Just purchased IP 4000, ink question

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

Marge wrote:

> Just purchased a ip 4000 this morning, office depot had instore 20.00 bucks
> off with a 20.00 rebate from Canon. Fixing to order ink refill kit with
> empty cartridges. Anyone know anything about hobby colors?
> Thanks
>

Hobbicolors is fine (fast 'n friendly), I'm using it from time to time
in my older i860. I say time to time because I have various inks in my
repertoire which I put in depending on my mood (sort of). My personal
preference is for cartridges containing Formulabs ink, or Formulabs
bulk ink for refilling, if I can find it. It's a little harder here
in Canada as some US dealer don't want the hassle of dealing with us.
We're a pain, aren't we? ;-)

I find Hobbicolors a bit warmer (leans more to the yellow) in tone than
Canon inks. Hence I recommend getting the small Beginner Kit, as I did,
just to see how you find them.

As for filling, I'm not fond of the 1 needle method (that's all they
give you). Great if you're only doing one color, but I ALWAYS refill the
set (the BCI-6s only) at the same time. Recommended. You don't want to
be in the middle of a long series of printing and have the different
cartridges crying for ink at different times. So when 1 cartridge goes
"low" they all come out and I put in a second set, except for the
BCI-3e, which is a larger cartridge and thus has its own schedule.

When filling the cartridges the ink is absorbed agonizingly slow
(probably the type of sponge they use). You get very clear instructions
and they stress that the ink is absorbed slowly and recommend you do a
lot of tapping on the cartridges. Tried that. Too slow. I then went "Tim
the Tool Man" and got a massager (vibrating) and placed it lightly next
to the cartridge. The good vibrations quickly filled that sponge area
with ink. If I caused any air bubbles to form it didn't matter since
I rested them overnight, or at least an hour or so after filling.
Recommended. Just don't remove the orange cap at the bottom UNTIL the
instructions tell you to.

The cartridges themselves are very nice, some of the best I've seen.
Better than a lot of store 3rd party cartridges I've bought!

Try the beginner set, and you be the judge!

-Taliesyn