plug fits too loose in the factory fill hole but if a new 1/8" hole is drilled the plug fits slightly loose, seals OK and looks neat. A 7/64" hole is too tight. A new 5/32" hole can be drilled for the Precision Colors silicone rubber plug. Both ink suppliers, Hobbicolors and Precision Colors, sell extra silicone rubber plugs apart from their refill kits. Once a hole is prepared for the rubber plug, repeated refilling or flushing is easy and trouble-free.
For top-fillers using either a syringe or a squeeze bottle, InkJet Master mikling passes along a helpful tip to avoid over-saturating the sponge and to reduce or eliminate drips after removing the cartridge from the filling clip. For the German refill method, it's best to wait until the ink reservoir is EMPTY before refilling. Here's why: If the sponge is still saturated prior to refilling, the air displaced from the reservoir side while refilling may expel ink remaining in the saturated sponge out of the cartridge through the path of least resistance creating a mess. Position the cartridge NOZZLE UP, confirm the needle end is INSIDE the reservoir and then slowly inject ink until the reservoir is full. For a dry sponge, retract the needle slowly while injecting ink along the length of the bottom sponge. See these illustrations by InkJet Master pharmacist.
For either refill method, before inserting the cartridge into a printer, position yourself over a sink and gently blow into the vent to EXPEL A DROP or two of ink. This ensures the vent is open and that ink is present at the outlet. It also lessens the chance of further drips and washes away impurities that may be on the outlet nozzle. An alternative to expelling ink by blowing into the vent is to blot or wick ink from the outlet nozzle using a folded paper towel.
The above information and procedures may or may not apply to third-party ink cartridges. I'm among many on this forum who think Canon OEM ink cartridges are best for refilling. My advice to those who have empty Canon OEM cartridges on hand is to prepare the factory fill hole and flush them ahead of time as described above. Store them for drying with the fill hole open. When the need is eminent, refill them with FRESH ink. Storing refilled cartridges months ahead of time invites unforeseen trouble relating to leakage, dry outlet nozzles, evaporation losses and stale ink. To seal the outlet nozzle for temporary storage, shipment or refilling, the orange clips available from Precision Colors ($1.00 ea.) are the best. A cheap and effective alternative is a food sealing wrap, a Glad product called "Press'n Seal." It's sticky on one side and seals better than electrician's vinyl tape.
For cartridges with an electronic chip such as the Canon CLI-8 and PGBK, it's best to re-set the chip while the cartridge is EMPTY to avoid the possible mess of ink dripping all over the re-setter from the outlet nozzle of a newly-filled cartridge. Chip re-setters are available from many companies who serve ink re-fillers including eBay ink suppliers.
See this earlier post on Ink Jet Refill Forum to sample comments, pro and con, about the evolving methods, materials, tools and supplies discussed above.
My bare-bones refilling tools and requirements are:
A utility sink with hot water and a well-lit adjacent work surface. Newspapers. A roll of paper kitchen towels.
A clamp to hold the cartridge and ink bottle while preparing the fill hole and filling. Mine is a Pittsburgh 2" aluminum spring clamp, Item 94922 purchased at Harbor Freight Tools, made in China.
An X-acto knife or equivalent, a cigarette lighter, a candle, a straight awl, a hook-type awl and a tapered-thread eye screw for preparing a Canon ink cartridge factory fill hole. Ace Hardware.
Fiskers hand drill. Ace Hardware, $13.00. 1/8" and a 5/32" drill bits - use electrical twist-on connectors for handles.
Two cartridge clips to keep the cartridge from leaking while filling - one for dye cartridges and one for the wider pigment cartridges. They simply snap around the cartridge. The best are the orange clips available from Precision Colors ($1.00 ea.) Some third party refillers use a different type of orange clip, G&G, for example. Canon OEM caps can be used with rubber band retainers. See this site for storage/re-filling clips that will remain upright on a flat base.
A 16 oz. (1 pint) squeeze bottle with a cap that has a tapered tip to use for flushing ink cartridges. Sold as condiment (ketchup) dispensers. Available at restaurant supply stores and some retail stores.
A 12 ML syringe with a 1 1/2" needle supplied with the refill kit. Some might prefer squeeze bottles for each ink color: Howard Electronics OctoInkjet (UK) Test new squeeze bottles with water and moderate pressure before filling them with ink to ensure the caps and needles don't leak.
A supply of 1/8" or 5/32" pan-head silicone rubber plugs which come with the refill kits.
