Friday, March 29, 2019

Why the CISS ink not flowing into the cartridge - sponge cartridge problem

I am going to share a trick, how to make the ink flow from the ink tank reservoir into the cartridge smoothly for Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS). This trick only apply to sponge type cartridge, where it uses sponge inside the cartridge to hold ink. Color printers made by Canon and HP usually use sponge type cartridges.

I am using HP Photosmart C4580 All-In-One printer which can print, scan, and photocopy. Sometimes ago i have installed CISS system on it to save money printing at home especially for normal documents. And indeed the CISS is really save a lot of money because it can print and photocopy thousands of documents without worry running out of ink. And never think of buying new cartridges all the time which cost around RM57 (tri-color) and RM52 (black).when you can fill in the tank reservoir 100ml each for RM10 only.



The first time installing the CISS was very frustrating experience, keep trying one after another the ink still not flowing from the tank reservoir to the cartridge. However after repeated try and error, at last i found the solution to the problem.

Note that the cartridge is using sponge, and if you don't push the sponge deeper it will always come up and block the host opening where the ink suppose to flow into the cartridge. The sponge also prevent the cartridge to have space vacuum to store air needed to hold the ink to flow in. So what you should do is take a piece of metal or long-enough object that can fit in the refill hole to push the sponge away from the hole.

This will keep away the sponge from blocking the CISS ink to flow in. And also it store vacuum inside the cartridge that contains enough pressure to hold the ink from going backward to the tank reservoir.



Also make sure the other two extra hold in the middle is sealed either by rubber sealer that comes with the CISS kit you purchased. Or you can use silicon gun to permanently seal it. If these two holes are not sealed, they allow air to escape from the cartridge thus no air pressure to hold the ink to flow in. And without air pressure the ink will reverse back to the ink tank reservoir.

24 comments:

  1. The CISS tubes terminate on an elbow which is pressed into the cartridge. The hole of cartridge is drilled and a rubber tubing is already placed through which the elbow is pressed into it. Then how to place the metal object in refill hole?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is no need for metal object in the CISS setup..because the refilling can be done through the ink tank reservoir instead of the cartridge.

      Delete
  2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Greetings: I've already reset my canon ip2770, but when i print, there's no magenta came out only cyan & yellow..pls help for this problem..thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It could be the piping is too tight or present of air inside the host. Can you do a test using magenta color. Find a color magenta on the net and print it few time then after that leave it for few minutes and do another test print...once it is done then you can try full color printing hopefully the magenta color is coming out by then.

      Sometimes the weather of hot and cold can cause this problem. The best is i recommend you to buy the EPSON L100 or L200 as http://howtodosteps.blogspot.com/2013/11/epson-l200-ciss-printer-continuous-ink.html this is factory manufactured so those problem is not a big deal.

      Delete
  4. hi admin..may i know where i can buy all ciss diy tool and how much it is cost?

    ReplyDelete
  5. DIY CISS tools are usually made in china because they have the cheapest products. You can find them in ebay or dealextreme. But where are you from exactly? if you are from malaysia you can buy from lelong.com.my, mudah.com.my etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi do i need new cartridges while installing ciss or old cartridge which just ran out will wokk

      Delete
    2. old catridge is better than using the new one...because you don't need to drain out the ink...but if you don't have the new one is good too

      Delete
  6. Hello,
    Can I use old HP cartridge for CISS?
    What if the printer cannot detect my cartridge?
    Do I need to buy new HP cartridge to use CISS?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes you can use old HP cartridge for CISS its cost saving...don't use new cartridge too expensive to buy. If you can find used cartridge from your friends, office or from your rubbish bean take it and experiment it...but you will need to make sure the cartridge fit the model of your printer..each cartridge has its own tech spec for each of the printers....not all can fit..

      But if you cannot find an old cartridge then you have to buy new one but i would think its a waste of money. What i did before here in my country luckily people are selling old cartridge for very cheap price so i can buy from them and use it....it's good to have old cartridge to experiment how it works.

      Remember that HP is unfortunately one of the toughest to make CISS due to its cartridge internal structure and also the printer built. But it is not impossible....so old cartridge is a good choice to experiment it

      Delete
  7. dear admin, i have IP 2770 Ciss canon printer. the problem is the printer cannor print any document because it stated that i have to change the catridge (the color one) the black did not have any problems. so how i want to solve this? any suggestion?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This could be due to the cartridge electronic circuit is dirty or faulty

      Try to clean the cartridge electronic circuit and also the place holder circuit with dry cloth - don't use wet cloth. If this does not work you may need to get a new cartridge.

      Delete
  8. greetings!
    i have canon mp230 cis converted for the first time.i already used it and its good. reset it few times already but now the cyan ink doesnt flow on its pipe near the cartridge.when i print, i tried printing cyan color and its not printing perfectl. what should i do?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Try to use a paper and find a color cyan to print - do it few times and comes back again eventually the ink will flow. Or you can use cartridge primer tool to suck the ink.

      Refer How maintain CISS ink flow

      Delete
  9. greetings!
    I have canon pixma 2770, it is already converted. My problem is the cyan ink lines totally disappears and drains back to the bottle. I tried cleaning it up but nothing happens. I also tried to use the syringe to pump it up but it keeps on draining back. The other three colors are working properly. Is there any ways to solve my problem?

    ReplyDelete
  10. You may try tips here http://howtodosteps.blogspot.my/2010/07/how-to-maintain-or-increase-air.html hope it helps

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you for sharing your experience. It makes sense and I will try as soon as I get home

    ReplyDelete
  12. printer displays no toner/ink after sic conversion? any troubleshooting suggestions?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Topmost HP 415A Toner Cartridge in UAE, Magenta Original Toner Cartridge in UAE, LaserJet Toner Cartridge in UAE
    https://gccgamers.com/printers-inks.html/hp-415a-magenta-original-laserjet-toner-cartridge-w2033a.html

    ReplyDelete