refilling Canon BC-02 cartridges

[Allan Adler]

I have an old Canon BC-02 dot matrix printer. I have no complaints about
the ink cartridges themselves, but I'm interested in the possibility of
experimenting with other inks that I might put in the cartridges. What I
would like to do is take an empty cartridge and somehow put some other
kind of ink into it. If you know how to do that, please tell me.

In the absence of any other information, my first idea would be to take
one of the empty cartridges apart and try to figure out how it works.
That might give me some idea how to refill it. For example, if there is
a chamber somewhere that holds the ink, maybe a hole can be drilled into
the side of the cartridge and used to refill it, including in the mix
whatever other solvents (e.g. isopropyl alcohol) might be needed. Once
the cartridge is refilled, the hole can be plugged again.

Has anyone tried this?

Another alternative I'm considering is whether the cartridge can be
replaced by something else that one makes oneself. I have even less
of an idea of what it would take to do that, since it seems it would
involve reverse engineering at least part of the printer. I wouldn't
mind knowing how that is done, but I'm not qualified to do it myself.

Ignorantly,
Allan Adler
(e-mail address removed)

****************************************************************************
* *
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT Artificial *
* Intelligence Lab. My actions and comments do not reflect *
* in any way on MIT. Moreover, I am nowhere near the Boston *
* metropolitan area. *
* *
****************************************************************************

 

[Lucas Tam]

[posted and mailed]

I have an old Canon BC-02 dot matrix printer.

Inkjet printer. Dot Matrix printers use an impact head to strike an inked
ribbon to print ; )

What I would like to do is take an empty cartridge and
somehow put some other kind of ink into it. If you know how to do
that, please tell me.

Easiest place to start would be at your local office supply store
(Staples, Office Depot, etc). I've purchased a couple of BC-02 refill
kits from Staples a few years back.

That might give me some idea how to refill it.

Just drop by your local Staples store or check out one of the online
refill ink resellers such as http://www.atlanticinkjet.com or
http://www.weink.com. eBay also has several resellers of OEM cartridges
and refill kits.


P.S. The BC-02 is a bit messy to refill if you're not careful because
it's hard to judge how much ink is in the cartridge. Just take your time
and you'll do fine.

 

[Gary Tait]

I have an old Canon BC-02 dot matrix printer. I have no complaints about
the ink cartridges themselves, but I'm interested in the possibility of
experimenting with other inks that I might put in the cartridges. What I
would like to do is take an empty cartridge and somehow put some other
kind of ink into it. If you know how to do that, please tell me.

I think they have a foam ink reservoir. You would hve to probably
dis-asssemble the cart to replace, or at least clean the froam pad,
and clean the original ink from the head.

Also, they have an integrated head as part of the cartridge, IIRC.

If you just want to refill, just get a compatible ink.
If you want to play with inks, I'd get a lexmark or possibly an HP
that might be easier to play with, due to cartridge design,

 

[five]

I have an old Canon BC-02 dot matrix printer. I have no complaints about
the ink cartridges themselves, but I'm interested in the possibility of
experimenting with other inks that I might put in the cartridges. What I
would like to do is take an empty cartridge and somehow put some other
kind of ink into it. If you know how to do that, please tell me.

In the absence of any other information, my first idea would be to take
one of the empty cartridges apart and try to figure out how it works.
That might give me some idea how to refill it. For example, if there is
a chamber somewhere that holds the ink, maybe a hole can be drilled into
the side of the cartridge and used to refill it, including in the mix
whatever other solvents (e.g. isopropyl alcohol) might be needed. Once
the cartridge is refilled, the hole can be plugged again.

Has anyone tried this?

Another alternative I'm considering is whether the cartridge can be
replaced by something else that one makes oneself. I have even less
of an idea of what it would take to do that, since it seems it would
involve reverse engineering at least part of the printer. I wouldn't
mind knowing how that is done, but I'm not qualified to do it myself.

Ignorantly,
Allan Adler
(e-mail address removed)

****************************************************************************
* *
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT Artificial *
* Intelligence Lab. My actions and comments do not reflect *
* in any way on MIT. Moreover, I am nowhere near the Boston *
* metropolitan area. *
* *
****************************************************************************

hello

http://www.refill-instructions.com/refilling_canon_cartridges.htm