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Main Ink Page | Other Refill Instructions and Help | Home
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On the CLI-8 and PGI-5 series cartridges, there is an electronic counter embedded in a small computer chip/board. This counter starts at a high number and decreases for every character printed. Eventually, the counter reaches zero. At this point, an error message is generated by the printer. If you click "OK" to the error message, the printer will continue to print. However, the ink level display will not show correctly with that cartridge. But that is something we have to live with. For most people, it is a small price to pay for a vastly lowered cost of printing.
Step 2) Look at the cartridge. This cartridge has two chambers. The Lower chamber is filled with a sponge. The Upper chamber is an empty ink reservoir.
Step 3) Put enough ink in the Lower chamber to saturate the sponge by injecting some ink through the ink exit hole on the bottom of the cartridge. Be sure that you do not push the sponge into the cartridge, or it will not make proper contact with the printhead when installed in the printer.
Step 4) Temporarily tape over the ink exit hole to keep the ink from dribbling out.
Step 5) Make a hole (by drilling or melting)into the Upper chamber. We suggest making the hole on the top of the cartridge.
Step 6) Inject ink into this new hole to fill the Upper chamber.
Step 7) Seal the new hole air tight using hot glue or black electrical tape. Do not use ordinary masking tape, duct tape, or scotch tape, since these will not make an air tight seal.
Step 8) Remove the temporary tape on the ink exit hole and insert in the printer.
Step 2) Locate the ink exit hole and turn the cartridge so that this hole is facing up. Dribble some ink into this hole to fill the sponge area.
Step 3) When the sponge area is full, tape over the exit hole with black electrical tape.
Step 4) Locate the original fill hole under the black dot labeled "PUSH".
Step 5) Peel off the label and either remove the ball plug or push it into the cartridge. If this is a 2nd refill, we suggest removing the ball by jabbing a pin into the ball and prying it out. Otherwise, the accumulation of balls will gradually fill the cartridge. Our part number for ten of these balls is, amazingly enough "BALLS-10". You can order them in the Accessories section of most order forms, or indicate you need them on the Special Orders section.
Step 5A) Alternatively, you may make your own hole into this chamber by using a hot paper clip and melting a hole, or by drilling a hole. The important thing is not where you make the hole, but that there is a hole.
Step 5) Take your syringe. Fill the syringe with ink.
Step 6) Take the syringe and insert into the hole.
Step 7) Inject the cartridge with ink. Fill S-L-O-W-L-Y to fill the entire cartridge. Stop when the ink comes out of the ink exit hole.
Step 8) Seal the hole with a new ball plug. Alternatively, you may use hot glue, hot wax, silicone rubber, or (if desperate) electrical tape. You need to get a good air-tight seal or you will develop a leak. You also need to get the seal flush with the surface.
Ordinary scotch tape will not give an airtight seal.
Step 6) Set over a paper towel for a few minutes as a drip precaution. Do not let the cartridge touch the paper towel, or the towel will draw the ink out of the cartridge. Expect a few drips -- the ink must drip for the sponge to be full. Cover all holes with electrical tape during storage to prevent leaks and evaporation.
4-cartridge BCI-3e systems have a special setting in the printer software which should be used when printing upon glossy photo papers. This "Photo Paper" setting changes the way the printer prints. In normal mode, the printer naturally enough uses black ink to print black. This works great on ordinary paper. However, to get a good glossy appearance, the "Photo Paper" setting makes black by printing a heavy dose of each of the 3 colors, and turns off the pigmented matte black.
In a 6 cartridge system, good photo production is made by using the Photo-Black WJ-1008 in your black BCI-6 cartridge. No "Photo Paper" setting is used in these printers.
Another cause can be froth forming in the sponge. This froth is a collection of hundreds of tiny bubbles of air which forms when a small bit of ink is left behind in each sponge cell. When you refill, this froth may move into the printhead and form a vapor lock situation.
To cure either big air bubbles or froth, simply put a single drop of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol on the sponge through the ink exit hole, ideally before refilling. (Any concentration of the alcohol from 70 percent to 100 percent is fine.) The alcohol will collapse the air bubbles and allow for normal printing most of the time.
Follow the directions in the printer manual.
Run the printhead cleaning software.
When you use ink from a sponge-filled cartridge, a little bit of ink remains in each cell of the sponge. When you later add ink to the sponge, some air is trapped in some of the sponge cells. Then, when you print, this air/ink mixture, which we call "froth", begins to move as a mass of tiny ink-coated bubbles into the printhead. The printhead cannot print something which is mostly air -- it needs ink. Thus, the printhead vapor locks on the froth and appears to be "clogged".
To fix the problem, simply put a single drop of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol on the sponge through the ink exit hole, ideally before refilling. (Any concentration of the alcohol from 70 percent to 100 percent is fine.) The alcohol will collapse the air bubbles and allow for normal printing most of the time.
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