To clean or not to clean.. that is the question...

I recently purchased compat cartridges for my canon I850.
What a mistake. I removed my old original canon tanks that have
just enough ink to keep things wet so i have the option to refill
later.

Anyway, these new tanks didnt mix colors very well. The nozzle clean
test proves the colors are a near match to the original but they just
dont mix happily..

With the same paper, same settings and compared to the same photos
with the other ink, the new tanks print orange for red, black for
brown, brown for dark red. The mixed black has a slightly green tint
also. Ive tried increasing the magneta to get rid of the cast but no
luck. .

Ive tried every adjustment I possibly could. After 50 or so test
sheets and hours wasted, I could not match or get close to the test
strip pattern colors.

So, to my original inquiry now that you have some history of what
happened... should I clean the heads with some type of solution so
that new original tanks will not become contaminated by this
sub-standard ink or just let it flow.

thanks..

On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 12:34:09 -0400, Bill wrote:

jkh wrote:

I recently purchased compat cartridges for my canon I850.

Anyway, these new tanks didnt mix colors very well. The nozzle clean
test proves the colors are a near match to the original but they just
dont mix happily..

So, to my original inquiry now that you have some history of what
happened... should I clean the heads with some type of solution so
that new original tanks will not become contaminated by this
sub-standard ink or just let it flow.

Just put the original tanks back in, open the printer driver settings,
tab over to Maintenance, and click on the Nozzle Check pattern once or
twice to flush out the old ink.

I see you've posted here a couple of times about the compatible ink
cartridges. I'm sorry to hear they didn't work out well. I too order
from AtlanticInkjet but I asked if the ink was the same and they told me
it wasn't, so I didn't bother trying the compatible tanks.

However the bulk and refill kit inks are identical to Canon and work
beautifully.


That is great to hear. I did order the small refill kit. I figured I
would get the small version just to try. I'm a little bit of a sceptic
now. I also asked if the ink was the same in the cartridges and they
assured me it was just as good so I did not hesitate.

They almost seemed to give me a hard time over the return claiming no
one ever complained about it before. Well, I have scans and top notch
paper that says otherwise.

Anyway, they finally did send an RMA so its going back in the morning.
I hope the new ink will be here saturday as I pretty much cannot print
color. Its near bottomed out and I want the tank to stay wet with a
little in reserve.

The magenta was several shades off. The Y and C seem to be spot on.
But lighter magenta of course would throw off other mixes such as red
especially. Grays were greenish as well as browns. Pretty annoying. I
tried increasing the magenta intensity but saturated is saturated.
Water wont turn darker if you add more to it.

Thanks for the response. I was mainly concerned about contaminating
the tank but since the canon magenta is darker, I wouldnt suspect
there would be any.

On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 21:40:27 +0100, "Tony1thatmatters"
wrote:

If you are concerned about cross contamination - and as it's a Canon minus
annoying chippery - you could half fill the older cartridges with some
Windolene (USA Windex) and print a few pages until the ink becomes faint.
That way you have also purged the head of any crud that deposits itself from
drying ink. This is mainly intended for Dye based inks but it works equally
well for pigmented I've found. Mr Muscle in the UK also does the job and may
contain more ammonia: they recommend adding vinegar for a streak free shine,
I haven't yet found the instructions for added salt and pepper :-)) but no
doubt someone will mention that.
Some general hints and procedures are at www.inkylink.co.uk mainly for Epson
quirks.
Tony


Very good. I do notice that inks have ammonia in it. I can smell it
on wet prints without trying. Some older refills I had was very
strong. I guess they may have been overly cautious about clogging.

Maybe some chili powder would darken my magenta troubles. hmmm...
gourmet printing.. lovely..

On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 07:22:02 -0400, Bill wrote:

jkh wrote:

That is great to hear. I did order the small refill kit. I figured I
would get the small version just to try. I'm a little bit of a sceptic
now. I also asked if the ink was the same in the cartridges and they
assured me it was just as good so I did not hesitate.

I thought about them too, to use as replacement cartridges, but when
they told me it was a different company's ink, I changed my mind. :-/

I plan to buy another set of genuine Canon cartridges soon to use as
backups if this set shows signs of excessive wear.