Bulk ink - I prefer the 4 oz. bottles. The 12 ML syringe cylinder exactly fits the 11/16" bottle neck allowing ink to be drawn from the bottom of the bottle.
Click on the thumbnail images below to enlarge for viewing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Requirements to flush, dry and refill Canon OEM ink cartridges using the Durchstich or German method:
A sink with hot water and a well-lit adjacent work surface - newspapers, roll of paper kitchen towels, rubber bands, awl or ice pick, pen knife, 12ML syringe, #22, 2" sharp needle, bulk ink and a strip of Gorilla tape or "Press'n Seal" food wrap. A 60 ML syringe makes flushing easier.
Use the awl to make a hole larger than needle-size at the rear of the cartridge centered slightly below the junction of the two sponges and angled slightly downward. Use the pen knife to trim off the raised plastic ridge around the circumference of the newly-made hole. Insert the 2" SHARP needle and carefully guide it at an angle through the CENTER OF THE SPONGE towards the hole located at the bottom of the wall that separates the sponge side from the ink reservoir. If the needle encounters an obstruction, simply retract it about a half inch, twist within a half-turn left or right and redirect it to a different direction until the needle passes freely through the hole. Confirm visually that the end of the needle is INSIDE the ink reservoir. Once a path through the sponge is made, subsequent insertions (with a sharp or blunt needle) are easy. For more details, click on the thumbnail images below.
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Emerald:
Excellent post! I enjoy reading the ingenious tools and methods people come up with such as your squeeze bottle method for flushing. You and another poster here who uses a "Reverse German" method to flush have the most water-sparing methods I've read to date.
I tried tapping the ball from a CLI-8 cartridge a couple of days ago and it was much more difficult than I expected. I had been drilling a hole adjacent to the ball for flushing purposes only (I use the German Method), but wanted to try out a silicone plug that came with a Precision Colors refill kit.
Question: How many times can you re-use the drilled hole and/or the silicon plugs before you must either re-tap and/or use a new plug?
Excellent post! I enjoy reading the ingenious tools and methods people come up with such as your squeeze bottle method for flushing. You and another poster here who uses a "Reverse German" method to flush have the most water-sparing methods I've read to date.
I tried tapping the ball from a CLI-8 cartridge a couple of days ago and it was much more difficult than I expected. I had been drilling a hole adjacent to the ball for flushing purposes only (I use the German Method), but wanted to try out a silicone plug that came with a Precision Colors refill kit.
Question: How many times can you re-use the drilled hole and/or the silicon plugs before you must either re-tap and/or use a new plug?
emerald
Getting Fingers Dirty
Stratman:
Thanks for the comment.
To answer your question about how many times the drilled hole or silicon plugs can be reused: I've never had a problem so far with replacing the plug or redrilling the hole because of wear. The plugs are a soft material and not likely to wear against the hole like a metal screw. As mentioned in the post, the Hobbicolor silicone rubber plug fits a little loose in a cleanly drilled 1/8" hole. I had one leak after drilling with a wobbly drill bit so I drilled it out with a 5/32" drill bit and used the larger Precision Colors plug. If you drill using a 7/64" drill bit the Hobbicolor plug is difficult to insert. A compromise is to drill with a 7/64" bit and then enlarge it slightly by rotating the drill in a circular motion. You must be careful because the thickness of the cartridge at the top front edge is not as thick and robust as the factory fill hole.
Thanks for the comment.
To answer your question about how many times the drilled hole or silicon plugs can be reused: I've never had a problem so far with replacing the plug or redrilling the hole because of wear. The plugs are a soft material and not likely to wear against the hole like a metal screw. As mentioned in the post, the Hobbicolor silicone rubber plug fits a little loose in a cleanly drilled 1/8" hole. I had one leak after drilling with a wobbly drill bit so I drilled it out with a 5/32" drill bit and used the larger Precision Colors plug. If you drill using a 7/64" drill bit the Hobbicolor plug is difficult to insert. A compromise is to drill with a 7/64" bit and then enlarge it slightly by rotating the drill in a circular motion. You must be careful because the thickness of the cartridge at the top front edge is not as thick and robust as the factory fill hole.
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Excellent post and pics! I've not had the best success with different rubber plugs I've used over the years, but haven't tried the ones you've mentioned. I'll actually be giving the German Method a try for the first time in the next week or so and if I run into problems with that method I'll go back to traditional method and maybe give these plugs a try.
Cheers!
Cheers!
