Canon genuine ink cartridge fault, worth taking a look

Personally I have chosen Canon and stuck with them as they put out new
models I was never more than two models behind.

Having so many, three different versions at this particular time and
it was noticed after my Pixma IP4000 started to not work properly
even with the tanks being full.

Take note when you refill, as many do with decent inks out there that
work fine in them the problem noticed is with the actual ink sponge
inside the tank not the head being blocked.

Each one that played up was found with the sponge torn away from the
top where it had shrunk down 1/8" to 3/16" and beyond in
places.

The problem that arises when the sponge shrinks, is that it fails to
allow any ink to flow between the fibres of the now compressed sponge
and into the print head, it then acts as if empty or the print head is
stuffed.

Worth to take a look at your Canon cartridges, they don't need removal
you should be able to see if the sponge has shrunk away from the top,
if so toss it, at least remove the ink for other good cartridges.

One Cyan tank I had refused to work even when full, it left streaks as
if the head was RS, I never noticed the shrinking until later, once
replaced with another non-genuine tank and after one internal clean
it was working perfectly.

Odd but the non-genuine tanks don't ever do it.

Sponges in ink carts are only suppposed to last until the ink runs out.
They are not supposed to be refilled. Refilling is messy and dirty and
inconvenient even if one had OEM ink to refill.

digisol wrote:

Personally I have chosen Canon and stuck with them as they put out new
models I was never more than two models behind.

Having so many, three different versions at this particular time and
it was noticed after my Pixma IP4000 started to not work properly
even with the tanks being full.

Take note when you refill, as many do with decent inks out there that
work fine in them the problem noticed is with the actual ink sponge
inside the tank not the head being blocked.

Each one that played up was found with the sponge torn away from the
top where it had shrunk down 1/8" to 3/16" and beyond in
places.

The problem that arises when the sponge shrinks, is that it fails to
allow any ink to flow between the fibres of the now compressed sponge
and into the print head, it then acts as if empty or the print head is
stuffed.

Worth to take a look at your Canon cartridges, they don't need removal
you should be able to see if the sponge has shrunk away from the top,
if so toss it, at least remove the ink for other good cartridges.

One Cyan tank I had refused to work even when full, it left streaks as
if the head was RS, I never noticed the shrinking until later, once
replaced with another non-genuine tank and after one internal clean
it was working perfectly.

Odd but the non-genuine tanks don't ever do it.

digisol wrote:
Personally I have chosen Canon and stuck with them as they put out new
models I was never more than two models behind.

Having so many, three different versions at this particular time and
it was noticed after my Pixma IP4000 started to not work properly
even with the tanks being full.

Take note when you refill, as many do with decent inks out there that
work fine in them the problem noticed is with the actual ink sponge
inside the tank not the head being blocked.

Each one that played up was found with the sponge torn away from the
top where it had shrunk down 1/8" to 3/16" and beyond in
places.

The problem that arises when the sponge shrinks, is that it fails to
allow any ink to flow between the fibres of the now compressed sponge
and into the print head, it then acts as if empty or the print head is
stuffed.

Worth to take a look at your Canon cartridges, they don't need removal
you should be able to see if the sponge has shrunk away from the top,
if so toss it, at least remove the ink for other good cartridges.

One Cyan tank I had refused to work even when full, it left streaks as
if the head was RS, I never noticed the shrinking until later, once
replaced with another non-genuine tank and after one internal clean
it was working perfectly.

Odd but the non-genuine tanks don't ever do it.

I've never had the sponges shrink on a cart that was in use regularly.
I have had them clog up from the filter grate at the bottom of the tank
filled with sediment. I'm not real big on buying new stuff. I try to
salvage everything. In a worst case situation, I can slice an opening
in the top of the cart to gain access for maintenance. Then I epoxy a
piece of plastic over the top for a fresh start. When completed I have
a thumb screw in the top so I can refill without removing the cart from
the head.
While it does seem tempting, I have learned never to remove ink from a
cart for reuse. If it's a huge ink supply I might try it and keep the
ink segregated for experimental use only. The Canons don't hold enough
ink to sway me.

"Al Bundy" wrote in message
oups.com...

digisol wrote:
Personally I have chosen Canon and stuck with them as they put out new
models I was never more than two models behind.

Having so many, three different versions at this particular time and
it was noticed after my Pixma IP4000 started to not work properly
even with the tanks being full.

Take note when you refill, as many do with decent inks out there that
work fine in them the problem noticed is with the actual ink sponge
inside the tank not the head being blocked.

Each one that played up was found with the sponge torn away from the
top where it had shrunk down 1/8" to 3/16" and beyond in
places.

The problem that arises when the sponge shrinks, is that it fails to
allow any ink to flow between the fibres of the now compressed sponge
and into the print head, it then acts as if empty or the print head is
stuffed.

Worth to take a look at your Canon cartridges, they don't need removal
you should be able to see if the sponge has shrunk away from the top,
if so toss it, at least remove the ink for other good cartridges.

One Cyan tank I had refused to work even when full, it left streaks as
if the head was RS, I never noticed the shrinking until later, once
replaced with another non-genuine tank and after one internal clean
it was working perfectly.

Odd but the non-genuine tanks don't ever do it.

I've never had the sponges shrink on a cart that was in use regularly.
I have had them clog up from the filter grate at the bottom of the tank
filled with sediment. I'm not real big on buying new stuff. I try to
salvage everything. In a worst case situation, I can slice an opening
in the top of the cart to gain access for maintenance. Then I epoxy a
piece of plastic over the top for a fresh start. When completed I have
a thumb screw in the top so I can refill without removing the cart from
the head.
While it does seem tempting, I have learned never to remove ink from a
cart for reuse. If it's a huge ink supply I might try it and keep the
ink segregated for experimental use only. The Canons don't hold enough
ink to sway me.


No need to open canon bci-6 or bci-3 carts to clean them. Look up the cart
cleaning thread on the nifty-stuff forum. About $5 worth of hardware store
parts and you can make a purge unit that restores them to like-new
condition. You can also look up the thread on sealing the fill hole. I use
a phillips pan head stainless steel sheet metal screw. Works great.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/