A few fun facts about 8300 head changing ink usage.

[All Thumbs]

I just got done changing the right print head on my 8300.  It seems like it was a little early but my environment is quite dusty so i'm not upset about the head change.  The Canon tech, who was very helpful, said that it would require about 20% of the ink in a 330ml set of carts to charge the head.  Before the head change I weighed 4 of the carts from the right bank and 2 from the left.  I also weighed the maint. cart.  I then weighed the same carts after printer recharged the new head. 

Results: usage varied from 7 grams to 12 grams per cart.  both right and left.  The maint. cart gained 110 grams which gives an average of 9 grams per cart.

before the printer would start the head change it required that I put in a new maint. cart. because the cart. in the machine was 80% full.

another factoid: an empty 330ml cart weighs 114 -115 grams.

I assume that 1 ml of ink weighs about 1 gram.

I purchased my printer and ink from a local (sf bay area) company, Spectraflow.  They got the head to me the next day with free shipping.  A good reason to shop full service and local.

[bill t.]

Thanks for the science!  Your numbers seem to agree with my high-side estimate based on experience of something less than 3% of the ink supply.  I have changed many heads on my workhorse 8300, and I don't think my maintenance cart level has ever changed.  I am baffled by reports that head changes require huge amounts of ink and most of a maintenance cartridge.  I wonder if different firmware versions use different amounts of ink.

Have gotten all my head replacements for free directly through the Canon support telephone line, shipped overnight at no cost.  Canon just loves it when I buy lots of ink, and they can tell you're buying Canon ink by some codes in the printer itself.

I too am a big fan of weighing consumables, especially canvas coating and glue.  Brings sanity to the uncertain world of canvas schlepping.  Everybody should go right now to ebay and buy a "5kg scale" like the SF 400 or "Fasgoo" for about $8.25 shipped from a few US suppliers.  Can only speak for the SF 400, it's gram-accurate up to 5,000 of them and can take a beating.

[deanwork]

What happens with the 8300 is that unlike the HP Z printers, there is a pretty deep ink reservoir compartment that has to be filled apparently when it has been emptied. I have pulled carts out that seem totally empty but the printer is sill printing that ink color because there is plenty left in the machine before the cart is replaced. At a certain point obviously the printer runs clean of ink and just stops and that is it.

I have also found Canon to be really generous about replacing heads on this model if you call in and they check your ink usage. They are definitely motivated by selling ink and media and not print heads.

john

[Shark_II]

Here is another factoid for ya.  You probably tossed out a perfectly good maintenance tank.  I have found I can reset the maintenance tanks an average of 3 times before they actually become "full"... even with head changes.

Head over to the Canon forum and get the written procedures necessary to reset the maintenance cartridge.  http://canonipf.wikispaces.com/

Quit tossing money out the window.