Having designed and started selling the waste ink bags I realised they work quite well but still had something of a weakness in that they can still be folded, twisted, have stuff put on them, etc... all of which could potentially force the ink back into the printhead parking pad.



In the main I suspect most people are being sensible about this and keeping it round the back and being careful re: the printer location to make sure they don't drop anything on top. Despite this I figured a belt and braces approach would necessarily go amiss so I've found a suitable rigid container with a water tight seal to produce the WIBB kit..

Enter... WIBB the "Waste Ink Bag in a Box"... or as I've started calling it "What if Ink Bag Breaks"

It's very much a try it and see because I'm not convinced it will necessarily sell but I could see some environments when it would be worth having this sort of thing available (young curious children or people who are just plain clumsy, being just two of them!).

Any feedback welcome on this... and just out of interest I'm debating adding some strong Velcro tape to the kit as a way to secure the box against the printer or similar. Useful or not?


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Printers: (Canon) MP500/830, MX700, iP4000/4200/4300/4500/5200, iX4000(A3) (Epson) C84/86, D88, CX6600, R285/800/1900 (HP) K550, K850, K5400, L7680

You seem to know how to design waste ink tanks, perhaps you could answer my question:

"The ink container MUST be placed so that the highest possible ink level is still lower than the printhead"

Is this true for canon? I have installed a few waste ink tanks and I just place the bottle near the printer at the same level. The tubes a routed on the bottom inside the printer but at the end it is higher then printhead because it must read the top of the bottle. about 10cm height.

I Don't have any problems but need to make sure.

smilem wrote:

You seem to know how to design waste ink tanks, perhaps you could answer my question:

"The ink container MUST be placed so that the highest possible ink level is still lower than the printhead"

Is this true for canon? I have installed a few waste ink tanks and I just place the bottle near the printer at the same level. The tubes a routed on the bottom inside the printer but at the end it is higher then printhead because it must read the top of the bottle. about 10cm height.

I Don't have any problems but need to make sure.

Think I've answered this elsewhere.. basically it's an unknown for the Canon printers but as a rule good practice as gravity is still gravity.


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Printers: (Canon) MP500/830, MX700, iP4000/4200/4300/4500/5200, iX4000(A3) (Epson) C84/86, D88, CX6600, R285/800/1900 (HP) K550, K850, K5400, L7680

I presume you're venting - ie making a hole in the box - so that pressure equalises, otherwise with temperature fluctuations it could pump the waste ink back into the printer?

J

jokskot wrote:

I presume you're venting - ie making a hole in the box - so that pressure equalises, otherwise with temperature fluctuations it could pump the waste ink back into the printer?

Actually there isn't a vent but this is because the air volume vs' the potential ink volume is pretty big allowing ink to flow without creating undue pressure.

That said, it is important to "prime" the box in a warm environment by opening it up in a warm room and then sealing it before use otherwise there is the potential for the box to be full of cold dense air and then be placed in a hot/summer environment which expands it and might just create too much pressure if the bag is pretty full.

Also worth noting that the bag can get filled with air as part of the purge process which is actually more of a potential problem if you get a full bag and a very hot day.


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Printers: (Canon) MP500/830, MX700, iP4000/4200/4300/4500/5200, iX4000(A3) (Epson) C84/86, D88, CX6600, R285/800/1900 (HP) K550, K850, K5400, L7680

I decided that it was worth double checking the results I'd found with the boxes and in a somewhat bizarre twist it seems that the boxes I'm using will not generally overpressure so long as you don't prime them in a cold room..

... what does happen though is that air is allowed to escape but not to re-enter the boxes so if you try to empty a bag while it's still contained in the box it won't allow negative pressure in the box so it draws air back in.


As a result I've opted to create a small vent hole (less than 1mm diameter), clearly marked, to negate the effect. The box should still have the desired effect of protecting against any knocks or spills whilst still allowing normal pressure variances and avoid the issue above.


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Printers: (Canon) MP500/830, MX700, iP4000/4200/4300/4500/5200, iX4000(A3) (Epson) C84/86, D88, CX6600, R285/800/1900 (HP) K550, K850, K5400, L7680