How-To Continious Ink Supply System (CISS) for HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus

[Duan]

My previous CISS & Printer did not survive my move, so I had to buy a new one of each. I settled on the HP 8600 and after some challenges managed to find a CISS that works. WATCH OUT, these things, like DVDs, are region protected.

Demand from relatives and friends were high when I did my previous rig, so this time I did a survey and bought them all the same kit. This meant that I needed to record the instructions for relatives who needs to self install as they are not nearby.

For the benefit of those who would like to do the same, I have uploaded the video's here:
Part 1 - Overview and tools required to do the job (2:16) - http://youtu.be/ZectEPHGoMc
Part 2 - Where to put the tubes (2:24)- http://youtu.be/AfmQCvR6g30
Part 3 - Installing the cartridges into the printer head (4:25) - http://youtu.be/bVnhrSASnV0
Part 4 - Fitting the tubes (4:18) - http://youtu.be/6_DtRKxN0es
Part 5 - Locating clip 1 (1:24) - http://youtu.be/utZLftRpoMo
Part 6 - Locating clip 2 and complete install (0:56) - http://youtu.be/HjbJLLzwow0

Uploaded all videos.

Happy to answer any questions.

 

[DanH]

Nice Tutorial

Some idea on pricing and page yields would be great.

Also where you source the kit and refill ink.

And what do you mean by "are region protected"? I thought you are using your original mircochips. Is a South African 940XL cartridge different from say an American 940XL?

And lastly, does the printer start moaning that the cartridges are empty after a certain number of prints, and if so what can be done about it?

 

[Duan]

Nice Tutorial

Some idea on pricing and page yields would be great.

Also where you source the kit and refill ink.

And what do you mean by "are region protected"? I thought you are using your original mircochips. Is a South African 940XL cartridge different from say an American 940XL?

And lastly, does the printer start moaning that the cartridges are empty after a certain number of prints, and if so what can be done about it?

DanH,

Disclaimer: Just to be clear, I am not promoting or selling either of the items mentioned.

Thanks for the kind words on the tutorials, answers to your questions:

1. Price: The CISS kit sells for R 1,140.00 not sure if it includes shipping as I collected from the seller.

2. Page yield: Really not sure. My previous kit on the HP C5183 yielded almost 7,500 pages (I remember buying 3 boxes of paper, but this is probably not accurate) of general office documents and typical post grad study material.

3. Source: Please PM me, not sure if forum rules allow posting it here.

4. Region Protection:

Firstly, Stock standard of the shelf SA and US cartridges ARE different. I had to learn that the hard way. When trying to install a US sourced cartridge in an SA bought printer it will refuse to recognize the cartridge and will refuse to print.

There is an extremely elaborate workaround which entails convincing an HP support person that you relocated from SA to the US and brought your printer along. After SEVERAL hours on the phone to HP (in the US) they MIGHT finally assist you with codes (and a lengthy procedure) which will change the region of the printer permanently. (I suggest using Skype if you are going to try this) Here is a summary of the procedure: http://www.stinkyinkshop.co.uk/blog/2010/05/17/how-do-i-change-the-region-of-my-hp-printer/

The HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus uses 950 and 950XL cartridges (not the 940 - I assume it was just an example)

The CISS is "chipped" you do not need salvage chips from old original cartridges.

5. Ink depletion warnings: As the CISS is "chipped" the chips (by design) do not register ink levels, this is in order to avoid the ink depleted warning which would otherwise halt printing. The ink tanks are external to the printer and you can easily see the levels of each of the individual inks and just top them up as needed.

 

[Duan]

Some additional info:

if you decide to use a CISS kit (at least the one I tried) be aware that you will receive a message ONCE on each computer AND ONCE for each cartridge.

This on-screen message will pop-up before you print for the first time after installing the CISS and will alert you to the fact that the cartridges installed are not HP originals. (Duh).

Don't worry about this, just click "no" (they were not sold as originals) and "close" (I think) on the second dialog box which informs you how HP's cartridges are superior to generics.

I have heard that for Canon and Epson CISS people are generally advised to buy a new printer and to install the CISS without having installed any of the factory or OEM cartridges. This does not hold for this HP config as you are unable to install ANY cartridges without first installing the "SETUP" cartridges which comes with the new machine. The setup cartridges apparently does a few things related to ink pressure etc.

