Thursday, 22 March 2012

Canon Ink Cartridges - Non Use and Refill of BJC-620 Ink Cartridges

The people who talk about clogging, etc. must have never seen a BJC-620, in which the printhead and ink tanks are separate. I've had a 620 for about 16 months and having printed almost nothing on it (have a laser for most needs) have noticed that the ink tanks last about 5 months. My third set of cartridges at $40 per set have just recently gone dry. (Actually only the color ones are dry. The larger black one lasts longer.) I foolishly threw away the first set of empties, but I still have two sets. I decided that I've sent enough money to Canon and searched the web for a more economical solution. What I found was Bob Nedved and his re.ink.kit refill kit where, for $74.50 I got an amount of bulk ink equivalent to about $800 worth of new cartridges. Included also are 4 syringes and 4 small screws. The procedure is to make a small hole in each tank tank and seal it with a screw. To refill, you remove the screw, inject a few cc of ink, replace the screw, and clean the syringe with a little alcohol or distilled water. Filling the first cartridge was a little messy, but once you get the hang of it, it's a snap. The kit doesn't completely eliminate buying new tanks, because the tanks themselves eventually need to be replaced, but it sure does cut the annual maintenance cost, whether you only use the printer a little or if you use it a lot.
Epson uses a piezo-electric print head, and an alcohol-based ink. If you don't like paying for Epson's ink cartridges, use Pelikan's (I think that is the brand I use - it is certainly one of the old-fashioned ink manufacturers). They seem to use a higher molecular weight alcohol than Epson, so the cartridges last me more like six months than three in the old (1993) Epson Stylus Q800.

HP and Canon use a water-based ink, that is actually heated to boiling in the print-head to spit out droplets - so the print head corrodes rapidly, which is why their "ink cartridges" contain an new print-head and only about 15 ml ink, as much as the print-head can reliably spit out.

Setting Up Wireless Canon Printers in 5 Easy Steps

Setting up a Wireless Printer in 5 Easy Steps

1. Determine the Type of Wireless Printer

You'll be using the wireless router to connect the new wireless printer to your home network so make sure the router is up and running. Most new computers and wireless printers are equipped with either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi capabilities. If your printer is not wireless you can purchase a wireless card that plugs into a USB port.

2. Select the Location of the Wireless Printer

The wireless printer should be set up in a place at home or in the office that is accessible to everyone and where there is ample space for paper, printer ink and other supplies. If you are using Bluetooth wireless you may want to give this some thought since Bluetooth printers have a smaller wireless range than Wi-Fi printers.

3. Enable Printer Sharing

The server computer's operating system must be informed that the printer you are adding to the network is a wireless printer. (The server computer is the one the printer is connected to.)
In Windows Vista, this is done by accessing the network settings in the Control Panel and then activating file and printer sharing in the local area network settings.
For Windows XP go to Start, Control Panel, Printers and Other Hardware, "View installed printers or fax printers." Right-click on your printer and select "Sharing", then select "Share this Printer." Give the printer a name and click OK.

4. Add the Wireless Printer to any other Computers on your Network

The other computers on the network must also be set up for using the wireless printer. To do this in Windows Vista, open the Control Panel in the classic view and then open Printers. Right click on the printer that is going to be shared, and then open Properties. In Properties, check the box that allows the printer to be a shared device.
For Windows XP you will need to do the following:

· Open Control Panel, Printers and Faxes, and click on "Add a printer."

· This will take you into a wizard to find the printer you shared previously.

· Click Next until you are at the Local or Network Printer page.

· Select "A network printer or a printer attached to another computer" and click Next.

· Now click "Browse for a printer" and click Next. This will display your workgroup, the PCs connected to it and any printers that are attached to them.

· Click on the wireless printer you shared earlier and click Next. [This should install the driver automatically. If not, you may need to get the CD software that came with the printer.]

· Now click Yes to make the wireless printer the default printer for this PC (or No if the computer already has one attached to it).

· Click Finish.

5. Troubleshooting Wireless Printers

Both this computer and the one the wireless printer is attached to might need a reboot. If you're not seeing the computer it is attached to, double-check that all computers have the same network name: go to Control Panel, Performance & Maintenance, "See basic information about your computer." From there click on "Computer Name" and your workgroup will be displayed.
If you're not seeing the printer, make sure it's switched on. If printer still doesn't work, you may need to install the printer driver using the software CD that came with it.

Canon Printer Technical Support