A tip for ink cartridge re-fillers

murphydavid

Cartridges (those re-filled by me anyway) always start malfunctioning after six or seven refills. I just met someone who supplies bulk ink and was supprised to learn that he keeps his entire stock in a large freezer and only thaws it out before re-sale. Also have you noticed how new ink cartridges are always wrapped up very thoughoughly and vacum packed. The reason, he says, is that printer ink exposed to air and at normal temperatures goes mouldy, like food, and the small particles of mould in the ink slowly block up behind the printing jet holes. The moral of the story is that if like me you have largish bottles of ink that have been opened then store them in your freezer and if you have tried to re-fill and failed it may be down to this.
All this still leaves the problem that I am always adding new ink to old ink that is already in the printer. I think I may add a drop or two of sterilising solution (as per baby feeding bottle sterilizer) each time I top up and see if things improve?
This may all seem a bit elaborate but the cost differential between bulk ink and ink cartridges is astonomical.
I would not mind if this link developed into a thread of useful ink refilling tips.

kwikbreaks

> I would not mind if this link developed into a thread of useful ink refilling tips.

From my own experiences...

Wear some disposable gloves.

Make very sure that you follow the instructions to the letter and don't somehow manage to get a real bad leaky cartridge that you don't spot which !!!!!!s up your carpet costing umpteen times more than just buying proper cartridges (well compatibles anyway rather than the 500 guineas a thimblefull ink in originals)

murphydavid

When I said astronomical above I mean can be 50x more expensive.
Original new cartridge = with 20ml of ink can be £20.00 (thats £1 per ml - have you seen how small a ml of liquid is?)
Bulk ink can be got at 500ml for £10.20
(500/20)x(20/10) = 50 x more

Heliflyguy

My experience, Lexmark 2650
Refilling doesnt seem to work with these as they have chips in the cartridges that tell the software how full/empty they are and somehow registers the cartridge.
Would love to know if it is possible though as they cost a fortune and the type is becoming quite rare.

murphydavid

Don't have experiance of a lexmark 2650 but I think it may take a # 14 Cartridge. If this is so then Try this tip from someone else.

The Lexmark # 14 Cartridge has a fake chip imprint on the top. There is NO chip - it's just molded plastic. Further more the foam used to store the ink has a seperator film built in - it goes straight down the middle and seperates the front of the cartridge from the rear. This design allows lexmark to make the cartridge to appear to hold more ink than it does. When in reality only the back half of the cartridge holds the ink. If you refill the cartridge - you have to drill a tiny hole on the top rear of the cartridge and inject only a small amount of ink (about half the normal amount) Be sure to NOT insert the refill needle more than half way in. Slowly inject the ink - but be sure to NOT overfill it - in fact i recomend that you inject small amounts - and reinsert the cartridge into the printer and open your printer software to check the ink level indicator. (repeat as neccessary) If you overfill it - it could leak - you only want to get the sponge wet - not soaked. If you have attempted to refill the front half of the cartridge - you have waisted your time and likely destroyed the cartridge. Remember there is a seperator film that stops the ink flow. This cartridge design requires the back of the print head to be in direct contact with resevoir sponge - the seperator film restricts and prohibits the flow of ink from the front of the resevoir to the rear. Idealy, a hypodermic needle would be best for injecting the ink - because you can keep tract of the exact volume if ink required to refill the cartridge. I hope this is simple enough and easily understood. If you the reader haven't figured it out yet - this cartridge is designed to make the consumer think that refilling is not worth the risk. This sells alot more product for the company and keeps prices high.

murphydavid

Another tip
When I buy a new printer I make sure I can find a CISS manufacturer who has produced a CISS system for it. That way you can be sure that there is a way to overcome the built in anti-refill measures that are within most printers.

rmg1

Heliflyguy wrote: »

My experience, Lexmark 2650
Refilling doesnt seem to work with these as they have chips in the cartridges that tell the software how full/empty they are and somehow registers the cartridge.
Would love to know if it is possible though as they cost a fortune and the type is becoming quite rare.

I have a Lexmark X1180 that tries to do the same thing. I find that if I take the cartridge out and then replace it, the printer asks if it's a new or old cartridge, so I select new.

Seems to have worked so far.