James Kara Murat asked:


Brand new printer ink cartridges cost a considerable amount of money in general, and while printer ink cartridges from Hewlett-Packard can be said to be more affordable than most, they are still a little bit expensive. Thus, it makes sense for the average computer user to give using HP printer ink refill kits a good thought.

Buying and using HP printer ink refill kits do translate to savings for the average computer user. However, the downside of this is that if these refill kits are used incorrectly, it can lead to irreparable damage to the printer.

To make the task of refilling printer ink cartridges using HP printer ink refill kits easy for the average computer user, here are a few tips and tricks.

1. Always buy an HP printer ink refill kit that is specifically manufactured for the particular model that you have. Each printer unit requires a specific formulation of ink to function properly. Feeding your HP printer with the wrong type of printer ink will permanently damage your printer.

2. Never wait for your printer ink cartridge to go bone dry before you refill it. Always watch out for signs that the ink cartridge is running out of ink. If you wait too long, the printer ink left inside the cartridge will clog the cartridge outlets and damage it. Refilling a damaged ink cartridge will result at best in bad print quality and at worse in irreparable printer head damage.

3. Make sure that you follow the instructions on your HP printer ink refill kit to the letter. If you do not follow the instructions carefully, you will only end up with a damaged cartridge, or worse, a damaged printer head.

4. In filling a colored printer ink cartridge, be certain that you fill the cartridge chamber with the correct color of ink. Failing to do this will result in skewed printing results.

5. No one wants to get messed up while refilling an ink cartridge with a refill kit, so always line your workplace with cloth before you begin. Cloth will absorb the ink and keep it from seeping onto the surface of your workplace.

6. Got ink on your hands while refilling your printer ink cartridge? Do not worry about it. To remove ink stains from your hands, just wash it first with soap and water to get the excess oil of the ink off your skin. Follow it with a wash of mild bleach mixed with water. And then, wash your hands again with soap and water to get the bleach off.

Using HP printer ink refill kits are very handy and can result in considerable savings. But here is a caveat for you, though: If your printer is still under warranty, you will lose your warranty in case it is damaged by printer ink from the refill kit. Also, you can only refill an HP printer ink cartridge once or twice because the risk of ruining the printer gets too high.

James Kara Murat asked:


When the ink in your printer cartridge runs out, what do you do? Do you just chuck the printer ink cartridge in with the trash, or do you recycle them?

According to statistics, there are hundreds of millions of printer ink cartridges sold every year in Europe and in the United States alone. However, only a bare 5% of those printer ink cartridges ever find their way to a recycling center once they are used up.

Why Recycle Printer Ink Cartridges?

Advocates of the environment have two major reasons why they think printer ink cartridges should be recycled. One is that printer ink cartridges can harm the environment, while the other is that the materials they are made of come from finite sources that need to be conserved.

1. Printer ink cartridges are pollutants. Printer ink cartridges are non-biodegradable materials. When they find their way to a landfill, they do not rot so they just sit there for years. What is bad about that is that the chemicals that printer inks are made of are harmful.

2. Printer ink cartridges are made from finite sources. Printer ink cartridges are primarily made from plastic and metal. Plastic is a derivative of petroleum while metals are mined from the earth. Both petroleum and metal ores are finite and there is no knowing when they will be exhausted.

As thus, printer ink cartridges need to be recycled rather than just thrown away. The two main methods of recycling printer ink cartridges are: 1) refilling them when they become empty; and 2) giving or selling them to recycling centers.

Recycling Printer Ink Cartridges by Refilling

One of the simplest ways of recycling printer ink cartridges is by taking them to an ink refilling station to get them refilled, or by buying ink refill kits for some do-it-yourself refilling. If you are not so finicky about the quality of the ink in refill kits (we do need to recognize that inks in refill kits are not the same as original inks), then you can extend the life of your printer ink cartridge by refilling it once or twice.

Giving Printer Ink Cartridges to a Recycling Center

Once your printer ink cartridge cannot be refilled anymore, you can take it to a facility that recycles them. These recycling centers will even pay you for your empty cartridge, unless you specify that the cartridges are your donation to the facility. What these recycling centers will do to your printer ink cartridge is to retrieve the materials and find other uses for these materials.

The idea of recycling printer ink cartridges is not just some fad. It is a serious matter that we need to take seriously. Do your part and recycle your printer ink cartridges.

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.