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General discussion

Remanufactured print cartridges

Nov 11, 2009 3:06AM PST

I have a Canon Pixma iP1700 printer. Having installed remanufactured printer cartridges, the printer's lights blink and I get a message on my PC (Windows XP) that the cartridges are not installed properly, even though they are. Or I get a message that one or two of the cartridges are not recognized.

Is there anything I can download or adjust so these cartridges will work. I performed a PC recovery a few weeks ago, but prior to that, the remanufactured cartridges worked with my PC.

Help. Thanks, JSL

Discussion is locked

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So what does the re-maker say?
Nov 11, 2009 3:36AM PST

This is one of the reasons I stick to new carts.

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Bad sign, just replace
Nov 11, 2009 7:47AM PST

If you've used refills before and now these are causing problems, then very likely the recent refills are kaput. There's no knowing what the use history of any ink cart can be. I have always suggested that user that refill their own, count on at least 3-5 refills before pitching them as they do fail. There is no s/w I know of that can svae a refill, just think h/w and proceed to replace. The agony of any fix may not be worth it as well, just buy another set.

tada -----Willy Happy

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also having printer problem
Nov 11, 2009 8:23AM PST

I followed the advice of some cnet'ers and purchased remanufactured ink for my epson cx 6600 all in one printer. Loading went find and the printer seems to have accepted the cartridge because ink showed up as 100% filled on my LED screen. Problem is I haven't used the printer in almost a year and I realize that ink is the print head. I tried to clean the head and then run the nozzle check function numerous times to no avail. The small manual that I have said wait overnight and try again. Nothing happens when I did the nozzle check. I did try to realign the printer heads and yellow bars printed so I know ink is in there and can come out. I have almost depleted the black ink during the head cleaning function and the colored cartridges are also depleting but not as fast. I bought the cartridges in a bundle with two black so I do I have a backup. should I continue cleaning and running the nozzle check until something prints or will that hurt the printer? This is day two and I own up to the fact that I did not run the printer for a long time.

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Ohh...Those Epsons
Nov 12, 2009 11:13AM PST

Bear with me on this but 1yr. is NOT good for non-printing use. The problem is compounded by it being an Epson ptr. which uses separate prthd. and ink carts. In other words, the ink and prthd. are not together like in some other printers. So even if you replace te ink cart, the prthd. still being "clogged" will need persistent cleaning cycles -OR- use cleaning ink carts that dislodge or dilute ink clogs. Replacing ink carts and installing them just to clean gets expensive and you get a point if they doesn't fix it, buy another printer, because a repair fix on the prthd. is too much as near as a new printer.

I suggest you make a small swatch of clean cloth or shop towel(lint free), soak in water and place under the prthd. where it parks. Allow it to sit overnight and retry in the morning or hrs. later, repeat, repeat until maybe it gets unclogged.

tada -----Willy Happy

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ohh...those epsons
Nov 12, 2009 11:59AM PST

I suggest you make a small swatch of clean cloth or shop towel(lint free), soak in water and place under the prthd. where it parks. Allow it to sit overnight and retry in the morning or hrs. later, repeat, repeat until maybe it gets unclogged.


I want to make sure I am understanding correctly what I am doing here. When you say soak in water are you talking about making a little damp or wet? also where precisely am I placing the cloth? I ran through the black ink cartridge doing the head cleaning for two days but luckily l bought two cartridges. When I ran the head alignment the yellow bars printed heavily, but nozzle check produced only a a faint yellow line. I paid $99.00 for the printer back in 2004 so if I have to replace it it would be cheaper than buying cartridge after cartridge. I will try your suggestion for a couple of days and see what happens. Thanks a lot for your input.