I'm also looking around for a supplier of EMPTY, NEW ink tanks to use
for refilling. Anyone know of a site?

Anyway, they finally did send an RMA so its going back in the morning.
I hope the new ink will be here saturday as I pretty much cannot print
color. Its near bottomed out and I want the tank to stay wet with a
little in reserve.

As long as you refill when the first warning shows up in the Status
Monitor (the reservoir is empty), you'll be fine.


Funny you asked about new blanks. I just inquired the same. weink.com
has them but its a forture. 3 sets for 50 bux plus shipping, naw, I
would just buy original ink for that and save 10 bux.

You can refill the new blanks several times, not just once. Also consider
buying from inkjetgoodies. That's what I use. The color is a great match to
Canon inks and you don't have to buy a kit, just the individual items you
need. Over all Inkjetgoodies is cheaper. From my faulty memory I think the
individual cartridges are about $3.85 each.


"jkh" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 07:22:02 -0400, Bill wrote:

jkh wrote:

That is great to hear. I did order the small refill kit. I figured I
would get the small version just to try. I'm a little bit of a sceptic
now. I also asked if the ink was the same in the cartridges and they
assured me it was just as good so I did not hesitate.

I thought about them too, to use as replacement cartridges, but when
they told me it was a different company's ink, I changed my mind. :-/

I plan to buy another set of genuine Canon cartridges soon to use as
backups if this set shows signs of excessive wear.

I'm also looking around for a supplier of EMPTY, NEW ink tanks to use
for refilling. Anyone know of a site?

Anyway, they finally did send an RMA so its going back in the morning.
I hope the new ink will be here saturday as I pretty much cannot print
color. Its near bottomed out and I want the tank to stay wet with a
little in reserve.

As long as you refill when the first warning shows up in the Status
Monitor (the reservoir is empty), you'll be fine.


Funny you asked about new blanks. I just inquired the same. weink.com
has them but its a forture. 3 sets for 50 bux plus shipping, naw, I
would just buy original ink for that and save 10 bux.

On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 07:27:34 -0500, "Lou" nospam@home wrote:

You can refill the new blanks several times, not just once. Also consider
buying from inkjetgoodies. That's what I use. The color is a great match to
Canon inks and you don't have to buy a kit, just the individual items you
need. Over all Inkjetgoodies is cheaper. From my faulty memory I think the
individual cartridges are about $3.85 each.



Great, thank you for the information. 3.85 per blank is more
reasonable as I have my original canon set that I will refill and a
set of blanks.

I figured it would be best just to have a full set on hand instead of
filling the set in the printer and replacing it while the heads would
be most vulnerable to dry up during the process.

Good luck on refilling your Canon cartridges. I only tried one cartridge
once. It made me a firm believer in just buying the blank cartridges. I
was trying to use a hex screw in the top of the hole I drilled. It was
really messy. I had ink on the white tile floor, sink, floor, me, and
cabinet front. That's what happens when you pick up a cartridge you think
was sealed and it wasn't.

Someone said in a message I read that if you order $75 from Inkjetgoodies
that the postage is free. If you need ink you might want to order two sets
of cartridges and some ink to get that free shipping. I know when I ordered
a few months ago I got 4 bottles of ink, an extra set of plugs for the
cartridges, and a set of 4 blank cartridges and it was between $50 and $60.
I have refilled the cartridges 3 times and I have 2/3 of the ink left. I
really like their ink. I have some generic cartridges to put in the printer
to keep the head from drying out while I let my refilled cartridges set for
24 hours before using.


"jkh" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 07:27:34 -0500, "Lou" nospam@home wrote:

You can refill the new blanks several times, not just once. Also
consider
buying from inkjetgoodies. That's what I use. The color is a great match
to
Canon inks and you don't have to buy a kit, just the individual items you
need. Over all Inkjetgoodies is cheaper. From my faulty memory I think
the
individual cartridges are about $3.85 each.



Great, thank you for the information. 3.85 per blank is more
reasonable as I have my original canon set that I will refill and a
set of blanks.

I figured it would be best just to have a full set on hand instead of
filling the set in the printer and replacing it while the heads would
be most vulnerable to dry up during the process.