James Kara Murat asked:


The “sticker shock” that a consumer can get when buying a new set of inks for a computer printer can easily send them over the edge. With an eye toward economy and ecology consumers are finding that refills may be the way to solve issues they have with ink cartridge pricing and disposability.

Refills

As consumers quietly grumbled about the prices of printer ink other manufacturers, of all kinds, began coming up with ways to refill an ink cartridge. Refill kits have become a hot commodity with a certain “wink, wink” toward the patent lawyers. Individuals have also taken up the cause by performing plastic surgery on ink cartridges resembling Botox injections.

Plenty of newspaper

Whether a consumer is refilling hp ink cartridge or refilling canon ink cartridge the process is, for the most part, the same. Refill kits will get you half way home but you will need to provide quite a bit of newspaper for covering anything you value. You will also need cloths that can be wasted rather then washed.

Help boards are helpful

The difference that may be found when refilling hp ink cartridge and refilling canon ink cartridge is the location of the fill hole. On some canon cartridges the fill hole may be on the side or on the top of the cartridge. From the help boards it appears that either one will work ok. The idea is to refill the reservoir or sponge with just enough ink so that there is no air within the cartridge when the process is completed.

Tape

Obviously, ink cartridge manufacturers are not all that interested in providing ink cartridge refilling instructions so the process is a learn from others sort of thing. One item that pops up in this regard is the use of tape over the fill hole. Have some good quality tape for this aspect of the process. Also, you may need to use a few layers to make the seal. If there is a message, or several messages for that matter, after you have refilled and sealed, saying “can’t find printer” there may be an air hole where the tape is located. This means…start over and tape again.

Happy and sad

While the ink cartridge manufacturers are sad that others are finding ways to refill their cartridges (manufacturers indicate that the nozzles are not engineered for multiple use and Consumer Reports indicates color refill prints are only ok while black is good when refilling) others are warily excited. Research is beginning to show that consumers would pay to have somebody else refill their cartridges if the price were around half the originals cost.

Walgreens has been looking into this process for about 1,500 of its stores. It feels there may have room for refilling hp ink cartridge and refilling canon ink cartridge. The 10-15 minute process is relatively inexpensive and may be a somewhat palatable compromise with original cartridge manufacturers. The manufacturers, however, would need to convince consumers that refilling is only wise for a certain number of refills before they need a completely new cartridge.

James Kara Murat asked:


The whole process of refilling an almost spent ink cartridge is fairly easy if you do not mind the possibility of ruining some cloths or staining a table top. On the same side of the coin is that it is considered illegal, although some might say that the prices charged in the first place constitute usury. In any case, the process is going to go on so understanding how to lessen the chance of trashing some cloths may be worth it.

Each cartridge is different

One of the reasons that the printer companies chose this method of marketing (cheap printer-expensive inks) was that they could manipulate their inks and cartridges so that each could only be used in certain printers. This basically means that the ink cartridges are the same as others but different. Refilling cartridges, then, means knowing where the differences are.

Two main differences

There really are two distinct differences in refilling cartridges. The first lies in the reservoir. If you are planning to be refilling hp ink cartridge you are more likely to find an ink cartridge reservoir that holds the ink. If you are refilling Lexmark ink cartridge you will likely find a sponge system. Both work ok but it is something to consider as you get ready to begin ink cartridge refilling.

Black and color

Here is another area where there are a few differences to watch out for. When refilling cartridges for a Lexmark ink cartridge the steps differ for black ink cartridges and color ink cartridges. For black cartridges there is a whole on top in which to insert a needle with the black ink in it. All that is needed is a hole about 1/16 of an inch on the lower level of the cartridge. With the three color cartridges, however, ink cartridge refilling is a bit more detailed. First you have to get the caps off the cartridges. This is best left to a good pair of pliers and a vice grip. Once this is done you must determine which color is in each cartridge. Stick a needle in each and make a note. In these instances, refill kits will have everything you will need.

Refilling Cartridges

In this step slowly is a good word of caution. You will only need 5cc of ink and it should be put in slowly, not only because spillage is not good for you but the printer as well when you are done. There is a slight bit of mistake room when refilling hp ink cartridge but try not to use it. Slowly is particularly important when refilling Lexmark ink cartridge. With this cartridge there are sponges in use. Extra air inside the cartridge does not help in getting the ink out of it so go slow. Most indicate that 5cc of ink in about one minute is the right pace.

Keep clean

The big thing to remember is that clean is good. Any leakage will ***** up your print jobs and possibly the printer so go slow and be clean.