Canon 670/671 genuine ink tanks leaking? Learn why...
Date Posted:24 December 2019
Having trouble filling genuine Canon 670/671 ink tanks?
Canon PGI-670 and CLI-671 genuine ink tanks are some of the easiest cartridges to refill, but some refillers are reporting ink leaking problems. In this blog we'll look at why and how to solve it.
Note: If you're in a country/region other than Australia or NZ, your Canon ink cartridges use different part numbers (eg: PGI-170, 270, 370, 470, 570, 770, 870 and CLI-171, 271, 371, 471, 571, 771 or 871) but the cartridges are identical and same information applies.
So...why do 670/671 ink tanks leak?
Canon have always enabled refilling most of their printers - to a point. They allow us to refill, but don't make it any easier than it has to be.
Canon ink cartridges and ink tanks have gotten smaller over the years, are no longer transparent, the internal sponges don't absorb ink as well as they used to, there is less clearance around ink cartridges (in printers) for plugs ... and all these things can potentionally lead to leaking problems.
And to make things worse, Canon have also started interfering with ink tank 'sizes' and introduced 'standard' (half volume) tanks and reclassified full size tanks as XL in last few years. That hasn't made refiller's life any easier either.
Anyway... Canon PGI-670 and CLI-671 genuine ink tanks can leak for variety of reasons, same as most other ink tanks.
Common causes of ink leaks...
- ink hole not sealed air tight
- ink outlet not sealed before refiling
- ink hole plug had fallen out
- ink tank sponge overfull
- ink ank cracked or damaged
- ink tank sponge dried up/old
- Incorrect ink used
These issues are fairly simple to avoid and/or correct just by following accurate refilling instructions. Find refill instructions for Canon 670/671 ink tanks here.
And then there is one more extra added bonus problem specific to refilling genuine PGI-670 & CLI-671 tanks...
All Canon genuine ink tanks have a convenient dimple (where the needle is positioned in above pic) that has traditionally been used to drill a filling hole.
But...refilling a genuine Canon PGI-670 or CLI-671 Setup or Regular size ink tank in this way will not work and any ink injected through that part of the tank will promptly leak out.
This is why! As you can see in the following pic, the first 20mm or so from the left (rear of tank to the white line) is partitioned off (in non XL tanks) and not connected to rest of the cartridge. AND there is a miniature hole (you can't see) at the bottom - where the ink will leak out of.
Canon ink tank with part of the top cut away
So, now you know...
Please note: Above info doesn't apply to Canon PGI-670XL and CLI-671XL ink tanks. XL genuine tanks can be filled through any part of the top.
InkBank Canon 670/671 ink refill kits come with everything you need to refill any size genuine ink tank including comprehensive refill instructions, plugs, tools, ink outlet clips, syringes and quality ink set.
Alternatively you can upgrade to XL capacity refillable, transparent ink tanks - for even easier refilling.
Please contact us if you need more information.