I hope someone here has some experience with the same printer, Canon ip3500. I am having terrible trouble with mine right now and I am running out of tricks.

I find that the printer often clogs so I have started taking the ink tanks out of the printer after finishing a job, I seal them up with Glad press n' seal to keep them from drying out. I also clean the printhead with hot water and some airbrush cleaner so it is clean and ready to go. That has worked fine for me, but today when I went to use the printer it is no end of problems.

I get the message that the black ink is empty, which it is not. When I lift the black tank out I can see a lot of black ink pooling in the print head. The printer tries to print but there is almost no ink on the paper when it comes out.

I don't have a spare set of cartridges to try, so I am not sure if it is an ink cartridge problem, or a print head problem. I am a bit reluctant to ordering new tanks just to find it is the printer, just in case I have to replace the printer then maybe the tanks won't suit anymore.

I use the refillable Kopykake tanks, they have been refilled only once.

Anybody have any bright ideas?

Happy Black Friday BakingGirl. I cannot help you totally with the KK inks, since their inks do respond differently, but I do have some suggestions. First, if you refilled, your black in particular, make sure that the hole you used to refill it is resealed. Put tape over the hole if you need to. Remove everything, printhead and cartridges, turn your printer off and then turn it back on and put everything back in. Make sure that you cleaned out your printer if there is a lot of ink. Now, you said you store your cartridges. The cartridge sponge that is in the KK cartridge may dry up and harden depending on the age. Cartridges generally last one year. Once you refill, it comprises the longevity of the cartridges and if you let it sit, that also can compromise the longevity.. So you may want to add more ink to make sure that the sponges are moistened. If they had hardened up too much from age and or sitting, then you may need new cartridges. I understand your frustration as well. If you are thinking you may need a new printer, go to Bestbuy TODAY as their black friday deal offers an mp560 for $49. Cant beat it. If you want to follow this through and what I suggested still doesnt work, PM me and I do have one more trick up my sleeve. I dont publically post all my information as my competitors have access then to my information and it is intellectual property of my company that I do not want to publically display. I will be glad to help you privately though with the next step if what I suggested does not work for you. Good Luck!

Hi Debbie,

Thank you so much for your really in depth reply, that is very kind of you! I realized when reading it that one thing I did not do was to turn the printer off and restart it, so perhaps that would have helped. It is all clean and ready to go I am just working up some energy to try again. I had a function to go to the day after the printer disaster so I had to go to get a manicure because my hands were so stained by the ink, it looked like I had dipped them in a pot of paint. It took the girl 1 1/2 hours to get them clean, and I still have black cuticles. Next time I think I will wear gloves!!

I don't live in the US so I don't have the benefit of the Black Friday sales at Best Buy. But I will certainly take your recommendation for a new printer if I find that the printer really is toast. I will let you know how I get on with my printer, and I will certainly PM you with more questions if I need to.

Thanks again!

Edible ink...at least ours comes off in the shower. For some reason it comes off then completely and not in the sink. I think it may be the shampoo and or the conditioner. If you still have problems, pm me as I do have more suggestions.

uh. wish i had seen that post about the sale earlier. been holding out for a special deal on a printer. wish i had a magic elf to tell me the next time an opportunity comes along