Help! Need advice on Canon i860 BCI-3e config

M

mickeyt

I have a Canon i860 Bubblejet with the Canon Print Manager software/driver
Ver8.03
on an old Win98 machine. Each time I try to print black text, it insists on
printing from
the BCI-6 Black cartridge (small) instead of the BCI-3e Black
(plenty of ink there). I have been through the configuration settings
(gray-scale, text, etc.)
and can't seem to get it to use the BCI-3e. Any advice?

Thanks!
 
T

Taliesyn

I have a Canon i860 Bubblejet with the Canon Print Manager software/driver
Ver8.03
on an old Win98 machine. Each time I try to print black text, it insists on
printing from
the BCI-6 Black cartridge (small) instead of the BCI-3e Black
(plenty of ink there). I have been through the configuration settings
(gray-scale, text, etc.)
and can't seem to get it to use the BCI-3e. Any advice?

Thanks!

You didn't mention how you were able to tell which cartridge was being
used?

I can tell you that BCI-3e ink (OEM or true pigment aftermarket) is near
waterproof while BCI-6 is not. So if you wet a BCI-3e printout it will
stay sharp. If BCI-6 black was used the ink will to feather and lose
sharpness.

-Taliesyn
 
M

measekite

Win 98 and the supporting hardware is to obsolete to bother with.  Microsoft stopped supporting is ions ago.  It is almost like asking a question about a typewriter.

[email protected] wrote:

I have a Canon i860 Bubblejet with the Canon Print Manager software/driver Ver8.03 on an old Win98 machine. Each time I try to print black text, it insists on printing from the BCI-6 Black cartridge (small) instead of the BCI-3e Black (plenty of ink there). I have been through the configuration settings (gray-scale, text, etc.) and can't seem to get it to use the BCI-3e. Any advice? Thanks!
 
M

measekite

Taliesyn said:
You didn't mention how you were able to tell which cartridge was being
used?

I can tell you that BCI-3e ink (OEM or true pigment aftermarket) nothing aftermarket is true.
is near
waterproof while BCI-6 is not.
near waterproof means it is not waterproof. that is like almost pregnant.
 
T

Taliesyn

measekite said:
Win 98 and the supporting hardware is to obsolete to bother with.
Microsoft stopped supporting is ions ago. It is almost like asking a
question about a typewriter.

I doubt that very much. "Ions" are atoms that have acquired a net
electrical charge. An "eon" is a geological unit of time. Microsoft has
never created software down to the atomic level. If you want to be
believed in anything you say you better get your words right.

-Taliesyn
 
T

Taliesyn

measekite said:
nothing aftermarket is true.


near waterproof means it is not waterproof. that is like almost pregnant.

Of course things can be near waterproof. Spill water on a page printed
with BCI-3e, wipe it dry and it's fine. Do the same with BCI-6 ink and
it's smudged. Capisce?

-Taliesyn

 
M

mickeyt

Thanks for the help (for those that have something constructive)
My first observation was the rapid decrease in BCI-6 ink when I use the printer
primarily to print black text (95% of time).
Also, I replaced all the cartridges at the same time (3 months ago), and the
BCI-6 Black is near empty while the BCI-3e is full.
I tried the water test, and the ink does feather, which would indicate
the BCI-6 is being used.

Measekite, I appreciate your comments on my operating system, however:
1. I was interested in troubleshooting a printer problem, which is why
I posted a request in the PRINTERS group.
2. My Windows 98 OS has not ceased to function, so I intend to continue using
it. It does what I need, thus it does not require fixing. Last time I checked,
Canon states that the printer is compatible with Win98.
 
M

Mickey

I have a Canon i860 Bubblejet with the Canon Print Manager software/driver
Ver8.03
on an old Win98 machine. Each time I try to print black text, it insists on
printing from
the BCI-6 Black cartridge (small) instead of the BCI-3e Black
(plenty of ink there). I have been through the configuration settings
(gray-scale, text, etc.)
and can't seem to get it to use the BCI-3e. Any advice?

Thanks!
Don't have much to offer but I do have the same printer and was using
W98 a yr ago. Never had a problem with wrong blk ink usage.

What you your printer settings, i.e. paper used, print qlty, gray scale
setting etc.? Oh does this happen with all SW applications or just one?

Mickey
 
D

DanG

I have a Canon i860 Bubblejet with the Canon Print Manager software/driver
Ver8.03
on an old Win98 machine. Each time I try to print black text, it insists
on
printing from
the BCI-6 Black cartridge (small) instead of the BCI-3e Black
(plenty of ink there). I have been through the configuration settings
(gray-scale, text, etc.)
and can't seem to get it to use the BCI-3e. Any advice?

Thanks!

The Canon will use photo black when you use duplex mode, or if you select
anything other than plain paper.
 
M

measekite

Taliesyn said:
I doubt that very much. "Ions" are atoms that have acquired a net
electrical charge. An "eon" is a geological unit of time. Microsoft has
never created software down to the atomic level. If you want to be
believed in anything you say you better get your words right.

-Taliesyn

When did you get into the 7th grade.
 
M

measekite

Taliesyn said:
Of course things can be near waterproof. Spill water on a page printed
with BCI-3e, wipe it dry and it's fine. Do the same with BCI-6 ink and
it's smudged. Capisce?

