Shelf life of refilled ink cartridges?

[seseeley]

I plan on buying some OEM CLI-220 and CLI-221 cartridges, swapping the ARCs from my PGI-225 and CLI-226 cartridges and refilling them for my Canon MX892.

What would be the shelf life of these refilled ink cartridges? Currently we dont print a lot due to the cost of printing. But with refilling we could be more liberal.
Currently we replace cartridges every 6 to 12 months.

Another question I have is how often do I need to print in color to keep things working and not clogging up? Once a week? Twice a week?

Thanks for any help or insight,
Steve
Shingle Springs, CA (between Sacramento and Tahoe on HY50)
Canon PIXMA MX892

 

[The Hat]

It would all depend on which type of ink youre using to do your refilling with.

Normally good quality inks are guaranteed to have a shelf life of 2 years and longer
but it will last a lot longer than that stored in normal conditions,
and you should be all right with the cheapest of ink for at least twelve months.

If you are worried about getting a clog in the print head then you can always print a nozzle check
once or twice a month and that will keep you printer ticking over till your ready to print in earnest..

 

[seseeley]

Thanks for the reply.

If I use the nozzle check once or twice a week do I need to worry about resetting the waste ink counter sometime in the future? Actually I have no clue if this Canon MX892 even has a waste ink counter?

I plan on buying top quality inks just to avoid problems.

Thanks again,
Steve

 

[The Hat]

If you are worried about getting a clog in the print head then you can always print a nozzle check
once or twice a month..

A nozzle check is only a precautionary measure that uses all of the colours to print
a test sheet and doesnt affect your waste counter in any way.

The waste counter on most Canon printers is seldom an issue and is best forgot about
because it will remind you in plenty of time if it needs your furture attention..

 

[pixmania]

I plan on buying some OEM CLI-220 and CLI-221 cartridges, swapping the ARCs from my PGI-225 and CLI-226 cartridges and refilling them for my Canon MX892.

hi, personaly in a centrally heated enviroment i run my nozzle check once a week because even if you have used the printer there is no guarantee that you have used all the colours. better safe than sorry and cost is negligible if you refill your own carts.
by the way a good supplier for refill is octoinkjet.com they supply bulk ink from as little as 3-4 per bottle and its not universal stuff they have specific inks for your printer.i've used them for a couple of months now and i find them fine so far, refilled about 3 times now and the colour match is pretty good unlike some others. you will come across their name frequently on this forum.
hope that helps, px.
p.s thats what i did bought cli220/221 carts pulled the plastic filling ball out from under the label flushed them clean with water changed the chips for mine refilled and bingo you're up and running.
i got empty cli220/221 from ebay for the carts i wanted and got empty cli225/226 for some more chips to put on the 220/221's.

ooops just spotted your in the states so the supplier i mentioned is probably not viable.

 

[seseeley]

Hi pixmania,

Thanks for the info. I can't seem to find any empty OEM PGI-225 or CLI-226 cartridges. I know I only want the chips but I want OEM chips.
Been to Stapes, CartWorld and others but they now give customers credit for empties. With the credit the used carts now have worth. And once back in the system they (Stapes, etc.) will not sell used carts to you. No SKU number was the excuse given.
I'm sure the printer companies have decided that if cartridges are going to be refilled they want to do the refilling and profit from it.

Best regards,
Steve

 

[PeterBJ]

The Hat wrote:

If you are worried about getting a clog in the print head then you can always print a nozzle check
once or twice a month..

I like this recommendation, I guess it is based on experience. I have had a bad conscience because of not doing nozzle checks at least twice a month on my working Canon printers, more likely once a month if I remember doing it. I have 5 working Canon printers with ink cartridges installed and these should be kept alive by printing regular nozzle checks. Some of these has stood unused for more than 2 months without printing a nozzle check, but luckily without ill effects til now. I also have 7 Canon printers in various states of disrepair, some need a new printhead, others are only kept for spare parts.

 

[pixmania]

Hi pixmania,

Thanks for the info. I can't seem to find any empty OEM PGI-225 or CLI-226 cartridges. I know I only want the chips but I want OEM chips.
Been to Stapes, CartWorld and others but they now give customers credit for empties. With the credit the used carts now have worth. And once back in the system they (Stapes, etc.) will not sell used carts to you. No SKU number was the excuse given.
I'm sure the printer companies have decided that if cartridges are going to be refilled they want to do the refilling and profit from it.

Best regards,
Steve

go on ebay i bought empty set of 220/221 and set of 225/226 for under 4 per set and they were genuine empty canon carts.

 

[The Hat]

I like this recommendation, I guess it is based on experience. I have had a bad conscience because of not doing nozzle checks at least twice a month on my working Canon printers, more likely once a month if I remember doing it. I have 5 working Canon printers with ink cartridges installed and these should be kept alive by printing regular nozzle checks. Some of these has stood unused for more than 2 months without printing a nozzle check, but luckily without ill effects til now. I also have 7 Canon printers in various states of disrepair, some need a new printhead, others are only kept for spare parts.

The regular nozzle check is a real life saver but you can go one better by doing a Printer test page also
for each printer that way you have dated record for the last time it was preformed.

You can further save on your paper by turning around your nozzle check paper or printing on the backs of them..

 

[inkdude709]

You can always go to Costco and get it refilled. They also reset the chips. Cost is $7.99 and it takes about an hour. Received the latest coupon book and there is a $2.00 off running right now