Image Specialists do not sell the plugs. The referenced plugs are from Precision Colors who sells Image Specilists inks exclusively and from no other source. I am the owner and operator Precision Colors. I just went through removing over 300 balls from the factory hole and let me tell you that is a lot of balls. Removing them is not as hard as it appears once you get the hang of it. I was doing one every 10 seconds after a while and a learning curve. Well after that experience let me offer some insight into what I learnt for sure.
1. The original balls do not seal the hole as airtight as some may think. Having pulled over three hundred of these little balls out I can definitively tell you that from experience and seeing the ink above the balls behind the labels. I would guess that the ball itself is not always perfectly round. The label seal actually completes the sealing properly and NOT the ball. Be careful of that if you drill a hole elsewhere.
2. The concept of a good plug being used with the original hole is vastly misunderstood. The original hole provides a belt tightening constriction past the tip of the plug and effectives clamps the seal tightly. I will try to illustrate this in a drawing. The TOP of the cartridge does NOT provide the sealing. The ring hub left at the bottom of the hole hub about 1/8" down from the top of the cartridge provides the seal. Thus any damage incurred on top of the cartridge when removing the ball will NOT compromise the seal.
1. The original balls do not seal the hole as airtight as some may think. Having pulled over three hundred of these little balls out I can definitively tell you that from experience and seeing the ink above the balls behind the labels. I would guess that the ball itself is not always perfectly round. The label seal actually completes the sealing properly and NOT the ball. Be careful of that if you drill a hole elsewhere.
2. The concept of a good plug being used with the original hole is vastly misunderstood. The original hole provides a belt tightening constriction past the tip of the plug and effectives clamps the seal tightly. I will try to illustrate this in a drawing. The TOP of the cartridge does NOT provide the sealing. The ring hub left at the bottom of the hole hub about 1/8" down from the top of the cartridge provides the seal. Thus any damage incurred on top of the cartridge when removing the ball will NOT compromise the seal.
OK I have been able to gather something that can illustrate better what is happening with the plugs and the factory hole.
The plugs are actually hollow except near the tip which is solid and the exterior are pretty straightsided.
The colored ones are similarly constructed but the tip is not as conical so they will offer more resistance on pushing in.
When the plugs are inserted in the factory hole, you can clearly see that the tip extends past the end of the plastic hub at the end of the hole
What is difficult to see in the pic is that the tip remains solid but the body above the hub is deformed to provide a cinching or constriction to seal the hole.
So I have used a colored plug pic to show that
So you see, the sealing occurs inside the cartridge and not at the top and will explain why this cinching action may appear tight BUT tightness is getting the solid tip past the tip of the hub. It is not due to the sides of the hole going down really.
I hope this series of pictures will clarify what these plugs are really about and why I always highly recommend any hole be sealed through the factory hole. It simply provides an excellent seal superior to that of the factory.
The plugs are actually hollow except near the tip which is solid and the exterior are pretty straightsided.
The colored ones are similarly constructed but the tip is not as conical so they will offer more resistance on pushing in.
When the plugs are inserted in the factory hole, you can clearly see that the tip extends past the end of the plastic hub at the end of the hole
What is difficult to see in the pic is that the tip remains solid but the body above the hub is deformed to provide a cinching or constriction to seal the hole.
So I have used a colored plug pic to show that
So you see, the sealing occurs inside the cartridge and not at the top and will explain why this cinching action may appear tight BUT tightness is getting the solid tip past the tip of the hub. It is not due to the sides of the hole going down really.
I hope this series of pictures will clarify what these plugs are really about and why I always highly recommend any hole be sealed through the factory hole. It simply provides an excellent seal superior to that of the factory.
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Snicker, snort, chuckle.mikling said:
I used the instructions and the tools from your refill kit. The threaded tool in the kit for screwing out the ball was a killer on the fingers and I ultimately ended up with a hole adjacent to the ball. Also, how does one get the label removed cleanly from the cartridge. I ended up using an exacto knike to clear away the label above the ball only. I could cut into the label elsewhere on the cartridge top but couldn't seem to peel it back with the blade or anything else I tried.
Anything above and beyond the instructions you provided with the kit? We need Mikling's secrets for successful ballbusting of the cartridges!
(gently kidding but really do want to know your pearls of wisdom on this matter)
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Emerald:
Is it artifact of phtography/resolution of the 4th picture showing all the cartridges in the printhead or is there ink speckled around the slicone plug edges outside the cartridge, ie is there some leaking?
Is it artifact of phtography/resolution of the 4th picture showing all the cartridges in the printhead or is there ink speckled around the slicone plug edges outside the cartridge, ie is there some leaking?
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