-Taliesyn
 
T

Taliesyn

measekite said:

If your brand of ink runs (that you bought "ions" ;-) ago) then you've
been had. Next time buy true pigment black and you won't have these
kinds of problems - like smudgy ink. Stick with the good stuff.

-Taliesyn
 
F

Frank

measekite wrote:
When did you get into the 7th grade.

--------------------------------------

Ah yes....responses like that only prove that you are without a doubt a
mentally deranged moron.
Frank

oh, I almost forgot...and you are also an idiot.
 
B

Burt

Mickey - Computers are tools and not an end in themselves. If Win98 works
for you and you have programs and drivers that work under Win98, pay no
attention to our village troll and keep on enjoying what you do on the
computer. If you were an IT guy in a large networked system you would best
stay with more recent OS versions that are supported.

The large BCI-3ebk cart is used for printing when you've selected plain
paper and you are not usind the duplex function. I think that Taliesyn
posted that info in this thread or one in the same time period. Printing
text is not the issue - it is the paper choice and the selection or
avoidance of duplexing that tells the printer which cart to use. The
pigmented ink in the BCI-3ebk cart is best for text in that it is water
resistant and produces sharper text on plain paper. It doesn't work as well
on glossy photo paper, however, as it sits on top of the surface and has a
different sheen.

The next issue has to do with ink being used up regardless of which paper
selection or cart color you print from. Inkjet printers run automatic
cleaning cycles that use ink from all of the carts. What this means is that
printing black text on plain paper 95% of the time will still end up
emptying all the carts in time due to the cleaning cycles. This is
necessary to keep ink flowing through all the nozzles to prevent clogs from
ink drying in the tiny orifaces.
 
A

Arthur Entlich

I think the BCI-3e is pigment and should print in text only and black
only usage, while the BCI-6 is a dye ink cartridge designed for use in
photo images and color applications. Make sure the image is in black
and white format only. I am not sure if gray scale is acceptable for a
pigment black ink output or not.


Art
 
A

Arthur Entlich

;-)

There are still nearly 20 million installed win 9X systems in use
worldwide, which may not be a big percentage relative to the full
installed base of computers globally, but if I had a dime for each one,
I'd be a millionaire. ;-0 I don't believe obsolete can be qualified (as
in "to (sic) obsolete") Things are either obsolete or they are not. And
besides, MS support for Win 98 only ended about half a year ago, not ion
(sic) ago.

What is obsolete is the ridiculous amount of misinformation measkite
provides regularly.

Art
 
M

measekite

Arthur said:
;-)

There are still nearly 20 million installed win 9X systems in use
worldwide, which may not be a big percentage relative to the full
installed base of computers globally, but if I had a dime for each
one, I'd be a millionaire. ;-0 I don't believe obsolete can be
qualified (as in "to (sic) obsolete") Things are either obsolete or
they are not. And besides, MS support for Win 98 only ended about
half a year ago, not ion (sic) ago.

What is obsolete is the ridiculous amount of misinformation measkite
provides regularly.

The know it all will not even recognize that Win2k is in a sense
obsolete for the home user. Many corporations are still using it
because of the expense in switching. Microsoft has already announced
that they will withdraw support for Win2K.

NT is already obsolete. Besides Win 98 is junk.
 
B

Burt

Art - I leave my wife's ip5000 printer on the plain paper default setting
except for the rare occasion when she wants to print a photo. She prints
mainly web pages that do have some color included. With mixed text and
color pages I believe that the printer still uses the BCI-3ebk cart when on
plain paper setting. This "best guess" is based on the fact that I rarely
refill the black dye based cart, but the pigment based cart needs to be
refilled more frequently. No problem with mixed text and color on the page.
It is only used when the paper selection is plain paper and duplexing is not
used. Obviously, the printer doesn't know if what it is printing is text or
graphics, so it relies on the paper setting for which black ink cart it
uses. You are correct that the BCI 3ebk cart is pigmented ink. I've seen
reports, however, that some BCI-3ebk refill inks and some prefilled
aftermarket carts are dye based and not pigment based inks. Purchasers
should verify that they are receiving the proper inks when buying these
products. The Canon aftermarket ink vendors that are mentioned most often
here as reliable can be reached by phone to clarify this issue.

I haven't experimented with the gray scale setting, but, in my estimation,
there is no need for it when printing primarily text, and it may not work
properly anyway as you suggest. (that is, unless you really want a black
printed page only.) My wife's previous printer had only the dye based inks
and I was not refilling carts then. To avoid using the color inks we turned
on the gray scale setting. No need to do that if one is printing a
predominantly black text or graphic page. If there is a little color on the
page it will probably use a very minor amount of color ink compared to the
ink that gets dumped into the bottom of the printer with cleaning cycles!
In addition, any ink you use has to be replenished, and the cost of all the
inks are comparable. Bottom line - if gray scale is selected to save money,
you save very little by using black ink instead of color ink. If money is
really the issue you would do better by refilling with good aftermarket
inks.
 
A

Arthur Entlich

Thanks for the clarification regarding Canon printer ink usage in
regarding to the dye versus larger pigment ink cartridge, Burt.

The reason I mentioned text is that some image content may appear black
but be slightly colored so that the color ink may need to be activated,
where, in general, text if approaching black, is indeed black.

Art
 

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