How to fill an ink cartridge, Canon MG8220, CIS, Auto Reset Chips & Cli-251

Hi Everyone, I received a question today that I felt may benefit others, so I am posting it. Please remember you can always write to me. We specialize in aftermarket for Canon Pixma and can help you.

Dear InkjetReset:While trying to cut my printing costs down I came across your web page and found the list of printers on your FAQ page you recommend.I presently have a Wireless Canon Pixma MG6120 that I am replacing with a Wireless Canon Pixma MG8220 in order to gain DVD printing, Airprint and Cloud printing that my 6120 doesn’t offer.

 I see you have a couple of Canon 8120’s on your list, but not an 8220.

 My questions are . . .

1.    Do you have fillable or prefilled cartridges with resettable chips for the Canon MG8220. Doing a site search finds nothing for this printer. The new printer hasn’t arrived yet but I am pretty sure it uses the Cli-225 & Cli226 cartridges. 

2.   I had thought about trying to use a CIS ink system but after reading up on them it seems like I could generate a pile of problems trying to get it installed and working properly. I had tried refillable cartridges years ago but that didn’t work out good for me. Had ink everywhere. It appears that over time they have made the filling process a little easier and cleaner so I would be willing to try my luck at it again if necessary. I have seen some NON-OEM prefilled cartridges that looked like pretty high quality but they were only two dollars less than a genuine Canon cartridge. That is not a big enough saving for me to switch from genuine Canon ink.

3.   So my big question is do you have a recommendation of any products that you sell that would work in my new Canon Pixma MG8220 that would cut my printing expense without being too troublesome. Do you think I should go with a CIS system, refillable or prefilled cartridges for the best savings? Any guidance you could give me would be greatly appreciated. 

I have not received my new printer yet as it is in transit. I could return it but I don’t think that would help much with my decision. 

Thank you.

My Response: 

I need to update my website the 8220 came out after my last update, so it's not listed, but you're correct, it takes the cli-226 / pgi-225 carts, and we stock supplies for it.  

As of today, May 30, 2013, none of our wholesalers will admit to working on a resetter or chips for the new cli-251 / pgi-256 series, (I'll list those printers at the bottom of this blog.)

CIS - Continuous Ink Systems

As you have already found through your research, CIS setups may cause problems and this is why we do not stock them. We have not spoken to wholesalers about them for a few years, so they may have improved them, but through all my conversations, I have never had a wholesaler say they would guarantee these units not to leak or cause problems, which could be major problems when you are talking about so much ink. Thus we do not carry them and have not recommended them. 

If you plan to run a lot of photographs every week, then you need to see if you can find anyone who sells them and stands behind them because they would be an asset, The cli-226 carts are 1/3 smaller than the cli-8 carts were, so if you are going to be running a lot of prints, then you should keep two sets of carts, one in the printer and one ready to go. Then if you are in the middle of printing, you will not have to go refill ink carts and throw off your game. 

Are Empty Refillable Ink Cartridges with Automatic Reset Chips for You?

Our empty refillables with auto reset chips is what we use. They work fine for us and for many of our customers. 

However for some they are not the answer. The way they are designed, if you shut off your printer or take one out to refill, that resets your print monitor showing all of them as full. So if you rely on your print monitor, you need to refill all of them each time for the best experience. (Naturally, this is what the manufacturer recommends, but most Americans do not read instructions.)

Thus if you live in an area with many brown-outs, electrical storms, or you prefer to fully shut down every night, empty refillable ink cartridges with automatic reset chips would not be for you. 

We know we will be refilling every two weeks and that is our schedule so none of that matters to us. 

Pre-Filled Canon Compatible Ink Cartridges

In the past I used G&G carts without chips. I would reset the old empty cart in a chip resetter and then slide the chip off the old cart and slide it into the slot on the new one. This worked great for years, but when my eyes got bad, I found it too difficult to see the little slot and became frustrated, so I started refilling. 

My husband now does refilling and he never thought he would do that, but has discovered it is very easy to do with a syringe. 

How I Fill An Ink Cartridge:

• First I get all my supplies together. (I keep them in a little box, so they are always in one place - syringe, ink bottles and orange trays) and I place them on the counter next to the sink.
• I pull out my roll of paper towels from under the sink, place it on the counter. 
• I place a couple of paper towels on the counter, and then take one paper towel back to the printer with me.
• Then, one at a time, I take each cart out of the printer and place it sideways on the paper towel which I am holding in my hand.  
• I stack them sideways so the ink flow hole is not touching the paper towel. (You can let the ink flow hole touch the paper towel, but then you will need more paper towels because the towel will draw ink out of the cart, and I like to keep the ink off my hands.)
• Once I have my stack of carts, I take them to the sink. 
• I place them on the counter on top of another paper towel, then put the little orange trays onto the carts. 
• Now I am ready to refill them.
• So one at a time, I follow this sequence:
• Remove the plug at the top of a cart. 
• Open the matching ink bottle and using the syringe, I fill it with about 10ml of ink and then fill the cart. 
• Once the cart is full I put the syringe in the sink, 
• Replace the plug on the cart and 
• Replace the cap on the bottle, 
• Wash the syringe and then go to the next cart following the same routine. 

• Once all carts are full, I place them on a clean paper towel and go back to the printer. 
• Then one at a time, I carefully take the orange tray off and put each one into its correct slot in my printer. 

You may ask why are using another paper towel. Because when the orange tray is removed, often a little ink will come out of the cart, so better to catch it with a paper towel than have it fall onto your printer, your floor, or your hands. 

Then all that is left to do is rinse the trays, make sure the syringe is clean, make sure the caps are tight on the ink bottles, throw out the paper towels and put everything away.

I have taken the time to outline the steps because when you know the process, you will not have to think about how and thus will not end up having a mess of ink anywhere including on your hands. 

The Best Savings

The best savings is without question, refilling your own carts. This can save you over 90% in printing costs. The only question is if using the Asian chip series is the best choice for you. 

How To Refill Without A Mess Using Original Canon Chips
(Forget drilling, or loose unstable covers over the ink flow hole)

If you decide the Auto Reset Chips are not for you, you can buy a set of chipless empty reifllables and get a resetter. Then as each original Canon cart becomes empty, reset the chip in the resetter and then peel it off the canon cart. 

Pulling the chip off is easily done by putting a fingernail under the center of the bottom of the chip and pulling forward. It will release and you may have to twist or snap the last bit of plastic that holds it. 

Then slide that chip into place on your new cart. You can also glue it in place. Then fill it up by following the steps above. 

Why Use Original Canon Chips?

Using the original Canon chips with a resetter gives you everything Canon gives you, perfect print monitor information whether the printer gets turned off or not. 

I hope that helps. I will post this on my blog so others can use the information. Thanks for the question and for visiting inkjetreset.com

We try to give our customers all the help we can to go green, save money and take better care of our beautiful Mother Earth. 

Best to you,

Michele 

List of the new Canon Pixma printers. 

These use PGI-250 and CLI-251, At this writing, none of our wholesalers will confirm that a resetter or auto reset chips are even in research and development. But of course we suspect they are and I anticipate a new resetter for these will be available Fall of 2013.   

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