Posted on 10th Oct 2016 @ 10:34:52 PM

2015/16 has been a relatively quiet period while we focused on our Printer Potty products and resources while consolidating a few other areas that needed our attention.

It's also been a period of adjustment with some staff changes, an addition to the family and plenty to keep everyone busy in between.

These are the highlights:

Version 2 Refill Bundles: PGI-550/CLI-551

Thanks to the development of a compatible REdSETTER for these units, we're now completely rethinking our refill bundle for the Canon 550/551 cartridges.

This includes a new type of SquEasyFill system, new refilling approach and all the necessary tools to go with it all. This has been a major review and rethink that should make the whole process a lot simpler, and more reliable compared to the third party refillables we've been offering to date.

More news will follow but we're currently waiting for the last few parts to arrive so we can start production. We also need to shoot, edit and produce the detailed instructions to go with the kits. Release is now expected sometime in early November.

Improved Refill Tools

Following on from the PGI-550/CLI-551 news, we're building some new tools as well as improving the durability of existing ones. These changes will make it possible to pursue altenrative refill methods such as vacuum filling Canon and HP cartridges. We're also offering a less messy syringe filling system where syringes can't be avoided.

In particular we've completely rethought and re-engineered our flush clip designs. The new design is considerably stronger and less prone to breakage.

Ink Stock: Replacement/Availability

We're currently bottling a lot of new ink stock, particularly for the CLI-42, Ecotank, PGI-72 and PGI-9500 ink sets. Any stock currently showing as unavailable will be available again very soon.

We're also starting to phase in our version 2 (v2) inks for the Canon Pro 9500 as we expect the original inkset to be retired at some point. New stock is finally in so that will be available properly shortly.

PGI-570/CLI-571 inks & refill tools : Pending

Unfortunately a chip resetter is not yet available for the 570/571 (or the 270/271) chips but we have already sourced the necessary inks and all the work for the 550/551 refill tools, documentation, etc... will apply equally. We're going to start putting together a refill bundle for end-users who want to start refilling even without the REdSETTER so expect that sometime in mid-November.

A compatible REdSETTER is being pursued by our manufacturers but is unlikely to be available until the 1st quarter of 2017 at the earliest. Alternative solutions are being investigated

Ink Stock: Review, Sale & Retirement

As some printer models are coming to the end of their realistic life expectancy we're identifying some printer inks that are no longer viable to sell. This means that some inks are being retired altogether although we're keeping an eye out for alternatives for customers who still have one of these antiques.

Key printers affected are Canon BCI3 and BCI6 cart types, and Epson pre-Claria dye ink types.

We are also retiring the KMP PGI-5 black and KMP PGI-220/520 inks with all remaining stock being sold at a significant discount. No replacement stock will be purchased in.

Image Specialists Epson K3, Durabrite and Durabrite Ultra inks are all being retired with a few exceptions including the R1900, R2000 inks which are unavailable from other sources. Some inks are still being retained but STS-inks are already retiring existing Img Spec' inks so, replacement of these was already inevitable. The good news is that our replacement inks are a significant improvement on issues such as clog resistance, etc...

Other news and changes are pending