Canon BCI-3e & BCI-6 Refilling Solutions

Most Common Problems

Printer leaves streaks in printed documents: 

This is the first sign that your printer ink cartridge is running out of ink. This is the best time to refill your ink cartridge. 

Printer does not print at all: 

Printer ink cartridge is out of ink or print head is burned out. 

Printer light is blinking and will not print: 

Printer ink cartridge is burned out or not seated properly in the printer. 

Printer ink cartridge is leaking: 

Improper vacuum displacement in ink cartridge or printer ink cartridge is over filled. Drill hole is not properly sealed.

Printer is smearing ink on paper: 

Improper vacuum displacement in ink cartridge or printer ink cartridge is over filled. 

Remedies Or Corrections

      After following all instructions that were provided with your refill kit as instructed, it may be necessary to clean the print head if your canon ink cartridge is not printing properly.  (The cartridges are numbered BC-30, BC-30e, BC-31, BC-31e, BC-32, BC-32e, BC-33, BC-33e, BC-34, or BC-34e.  This is NOT the ink tank that you refilled). This can be done by pouring hot distilled water into a cup or dish approximately 1/4" deep - it is important NOT to get any water into the ink cartridge itself.  Place the "Print-Head" (Bottom portion of the BC-30, BC-30e, BC-31, BC-31e, BC-32, BC-32e, BC-33, BC-33e, BC-34, or BC-34e canon ink cartridge, NOT the BCI-3 ink tanks where the ink exits the ink cartridge) in the HOT distilled water and let it soak for 1 minute. You will see the water solution start to cloud as the ink or combination of inks is heated and released from the canon BC-30, BC-30e, BC-31, BC-31e, BC-32, BC-32e, BC-33, BC-33e, BC-34, or BC-34e ink cartridge.  PLEASE NOTE:  The ink tank that has been refilled IS NOT what is being put in the water.  The print head is attached to the cartridge that the ink tank sits in.

      If the ink is leaking out of the cartridge as fast as you are injecting it,  slow down!  It should take 5-7 minutes to fill each BCI-3 ink tank, regardless if it is color, black, or a photo BCI-3 ink tank.  By injecting the ink too quickly, the ink isn't having time to saturate the sponge.  The pressure of the ink being injected is shooting it straight through the chamber and out the exit hole.  Inject a few CC's of ink, let the cartridge sit for a minute.  Do this until you have injected the amount of ink that the instructions call for.

     Another tip that you really must do for a successful refill of your canon bci-3 cyan, magenta,  yellow , black or any photo ink tank is to hold the tank at a 45º angle as you are injecting the ink, again keeping the ink from entering the sponge area as you are injecting it.  Let the tank sit on a 45 degree angle for about 30 minutes after refilling.  Return the tank back to the print head, install in the printer, and run a cleaning cycle as described in your users manual.

      If the canon BCI-3 cyan, magenta,  yellow, black or any photo tank is printing somewhat but not quite 100%, click on one of our TEST PRINT pages.  Print this page out at least 4-5 times.  Normally, doing this will work out any air bubbles that may have gotten trapped in the sponge as you were refilling.  Once the air is out of the sponge the tank will release ink instead of air, resulting in a better print.