My previous setup turned out to be super economical. With this one, time will tell.

Hope that helps....

 

[DanH]

Makes sense now. I have the 8500A plus which takes the 940xl which is an easier setup as the cartridges are stationary and have their own access flap.

From what i saw with other setups the guys salvage the original chips and stick them on the CISS cartridge, but obviously that's going to cause a pain in the ass with low ink level warnings.

Ebay has various CISS kits from $30 to $100, but i suppose the chip compatibility is hit and miss.

The moment you put in a non-hp chipped cartridge your warranty is void i suppose.

 

[Duan]

One of the advantages of the 8600 is that it has a replaceable head (which is separate from the ink cartridges), not sure if the 8500A has the same?

Ebay is likely to be a miss rather than a hit, be sure to ask if it will work in our region. That way if it does not, you can return it.

The whole HP warranty issue in my view is a technique which HP uses to intimidate us into buying very expensive ink. Their business model is based on the continuous ink revenue and I would guess the printers are heavily subsidized by the future revenue streams from ink.

That being said, they can't force me to use their ink and other than possibly the print head, they would have a hard time refusing a warranty claim on say a scanning fault etc.

I figured, worst case I might need to replace the print head ($40-$100) on ebay.

 

[Duan]

Another friend has asked me to do the same for the HP Officejet 6700. I have not researched the setup yet.

Is there any interest in making a similar video for the 6700?

 

[coca0729]

source

My previous CISS & Printer did not survive my move, so I had to buy a new one of each. I settled on the HP 8600 and after some challenges managed to find a CISS that works. WATCH OUT, these things, like DVDs, are region protected.

Demand from relatives and friends were high when I did my previous rig, so this time I did a survey and bought them all the same kit. This meant that I needed to record the instructions for relatives who needs to self install as they are not nearby.

For the benefit of those who would like to do the same, I have uploaded the video's here:
Part 1 - Overview and tools required to do the job (2:16) - http://youtu.be/ZectEPHGoMc
Part 2 - Where to put the tubes (2:24)- http://youtu.be/AfmQCvR6g30
Part 3 - Installing the cartridges into the printer head (4:25) - http://youtu.be/bVnhrSASnV0
Part 4 - Fitting the tubes (4:18) - http://youtu.be/6_DtRKxN0es
Part 5 - Locating clip 1 (1:24) - http://youtu.be/utZLftRpoMo
Part 6 - Locating clip 2 and complete install (0:56) - http://youtu.be/HjbJLLzwow0

Uploaded all videos.

Happy to answer any questions.

Hi there,

Can you please tell me where can i source this kit?
Thank you

Regards,
Cynthia

 

[Duan]

Hi Cynthia,

The supplier where I sourced my kit from is no longer in business :-(

 

[Yotch]

@Cynthia - You could try this place for a CISS kit ...
http://www.akita.co.za/ciss/default.htm

Epson have a new range of inkjet printers with large external refillable ink tanks which might be a better solution in the long term. Incredible Connection is currently running a special on one of them (until 6 April). A 4000 page black ink bottle costs about R90 with similar pricing for the other colours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_KE0LEyDKM
http://www.epson.co.za/za/en/viewcon...s/index/10289/
http://www.epson.co.za/za/en/viewcon...s/index/10413/
70ml replacement ink bottles (~4000 pages) ...
http://www.takealot.com/all/?qsearch...1&_dt=all&_r=1
IC Epson L355 special
http://www.guzzle.co.za/specials/view/639363/

 

[Duan]

Yotch,

Nice find on the Epson Printers!

My experience with Epson CISS kits has been dismal, but it seems they may have seen the light by essentially building it into their own printers.

Have you got one of these Epsons?

 

[Yotch]

@Duan: Clearly you are the resident expert on all things CISS (and e-Toll!) related! Unfortunately I don't have one. The only reason I noticed these Epson printers was because I was reading the small labels of features next to the prices at IC and the last item listed a page cost of R0.04. I thought this must be a mistake as this was well below the page cost of my mono laser printer using refilled cartridges so when I got home I looked into them more carefully and was very surprised. This must be the first printer that I've seen where you don't have to worry about running costs using original cartridges/inks. Hopefully somebody will buy one on special this weekend at IC (~R1000 discount) and give us some feedback.